Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: TheSandman on November 19, 2010, 07:30:22 PM
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Grauniad (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/nov/19/gareth-barry-going-backwards-england)
Gareth Barry was key to England's plans but he is going backwards fast
The holding midfielder was once given special treatment by Fabio Capello but is quickly becoming an irrelevance
(http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Clubs/Club_Home/2010/11/18/1290113312686/Englands-Gareth-Barry-str-006.jpg)
Gareth Barry struggled to get hold of the ball against France and was unable to help his inexperienced midfield partner, Jordan Henderson. Photograph: Scott Heavey/Getty Images
Gareth Barry was once more prominent in his manager's thoughts on Wednesday night. In the 2-1 defeat by France, however, Fabio Capello treated his removal as a matter of urgency and the midfielder was one of three men taken off at half-time. The decline in Barry's fortunes has been even steeper than that of the team itself. He must be suffering from disbelief as much as disappointment.
Until quite recently, Barry stood out for the exceptional value he had for his country. He had even qualified for the sort of treatment that goes against the grain for Capello. The manager had been insistent that only those who were fully fit could go to the World Cup, but an exception was made for Barry. While ankle trouble kept him out of the opener against the United States, he was in the starting XI for the other three games.
Such dependence on him is going out of fashion. Manchester City, who find goals elusive, may have thought that prudence was not essential in the home match with Birmingham last weekend. It finished goalless even though Barry was on the bench until the 83rd minute.
His relevance should not be at an end since he is still three months away from his 30th birthday, yet he is, at the very least, in a lull and appears inexplicably ponderous. Given that he is meant to be critical to Capello's scheme there are ramifications when his presence is not felt. The manager must have assumed that Barry would escort Jordan Henderson through the match with France.
The Sunderland midfielder may have felt abandoned instead. Capello had imagined Henderson's skills looking particularly apt on the international scene. "He plays one-touch, two-touch," the manager enthused on the eve of the match. "His vision on the pitch is really good all the time. I think he's one player with a different style of play in the middle. Something new."
Capello may not have anticipated the effect on Henderson of lacking possession. At 20, it is likely that he still sees a match in terms of using the ball rather than shutting off the paths to goal that the opposition can take. By siting Henderson so near the back four, Capello was requiring him to take on defensive tasks.
Barry was in too much trouble of his own to relieve the youngster of part of the burden. Mentors were in short supply against France and Kieran Gibbs, in his first start with England, had too much ground to cover. Appreciation for the missing left-back Ashley Cole should have soared as onlookers recalled how he seems to flourish in all areas of that flank.
At least the 21-year-old Gibbs has seen action in the Champions League this year and last.
To some extent, Barry is at a disadvantage by comparison with many England team-mates since he has never played in the tournament, let alone immersed himself in it. None the less, there was no apparent handicap during the World Cup qualifiers when he looked essential to the England line-up. Indeed, it was his judiciousness that appeared to allow Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard both to have an impact.
Barry's poise wavered at the tournament itself, just as it did in the match with France, but it is no shock that the degree of difficulty should increase when the other side is so well-equipped. For much of Wednesday evening, England were pinned down and it did not look as if Barry or anyone else could settle when there was no pattern to the side's play. Andy Carroll, on his debut, earned approval, but that was partly out of appreciation for the efforts he made single-handed. When the substitute Peter Crouch supplied a goal with his first touch, it was as if France did not realise he had taken the field.
The Tottenham attacker had struck at a set-piece and that seemed to underline the banality of England's work in open play. Basic pace was supposed to bring thrust to the attacking, but Theo Walcott was hardly noticed and had only one burst on the right before being replaced. The friendly could have been disregarded had it not repeated the sort of blankness that had been apparent in 0-0 draws with Algeria at the World Cup and Montenegro in the Euro 2010 qualifier.
Capello, who insisted not so long ago that having two strikers is "my style," has bowed to the times and, as he puts it wryly, uses a "9-1" formation. The trouble is that the system will not work reliably unless a fit Wayne Rooney who is also in form can burst from a deep-lying position to help the lone forward and cause devastation. Until the Manchester United forward re-emerges, there will be an unhealthy emphasis on that duo of holding midfielders.
So much for moving to City to keep your England place eh Gareth. It is quite surprising how much of a nosedive his form and ability seems to have taken. Money City supporters seem none too enamoured with him either.
Real shame.
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Gareth Barry is too slow to go backwards fast
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Not just them. Oliver Holt in The Mirror wrote a piece saying much the same thing. problem for me with Barry is that he was never a holding player with us and that was what made him into an England regular and who man City wanted. now he's stuck there and he's not good enough.
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I was just thinking the same about James Milner the other day. He's being shunted out to the wing where we all know he's not close to the player his playing in an attacking CM role.
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No way should Barry have ever played the holding role. He only got that position for England by default. If Hargreaves had been fit he'd never been tagged as a holding player.
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The only thing he is doing fast is building up his bank balance!
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How the mighty have fallen.
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It looks like man citeh are having a firesale in january, I wonder in Barry will be shown the door?
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We had the best years from Gareth and if that lot don't want Milner, we'll have him back.
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We could take Adam Johnson off their hands too, they aren't playing him as often as he would like!
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I knew we'd had the best of him when he left.
Anyway, fuck him. Old news.
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I knew we'd had the best of him when he left.
Anyway, fuck him. Old news.
This.
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Pay attention Mr Young
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A few of them City players will regret moving there. Barry, Milner, Given, Adebayor etc - none of them have done anything.
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A few of them City players will regret moving there. Barry, Milner, Given, Adebayor etc - none of them have done anything.
I think the extra few million they earned there rather then at the teams they left will soften the blow.
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I'm sure it will, but surely they'll regret not playing to the best of their ability.
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Heartbreaking. I bet he's gutted he didn't go to Liverpool now ....or mabe not.
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Good.
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Surely the Germany game was evidence enough that he's nowhere near good enough at the sharp end of international football. The memory of him running through cement after Gerry glided by will burn long in the mind.
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A few of them City players will regret moving there. Barry, Milner, Given, Adebayor etc - none of them have done anything.
I think the extra few million they earned there rather then at the teams they left will soften the blow.
Maybe, and maybe they weren't exactly scratching a living where they were. Their greed has been their undoing.
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Unfortunately, when some of the best of the English players like Barry (past), Milner, Adam Johnson take the money and go to Manchester City, they're doing the best thing for themselves (financially), but it is far from the best thing for English football.
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Surely the Germany game was evidence enough that he's nowhere near good enough at the sharp end of international football. The memory of him running through cement after Gerry glided by will burn long in the mind.
That was depressing.
I remember one of the pundits after referring to that and saying that he assumed Barry had pulled a hamstring while chasing back, he was that slow.
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Surely the Germany game was evidence enough that he's nowhere near good enough at the sharp end of international football. The memory of him running through cement after Gerry glided by will burn long in the mind.
That was depressing.
I remember one of the pundits after referring to that and saying that he assumed Barry had pulled a hamstring while chasing back, he was that slow.
Memories of Fenwick, or was it Reid?, chasing Maradona in '86.
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It was created by sheer hubris by both Barry and Milner. In my opinion they didn't just move for the money but after MON's decisions to change the job they did for the Villa resulted in them becoming both instrumental and highly regarded amongst the media, they then began to think they could turn their 'talent' to anything. But lo and behold, they were forced into positions in which they were above average at best, below par at worst. Milner especially has looked half the player since he was shunted back onto the wing for England (I'm not sure where he plays for City and to be honest I don't give a shit) and there's nothing to add about Barry beside what's been widely quoted.
Milner still has a long career ahead of him and can improve under different managers in a more suitable position. But Barry has been shown up as very limited and I'm pretty shocked at his quick regression. I never thought he was the most skilful at Villa but he did a good job and did it well. But you couldn't even say he justifies a place on Villa's bench at the moment despite the injuries we've got.
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The thing with Man City and Milner is that they will probably change there manager soon and he will bring in his own players and the cycle will start again, will he ever get a chance to show what he can do in the middle for them? Like Curiousorange said, I don't give a shit but it's a waste of a great player and what could have been if he stayed put at Villa.
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Both Barry and Milner are not playing in roles that suit them, they both had the freedom at Villa to impose themselves on the game, the system at Citeh is far more rigid.
And neither of them look as good or as happy.
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Both Barry and Milner are not playing in roles that suit them, they both had the freedom at Villa to impose themselves on the game, the system at Citeh is far more rigid.
And neither of them look as good or as happy.
In fairness, though, although Barry was a very good footballer for us, he did also have a tendency to go missing for months at a time. He might just be going through one of his "not at the races" periods.
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I never ceased to be amazed at how players are written off. Players do at times, suffer poor form. I'm sure Barry will move to another club and be successful again. Likewise, Milner may see the light in 12 months and jump ship. They're both damn good players.
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Both Barry and Milner are not playing in roles that suit them, they both had the freedom at Villa to impose themselves on the game, the system at Citeh is far more rigid.
And neither of them look as good or as happy.
In fairness, though, although Barry was a very good footballer for us, he did also have a tendency to go missing for months at a time. He might just be going through one of his "not at the races" periods.
i agree Barry is a good footballer for us, sometimes great, but he hasnt been pulling up trees for club or country for some time now, he is allready finding himself on the bench at citeh so it looks like his star is waning
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I never ceased to be amazed at how players are written off. Players do at times, suffer poor form. I'm sure Barry will move to another club and be successful again. Likewise, Milner may see the light in 12 months and jump ship. They're both damn good players.
Your right there both good players but there at a club that want instant success more than most and the demand is there to hit the ground running. If you don't there not going to hang around in finding a replacement.
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Both Barry and Milner are not playing in roles that suit them, they both had the freedom at Villa to impose themselves on the game, the system at Citeh is far more rigid.
And neither of them look as good or as happy.
In fairness, though, although Barry was a very good footballer for us, he did also have a tendency to go missing for months at a time. He might just be going through one of his "not at the races" periods.
i agree Barry is a good footballer for us, sometimes great, but he hasnt been pulling up trees for club or country for some time now, he is allready finding himself on the bench at citeh so it looks like his star is waning
The fact he's on the bench at City already is incredibly unsurprising. I think we all predicted this a year ago.
Good.
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I'd love Milner, Given or Adebayor. They would Vastley improve us.
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I'd love Milner, Given or Adebayor. They would Vastley improve us.
I would definitely have Milner back in a heartbeat. He's a great player and even with the optimism of the kids' emergence, he'd improve us. Given would be great but it's pie in the sky if Friedel's almost certain to get a new deal. Given will probably move to Arsenal in January. Adebayor is one of the most overrated players I've ever seen. I'll pass, ta.
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I appreciate what Barry did for us spending over 10 years at Villa and don't 'hate' him like many do on here, but the jokes on him at the end of the day. His pipe dream (along with all other Citeh players) where he thought Citeh would dominate England and Europe in a very short time has seriously taken a dent and Barry will just be 1 of the many players at Citeh who'll go through the ''recyle'' process at Citeh. Ship out the old £20 million plus players for some new £30 million plus players.
His life, his career but we'll see how much football means to him along with the others when they're sitting on the bench most weeks (whilst earning an insane salary at the same time).
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Milner won't fail at Citeh.
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He's as effective on the wing or them as he was for us ie: not very.
If he ever gets picked more centrally he could possibly have as good an impact for them as he managed with us last year.
But it's just as likely that the Sheik who looks about 15 will get bored with Mancini (I know plenty of Citeh fans already are) and will demand a new manager and more new toys.
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It's mean spirited to take pleasure in his decline.
But I will anyway, tough shit fat arse!
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A few of them City players will regret moving there. Barry, Milner, Given, Adebayor etc - none of them have done anything.
I think the extra few million they earned there rather then at the teams they left will soften the blow.
Probably but I don't think all players are money motivated, Some wanted City to be the new Chelsea, Unfortunately the manager seems a bit of a moron and does not know his best team!
Milner I feel sorry for he is best suited in a attacking midfield role, Barry..as Maz said, fuck him
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Would you take Milner or Barry back though? I wouldnt take Barry he said way too much, but Milner diddnt kick and stamp his feet, write childish articles in the paper when he diddnt get his way and even scored for us in his last game
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Sometimes a club gets the best years of a player's career and even if they move on to something supposedly bigger and better, they never quite recapture what they had before.
I think that may be the case with Barry. Sure, he's millions of ponds better off - and he may well indeed be part of a squad that achieves Champion's League football - but he played his best football wearing claret and blue.
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I wouldn't take Barry back, not for all the custard sloshing around in those outsize stretch-pants of his. Milner, on the other hand, I'd take back like a shot.
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I dunno, I'd probably take Barry back for the right price (i.e very low). I'd definitely take Milner back (but that won't happen).
Imaine a midfield 5 of: Albrighton - Milner - Barry - Bannan - Ash
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No thanks to Gaz Baz. Sunderland awaits for him.
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Well let's have a non-emotional look at it. Barry's rate of decline was going to be similar wherever he played. So that being the case would you spend your declining years on 50K a week or 100K a week?
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im glad he is failing... dickhead...
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Always said that Barry was too slow, and that we needed more pace in midfield.
I was constantly shot down on here by people who said he was a Villa great.A good footballer when he has the ball, not very good when he does'nt have the ball, his lack of pace exposes the defence to counter attacking team, and he is not a great passer.If you are as slow as Barry, you need to be like Hoddle or Murphy and have a good pass, he has'nt.
Was'nt sorry to see him go, thought he had a good times at Villa, but we needed to move on.
Milner looks a shadow, and it would'nt surprise me if he moved on in the summer.One thing about Milner for me though, he is not an attacking midfielder, he is a defensive midfielder.Would i have him back, depends on how Bannan develops over the rest of the season.Personally i think Bannan will become a very good footballer, not sure Milner will.
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Off topic, but I think you under-estimate MIlner.
He has a phenomenal engine, which means he can play as an attacking midfielder and can track back and defend as needed.
I think he's wasted at Citeh where the team isn't bonding together quickly.
The whole is certainly less than the sum of its parts.
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No way would I want him back, too slow and seems to be regressing.
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I don't mean to disrespect Milner, Tim......i agree with you, he has a good engine, great shot, and good pass.I'm not sure he has the best touch to play as an attacking midfielder though.
I would have loved to have had him and Delph as our 2 holding midfielders, with 23 attacking midfielders.For me both him and Delph have similar qualities, but their overall abilities means you can have them playing as holding midfielders, with , if you like , attacking midfielders qualities.
The potential of Bannan though , has probably meant a reassessment of the system, and clientele.
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Agree with lots of spot-on comments on here. There seems to be a mindset amongst many footballers that if someone offers you more at a 'bigger' (ie richer) club, then you must take it - even if you're already earning more money than you know what to do with. The irony is that agents, whose very existence seems to depend on capitalising on everything around them, manage to convince 'lads' whose main aim in life is to play football to the best of their ability, to cash in without really weighing up the pros and cons. Milner was quickly becoming a truly great central midfielder and ends up at a club with a surfeit of them. I was upset when he left (partly because I thought he was a decent feet-on-the-ground guy) and I'm even more upset now when I think of what he COULD be doing and what he IS doing. Sir Alex was spot on in his comments about agents the other day re Rooney.
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Sometimes a club gets the best years of a player's career and even if they move on to something supposedly bigger and better, they never quite recapture what they had before.
The same happened to Ugo, Southgate, Bosnich and Platt.
Earned shed loads of dosh but they played their best football with us, engineered a move and suddenly they found out that perhaps life at the Villa wasn't as bad as they thought it was.
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He was a very good player for us but I think the move suited us both, our centre midfield was far too slow with him and Petrov in it, he doesn't look particularly athletic and he's always going to be exposed if he's not in tip-top shape as he doesn't seem to be. Mancini seems to be under a bit of pressure to play a more attacking line up and given that he's paid bigger money for both De Jong and Toure, Barry was always going to be the one left out.
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Off topic, but I think you under-estimate MIlner.
He has a phenomenal engine, which means he can play as an attacking midfielder and can track back and defend as needed.
I think he's wasted at Citeh where the team isn't bonding together quickly.
The whole is certainly less than the sum of its parts.
No way would I want him back, too slow and seems to be regressing.
Nor me. Same goes for Barry as far as I am concerned... ;-)
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I would have loved to have had him and Delph as our 2 holding midfielders, with 23 attacking midfielders.
I'm not sure we'd get away with this!
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I'm looking forward to fatface Platt on the dole
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I would have loved to have had him and Delph as our 2 holding midfielders, with 23 attacking midfielders.
I'm not sure we'd get away with this!
Delph would be ruined as a player if he were a holding player. He can really attack, also, he can't tackle.
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Delph would be ruined as a player if he were a holding player. He can really attack, also, he can't tackle.
Agreed, Delph is a box-to-box player. If he learns to tackle (he needs to if he wants to make it in the Premiership) he can maybe fill the Milner-shaped hole in our midfield.
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Barry's problem is that after his move to Citeh, he's tried to be something he's not, especially for England. He now sees himself as an equal to Gerrard and Lampard, getting forward, joining the attack when his strength was keeping it simple at the back of midfield and allowing the more talented players do the attacking. He could do it as he showed countless times for us, going down the left channel. Trying to do the same thing through the middle is a completely different story. He doesn't have the pace to get back, thus the formation of the team collapses.
He's still a very good player but only in a more limited role. Like others, I can see him being offloaded by Citeh in the very near future; if not January, then certainly next summer.
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Sometimes a club gets the best years of a player's career and even if they move on to something supposedly bigger and better, they never quite recapture what they had before.
The same happened to Ugo, Southgate, Bosnich and Platt.
Earned shed loads of dosh but they played their best football with us, engineered a move and suddenly they found out that perhaps life at the Villa wasn't as bad as they thought it was.
Platt won the UEFA Cup, Italian Cup, Premier League and FA Cup once he left us and played for a couple of the biggest teams in the world.
I'm pretty sure he doesn't have too many regrets about going.
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Am I alone in not wanting Milner back?
He will be a decent all rounder in midfield (centrally. He is very poor on the wing) but the talk on here from some of him being the new Lampard or Gerrard was totally ludicrous. A good, solid, hard working player but without the flair or ability to be on that kind of level. In my view he was just about at his level with us. Not quite good enough to be a star in a top four side but good enough to be one for us. Even then I'd like someone a bit more like Ireland at his best in that position for us.
The reason I don't want Milner back is simple. Bannan, Delph, Gary Gardner and Ireland are all good players in a not too different position. Now Milner now is a better player but why do we need another player in that position? Like GHou said of Owen it has no point, it is pointless. If Bannan, Delph and Gardner amount to even half their current potential (which I must say is by no means guaranteed) they would be twice the player and that is before we think of Ireland. We need a hard bastard in midfield. A holding midfielder who would deal out the short passes and the uncompromising tackles. Sort of a Petrov-Coker if we could find one. Milner won't be that. It would not be good for us (he won't really excel in that role) and it won't be good for him (he has the potential to perform a much broader role). On top of that we also have NRC, Petrov (once fit) and Pires as short term options. We have no need for another all rounder/attacking midfielder.
I also don't get this argument that Milner is better than Barry because he didn't stamp his feet. At the end of the day Barry played for Villa for 12 years and though admittedly he came close to leaving on a few occasions he still had a long stint. Why does Milner deserve more respect for what? Six months good form after a poor start?
In all honesty I don't really care about either of them. They don't play for a team I support and neither of them are what we need in terms of players. OK there is now an element of wanting them and the City 'project' to fail but other than that it's just numbness and I reckon in five years I'll have forgotten about both of them.
For Barry it is only going one way. Out the Man City door to Sunderland, Newcastle or maybe Fulham. Okay he might stick out and keep getting his fat wad. It is not promising for him.
For Milner, it is going to go one of two ways. Either he will get a go in Centre midfield or he will be sold WHEN (No ifs) Mancini gets sacked and end up somewhere like Liverpool. There is no guarantee of him fulfilling his potential as a central midfielder but for his sake I hope he gets a go there rather than on the wing or as a second striker.
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A good, solid, hard working player but without the flair or ability to be on that kind of level.
Which was said about Lampard at a similar age.
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Milner would have been a hell of a lot better in our side than City's. He was and would be the focal point, and GH would have moulded him into the Gerard role IMO.
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I never understood people worrying when Barry left and thinking we'd miss him, he's overweight, he's slow, he's one paced and one dimensional and he doesn't take the game by the scruff of the neck. He's a left footed Petrov and our midfield got overrun almost every game when they played together. He'll win fuck all there and he'll soon be replaced by someone younger and better.
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I think James Milner would be fantastic at the heart of the side Gerard is beginning to build - fantastic energy, no little skill, heart of a lion and can score goals. Completely wasted at City out wide, watching Toure, De Jong and Barry passing sideways and backwards all afternoon.
I'm sure his pay packet is softening the blow but he must be looking back with fondness at the role he had and how much the fans loved him here.
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A good, solid, hard working player but without the flair or ability to be on that kind of level.
Which was said about Lampard at a similar age.
Milner doesn't score or set-up as many goals from open play as Lampard did at his age. He has a better engine maybe but technically I think he's lacking, plenty of perspiration but not enough inspiration to be truly top class.
I agree entirely with Sandman. We do miss Milner at the moment but I can never see him being a really top player like Gerrard and Lampard. This time next year when our young lads have come on a bit more and Ireland is flying we'll be better off.
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They seem to get their heads turned when they play for England. Once they get a regular nod from the manager they seem to need to be playing for the richest or the most popular(in the eyes of the press).
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Has fat baz's arse got any bigger whilst he's been warming the bench?
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Delph would be ruined as a player if he were a holding player. He can really attack, also, he can't tackle.
Agreed, Delph is a box-to-box player. If he learns to tackle (he needs to if he wants to make it in the Premiership) he can maybe fill the Milner-shaped hole in our midfield.
Paul Scholes seems to have done ok. I don't think his ability to tackle will decide whether he is a success or not.
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i think we will see the best of delph under gary mcallister... he knows his best position from his leeds days, and he was never used as a defensive midfielder...
his tenacity and love of a tackle will serve him well in the attacking role, next to a proper holding midfielder... hopefully one with pace, a good touch and passing ability...
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Sometimes a club gets the best years of a player's career and even if they move on to something supposedly bigger and better, they never quite recapture what they had before.
The same happened to Ugo, Southgate, Bosnich and Platt.
Earned shed loads of dosh but they played their best football with us, engineered a move and suddenly they found out that perhaps life at the Villa wasn't as bad as they thought it was.
Platt won the UEFA Cup, Italian Cup, Premier League and FA Cup once he left us and played for a couple of the biggest teams in the world.
I'm pretty sure he doesn't have too many regrets about going.
What I meant was he played his best football with us. Wasn't a regular firt team player at Arsenal.
GB may well win a medal with Citeh but if he's watching from the bench how much satisfaction will it give him.
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Nothing really against Barry.
The News of the World article was bad judgement, but he came back from that and gave us a decent final season.
Milner gave us a decent final game.
None of them rank higher for me, from the moment they said they wanted out (though Milner was canny enough to never actually say that in so many words -at least not in public) they were dead to me.
With Custardpants there was at least a suggestion that he was torn on the issue, and at various stages he seemed to be wavering.
With Milner, pretty much as soon as Citeh's interest was reported there was never a suggestion that he might remain, that he'd at least give it a shot for another year to see if we could match up to his ambitions. He wanted out and that was that.
Barry was the classier player, the best player we've had since McGrath in making the game look easy at times. Milner was always more about endeavour and workrate. I'd probably take the latter back if he was ever available, purely from an age point of view.
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A good, solid, hard working player but without the flair or ability to be on that kind of level.
Which was said about Lampard at a similar age.
Milner doesn't score or set-up as many goals from open play as Lampard did at his age. He has a better engine maybe but technically I think he's lacking, plenty of perspiration but not enough inspiration to be truly top class.
Without wanting to be confrontational, it's always worth just looking something up before claiming it as being true.
Last year Milner was 23 and scored twelve goals for us. In the season Lampard turned 23 he scored nine goals.
Maybe their birthdays correlate badly and the season you're referring to happened the year after, when Lampard turned 24. In which he scored seven goals.
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Gareth Barry was one of the best Aston Villa players over the last ten years. To suggest otherwise is ridiculous. Capello, Mancini and Benitez seemed to have an opinion that he could be a holding midfielder when in fact any Villa supporter could have told them he was nothing of the sort. He was at his best as an attacking midfielder for us, great man to burst into the box with a header and a very creative player. Remember him in that game against Ajax he was superb. Very good on the ball and used link with Ashley Young very well. But he couldnt tackle for shit, wasnt athletic so I dont really understand how three top managers have got it so wrong about him. MON's decision to switch from the successful three man midfield that season to bringing in Heskey with Petrov and Barry in the centre was disastrous. Barry and Petrov was the slowest midfield in the league.
But we sold him at the right time. His best days were over, as a clever guy maybe he knew that himself and wanted to cash out at City who knows. I certainly wouldnt hold it against him.
Milner on the other hand was stupid. He is an average wide player simply put. He could have stayed at Villa and kept developing as a centre midfielder. When I see him at City now struggling out wide I cant help thinking that getting 24m for him was one of the deals of the decade. I know he will become a very wealthy man out of his stint at City but same as SWP, Sidwell or countless others going somewhere for money often doesnt turn out too well. Those two have never recovered their form and are now joke players. Does it really make a difference if you are on 60k or 80k a week. Surely playing in your best position for a club that respects you counts for something too.
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Not sure I would pay £26 million for Milner.... good riddance to both of them. Milner wanted out of here quick when he heard about shitty , Barry was becoming a tank without a driver.... Onwards and forward with Houlier...
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well, if he's willing to drop down and go backwards about ten places in the premier league (from Champions League position to lower half), then there's a midfield spot for him at Villa.
Him and Milner represent about 30 million of midfield talent that has left
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Judging by this afternoon's performance at least, it would appear that reports of his demise were somewhat exaggerated.
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Indeed.
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Barry's problem is that after his move to Citeh, he's tried to be something he's not, especially for England. He now sees himself as an equal to Gerrard and Lampard, getting forward, joining the attack when his strength was keeping it simple at the back of midfield and allowing the more talented players do the attacking. He could do it as he showed countless times for us, going down the left channel. Trying to do the same thing through the middle is a completely different story. He doesn't have the pace to get back, thus the formation of the team collapses.
I think you've hit the nail on the head there Mark.
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Reading this thread has made me wonder about the merits of both Milner and Barry. I agree with most on here that Milner is/will be a better CM than Barry, yet MON/Mancini and Cappello all seem to think otherwise constantly picking Barry ahead of Milner for the CM spot.
Why is this? I know all three are hardly flavour of the month but they're not all bad managers...
For me, I'd have Milner back in flash. I'd play a 433 with the midfield being something like Milner / Bannan / Delph (maybe in a year or two anyway). The energy and industry of those three would mean that the front three would hardly ever have to track back. They're good passers too, so the creativity is there in abundance.
Shame it will never happen.
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Barry's strength is keeping things ticking over, while more adventurous attacking midfielders like Gerrad do their stuff. It's been shown time and time again that playing two attacking midfielders like Gerrard and Lampard doesn't work, so Barry would be better concentrating on what he's good at, and staying ahead of the likes of Carrick in the England pecking order.
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That's why I was happy to see us sell Barry: I knew he wouldn't get any better. Milner, on the other hand, probably will - if he's played in his best position.
Personally, I think City should drop Barry and play Milner CM with Toure and De Jong just behind him, Silva and Johnson wide. But then they pay someone else millions to make those decisions, I shouldn't be sorting out their problems for free...
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Serves the fat ****** right.
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Barry was the classier player, the best player we've had since McGrath in making the game look easy at times.
Woah! Easy.
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Stayed in Manchester last night, lift door opens and who steps in. In his Citeh track suit
Me ah Good Evening Mr Barry
GB Oh yeh hiya mate.
Me I am an Aston Villa supporter,
Oh fuck is written clearly across his face
GB you did us a favour Sunday.
Me are you playing tonight?
GB Dunno just going down to find out.
Me Good luck
GB yeh thnks mate.
Only 3 floors but there you go
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Just in note of this thread title - and it may have been said - but Barry doesn't go anywhere fast anymore.
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Not just Barry Milner is also fading as an international player. Shame!
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He's been shite this season so got very lucky getting a winners medal at last.
I'm fairly confident though he'll be watching his beloved champions league from the bench next season.
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There's a killing to be made on the after-dinner circuit for people with dynamite anecdotes like that.
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Stayed in Manchester last night, lift door opens and who steps in. In his Citeh track suit
Me ah Good Evening Mr Barry
GB Oh yeh hiya mate.
Me I am an Aston Villa supporter,
Oh fuck is written clearly across his face
GB you did us a favour Sunday.
Me are you playing tonight?
GB Dunno just going down to find out.
Me Good luck
GB yeh thnks mate.
Only 3 floors but there you go
;D
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Did barry play in the fa cup final (I have forgotten already).
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Had a look at Soccerbase.com for Gareth Barry stats
2010-11 - League 30(2) 2 FA Cup 4(3) 0 League Cup 0(0) 0 UEFA Cup 7(0) 0
2009-10 - League 34(0) 2 FA Cup 2(1) 0 League Cup 6(0) 1 UEFA Cup 0(0) 0
Total - 64(2) 4 goals in league 19(4) Cups and 1 goals
So look like he had not missed much action and won FA Cup medal and played in Final.
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Did barry play in the fa cup final (I have forgotten already).
No, for the same reason why he didn't take the penalty...
*Yes, he did play. Was substituted in the second half.
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Fair play to him as I suppose it somewhat justifies his decision to leave Villa (through gritted teeth).
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Had a look at Soccerbase.com for Gareth Barry stats
2010-11 - League 30(2) 2 FA Cup 4(3) 0 League Cup 0(0) 0 UEFA Cup 7(0) 0
2009-10 - League 34(0) 2 FA Cup 2(1) 0 League Cup 6(0) 1 UEFA Cup 0(0) 0
Total - 64(2) 4 goals in league 19(4) Cups and 1 goals
So look like he had not missed much action and won FA Cup medal and played in Final.
and thoroughly disimproved as a player in the same time. Thems the breaks I suppose.
His best position was supporting Gabby, then MON went out bought Heskey changed the formation around and we slumped. Thought we were really on the march as a club then, remember this http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/aston_villa/article5003996.ece
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I suppose it is largely irrelevant now but I always thought Barry's best position was as a holding midfielder, quarterback type as it meant he did not have to run around as much. In his last season for us he pretty much abandoned his defensive duties* and, for me, burnt his bridges with villa.
Ironically he then went on to play for city and england as a defensive midfielder. Weird.
* craven cottage being the prime example, where I watched petrov running his (slow) ass off whilst barry stood with his hands on his hips virtually playing as a striker.
Fast forward a few years and we now have young demanding to play as a number 10.
Maybe sometimes it's just better to let them go on their terms (and get the maximum $$$$ for them).
Rant over.
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I suppose it is largely irrelevant now but I always thought Barry's best position was as a holding midfielder, quarterback type as it meant he did not have to run around as much. In his last season for us he pretty much abandoned his defensive duties* and, for me, burnt his bridges with villa.
Ironically he then went on to play for city and england as a defensive midfielder. Weird.
* craven cottage being the prime example, where I watched petrov running his (slow) ass off whilst barry stood with his hands on his hips virtually playing as a striker.
Fast forward a few years and we now have young demanding to play as a number 10.
Maybe sometimes it's just better to let them go on their terms (and get the maximum $$$$ for them).
Rant over.
Barry was fantastic when he first burst into the first team on the left side of a three man central defence. He looked the real deal and still only a teenager. It's a shame that formation got sussed. It was very entertaining initially.
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If Gareth Barry plays tonight he will have broken Ryan Giggs record of most appearances as an outfield player in the Premier League, fair play to him for that achievement. I was at Sheffield Wednesday in 1998 when he came on as a sub in a game Villa cruised to victory to make his debut and looked a class player then.
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And to break the record plying his trade in a tiny penis hoofball soccer-wrestle match, fantastic, what a way to end your career.
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Well, at least it gets a ManUre twat off the books.
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Well, at least it gets a ManUre twat off the books.
Agreed but rest assured that he will be known as "Former Man City / Everton" Gareth Barry
365 for us in all comps
267 for all other combined - think that makes him "ours"
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I've always liked him top player I wish we still had him playing for us.
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He seemed to go from being ignored by England to crucial to England and then back to ignored again relatively quickly. I always thought he gave balance to the infamous England midfield that couldn't play together.
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I just wish that he hadn't tried to manufacture a move to Liverpool. I'll appreciate all that he did, and yes still consider him more Villa than anything but that wasn't a good episode in his time with us. Much like Benteke in that regard, brilliant for us but there is a stain that can't be removed.
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If Gareth Barry plays tonight he will have broken Ryan Giggs record of most appearances as an outfield player in the Premier League, fair play to him for that achievement. I was at Sheffield Wednesday in 1998 when he came on as a sub in a game Villa cruised to victory to make his debut and looked a class player then.
I was at Hillsborough for that game too and i was immediately impressed.
IIRC we won 1-0 so i didnt feel we cruised to victory. I do recall a great away following and chants of "Bozzie is a porn star" after some video shenanigans he had with Yorke and some lapdancers.
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If Gareth Barry plays tonight he will have broken Ryan Giggs record of most appearances as an outfield player in the Premier League, fair play to him for that achievement. I was at Sheffield Wednesday in 1998 when he came on as a sub in a game Villa cruised to victory to make his debut and looked a class player then.
I was at Hillsborough for that game too and i was immediately impressed.
IIRC we won 1-0 so i didnt feel we cruised to victory. I do recall a great away following and chants of "Bozzie is a porn star" after some video shenanigans he had with Yorke and some lapdancers.
I
It was Yorke, Bosnich and one travel agent called Rachel who my wife happened to know.
I met her once and she was smoking hot to be fair.
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I just wish that he hadn't tried to manufacture a move to Liverpool. I'll appreciate all that he did, and yes still consider him more Villa than anything but that wasn't a good episode in his time with us. Much like Benteke in that regard, brilliant for us but there is a stain that can't be removed.
There’s no stain as far as I’m concerned, just a disappointed he left, but of course he justified his move when he won the League and FA Cup. As for him engineering a move, well isn’t every single transfer “engineered” by someone or another along the line?
Basically he was at the club from his 16th birthday so when he left it hurt, so maybe that’s the real reason there’s still a bit of bad feeling with some Villa fans. Not from me though, because he was a class act in a Villa shirt and a perfect professional. A terrific player and a Villa man.
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I wouldn't know him if he stood on Brighton beach with a seagull on his head, which, would probably be more fun than "playing" for Sandwell under Pullis.
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One of the few latter day players I do actually consider a bit of a Villa legend
Wonderful player
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Was lucky enough to have a season ticket when he came through as a lad. Looked class from the start, always had time on the ball. Was pissed me off most about his career was that he only got the recognition after he left us.
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Reading the above comments about the wednesday game and the chants of bozzie is a porn star reminded me that I actually went to that game but have no recollection of Barry coming on as a sub.
Joachim scored the only goal of the game IIRC.
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One of the few latter day players I do actually consider a bit of a Villa legend
Wonderful player
Agreed.
We were chatting about him on Saturday, and he really is top quality.
How he could blot his copybook by turning out for the Stripeys though is really galling.
I suppose even Gaz Baz has his price.
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Hell of an achievement well done to him, a top Villa man in my opinion.
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If Gareth Barry plays tonight he will have broken Ryan Giggs record of most appearances as an outfield player in the Premier League, fair play to him for that achievement. I was at Sheffield Wednesday in 1998 when he came on as a sub in a game Villa cruised to victory to make his debut and looked a class player then.
I was at Hillsborough for that game too and i was immediately impressed.
IIRC we won 1-0 so i didnt feel we cruised to victory. I do recall a great away following and chants of "Bozzie is a porn star" after some video shenanigans he had with Yorke and some lapdancers.
I was pretty sure we scored three that day.
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Just found this from Wikipedia: He played his first match for Villa on 2 May 1998, a 3–1 win at Sheffield Wednesday, as a 49th-minute substitute for Ian Taylor.
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only 13 clubs have played more Premier league games than GazBaz
He also has more premier league wins than Southampton
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Fair play to old custard pants. That is an impressive stat to break.
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Congratulations to him. I wish he'd played even more games for us.
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One of the few latter day players I do actually consider a bit of a Villa legend
Wonderful player
Agreed.
We were chatting about him on Saturday, and he really is top quality.
How he could blot his copybook by turning out for the Stripeys though is really galling.
I suppose even Gaz Baz has his price.
This.
Never begrudged him leaving - he'd given us plenty of his career - and I'd even forgive him the Liverpool bleating the year before. But signing for the Bitters. Desperate.
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One of the few latter day players I do actually consider a bit of a Villa legend
Wonderful player
Agreed.
We were chatting about him on Saturday, and he really is top quality.
How he could blot his copybook by turning out for the Stripeys though is really galling.
I suppose even Gaz Baz has his price.
This.
Never begrudged him leaving - he'd given us plenty of his career - and I'd even forgive him the Liverpool bleating the year before. But signing for the Bitters. Desperate.
There is nothing wrong with him taking a step down and winding the tail end of his career down at Albion. There is a lot of history regarding Liverpool players doing the same at Tranmere, West Ham/Southend, Celtic/Clyde, Sunderland/Darlington etc.
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Barry deserves his time in the limelight, his achievements have been ignored for too long and the image of him being left for dead by Ozil in 2012 overshadows his career to an extent.
It actually annoys me that all the recent press has concentrated on how 'functional' to the detriment of his talent. When he played with Petrov and had the license to get forward, he was a creative force and great all round midfielder. Like Milner, he had to adapt to a more specific role when he went to Man City, and did it well. In no way was he just a meat and potatoes player though, he's skillful and a good finisher (as evidenced by his penalty taking record).
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Well done to him. It was a sad day when he left. One of our best players realising he had to leave to win trophies. I also see it as the beginning of the end of the champions league ambitions. Remember us all wondering who we'd replace him with? I think the answer turned out to be nobody.
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I just wish that he hadn't tried to manufacture a move to Liverpool. I'll appreciate all that he did, and yes still consider him more Villa than anything but that wasn't a good episode in his time with us. Much like Benteke in that regard, brilliant for us but there is a stain that can't be removed.
There’s no stain as far as I’m concerned, just a disappointed he left, but of course he justified his move when he won the League and FA Cup. As for him engineering a move, well isn’t every single transfer “engineered” by someone or another along the line?
Basically he was at the club from his 16th birthday so when he left it hurt, so maybe that’s the real reason there’s still a bit of bad feeling with some Villa fans. Not from me though, because he was a class act in a Villa shirt and a perfect professional. A terrific player and a Villa man.
Spot on, SH.
He is a Villa legend, in the sense that he played his games for us at a time when we were starting our descent into the current trough; pretty much uncomplainingly and with high personal standards.
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Great Achievement for someone who I think is underrated in the football world, except for the fans who have witnessed him perform week in week out.
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Barry deserves his time in the limelight, his achievements have been ignored for too long and the image of him being left for dead by Ozil in 2012 overshadows his career to an extent.
It actually annoys me that all the recent press has concentrated on how 'functional' to the detriment of his talent. When he played with Petrov and had the license to get forward, he was a creative force and great all round midfielder. Like Milner, he had to adapt to a more specific role when he went to Man City, and did it well. In no way was he just a meat and potatoes player though, he's skillful and a good finisher (as evidenced by his penalty taking record).
So why didn't he take the one at Arsenal?
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Barry is fantastic on the ball, one of the most composed players we've ever had. If he'd had a bit of pace he'd have got 100 England caps I reckon. Was very good at picking out Michael Owen's runs for England in a few games. I suppose he was unlucky to be playing when the so called golden generation were dominating the England midfield and failing to live up to their promise.
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Think he deserves a better thread title. Especially on here. Any chance mods?
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He must have been overjoyed the day that Giggs packed in playing.
He must have thought, barring injury, i'll smash his record.
I doubt his ultimate games played will be broken.
Hats off to you Mr Barry, i hope you score tonight.
#633
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It's just sad he couldn't have success at the Villa. Massive achievement.
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Just found this from Wikipedia: He played his first match for Villa on 2 May 1998, a 3–1 win at Sheffield Wednesday, as a 49th-minute substitute for Ian Taylor.
My bad. I thought we were all referring to the 1-0 at Wednesday's that August.
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Barry deserves his time in the limelight, his achievements have been ignored for too long and the image of him being left for dead by Ozil in 2012 overshadows his career to an extent.
It actually annoys me that all the recent press has concentrated on how 'functional' to the detriment of his talent. When he played with Petrov and had the license to get forward, he was a creative force and great all round midfielder. Like Milner, he had to adapt to a more specific role when he went to Man City, and did it well. In no way was he just a meat and potatoes player though, he's skillful and a good finisher (as evidenced by his penalty taking record).
Had his best year with us as an attacking midfielder, the year we nearly made the breakthrough. Remember him dominating a home game v Ajax who had the likes of Suarez and Vermaelen at the time. Alas MON bought Heskey in Jan, went with Petrov and Barry as a two and predictably we ran out of legs
A genuine quality player on some very poor Villa sides. Combined superbly with Ashley Young particularly. Outstanding at City and Everton. His professionalism puts so many in the shade. We should have moved heaven and earth to resigning him when he left City.
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Barry deserves his time in the limelight, his achievements have been ignored for too long and the image of him being left for dead by Ozil in 2012 overshadows his career to an extent.
It actually annoys me that all the recent press has concentrated on how 'functional' to the detriment of his talent. When he played with Petrov and had the license to get forward, he was a creative force and great all round midfielder. Like Milner, he had to adapt to a more specific role when he went to Man City, and did it well. In no way was he just a meat and potatoes player though, he's skillful and a good finisher (as evidenced by his penalty taking record).
Had his best year with us as an attacking midfielder, the year we nearly made the breakthrough. Remember him dominating a home game v Ajax who had the likes of Suarez and Vermaelen at the time. Alas MON bought Heskey in Jan, went with Petrov and Barry as a two and predictably we ran out of legs
A genuine quality player on some very poor Villa sides. Combined superbly with Ashley Young particularly. Outstanding at City and Everton. His professionalism puts so many in the shade. We should have moved heaven and earth to resigning him when he left City.
He played in some very good Villa teams as well and he was also outstanding in a Villa shirt.
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Fantastic achievement. Shame he plays for them but that seems up our decline over last 5 years. I'm sure he'd have preferred to have come back here if we were a premier league team still.
He's had a ridiculously good fitness record. In 20 years as a pro think that injury he had just before the 2010 world cup was the longest he's been injured for which is incredible.
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Well done to him. It was a sad day when he left. One of our best players realising he had to leave to win trophies. I also see it as the beginning of the end of the champions league ambitions. Remember us all wondering who we'd replace him with? I think the answer turned out to be nobody.
Milner was terrific that season when he moved centrally. I think Stan appreciated his amazing workrate so he could just sit infront of the back four and distribute.
As good as Petrov-Barry combination was at passing the ball early it was two one paced when we faced another top 6 team in those seasons especially as we were usually playing 4-4-2.
It all fell apart when Milner left.
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Eh good luck to him. Selfish of me I know but whenever I see him or Milner or Young play I just cant help thinking.... "what if?" Its not their problem of course, they each made the right move for their careers.
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Just found this from Wikipedia: He played his first match for Villa on 2 May 1998, a 3–1 win at Sheffield Wednesday, as a 49th-minute substitute for Ian Taylor.
My bad. I thought we were all referring to the 1-0 at Wednesday's that August.
Nah, spring '98, Hendrie/Yorke/Joachim with Savo and Collymore in and around causing absolute havoc to most teams. Liquid football, nine out of eleven wins, most in very impressive style like the win at Wednesday. The season coming to an end meant the momentum stopped, losing Yorke after a saga that lasted all summer and Gregory becoming more pragmatic was the death of that exciting football even if we were top of the table as late as Jan'99.
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I just wish that he hadn't tried to manufacture a move to Liverpool. I'll appreciate all that he did, and yes still consider him more Villa than anything but that wasn't a good episode in his time with us. Much like Benteke in that regard, brilliant for us but there is a stain that can't be removed.
There’s no stain as far as I’m concerned, just a disappointed he left, but of course he justified his move when he won the League and FA Cup. As for him engineering a move, well isn’t every single transfer “engineered” by someone or another along the line?
Basically he was at the club from his 16th birthday so when he left it hurt, so maybe that’s the real reason there’s still a bit of bad feeling with some Villa fans. Not from me though, because he was a class act in a Villa shirt and a perfect professional. A terrific player and a Villa man.
they do say time heals. My point is the move to Liverpool was as overt as it got. He made it very clear he wanted out. Even had that roach Gerrard advocating for the move very publicly. That he came back to be as influential as he was is absolutely down to how very good and professional he was. But it wasn't good what he did and it shouldn't be dismissed IMO.
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I'm glad his record breaking match was a win.
One of my favourite Villa players, ever.
Well done, Gareth Barry.
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I'm glad his record breaking match was a win.
One of my favourite Villa players, ever.
Well done, Gareth Barry.
This. Love Barry. Of course, loved him more when he was at Villa.
What are some of your favourite Barry moments in a Villa shirt?
Mine would be his outstanding strike against Spurs in October 2006. Not long after Angel had missed a penalty and scored an own goal in front of the Holte.
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I'm glad his record breaking match was a win.
One of my favourite Villa players, ever.
Well done, Gareth Barry.
This. Love Barry. Of course, loved him more when he was at Villa.
What are some of your favourite Barry moments in a Villa shirt?
Mine would be his outstanding strike against Spurs in October 2006. Not long after Angel had missed a penalty and scored an own goal in front of the Holte.
I seem to recall a game vs Bolton where he scored two and set up two others
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I know it's a bit out there, but I liked the calm professionalism with which he broke up the fight between Bowyer and Dyer!
And the moments already posted :)
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How many times did he try to orchestrate a move again? Was it just the three?
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How many times did he try to orchestrate a move again? Was it just the three?
Not bad in 10 years service.
Benteke managed that in about 18 months. What do you think of him? ;-)
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One of the 3 players that elevated a decent MON side into possible CL contenders. Never replaced properly, and like Young and Milner, I never blamed him for wanting to leave - you take your chance to improve yourself career or money wise, and i don't think he'll have many regrets looking back, once he realised Villa were going nowhere but downhill.
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Outstanding achievement, well done Barry. Wonderful player for us it's just a piggy we never met his ambitions at the time. One of our best but also one of the most consistently good players in the last 40 years.
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Excellent player.
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I can't remember where I read this, it was in one of the papers, in the readers comments bit. It was in the last two days.
One guy put, he was a Southampton fan so had no loyalty or Axe to grind. well the gist of it was I have no stories about Barry. That's how good he was, you never heard about him unless it was to do with football.
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A very good footballer. Mostly for Villa.
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How many times did he try to orchestrate a move again? Was it just the three?
Not bad in 10 years service.
Benteke managed that in about 18 months. What do you think of him? ;-)
A bit of a twat who I wouldn't take back. Good footballer.
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A professional in every sense of the word. Always applied himself and got the absolute maximum out of whatever natural ability he had been given.
The likes of Milner, Southgate, Saunders, Platt, Barry are all good players who have had great careers.
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How many times did he try to orchestrate a move again? Was it just the three?
Not bad in 10 years service.
Benteke managed that in about 18 months. What do you think of him? ;-)
A bit of a twat who I wouldn't take back. Good footballer.
I think there’s a lot of players that could be described as twats over the years but Gareth Barry isn’t one of them.
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I didn't much like the way he went about trying to get away but it's a fantastic achievement and he's a very decent footballer so fair play to him.
I saw his debut up at Sheffield Wednesday as well and for some reason, I could have sworn he played from the start but he was excellent, even at that age.
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Fair play to Gareth, always had a soft spot for him and always look out for his performances. As a previous poster commented, he gave England the balance they needed and was criminally overlooked for England for so long. Good luck to him, hope he can carry on playing for as long as possible, even for them. I noticed on the BBC News text feed last night a Brighton fan commenting, that it took them twenty years to catch him up, fair play to them too.
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I recall his breakthrough for England, not to be confused with his debut and early games. I can't remember the opposition or the manager at the time , Cappello? But I believe he only got in due to injuries to other less players, a story similar to that of Platt, Hodge and other similar players who always seemed to be overlooked in favour of the current managers' favourites.
Barry controlled midfield from start to finish marked by the commentator highlighting his first misplaced pass which occurred during stoppage time. I also recall the same commentator being amazed at just how good Barry was, something we'd known for a few years by that time. He became a mainstay of the England midfield for a long time after that.
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loved GB
gutted he left but gave brilliant service for a long time
was in some kind of deal with micheal standing . I cant remember what the deal one but GB was an absolute bargain.
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A true Pro. Very underrated I think. Even when he wanted a move from Villa he still gave us everything on the pitch. He's been a great servent for which ever club he's played. Its been a great career. And I'm really happy for GB. Expect him to keep the record for sometime too.
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I recall his breakthrough for England, not to be confused with his debut and early games. I can't remember the opposition or the manager at the time , Cappello? But I believe he only got in due to injuries to other less players, a story similar to that of Platt, Hodge and other similar players who always seemed to be overlooked in favour of the current managers' favourites.
Barry controlled midfield from start to finish marked by the commentator highlighting his first misplaced pass which occurred during stoppage time. I also recall the same commentator being amazed at just how good Barry was, something we'd known for a few years by that time. He became a mainstay of the England midfield for a long time after that.
It was v Israel and Lampard was either injured or suspended. It was a canter to a 3.0 win under McLaren and there weren't many of them. They'd struggled to 0.0 six months earlier. He carried the midfield so no surprise Gerrard wanted him at 'The Mighty Reds YNWA' thereafter
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Watching BBC Breakfast this morning they were talking about GB breaking the record.
Firstly the sports presenter (forget her name) announced that he'd broken the record playing "mostly for Aston Villa" at which point Dan Walker chipped in with "and Everton". Then when the sports presenter mentioned how many goals he'd scored "almost all in an Aston Villa shirt" Walker again chipped in to point out that GB should be 2nd in the list because Giggs made his debut before the formation of the Premier League so has more top flight appearances.
And they say there's no anti-Birmingham bias at the BBC.
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GB should be 2nd in the list because Giggs made his debut before the formation of the Premier League so has more top flight appearances.
Funny how that parameter was not mentioned when the English / Welsh, womanising, eyes to close together to be trusted (says my Mom) United wanker was the record holder
So if that is the gauge - then its Peter Shilton with 800+ games in top flight - you know the Goalie that played for Midlands clubs
No bias at all
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On Fox sports over here the female reporter renamed him Gareth Bale.
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loved GB
gutted he left but gave brilliant service for a long time
was in some kind of deal with micheal standing . I cant remember what the deal one but GB was an absolute bargain.
My recollection is that he 'burst' on to the scene, had a bit of a dip over a few seasons in the 2000's, but then really came to the fore when O'Neill arrived. He gave a masterclass at Villa Park a couple of seasons ago in a holding midfield role for Everton. One of the long list of 'if only' statements from that time:
'if only Lerner hadn't lost the plot'
'if only we had been able to keep Barry, Milner, Ash Young etc.'
'if only Laursen and Bouma hadn't been injured'
Etc.
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GB should be 2nd in the list because Giggs made his debut before the formation of the Premier League so has more top flight appearances.
Funny how that parameter was not mentioned when the English / Welsh, womanising, eyes to close together to be trusted (says my Mom) United wanker was the record holder
So if that is the gauge - then its Peter Shilton with 800+ games in top flight - you know the Goalie that played for Midlands clubs
No bias at all
Yes I know the one. That'll be the drunk diving womanising ex midlands goalie.
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loved GB
gutted he left but gave brilliant service for a long time
was in some kind of deal with micheal standing . I cant remember what the deal one but GB was an absolute bargain.
My recollection is that he 'burst' on to the scene, had a bit of a dip over a few seasons in the 2000's, but then really came to the fore when O'Neill arrived. He gave a masterclass at Villa Park a couple of seasons ago in a holding midfield role for Everton. One of the long list of 'if only' statements from that time:
'if only Lerner hadn't lost the plot'
'if only we had been able to keep Barry, Milner, Ash Young etc.'
'if only Laursen and Bouma hadn't been injured'
Etc.
He was great down the left hand side during Sir Graham's season in charge, and continued that form under O'Leary too. But yes, he stepped it up another level when O'Neill moved him inside. A model of consistency in a variety of positions. That his lack of pace didn't stop him excelling in defence, midfield or down the wing says a lot about his other qualities.
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GB should be 2nd in the list because Giggs made his debut before the formation of the Premier League so has more top flight appearances.
Funny how that parameter was not mentioned when the English / Welsh, womanising, eyes to close together to be trusted (says my Mom) United wanker was the record holder
So if that is the gauge - then its Peter Shilton with 800+ games in top flight - you know the Goalie that played for Midlands clubs
No bias at all
Yes I know the one. That'll be the drunk diving womanising ex midlands goalie.
Tina and the Cortina indeed
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I'm sure gigs has about 40 more appearances than gb but wouldn't it be nice to get promoted sign him back and he breaks that record at vp.
don't think his coolness in midfield was ever replaced even though many have tried
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Watching BBC Breakfast this morning they were talking about GB breaking the record.
Firstly the sports presenter (forget her name) announced that he'd broken the record playing "mostly for Aston Villa" at which point Dan Walker chipped in with "and Everton". Then when the sports presenter mentioned how many goals he'd scored "almost all in an Aston Villa shirt" Walker again chipped in to point out that GB should be 2nd in the list because Giggs made his debut before the formation of the Premier League so has more top flight appearances.
And they say there's no anti-Birmingham bias at the BBC.
41 league goals for us, 6 for Man City and 5 for Everton.
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loved GB
gutted he left but gave brilliant service for a long time
was in some kind of deal with micheal standing . I cant remember what the deal one but GB was an absolute bargain.
Michael Standing is now Gareth Barry's agent. Maybe he came as part of the deal to water down a sell on clause. I remember Small Heath buying Wayne Clarke from Wolves and Wolves being entitled to quite a sell on fee. When he left for Everton it was in a 400k deal along with an unknown kid called Stuart Storer. Wolves weren't happy that both players were valued at 200k each in the deal (understandably as it was clearly a way to fudge the clause). Twelve months later Everton quietly let Storer go for nothing.
By coincidence several years later he ended up at Brighton with Standing and Barry.
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Standing was thought to be the better prospect at the time.
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Watching BBC Breakfast this morning they were talking about GB breaking the record.
Firstly the sports presenter (forget her name) announced that he'd broken the record playing "mostly for Aston Villa" at which point Dan Walker chipped in with "and Everton". Then when the sports presenter mentioned how many goals he'd scored "almost all in an Aston Villa shirt" Walker again chipped in to point out that GB should be 2nd in the list because Giggs made his debut before the formation of the Premier League so has more top flight appearances.
And they say there's no anti-Birmingham bias at the BBC.
"Football before the Premier League"? They're lying, it never happened.
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Great player, great bloke. A favourite of mine over the last 45 years. very underrated by the media
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How many times did he try to orchestrate a move again? Was it just the three?
Three times?
I remember he was close to going to Portsmouth in 2006 but that was when we were on our knees in the last days of Ellis owning us so it was more trying to get some cash rather than him trying to force through a move to Pompey.
As soon as Lerner took over he signed a new deal so it was only unable to get to the champions league that meant he moved on which I didn't begrude him at 28 so older than Young and Milner.
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loved GB
gutted he left but gave brilliant service for a long time
was in some kind of deal with micheal standing . I cant remember what the deal one but GB was an absolute bargain.
Didn't Michael Standing become his agent after his own career didn't amount to much.
As wrong as Barry was during summer 2008 given his career I do think the agent he had back then was badly advising him a lot. As I recall he wasn't a big hitter and was sacked after the move collapsed.
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How many times did he try to orchestrate a move again? Was it just the three?
Three times?
I remember he was close to going to Portsmouth in 2006 but that was when we were on our knees in the last days of Ellis owning us so it was more trying to get some cash rather than him trying to force through a move to Pompey.
As soon as Lerner took over he signed a new deal so it was only unable to get to the champions league that meant he moved on which I didn't begrude him at 28 so older than Young and Milner.
Newcastle as well. He wanted to go all 3 times is what I heard back then, doesn't mean it's true of course.
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Well 2006 we looked a team just biding our time before we got relegated. No signings and the Lerner takeover was stalling. At the time Pompey were building an exciting team and would've given him a wage increase.
Never heard the Newcastle link.
He said in one of the interviews yesterday Arsenal came in for him just before he signed for Man. City.
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Great player, underrated.
However, every time I think of that "please let me go and fulfil my dreams at Liverpool" article in the Birmingham Mail, complete with picture of him looking sad, I want to stove his head in and then go round the Mail's offices and throw every sports 'journalist' they have into the fucking canal.
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Well 2006 we looked a team just biding our time before we got relegated. No signings and the Lerner takeover was stalling. At the time Pompey were building an exciting team and would've given him a wage increase.
The link with Portsmouth continued after the takeover, with MON in place.
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Yep, that NOTW has always soured what I think of him. Still a very good player but i'll always think he was a twat for that.
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It was misguided
But he deserved to get the chance and I'm really pleased for him that he went on to win the title
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Official website asking if he is our 'GOAT', which I'm guessing means 'Greatest of All Time'. Not for me, I've been watching from the mid 80's and would have McGrath, Cowans, Platt and Yorke comfortably ahead of him.
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Yep, that NOTW has always soured what I think of him. Still a very good player but i'll always think he was a twat for that.
I still remember reading it. I didn't begrudge him wanting to move on but it was really disappointing and unnecessary.
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It didn't help with Ian Taylor sticking his oar in, but people seem to have mostly forgiven him.
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Official website asking if he is our 'GOAT', which I'm guessing means 'Greatest of All Time'. Not for me, I've been watching from the mid 80's and would have McGrath, Cowans, Platt and Yorke comfortably ahead of him.
Nowhere fucking near.
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Official website asking if he is our 'GOAT', which I'm guessing means 'Greatest of All Time'. Not for me, I've been watching from the mid 80's and would have McGrath, Cowans, Platt and Yorke comfortably ahead of him.
Wouldn't put Platt in that exalted company. Cowans or Mortimer for me during the last 45 years of watching Villa
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Official website asking if he is our 'GOAT', which I'm guessing means 'Greatest of All Time'. Not for me, I've been watching from the mid 80's and would have McGrath, Cowans, Platt and Yorke comfortably ahead of him.
Wouldn't put Platt in that exalted company. Cowans or Mortimer for me during the last 45 years of watching Villa
Platt was f#ckin brilliant in a Villa shirt, better than Yorke (in my opinion). Easily one of our best players of the last 40 years.
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Platt was the type of player that you only truly appreciated when watching live. He was very intelligent, and the Frank Lampard of his era. Tremendous ability to make those runs in the box but in truth a lot more than that. If he played for Man U or Arsenal during that time he'd be a different conversation regarding his status of being a truly outstanding footballer.
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Platt was fantastic for us, almost single-handedly kept us up and we wouldn't have finished anywhere near 2nd without him. Much like Fat Baz, even when he wanted away you couldn't fault him on the pitch.
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Official website asking if he is our 'GOAT', which I'm guessing means 'Greatest of All Time'. Not for me, I've been watching from the mid 80's and would have McGrath, Cowans, Platt and Yorke comfortably ahead of him.
Nowhere fucking near.
add to that Dean Saunders
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Dean 'goaldrought' Saunders shouldn't be anywhere near a converstion like this.
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Agreed.
A limited player who always gave his best.
The way his tongue stuck out was off-putting as well.
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Nobody can dispute Platt surely!
The only villa player in my lifetime who's made a genuinely big impact at a World Cup and in the top league in Europe at the time
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Nobody can dispute Platt surely!
The only villa player in my lifetime who's made a genuinely big impact at a World Cup and in the top league in Europe at the time
Spot on. He was brilliant in a Villa shirt.
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Dean 'goaldrought' Saunders shouldn't be anywhere near a converstion like this.
Would that also be the same Dean 'goal glut - once I get one, I go on a run' Saunders?
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Platt was/is an arse. But a great player for us.
And incredible value, considering we signed him from Crewe for 50p and a bag of pork scratchings, and sold him for £5.5 million. Which could have bought you almost 5 Cantscorinos or two Gordon Duries back then.
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1 God
2 Sid
To be fair Platt is one of the few that could be mentioned alongside the best of the fantastic fourteen.
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I don't get the dissing of Deano, he was bloody good for us and doesn't airbrush us from his past like some of the others lauded.
His signing, and his immediate impact led to the best football I've ever seen us play, and he won us a cup final.
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Aye, he was a big deal at the time. Had gone for a British transfer record the summer previous and joined us for a fee not far off that.
Unlike Collywobbles and some of the other sugarbags, he didn't disappoint. And contributed massively to our second place finish and cup win the following year. He did seem a little less 'nippy' than when he was at Derby, though. But we signed him at 28, so perhaps not that surprising. He made up for it in other ways.
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I'm a bit Deano fan and will gladly just fondly remember all of the good things he did for us above everything else. My favourite ever strike partnership with Dalian and yes I include Withe/Shaw in that too. Some lovely football played and that period looking back was a lot of fun.
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Deano's goal record for us was about one in three. I don't think he ever got that close to 20?
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Platt was/is an arse. But a great player for us.
And incredible value, considering we signed him from Crewe for 50p and a bag of pork scratchings, and sold him for £5.5 million. Which could have bought you almost 5 Cantscorinos or two Gordon Duries back then.
Don't get antiPlatt stuff. He was great for Villa.
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Deano's goal record for us was about one in three. I don't think he ever got that close to 20?
I think that was his career average too. Not too shabby.
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True - but Yorke was a different level
He was head and shoulders above any other striker I've seen play for us
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Deano's goal record for us was about one in three. I don't think he ever got that close to 20?
I think that was his career average too. Not too shabby.
But no world beater.
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True - but Yorke was a different level
He was head and shoulders above any other striker I've seen play for us
Andy Gray, Brian Little, Dalian ...
... for me, Yorke was a great acquisition, a good striker for us and a useful cash earner for us. The others listed were class.
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Before my time
Brian Little's team finished fourth and fifth
I maintain that put someone like Deano in for Yorke and it was probably 8th at best
He was our best player virtually every week
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Platt was/is an arse. But a great player for us.
And incredible value, considering we signed him from Crewe for 50p and a bag of pork scratchings, and sold him for £5.5 million. Which could have bought you almost 5 Cantscorinos or two Gordon Duries back then.
Don't get antiPlatt stuff. He was great for Villa.
I think it’s because he can be a bit aloof and didn’t become a Villa cheerleader say like Ian Taylor has become since he left the club. Mind you Taylor isn’t fit to lace Platt’s boots despite him being a decent player and bloke.
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If anything Saunders going on one of his regular goal droughts cost us the title. 6 in his last 28 appearances that season, 2 in the last 17. He was decent enough but I always thought he flattered to deceive overall here, certainly for a record signing.
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Thanks SH.
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It's because as SH says he rarely mentions us despite it being at us he made his name and probably had his best form. Plus during his last year he was learning Italian as he wanted out, didn't stop him playing very well that season, e kept us up almost single handedly, but muc like Fat Baz and the NOTW interview, it sours a lot of folks memory of him.
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I don't get the dissing of Deano, he was bloody good for us and doesn't airbrush us from his past like some of the others lauded.
His signing, and his immediate impact led to the best football I've ever seen us play, and he won us a cup final.
Seconded. He won the league cup with us (scoring two in the final) and may have won the league with us if Dalian and Froggy had stayed fit alongside him. The three of them were on fire together in the first half of the season.
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Platt was/is an arse. But a great player for us.
And incredible value, considering we signed him from Crewe for 50p and a bag of pork scratchings, and sold him for £5.5 million. Which could have bought you almost 5 Cantscorinos or two Gordon Duries back then.
Don't get antiPlatt stuff. He was great for Villa.
SGT and Villa made him for life and he seems to have totally wiped us from his memory unfortunately. I suppose that's what happens when you end up living in a castle in Italy.
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Platt was/is an arse. But a great player for us.
And incredible value, considering we signed him from Crewe for 50p and a bag of pork scratchings, and sold him for £5.5 million. Which could have bought you almost 5 Cantscorinos or two Gordon Duries back then.
Don't get antiPlatt stuff. He was great for Villa.
SGT and Villa made him for life and he seems to have totally wiped us from his memory unfortunately. I suppose that's what happens when you end up living in a castle in Italy.
I couldn’t care less that he hasn’t become a Villa cheerleader since leaving us. He did his talking on the pitch which where it only matters. I only have good memories of Platt in a Villa shirt. Anything that happened afterwards, I couldn’t care less.
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Getting back to Gareth Barry without doubt one of my favourite Villa players of all time. A legend.
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Getting back to Gareth Barry without doubt one of my favourite Villa players of all time. A legend.
As I always say in these discussions, GazzaBazza gave us the best years of his career and played in a declining squad over several years. He was a fantastic servant in tough times.
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Great honest servant to our great club
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Decent player but don't think he gives us even a passing thought.
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Decent player but don't think he gives us even a passing thought.
I saw an interview with him about breaking the record and he named Villa Park as his favourite ground because of how special it is to him. He also mentioned how he has loads of Villa supporting mates who have been giving him stick about the Stripeys. He was with us for over a decade, I'm sure that he will give us much more than a passing thought when he finally packs in playing.
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Decent player but don't think he gives us even a passing thought.
Well I know that isn’t true because I know some mates of his and he often talks of us. He was also open to coming back to Villa later in his career but obviously that hasn’t happened.
His wife is from Bournville as well, so it’s not like he cut off all links with the area once he left.
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Decent player but don't think he gives us even a passing thought.
I saw an interview with him about breaking the record and he named Villa Park as his favourite ground because of how special it is to him. He also mentioned how he has loads of Villa supporting mates who have been giving him stick about the Stripeys. He was with us for over a decade, I'm sure that he will give us much more than a passing thought when he finally packs in playing.
He made 445 Villa appearances as well. Not many players in our history have played more for us than Barry so I doubt if he never gives us a second thought these days.
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Decent player but don't think he gives us even a passing thought.
That isn't true as in an interview he was asked what is his biggest regret in his career and he answered immediately that it was not winning a trophy with Villa.
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In 50 years of watching football I've never seen any other Villa player at 17 years of age look so completely in place as Barry did when Gregory introduced him.
A Rolls Royce of a footballer if ever there was one, who, but for the lack of natural pace, would have been a top class international too.
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Is this the former Man City and Everton player Gareth Barry?
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Is this the former Man City and Everton player Gareth Barry?
Yeah the same Barry that played 440 games for Aston Villa.
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I can't find it, but I recall earlier in this thread someone (apologies) saying about a dip in form, I think? It wasn't a dip. It was after he'd first been picked for England, and it was like he'd forgotten how to play. For a fan from the first time I saw him, it was heartbreaking to witness. He was, almost always, brilliant. He had that gift of all the greats; he could find time. He won nothing with us, which is disappointing, to say the least, for all parties. From the moment he set foot on Villa Park, we should've built teams around him.
And dipping a toe into the Platt debate, one of his greatest attributes was his total professionalism (his heading was his best). It's something he still demonstrates. True, he never bigs us up, but I've never heard him do otherwise for anyone other than his concurrent employers. To try to compare him to Ian Taylor is ridiculous, they're utterly different animals. A true Saunders 110%er*.
*in no way saying that Ian Taylor wasn't.
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I can't find it, but I recall earlier in this thread someone (apologies) saying about a dip in form, I think? It wasn't a dip. It was after he'd first been picked for England, and it was like he'd forgotten how to play. For a fan from the first time I saw him, it was heartbreaking to witness. He was, almost always, brilliant. He had that gift of all the greats; he could find time. He won nothing with us, which is disappointing, to say the least, for all parties. From the moment he set foot on Villa Park, we should've built teams around him.
And dipping a toe into the Platt debate, one of his greatest attributes was his total professionalism (his heading was his best). It's something he still demonstrates. True, he never bigs us up, but I've never heard him do otherwise for anyone other than his concurrent employers. To try to compare him to Ian Taylor is ridiculous, they're utterly different animals. A true Saunders 110%er*.
*in no way saying that Ian Taylor wasn't.
I would agree with that. Football was a job for Platt and I don't think he fell in love with any club he was at.
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The way that slap-headed moron SGE treated Barry was nothing short of scandalous. He was easily one of the best midfielders in the league at the time, and I was away at Old Trafford when he completely and utterly outplayed David bloody Beckham.
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John 2710, you read my mind!!
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the ‘Rolls Royce of a player’ is a good description of GB
I loved him, i remember coming away from some games thinking just watching him was the only thing worth the entrance fee
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Not 'Custard Pants' anymore?
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Platt was/is an arse. But a great player for us.
And incredible value, considering we signed him from Crewe for 50p and a bag of pork scratchings, and sold him for £5.5 million. Which could have bought you almost 5 Cantscorinos or two Gordon Duries back then.
Don't get antiPlatt stuff. He was great for Villa.
Actual fee was 200k - and SGT was worried he'd overpaid for him
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the ‘Rolls Royce of a player’ is a good description of GB
I loved him, i remember coming away from some games thinking just watching him was the only thing worth the entrance fee
Yes, me too. An excellent, excellent player.
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Retired.
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Platt was/is an arse. But a great player for us.
And incredible value, considering we signed him from Crewe for 50p and a bag of pork scratchings, and sold him for £5.5 million. Which could have bought you almost 5 Cantscorinos or two Gordon Duries back then.
Don't get antiPlatt stuff. He was great for Villa.
Actual fee was 200k - and SGT was worried he'd overpaid for him
I seem to recall SGT's number two Steve Harrison had just left to take over Watford and he knew of SGT/Villa's interest and made a bid himself on Watford's behalf which pushed the price up a bit when Crewe knew they had two keen buyers in Watford and Villa.
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You could see the class Barry had when he broke through and was lucky to be playing at the beginning in a back 5 with some very good players that allowed him to develop. Really found his feat under MON when he was moved to centre midfield and has had a fantastic career. It's a pity he never came back later on, he was just the kind of player we could have done with in the Championship.
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I have said before that football was a job for Platt and he didn't seem to fall in love with any club he was at. He was a top class journeyman. I can't recall him speaking about his time as a youngster at Manure, his time at Crewe, his time at Villa, his time in Italy with Bari, Juventus and Sampdoria, his time at Arsenal where he was a double winner or his time with England which included Italia '90 and Euro '96. He appears to be someone who has no time for nostalgia or sentiment whether it concerns Villa or any shirt he has pulled on over the years so I don't see why we should take it as a slight on Villa or Villa fans.
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He's had a fantastic career, saw him come on as a sub away at Shef Wed many years ago when we were cruising 0-3 up. I beleieve he is the payer who has played under most England managers and currently holds the record for most Premier League appearances.
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Great player for us. Can see him doing well in management.
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Excellent player for us. I like to think McGinn has taken on the mantle of 'huge arse that he sticks into his opponents'.
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Salutes for him, was always slightly underrated I feel.
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A superb player, I can't add anything more.
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One of my favourite ever Villa players, Villa legend.
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Very good player - remember his debut v Champions, didn't look the slightest bit of place
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Class
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A classy player. Was dissapointed he didn't come back once his City adventure was over.
Still, I always thought he conducted himself well both at the club and after he left and he'll always be welcome back as far as I'm concerned.
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Top x10 Player
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One of my favourite ever Villa players, Villa legend.
Legend, no way he could not wait to fuck off.
Good player, legend reserved for the very best.
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One of my favourite ever Villa players, Villa legend.
Legend, no way he could not wait to fuck off.
Good player, legend reserved for the very best.
Agree with that. Brian Little and Paul McGrath are legends. Very good player though he was, Barry doesn't belong in that company.
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I like Gareth Barry he's a decent bloke and a very good player.
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Hi retired when he signed for Smethwick.
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I would agree, not a legend, but a very good player for us.
I wish him well.
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A classy player. Was dissapointed he didn't come back once his City adventure was over.
Still, I always thought he conducted himself well both at the club and after he left and he'll always be welcome back as far as I'm concerned.
We should have gone on out to get him back from City that time. We were in dire need of his leadership in midfield . He did very well at Everton too.
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Gareth was brilliant for us and I think he did very well at Man city early on. Mr Dependable. I would love someone like him in the team now.
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I don’t know what the standard is for Legend status
I presume it’s subjective like most things
but until Grealish came along he was probably the best midfielder I’ve seen in a Villa shirt in the 20 years
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One of our best ever. 441 appearances for the club over 12 years, great left foot, played in quite a few different positions. Let himself down with that News of the World spread though.
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A great player for us. It was a sad day when he realised he had to leave to better himself. That for me is when the champions league dream died.
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I like how it's spun in the media
"Former England and Man city star retires......."
Great servant of the club and a pillar of respect as a long serving player in the top flight. 2 minor indescretions aside (early years DD and even worse playing for the bitters) a very decent role model pro
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When I first witnessed Gareth Barry's ability as a teenager I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He had unbelievable composure and awareness, qualities that are only the right of special players, and he had these as a 16 year old!
He was a wonderful footballer.
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When I first witnessed Gareth Barry's ability as a teenager I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He had unbelievable composure and awareness, qualities that are only the right of special players, and he had these as a 16 year old!
He was a wonderful footballer.
Still one of the best debuts I've seen for Villa, as you say just so composed.
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I like how it's spun in the media
"Former England and Man city star retires......."
Great servant of the club and a pillar of respect as a long serving player in the top flight. 2 minor indescretions aside (early years DD and even worse playing for the bitters) a very decent role model pro
BBC news had the story of him retiring with a picture of him in the Villa acorns kit.
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When I first witnessed Gareth Barry's ability as a teenager I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He had unbelievable composure and awareness, qualities that are only the right of special players, and he had these as a 16 year old!
He was a wonderful footballer.
I believe Barry and Lampard were the u21 Midfield partnership at the time and to think, we were close to having them at ours.
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We gave him his big break in football. He repaid us with 10 years of exemplary service and he is in the all time top ten appearances for us. Made his England debut while representing Villa. Not quite a legend but he deserves to be remembered as a top player for us. I wish him all the best and thank him for playing his part in some memorable occasions.
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Very good player - remember his debut v Champions, didn't look the slightest bit of place
Ugo alert, Ugo alert....
His debut was the week before at Sheff Wed.
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Quality player in a decent period of villas history
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I was at his debut V Sheff Wed. I was convinced he was Welsh.
Cracking player for us and easily one of our best in the last 25 years or more.
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We gave him his big break in football. He repaid us with 10 years of exemplary service and he is in the all time top ten appearances for us. Made his England debut while representing Villa. Not quite a legend but he deserves to be remembered as a top player for us. I wish him all the best and thank him for playing his part in some memorable occasions.
Sums up how I feel as well. 'Legend' status requires a strong emotional bond that I'm not sure Barry ever had, but he was a superb player and absolutely deserves to be remembered as one of our best.
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Quality player. I loved his time with us.
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He gave us the best 11 years of his career. He could hit a pass, had a lovely shot on him and was hard as nails.
He'd be in my all-time favourites 11 top twenty!
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I was at his debut V Sheff Wed. I was convinced he was Welsh.
Cracking player for us and easily one of our best in the last 25 years or more.
Me too, probably the biggest we've took since it's been seated, we were up in that corner bit that's never open.
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Wand of a left foot. One of my favourites over the last 45 years
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He was at his best as the midfield linchpin he became in his later years with us, especially under O'Neill. Quality player.
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Fine player. Had a really good career.
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Fcuk me makes me feel old, I was only 17 myself when I was at that Sheff Wednesday away game last day of the season and it was wow who’s this kid who is playing like he was 28 wii Ugo and Southgate.
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Great player & servant of the club however big his arse was.
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Fantastic passer of the ball. Great player for us, just a shame about all the silly transfer requests. Didn't he nearly join Portsmouth once?
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He had the turning circle of a barge at times but he is definitely in my top 20 of all-time favourite players.
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One of my favourite players of recent times. His departure was the start of the slide and an admission that we could no longer compete.
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Great player & servant of the club however big his arse was.
This.
All the best GB.
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One of my favourite players of recent times. His departure was the start of the slide and an admission that we could no longer compete.
He was more important to us than O'Neill. But nobody noticed at the time.
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Wand of a left foot. One of my favourites over the last 45 years
His right wasn't bad either if his goal at VP against Spurs is anything to go by!
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Class player for us....the year after the infamous NotW article he was superb which only enhanced how good he was in my eyes. Sooo much time on the ball & left foot to die for
Great at breaking up fights too
Let’s not mention ‘the penalty’
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Great player. Should have about 50 more England caps too.
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Okay, I can't believe it, but I've genuinely forgotten why Barry didn't take the penalty, and it's the most embarrassing moment of my life. Anyone care to remind a poor sinner?
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Okay, I can't believe it, but I've genuinely forgotten why Barry didn't take the penalty, and it's the most embarrassing moment of my life. Anyone care to remind a poor sinner?
He got done by a Potential leg breaker by that little ****** Fabregas in the build up So was off the pitch.
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Okay, I can't believe it, but I've genuinely forgotten why Barry didn't take the penalty, and it's the most embarrassing moment of my life. Anyone care to remind a poor sinner?
He got done by a Potential leg breaker by that little ****** Fabregas in the build up So was off the pitch.
Riiiiight yes of course. To he fair, it reminds me to add to all these tributes that he was an exceptional penalty taker.
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I can't even remember the penalty referred to.
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I can't even remember the penalty referred to.
2-0 away win at the Emirates in 07/08 or 8/09 I think, 4-5-1 and we were superb. Young missed the penalty. 4-0 wouldn’t have flattered us.
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I can. He was off the pitch at the time having just been the victim of a very poor tackle.
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I can't even remember the penalty referred to.
2-0 away win at the Emirates in 07/08 or 8/09 I think, 4-5-1 and we were superb. Young missed the penalty. 4-0 wouldn’t have flattered us.
I was there, one of our great away days. Gabby destroyed Gallas the same day. Was living in London at the time, saw us beat Spurs comfortably at WHL too. Dreadful performance at Fulham with GB and Petrov hopeless in a 4 man midfield though I may have mixed up the seasons on that one.
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Ah. I remember Gabby's goal. I also remember a rather undignified comment from a lecturer of mine who had taken great joy the week before, seeing me in my Acorns shirt, in telling me how we were going to "come crashing down to earth at the Emirates".
The following week, I had said absolutely nothing, but he sought me out to tell me how lucky we were and how we didn't play in the 'right spirit'.
I had completely forgotten there was a penalty.
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We looked nailed on for a CL place around then. Think that was the first time MON tried Luke Young at left back. Ashley Young had plenty of gumption about him too, missed pen but still was excellent the same day. Gabby, such a shame really he never truly realised his potential. Something you couldn't say about our midfield general that day and for years, Gareth Barry.
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Wish him all the best. One of the best players we have had at the club over the past couple of decades.
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That was a really good side! Great second goal. Even Curtis Davies looked completely at home in defence.
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I haven't seen too many 17-year-olds play for Villa, and there's only one at that age who was the best player on the pitch by a mile -Gareth Barry v Derby, September 1998.
For those who say, "It was only Derby!", Villa were top that day; Derby were second...
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As a seventeen-year-old, Sid was a bit special too, anyone around at that time will testify to that. In all my years watching the Villa him and Barry are without doubt the two that stand out for me, and I saw a lot.
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As a seventeen-year-old, Sid was a bit special too, anyone around at that time will testify to that. In all my years watching the Villa him and Barry are without doubt the two that stand out for me, and I saw a lot.
I testify! Both Cowans and Barry were outstandingly good; and both gave us great service during their career. Talent + attitude = unbeatable combination.
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He was outrageously composed for a 17 year old, and continued to be throughout his career. Top player.
Didn't himself any favours with the News of the World interview though, and playing the Stripeys.
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As a seventeen-year-old, Sid was a bit special too, anyone around at that time will testify to that. In all my years watching the Villa him and Barry are without doubt the two that stand out for me, and I saw a lot.
Sir Brian wasn’t bad either!
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08r7mfl
Barry talking a bit of his time at Villa with Dion.
Hopefully the start of a decent media career with a little bit bias for us
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He’s actually signed up for Knowle on a “of you desperately need me basis”. Can’t see him every playing but good signing all the same.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08r7mfl
Barry talking a bit of his time at Villa with Dion.
Hopefully the start of a decent media career with a little bit bias for us
Thanks for posting that, mate. I always love listening to Dion, and Barry was class.
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I believe He is signing for Monica Star for this season. They have a some good players. Hendrie and Barry in midfield with Byfield and Luke Rogers up front will take some stopping.
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I believe He is signing for Monica Star for this season. They have a some good players. Hendrie and Barry in midfield with Byfield and Luke Rogers up front will take some stopping.
Crikey!
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Following a long line of ex pro’s in that team
Lee Carsley
Darren Byfield
Kevin Kilbane
Paul Devlin
Petrov played in the over 35’s league as well but not sure for who
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Following a long line of ex pro’s in that team
Lee Carsley
Darren Byfield
Kevin Kilbane
Paul Devlin
Petrov played in the over 35’s league as well but not sure for who
Wychall Wanderers I think.
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Yes Petrov played for Wychall alongside Tommy Mooney and a few other Blues players. My son played Midfield for them.
David Busst was the Manager but they have packed up now.
Some good players in that League.
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That was a really good side! Great second goal. Even Curtis Davies looked completely at home in defence.
Pretty sure that Tarquin Arsenal fan came onto this forum straight after that game complaining they should've got a free kick before the second (which did look one).
Easily one of the best away games I've been to. We had a fantastic record at the Emirates in those times.
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I believe He is signing for Monica Star for this season. They have a some good players. Hendrie and Barry in midfield with Byfield and Luke Rogers up front will take some stopping.
Where do they play? I assume you wouldn't need social distancing watching them in a field in the middle of nowhere.
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Anyone know what the Moore brothers are up to? I'd love for The Athletic to do an article on Luke. It feels that he fell out of love with the game in his early-20's and went through the motions for a few years before disappearing. Such a shame, he had real talent.
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Barry would be a good person to employ within the club. I’d hope he still has a connection with us and we could definitely benefit from harnessing his experience and work ethic, especially with the youth levels.
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I half expected him to be announced as part of our backroom staff when Terry was being linked to the Bristol City job.
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Gareth doing punditry for BT at Burnley v Everton match, saying he had 12 great years at Villa, apparently in a recent poll 92% said he was a Villa legend, should be 100%, but 92% ain't bad.
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Gareth doing punditry for BT at Burnley v Everton match, saying he had 12 great years at Villa, apparently in a recent poll 92% said he was a Villa legend, should be 100%, but 92% ain't bad.
He's lucky to have got to 92% in my mind given that pathetic newspaper interview.
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We all make mistakes. Enough water under the bridge by now. Was a great player for us for a long time.
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Anyone know what the Moore brothers are up to? I'd love for The Athletic to do an article on Luke. It feels that he fell out of love with the game in his early-20's and went through the motions for a few years before disappearing. Such a shame, he had real talent.
Only just seen this Eam, this interview should fill a few of the gaps.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/how-life-turned-out-luke-15919033
As for Barry my hunch is he'll make a really good manager but not sure if he's doing his coaching badges or wants to go into pundit role full time.
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Cheers...Still retains a bit of the enigmatic quality about him. I don't understand his rationale for not turning up for pre-season training at Toronto. Something about being player-traded somewhere else with no say in the matter?
Sounds like he didn't push himself much throughout his 20's but that he's happy enough with his life - he invested in property when he was earning a lot. Between that and working as an agent, it doesn't sound the most stressful life ahead, suits him well I'm sure.
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Good to read that interview about Luke Moore. Sounds like he is happy and content and has no regrets about his career in football, which is good.
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We all make mistakes. Enough water under the bridge by now. Was a great player for us for a long time.
We should not forget that he was a trailblazer in the use of the ample arse technique which SJM has now perfected.
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Did Gazza Bazza use his big arse effectively? I just remember he had one, not that he had a McGinniesta-like trick with it.
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Turns 40 today Happy Birthday Legend
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The best player in Villa's first team -at seventeen!
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Great player for us and remembered with only fondness by me, enjoy your retirement Gareth!
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Class act; one of my top-team picks for the time I have spent watching the Mighty Villa.
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Only 40?! What a life/career.
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That was a really good side! Great second goal. Even Curtis Davies looked completely at home in defence.
That was a nice memory. I remember watching in a pub on a dodgy feed. The connection went down just before Gabby got the 2nd. Lots of "I think we've scored again" to be heard in different quarters of the pub. A great day. Looking at it again and the penalty..how far off the line is the keeper before the kick and he clearly moves befoore the kick too?
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One of my favorite villa players, so consistent and a big influence on the club.
Here's a link to a really good interview with him about his time at villa.
I always hoped he would come back to play for us and judging by the interview he was open to it. He says he always asked his agent if there was any interest from us but didn't get any indication from villa that he was wanted.
Hopefully he'll be back in some capacity in the future.
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"You don't spend 12 years at a club and not care about it. If I'm ever put on the spot and have to choose one of my previous clubs then Aston Villa comes out on top." :)
On 2nd May 1998 Gareth Barry made his debut for Aston Villa .
"That Sheffield Wednesday game, I don’t remember much of the game because you’re running around on nervous energy I came on for Ian Taylor (on 49 minutes), we won the game, and I was delighted at the end of it to have made my debut.
Straight away, I got the taste of it and wanted more. I think there was a little bit of luck along the way. I made my debut in midfield and the week after my first start against Arsenal, I was starting in midfield as well. Ugo got sent off at the Arsenal game, if my memory is right, it was a long time ago now! Then, I had to go back into the defence and then the following season was the David Unsworth story, so things went my way, but in football, when they fall your way, you’ve still got to take the chance. It was sort of about being ready to take it.”
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Strange how memories cloud as the years pass, i will give Barry a Villa legend status as he gave us great service for many years but i also remember the many lard arse and too slow comments before he left, went on to give good value at other clubs. A true proffessional if ever their was one, he would be good value to younger players if we could fit him in somewhere.
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I distinctly recall a defeat in the FA Cup at Brammel Lane where he scored and a few who had been giving him such stick refused to celebrate his goal. Must have been 04/05 ish
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I distinctly recall a defeat in the FA Cup at Brammel Lane where he scored and a few who had been giving him such stick refused to celebrate his goal. Must have been 04/05 ish
I have a few memories of being at that game, it was a terrible performance.
I recall Alan Wright beating Carlton Cole in the air
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We were rubbish but were stil cheated somehow, according to my vague recollection. Considering Sheffield United have been almost uniformly shite as far as I can remember, we don't have a very good record there. See also: Crystal Palace.
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Barry was a great servant right up until the point of that pathetic Daily Mirror article / plea to leave for the red scouse.
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Barry was a great servant for years. Always seemed to have time on the ball to me. He wasn't quick but neither was McGrath. Can't believe there's so much hostility from some. It's unbelievable. I always felt he left in frustration as much as anything, and left it too late for his own ambitions because of his loyalty to Villa.
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Tried to leave us for Pompey too. Sure there was another occasion he wanted to go as well ...
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Tried to leave us for Pompey too. Sure there was another occasion he wanted to go as well ...
Wasn’t it DoL trying to sell him to redknapp?
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We were rubbish but were stil cheated somehow, according to my vague recollection. Considering Sheffield United have been almost uniformly shite as far as I can remember, we don't have a very good record there. See also: Crystal Palace.
Re: Palace, it helps if the referee isn't corrupt.
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I don't really mind any player wanting to leave at any point, depending on how they go about it. As I remember it, Liverpool were trying to get him on the cheap in 2008.
Barry should've either known, or had advisors who would've told him, that it's best to keep playing for your current employers, keep quiet and see how things go.
I think that letter to the fans was a dumb move, and was either because he was advised to go public in an effort to force the club to accept whatever offer was on the table, or, thinking Liverpool were willing to pay what it took to get him, a genuine attempt to leave in good favour.
I don't think Barry 'loved' Villa, but how many players genuinely do care about whatever club they're at?
I remember him as a very good, very classy player for us, and one who gave his all for us, whether out of affection or professionalism.
I don't put him in the same category as Delph, who was shite or injured for 5/6 years, went through that laughable summer, then left. I bear Delph no particular ill will, but I don't think he was ever really that good, and he left like a twat.
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There's a good interview/podcast between Gareth and Mat Kendrick on youtube. He was advised to give that interview but was wary about it and took responsiblity for it. He was a classy player for us and reliable too. A rare breed.
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It was a sad day when he left us. He realised he had to leave to play champions league football as did others afterwards. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself with the likes of Jack and Ollie.
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It was a sad day when he left us. He realised he had to leave to play champions league football as did others afterwards. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself with the likes of Jack and Ollie.
Amen to that.
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It was a sad day when he left us. He realised he had to leave to play champions league football as did others afterwards. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself with the likes of Jack and Ollie.
Agreed, Gazza Bazza was a class act; gave us 12 years of his career. And there's a lesson for the club, if it were needed, that losing the first-pick player (as he became) makes the next couple of seasons pretty tough.
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It was a sad day when he left us. He realised he had to leave to play champions league football as did others afterwards. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself with the likes of Jack and Ollie.
Yes it was, a terrific player for us. One of the best in my lifetime we've had play for us.
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It's strange that we never went back in for him towards the end of his career. He would have been perfect for us in the Championship.
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It's strange that we never went back in for him towards the end of his career. He would have been perfect for us in the Championship.
He'd have cost a fortune.
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It was a sad day when he left us. He realised he had to leave to play champions league football as did others afterwards. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself with the likes of Jack and Ollie.
Yes it was, a terrific player for us. One of the best in my lifetime we've had play for us.
Agreed. Cracking player and was gutted when he left.
Not many footballers spend 12 years at one club as well.
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Weird that we might even have another legend called Barry .
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I really liked Gareth Barry he gave us great service.
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It's strange that we never went back in for him towards the end of his career. He would have been perfect for us in the Championship.
He'd have cost a fortune.
The Albion managed to scrape the money together! Sad day when they beat us 2-0 and Barry playing for them