Barry Bannan-What does he do ?

[Larry Duff]

My opinion is we are a much better team when he plays. Bannan and Westwood have the makings of a fantastic midfield pairing.  He is much better defensively than he is given credit for and often nicks the ball away on the edge of our own area.

Bit of a lovable rogue off the pitch.  The only player you are likely to see at a reserve game who actually knows and chats to the supporters. 

Percy said he was the best player he had ever seen in the reserves.  I will agree with him.  Anyone who has followed the junior teams will have seen him do amazing things and do very well against people like Jack Wilshire and the like. 

[Hookeysmith]

He has undoubted talent and has won MOTM awards at both youth, Full team and even international level.
My only concern is that he thinks he is better than he actually is. He will attempt the 10% pass when it could easily have been a 90% pass. When he does the simple things with Westwood then i think they look very good indeed at keeping the ball flowing and in our possession

I think PL keeping tight reigns on him will help and i think Westwood will be a star in the making

[Meanwood Villa]

I think he's played better than he ever has done for the first team this season and as results (hopefully) improve he'll get even better

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Percy said he was the best player he had ever seen in the reserves.  I will agree with him.

Shades of Stephen Cooke, Noel.
Everybody used to rave about him but I just couldn't see it.

Personally I don't think he's good enough for the top flight, hope i'm wrong though.

[QBVILLA]

The one player on the pitch until Ireland came on who is looking to create. If Weimann and benteke weren't on their heels on two ocassions then Bannan would have two assists against his name against Reading. Yes he made some passes which were astray and yes he made mistakes but come on the kid works his nuts off every game and is only 22. His good points far outweigh his bad. Maybe Bannan will become another kid who's come through the ranks like Hendrie/Barry/Samuel/Vassell who the boo boys will use as their scapegoat when things aren't going well. The one good thing about having McMinge in the dugout last year was the youngsters were left alone as he was the focal point of the anger. A Villa side with the average age of 23 is going to be littered with mistakes. These kids will learn from their mistakes. I suggest they get the backing from the fans not barracking which makes them scared to try something outside of a square 10yrd pass.

[PaulTheVillan]

He thinks he's David Beckham.

[supertom]

I don't think Bannan's got the mentality for this level, certainly not to overcome his physical stature. His too inconsistent. When it's not going right his decision making becomes poor. He'll pick the wrong passes, rush, or he'll get caught dawdling on the ball. He made that early error against Reading and from then on his game just seemed to go to pot. The first thing he tried after that error was one of his Hollywood balls which was just not on. He starts getting a little snipey too if things aren't going his way.

If Bannan plays like he did against Arsenal then he's an asset. Not a brilliant asset but good. The trouble is, he doesn't do it every week, or even most weeks. I also find he seriously underwhelms against what you could call the lesser opposition. The sort of games where his quality could possibly stand out and he doesn't show it.

At his age, we need far more. He needs to work on his focus. Keep level headed when things are going very well, or not so well. Westwood, so far, is great example of this. His game stays consistent no matter what.

For me, he's not going to make the grade.

[PaulTheVillan]

I think he just needs to go back to basics.

He tries these 'impressive' hollywood diagonal chip passes that always hit the surface and go nowhere.

[MonsXI]

I think he just needs to go back to basics.

He tries these 'impressive' hollywood diagonal chip passes that always hit the surface and go nowhere.

Yeah no doubt PL and his staff will be having a word with Barry about this but we don't want to take the creativity completely out of his game, it's all about finding a balance.

[not3bad]

I think he just needs to go back to basics.

He tries these 'impressive' hollywood diagonal chip passes that always hit the surface and go nowhere.

Yeah no doubt PL and his staff will be having a word with Barry about this but we don't want to take the creativity completely out of his game, it's all about finding a balance.

You've got to hold or give, but do it at the right time.

[supertommykN'iba]

Difficult to work this thread out. He's been fantastic recently and had a poor game on Tuesday night. I don't think it really helps that we weren't quite playing our usual passing game against Reading and seemed to be doing a lot more lumping up to Benteke.

As for his corners/crossing etc.... He's pretty clearly been told to float it onto Bentekes head. If you've ever seen him cross a ball properly, you'd know that his delivery is excellent.

[supertom]

It would probably help Bannan no end too if he had an experienced midfielder in there with him (as it would the other players too). We do miss Stan a lot in that regard, someone who can compose those around him. Trouble right now is, that Bannan is almost one of the senior statesmen of our side. He's one of the most experienced in our squad. He needs someone to pull him aside when it can be done and just to calm him down a bit when his composure goes.

[Hookeysmith]

The one player on the pitch until Ireland came on who is looking to create. If Weimann and benteke weren't on their heels on two ocassions then Bannan would have two assists against his name against Reading. Yes he made some passes which were astray and yes he made mistakes but come on the kid works his nuts off every game and is only 22. His good points far outweigh his bad. Maybe Bannan will become another kid who's come through the ranks like Hendrie/Barry/Samuel/Vassell who the boo boys will use as their scapegoat when things aren't going well. The one good thing about having McMinge in the dugout last year was the youngsters were left alone as he was the focal point of the anger. A Villa side with the average age of 23 is going to be littered with mistakes. These kids will learn from their mistakes. I suggest they get the backing from the fans not barracking which makes them scared to try something outside of a square 10yrd pass.

100% clappy thing mate - spot on

we cannot lose sight of the fact that a lot of aspects of the game

Seeing out the final few minutes
Confidence
Holding on under pressure

Will come with experience and more so support

[darren woolley]

I think he's played better than he ever has done for the first team this season and as results (hopefully) improve he'll get even better

I agree.

[not3bad]

The one player on the pitch until Ireland came on who is looking to create. If Weimann and benteke weren't on their heels on two ocassions then Bannan would have two assists against his name against Reading. Yes he made some passes which were astray and yes he made mistakes but come on the kid works his nuts off every game and is only 22. His good points far outweigh his bad. Maybe Bannan will become another kid who's come through the ranks like Hendrie/Barry/Samuel/Vassell who the boo boys will use as their scapegoat when things aren't going well. The one good thing about having McMinge in the dugout last year was the youngsters were left alone as he was the focal point of the anger. A Villa side with the average age of 23 is going to be littered with mistakes. These kids will learn from their mistakes. I suggest they get the backing from the fans not barracking which makes them scared to try something outside of a square 10yrd pass.

100% clappy thing mate - spot on

we cannot lose sight of the fact that a lot of aspects of the game

Seeing out the final few minutes
Confidence
Holding on under pressure

Will come with experience and more so support

Very much agreed.