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Steve Wigan
Player Valuation: £35m
One of the journos on Sunday Supplement this morning said 'Barkley is playing his way out of the England team'. I was very critical of Barkley last season, and he has been much more effective for Everton this season. What I do see,however, and its just my opinion, is that despite the odd good run, and turn to beat a defender, and the odd shot, Ross seems to be particularly static compared with our other midfielders. Against Holland, he did not do much wrong, maybe just the odd stray pass, but most of the time he kept his passes simple and seemed to be content to keep to his position rather that look for the ball. It was as if he was deliberately trying to be anonymous. And he still has a habit of 'not tackling' and simply making a gesture and letting a player go past him. He is not really a tackler....part of his game that I find frustrating. So...as I say...more effective for Everton this season, but difficult to see him starting for England in the Euros. Just my opinion, of course.
Steve Wigan
Player Valuation: £35m
Your comment 'IF he goes to the Euros' as actually very valid. We have a lot of supposedly 'good/great ' midfielders and one of Barkleys problems is that he seems to be quite a 'shy' footballer who does not have the 'look at me' attitude of the majority of players who know they are talented. Perhaps Big Sam could lend us his sports psychologist who has apparently 'sorted' Rodwells head?
Did he not start the last 7 or 8 qualifiers for England? I would have thought hel is a certain starter. I find it galling how little some journalists seem to understand their subject.
royalblue66
Player Valuation: £70m
Glad He is our diamond.
MACCA75
Player Valuation: £70m
I'd definitely like to see him looking a lot braver in and out of possession, both for us and England.
royalbalou
Player Valuation: £20m
He'll go the Euros...and he'll start. Hodgson thinks he's boss...and for once I agree with him
Steve Wigan
Player Valuation: £35m
I think the team that started the friendly against Germany, with Rooney and the Arsenal player who'se name escapes me who has been injured forever, squeezed in if they are fit. Subject to other injuries of course. Barkley should still squeeze into the squad, but the most playing time he'll get will be 15/20 mins at the death.
He's the third best overall player this season according to Squawka.
http://www.squawka.com/football-pla...08/2015#03/04/2016#season#1#all-matches#total
... and 11th on WhoScored.
https://www.whoscored.com/Regions/2...erStatistics/England-Premier-League-2015-2016
Sort of tallies with my own eyes too. I don't understand criticism of him, at all. Basically, you want him running around like Thomas Gravesen every minute of every game - sorry, isn't that type of player, never will be, but he's elite level at what he does, and you have zero clue about football if you can't see that.
http://www.squawka.com/football-pla...08/2015#03/04/2016#season#1#all-matches#total
... and 11th on WhoScored.
https://www.whoscored.com/Regions/2...erStatistics/England-Premier-League-2015-2016
Sort of tallies with my own eyes too. I don't understand criticism of him, at all. Basically, you want him running around like Thomas Gravesen every minute of every game - sorry, isn't that type of player, never will be, but he's elite level at what he does, and you have zero clue about football if you can't see that.
For the life of me I can't understand how someone like Lallana would start ahead of him, twenty odd games foe England without a stiff of a goal for an AM is a poor return.
Steve Wigan
Player Valuation: £35m
Bally was like that, but he ran around as well. Balls greatest skill was that he could the simple things well...pass, read the game etc., but he was also a runner and a tackler. Barkley can do the simple things very well(if he has the time) but he is not half the player that Ball was because he does not have any of Balls 'zip'. I know I'm not comparing contemporaries but I think people will see were my opinion is coming from.
Love Barkley just wish he had a bit more aggression to his game, for me that's all he needs to be the complete midfielder.
The Mighty Quint
Player Valuation: £40m
The Journo on Sunday Sup didn't have a clue what he was talking about, said he'd had a bad season with Everton, his stats are better than Alli.
Again, statistically by two analysis sites, he's playing at a very high level - and he is.
Comparing to a player 40 years ago is daft. The game is completely different, played at a different tempo with different roles.
Barkley does what nobody else in the team does. The job you're describing is the work of James McCarthy, not Ross Barkley. Ross retains possession, keeps play moving and moves into clever attacking areas to upset a rigid defence.
He's a Rolls Royce of a footballer, after decades of Everton being used to a more industrious player in his role like Tim Cahill, and as such Evertonians don't understand what he does.
This is doubly the case when we're struggling as an overall side. Because we're so often chasing down results, Barkley's lack of "headless chicken mode" comes across as lacking - but if you put Ibrahimovic in our set up, he'd look the same, but that wouldn't be an indication of his quality as a footballer; it'd be more of an indication of our stupidity as a side.
He'd walk into absolutely any side in English football in his position, and outside of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich he'd be an automatic starter for any side in world football.
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