Gareth Barry

[witchdoc187]

I think Barry has been excellent this season.

 

[mkrudden]

Knew I liked you pal.

I like you too SD.
But you're so terribly wrong on this particular point.

 

[LinekersLegs]

I don't rate him at all, there's nothing you can say to change my mind on that. He's got a decent passing range and can anticipate interceptions with his experience. I've already articulated how I think we unbalance the rest of the team to accommodate his limitations. If we want to improve we need better. You'd have far more of a case if we were flying high in the table but we're homing in on back to back bottom half finished. That doesn't happen if you have a class centre mid. We have two average ones.

But a team is more than just one player - by the same logic you could say that we needed better than Rom and Ross because we are currently in 12th. They are both fantastic at attacking but poor at doing any sort of defending and in a fully balanced team winning the ball back doesn't just rest with the CMs, for example Vardy not only scores but does a huge amount of pressing/harrying.

We may be mid table but we're also in a semifinal at Wembley - with a ,ot of credit going to those very four players.

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

Repeating the same non point over and over, posting pointless gifs, care to join the debate at some point or do you need a few days to pull together a good vault for the masses to give you a big clap?

 

[AndyC]

I don't rate him at all, there's nothing you can say to change my mind on that. He's got a decent passing range and can anticipate interceptions with his experience. I've already articulated how I think we unbalance the rest of the team to accommodate his limitations. If we want to improve we need better. You'd have far more of a case if we were flying high in the table but we're homing in on back to back bottom half finished. That doesn't happen if you have a class centre mid. We have two average ones.

Am struggling with this a little.
In his first season with us, he was terrific. Last season, his formed dipped as did just about everybody.
This season he has bounced back and has largely quietened the boo-boys - with your obvious exception.
He gets on with his job and the man-to-man job he did on Costa last weekend was quite superb... And, he stood in well for Jags as team captain.

Your rubbishing of him is peculiar in the extreme... imo.

 

[sageyefc]

I think Barry has been excellent this season.

Him and Rom have been our players of the year imo

 

[chicoazul]

Gareth Barry has been a very good signing for Everton and is an important part of our team.

Anyone who fails to see this needs to find a large bin and throw themselves in it.

 

[Saint Domingo]

But a team is more than just one player - by the same logic you could say that we needed better than Rom and Ross because we are currently in 12th. They are both fantastic at attacking but poor at doing any sort of defending and in a fully balanced team winning the ball back doesn't just rest with the CMs, for example Vardy not only scored but does a huge amount of pressing/harrying.

We may be mid table but we're also in a semifinal at Wembley - with a ,ot of credit going to those very four players.

Most games are won and lost in midfield. Leicester are showing how you can mask a decent defence and how you can give great service to good strikers. Over the course of a season we struggle to control games, we struggle to defend well, we struggle to win the ball back and we struggle to break down teams who sit back. We can do it on a one off, but we struggle to do it regularly which is why we can put decent cup runs together but have poor league form. Whilst of course it is a collective effort I put a greater share of the onus on midfield. Our attack is not out of place in the top 4, top teams would take our defenders, I think our midfield two is painfully average. You can see the different in class when Besic played v City. Barry and McCarthy just do not impact a game for me to a level anywhere near that.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Am struggling with this a little.
In his first season with us, he was terrific. Last season, his formed dipped as did just about everybody.
This season he has bounced back and has largely quietened the boo-boys - with your obvious exception.
He gets on with his job and the man-to-man job he did on Costa last weekend was quite superb... And, he stood in well for Jags as team captain.

Your rubbishing of him is peculiar in the extreme... imo.

Bounced back? We're 12th. I know everyone loves to blame just Howard for that but Lukaku aside no one has been performing to a great level at all. In odd games yes, but expectation levels of player consistency and consistency of performance really has gone down.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Gareth Barry has been a very good signing for Everton and is an important part of our team.

Anyone who fails to see this needs to find a large bin and throw themselves in it.

100% agree with this. Vital cog in a bottom half premier league team.

 

[chicoazul]

Repeating the same non point over and over, posting pointless gifs, care to join the debate at some point or do you need a few days to pull together a good vault for the masses to give you a big clap?

 

[LinekersLegs]

Most games are won and lost in midfield. Leicester are showing how you can mask a decent defence and how you can give great service to good strikers. Over the course of a season we struggle to control games, we struggle to defend well, we struggle to win the ball back and we struggle to break down teams who sit back. We can do it on a one off, but we struggle to do it regularly which is why we can put decent cup runs together but have poor league form. Whilst of course it is a collective effort I put a greater share of the onus on midfield. Our attack is not out of place in the top 4, top teams would take our defenders, I think our midfield two is painfully average. You can see the different in class when Besic played v City. Barry and McCarthy just do not impact a game for me to a level anywhere near that.

I think you inderestimate how much of a difference having the attacking four helping out can make to giving the midfielders time to do their job - both Leicester and Spurs have good midfields that shield their backline but quite often it never gets that far as the ball is retained on the wings or higher up on the pitch. Kone/Deulofeu were excellent in the first part of the season for adding to our goals but didn't do as much as Cleverley/Lennon are in relieving pressure on our defenders/midfielders.

I like Besic, he shows a lot of promise, but on average this season he has 2.3 tackles, 0.4 interceptions, 1.3 clearances and 0.4 blocks per league game.

The relevant figures for Barry are 2.7, 1.6, 2.3, 0.8 - better by quite a large margin in every category.
McCarthy's are 2.8, 1.6, 1.7, 0.5

 

[riddick]

Him and Rom have been our players of the year imo

Lennon is getting into that equation as well.


Barry is going to make a fantastic manager one day. He's akin to a catcher in baseball, they usually go on to be great managers because they are involved in every aspect of the game at all times. They read the game. So does Barry.

 

[mkrudden]

Most games are won and lost in midfield. Leicester are showing how you can mask a decent defence and how you can give great service to good strikers. Over the course of a season we struggle to control games, we struggle to defend well, we struggle to win the ball back and we struggle to break down teams who sit back. We can do it on a one off, but we struggle to do it regularly which is why we can put decent cup runs together but have poor league form. Whilst of course it is a collective effort I put a greater share of the onus on midfield. Our attack is not out of place in the top 4, top teams would take our defenders, I think our midfield two is painfully average. You can see the different in class when Besic played v City. Barry and McCarthy just do not impact a game for me to a level anywhere near that.

This makes NO sense whatsoever.

So everyone else is not accountable for our poor league standing apart from-

McCarthy - who has been injured for key moments of the season
Barry - because you hate him.


Pardon?!

 

[Saint Domingo]

I think you inderestimate how much of a difference having the attacking four helping out can make to giving the midfielders time to do their job - both Leicester and Spurs have good midfields that shield their backline but quite often it never gets that far as the ball is retained on the wings or higher up on the pitch. Kone/Deulofeu were excellent in the first part of the season for adding to our goals but didn't do as much as Cleverley/Lennon are in relieving pressure on our defenders/midfielders.

I like Besic, he shows a lot of promise, but on average this season he has 2.3 tackles, 0.4 interceptions, 1.3 clearances and 0.4 blocks per league game.

The relevant figures for Barry are 2.7, 1.6, 2.3, 0.8 - better by quite a large margin in every category.
McCarthy's are 2.8, 1.6, 1.7, 0.5

The stats are misleading in my opinion. Besic pushes up higher up the pitch forcing opposition players to pass back or go long. Barry lacks pace so retreats to the edge of our area, he gets more blocks and interceptions there but it's worse for our team shape.

I get the point about the widemen, I've said that many times on here. But Barry is forcing us to play super diligent widemen. Ideally you want 1-11 who can work up and down with pace and aggression. Barry can't do that so once again we change other areas of the team for him.