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Last summer, despite having three of the best central midfielders in the world safely under contract, Rafael Benitez spent the best part of the summer trying to lure Gareth Barry to Anfield. A year on and it seems that once again the race is on for the England international’s signature.
This time it is mega-bucks Man City who have their noses in front, not least because they will meet whatever extortionate demands Aston Villa may choose to make. (Let us not forget that this is the club who paid £18m for Nigel de Jong in January when they could have signed him for a tenth of the fee in the summer). So if recent Champions League finalists and Premier League title chasers Liverpool wanted Barry, and now the upwardly mobile Citizens fancy him, he must be bloody good, right?
I’m not going to say ‘wrong’, but I genuinely don’t understand the hype. Gareth Barry is a great utility player and as a result is a great asset to near enough any squad. But surely you don’t pay £20-odd million for a utility player? By their very nature, utility players will never be a first name on the team-sheet; they are like the kid in your Sunday league team who doesn’t have a position and just plays in whatever gaps are left by those who are too hungover to make it out of bed.
So what is Gareth Barry? In recent years we have established that he’s a midfield player, having started out predominantly as a left back or centre back. But what sort of midfielder? For England he has filled the role vacated by the forever-injured and pretty much forgotten Owen Hargreaves to fairly good effect; mopping up in front of the back four and moving the ball on quickly to the more creative players around him. For Villa though, Barry is the creative player. The former Brighton trainee is the hub of Martin O’Neill’s team and despite the threat of Ashley Young out wide, everything runs through Barry first. He is box-to-box, an all-action player who has flourished under the former Celtic boss’ management.
It’s easy to see why Barry looks a good player with Villa. They play simple, high tempo football and play with great width, meaning as a central midfielder, there are always options. Barry is comfortable at Villa, he is valued by the fans and the staff, and he is playing in what appears to be his best position. But (and remember there had to be a ‘but’ as this is a player who I believe is vastly over-rated) he appears to me to be a very basic and traditionally English midfielder.
By traditionally English, I mean he is everything that the masters of central midfield artistry (Xavi and Iniesta) are not. Where are the quick feet to create space where there was none and the agility to slip between players? Where is the pace and acceleration to make up lost ground on an opponent running through on the back four? Where are the slick one-touch passes and movement? Admittedly, some of these attributes can be dictated by your surroundings and let’s face it, despite their improvements, Villa are no Barca. So the key question that remains is, if Barry moves on from Villa Park, can he adapt? Can he hold his own amongst the big names and even bigger egos of Champions League football?
My hunch is no. Partly because I don’t believe he will ever be a regular starter in his favoured role as a box-to-box midfielder at any club bigger than Villa.
This question would be best posed to Mr Benitez, but if Liverpool had signed Barry last summer, where on earth would he have played? Wide left has been a problem position for the Pool, but Barry isn’t mobile or direct enough to fulfil that role. With Gerrard breaking forwards, cautious Rafa wouldn’t have wanted Barry surging into the box from the middle, and with Javier Mascherano protecting the defence, I can’t see that Barry’s face would have fitted.
Should Barry’s proposed move to Eastlands go through, I can see the same problem awaiting him. Mark Hughes appears to favour a 4-2-3-1 formation with two holding midfield players, two wingers and Stephen Ireland or Robinho supporting a lone striker. Now clearly Gareth Barry is not going to dislodge player of the year Ireland or the mercurial Robinho so perhaps he must contain himself and sit in front of the back four. But City already have two pretty decent defensive midfielders, Kompany and de Jong. The England international could potentially displace Kompany, and a central midfield three of Barry, de Jong and Ireland would appear to have a good balance to it. But how long will it last? This is the richest club in the world in question, and that midfield will surely not satisfy the Sheikh’s lust for trophies.
So it is decision time for Barry and for Villa. Randy Lerner and co must assess the risk involved in selling one of their prize assets. The loss of the heartbeat of their side could crush the Villains, but for City and Liverpool, he could just be another number in the squad.
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1. BrumDog, Birmingham
wrote...
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I think you're being a bit harsh to Barry. He's a good player and would get in most Premier sides. He is a box-to-box midfielder, chips in with a few goals and works hard for the team. Plus as you mentioned he can play at left back if he has to. I think he will be one of Man City's better signings, he is better than Kompany and de Jong in my opinion and he's only 27. You're not going to get many better 27 year old international midfielders for £12m either! |
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