Gareth Barry

[lets all have a disco]

The only reason i can see in this bad bit of business is that we are saving a lot of wages and The Count thinks Milner can do that role. At this moment in time Fernandinho hasn't impressed me one bit anchoring the midfield the game passes him by and he needs to get his head in gear sharpish.
Thanks Gaz Baz,a top pro,great player,true gentleman,will be missed.

[Vhero]

Needs game time if he wants to put on an England shirt and was never gonna get that at City with our new midfield he was hardly gonna get any minutes tbh so glad in that sense hes gone at least on loan.

[Dubciteh]

Needs game time if he wants to put on an England shirt and was never gonna get that at City with our new midfield he was hardly gonna get any minutes tbh so glad in that sense hes gone at least on loan.

its not really a loan when hes in last year of his contract, he wont be back hes gone for good despite it only been a "loan".

[Colin the King]

I’m shocked that there isn’t a thread on one of the most important players in our recent history. He was integral to us wining the league and I will be forever grateful for what he did. Thanks Gaz Baz……

I was coming to start the same thread!!

One of my favorite players gone, abs gutted, terrible bit of business and nearly undoes all our good summer business. I read he wanted to stay and challenge for a place too which makes it a mystery why we let him go. Im not saying he would play every game but horses for courses and theres plenty of games where he would of been vital.

Worse thing is he hasn't been replaced i don't think we have anyone to do his job, i dont see rodwell as a holding midfielder, in fact i actually see our midfield as one of the weakest of the top clubs. This decision could cost us...

The worse deadline day for me in ages only consolation is the mess across the road..

This!

We've spent shitloads on strengthening our attack, but by letting Kolo and Barry go, we are actually weaker at the back than we were last season. Our squad looks really fucking unbalanced!

I'm not so sure about that, on the basis that they always say you should have 2 players in each position. We've 4 CBs in Kompany, Nasti, Demichelis and Lescott, 2 RBs in Richards and Zabs and 2 LBs in Clichy and Kolarov. Midfield wise there's Touré, Ferna, Milner and Rodwell to share out the 2 CM spots, with Garcia as a worst case scenario backup. If we were badly reduced, Zabs could even slot in there as he has done before.

I still agree that we could regret letting Barry go, but realistically his time on the pitch would have been minimal. Ferna might not look outstanding at the moment but give him time, he's three games into a new league/environment. Once he settles down and tightens up his positioning we'll look a lot more solid.

[Im_Spartacus]

Needs game time if he wants to put on an England shirt and was never gonna get that at City with our new midfield he was hardly gonna get any minutes tbh so glad in that sense hes gone at least on loan.

He wont get a look in for England now. carrick, no matter how badly he plays, will now be an automatic pick for England as will Milner simply by virtue of the clubs they play for.

Fair play to gaz for wanting to play at this stage of his career, and I wish him all the success in the world joining a club who could be dark horses this year for top 4 if they get their shit together and Mrtinez is half as good as the hype. They have made some very astute signings this summer.

[Breks]

Lets make our judgements in may.

[freshie]

Gutted that he's gone. One of my favourite city players and definitely one of our best signings in the Sheikh Mansour era. Thanks for the memories Barry, an integral part of our title-winning season

[Im_Spartacus]

Lets make our judgements in may.

Ok, i'll pm the lads asking to shut the forum down, we shouldnt discuss anything until may, because everything that happens is irrelevant till then.

On a serious note, yes thats the time to judge, but I can guarantee you that any time you see the defence poorly protected this season Barry's name will come up in conversation as the cause, and the blame placed with the manager - and I expect a few pretty bad defeats based on the managers form in Spain, even if we win the league at a canter.

[Dubciteh]

I’m shocked that there isn’t a thread on one of the most important players in our recent history. He was integral to us wining the league and I will be forever grateful for what he did. Thanks Gaz Baz……

I was coming to start the same thread!!

One of my favorite players gone, abs gutted, terrible bit of business and nearly undoes all our good summer business. I read he wanted to stay and challenge for a place too which makes it a mystery why we let him go. Im not saying he would play every game but horses for courses and theres plenty of games where he would of been vital.

Worse thing is he hasn't been replaced i don't think we have anyone to do his job, i dont see rodwell as a holding midfielder, in fact i actually see our midfield as one of the weakest of the top clubs. This decision could cost us...

The worse deadline day for me in ages only consolation is the mess across the road..

This!

We've spent shitloads on strengthening our attack, but by letting Kolo and Barry go, we are actually weaker at the back than we were last season. Our squad looks really fucking unbalanced!

I'm not so sure about that, on the basis that they always say you should have 2 players in each position. We've 4 CBs in Kompany, Nasti, Demichelis and Lescott, 2 RBs in Richards and Zabs and 2 LBs in Clichy and Kolarov. Midfield wise there's Touré, Ferna, Milner and Rodwell to share out the 2 CM spots, with Garcia as a worst case scenario backup. If we were badly reduced, Zabs could even slot in there as he has done before.

I still agree that we could regret letting Barry go, but realistically his time on the pitch would have been minimal. Ferna might not look outstanding at the moment but give him time, he's three games into a new league/environment. Once he settles down and tightens up his positioning we'll look a lot more solid.

problem is i dont trust any of those centre midfield options to do the job of barry. MIlner is no holding midfielder, rodwell when not injured is for me a better box to box midfielder and not as strong as barry at reading the game and disciplined enough to hold his position. Garcia is muck and here to sell calendars only and if we end up putting zaba there we will be nowhere near winning leagues or champions leagues which is what our club is aiming for these days.

[Im_Spartacus]

problem is i dont trust any of those centre midfield options to do the job of barry. MIlner is no holding midfielder, rodwell when not injured is for me a better box to box midfielder and not as strong as barry at reading the game and disciplined enough to hold his position. Garcia is muck and here to sell calendars only and if we end up putting zaba there we will be nowhere near winning leagues or champions leagues which is what our club is aiming for these days.

Milner was ypoty in that position 3 seasons back. He has never been given a proper run at it, even though we all assumed even back then that he was being signed as Barry's replacement

[Colin the King]

I’m shocked that there isn’t a thread on one of the most important players in our recent history. He was integral to us wining the league and I will be forever grateful for what he did. Thanks Gaz Baz……

I was coming to start the same thread!!

One of my favorite players gone, abs gutted, terrible bit of business and nearly undoes all our good summer business. I read he wanted to stay and challenge for a place too which makes it a mystery why we let him go. Im not saying he would play every game but horses for courses and theres plenty of games where he would of been vital.

Worse thing is he hasn't been replaced i don't think we have anyone to do his job, i dont see rodwell as a holding midfielder, in fact i actually see our midfield as one of the weakest of the top clubs. This decision could cost us...

The worse deadline day for me in ages only consolation is the mess across the road..

This!

We've spent shitloads on strengthening our attack, but by letting Kolo and Barry go, we are actually weaker at the back than we were last season. Our squad looks really fucking unbalanced!

I'm not so sure about that, on the basis that they always say you should have 2 players in each position. We've 4 CBs in Kompany, Nasti, Demichelis and Lescott, 2 RBs in Richards and Zabs and 2 LBs in Clichy and Kolarov. Midfield wise there's Touré, Ferna, Milner and Rodwell to share out the 2 CM spots, with Garcia as a worst case scenario backup. If we were badly reduced, Zabs could even slot in there as he has done before.

I still agree that we could regret letting Barry go, but realistically his time on the pitch would have been minimal. Ferna might not look outstanding at the moment but give him time, he's three games into a new league/environment. Once he settles down and tightens up his positioning we'll look a lot more solid.

problem is i dont trust any of those centre midfield options to do the job of barry. MIlner is no holding midfielder, rodwell when not injured is for me a better box to box midfielder and not as strong as barry at reading the game and disciplined enough to hold his position. Garcia is muck and here to sell calendars only and if we end up putting zaba there we will be nowhere near winning leagues or champions leagues which is what our club is aiming for these days.

Fair points, but then you could argue Barry being a regular would have us nowhere near winning leagues/cups either, on his recent form. He was phenomenally good in our title winning season and the one before, but at times last year looked way off the pace and most surprisingly, seemed to lack composure/confidence.

We might not have a specific defensive midfielder like Barry or de Jong any more, but maybe that's a blessing in disguise. Why can't we have 2 or even 3 box-to-box midfielders and be just as successful? If they work out a system where there's always cover for the running man (which was admittedly missing on Saturday) it could work perfectly well. I'd argue that Milner and Rodwell both have the athleticism and ability to be the more defensive minded of a midfield two/three.

[Dubciteh]

problem is i dont trust any of those centre midfield options to do the job of barry. MIlner is no holding midfielder, rodwell when not injured is for me a better box to box midfielder and not as strong as barry at reading the game and disciplined enough to hold his position. Garcia is muck and here to sell calendars only and if we end up putting zaba there we will be nowhere near winning leagues or champions leagues which is what our club is aiming for these days.

Milner was ypoty in that position 3 seasons back. He has never been given a proper run at it, even though we all assumed even back then that he was being signed as Barry's replacement

he didnt play in front of a back four when he won ypoty, he played centrally but not as a holding midfielder.

[Dubciteh]

Fair points, but then you could argue Barry being a regular would have us nowhere near winning leagues/cups either, on his recent form. He was phenomenally good in our title winning season and the one before, but at times last year looked way off the pace and most surprisingly, seemed to lack composure/confidence.

We might not have a specific defensive midfielder like Barry or de Jong any more, but maybe that's a blessing in disguise. Why can't we have 2 or even 3 box-to-box midfielders and be just as successful? If they work out a system where there's always cover for the running man (which was admittedly missing on Saturday) it could work perfectly well. I'd argue that Milner and Rodwell both have the athleticism and ability to be the more defensive minded of a midfield two/three.

It is a possibility of course but we dont really have the time for the lads to learn that system(and inevitably make mistakes that go along with a new system), we cant afford to drop silly points in the league or in europe, we were lucky to win on saturday, if we had of dropped points we could of kissed bye our title hopes. We have yet to face a decent midfield and already look over run with yaya and fernd looking clueless, in the 1st half against Hull there fans were doing "ole's" as they knocked it around the middle of the park.

I just think keeping barry and bedding the others into a new system was the way forward. Plus there are going to be plenty of matches where a 3 man midfield is going to be required and he would of been ideal for it.

[sheblue]

Agree with the sentiment here. Its a mistake to let him go. I see some commenting that his legs are gone, dont know about that to be honest they cant have gone that much since last May, some three to four months ago! One thing for sure his football brain has not gone, great signing for Everton.

[Chinners]

Doh, should have posted this in here!

GazBaz press conference at 11.30 BST

http://www.evertonfc.com/live

[PeterParker]

I am very gutted about this, because i consider him the best defensive midfielder in the league, by far. Way better than Rodwell or Javi Garcia.

I am glad that is just a loan and not a full transfer.

I hope he will come back as a staff member.

Take a bow, Gaz Baz.

[lets all have a disco]

I am very gutted about this, because i consider him the best defensive midfielder in the league, by far. Way better than Rodwell or Javi Garcia.

I am glad that is just a loan and not a full transfer.

I hope he will come back as a staff member.

Take a bow, Gaz Baz.

He wont be back for a while as he can play on for another 3 years top level IMHO.

[Dubciteh]

I am very gutted about this, because i consider him the best defensive midfielder in the league, by far. Way better than Rodwell or Javi Garcia.

I am glad that is just a loan and not a full transfer.

I hope he will come back as a staff member.

Take a bow, Gaz Baz.

As pointed out its as good as a transfer as loan covers rest of his contract so essentially only difference is he cant play against us.

[PeterParker]

I am very gutted about this, because i consider him the best defensive midfielder in the league, by far. Way better than Rodwell or Javi Garcia.

I am glad that is just a loan and not a full transfer.

I hope he will come back as a staff member.

Take a bow, Gaz Baz.

As pointed out its as good as a transfer as loan covers rest of his contract so essentially only difference is he cant play against us.

Dunno, if Pelle will have a shitty season and will be sacked, who knows what might happen with Gaz? Or he will have a stellar season at Everton that will make us bring him back.

I really hope that this wasen”t because he refusesd to sign a new contract. That would be a shitty move imho from our board, from those two new guys in suits.

[Dubciteh]

I am very gutted about this, because i consider him the best defensive midfielder in the league, by far. Way better than Rodwell or Javi Garcia.

I am glad that is just a loan and not a full transfer.

I hope he will come back as a staff member.

Take a bow, Gaz Baz.

As pointed out its as good as a transfer as loan covers rest of his contract so essentially only difference is he cant play against us.

Dunno, if Pelle will have a shitty season and will be sacked, who knows what might happen with Gaz? Or he will have a stellar season at Everton that will make us bring him back.

I really hope that this wasen”t because he refusesd to sign a new contract. That would be a shitty move imho from our board, from those two new guys in suits.

I dont think we can have a recall option, could be wrong. If he has a brilliant season there means he will have more choice in who he chooses for next season and after us letting him go its highly unlikely he would come back in my opinion.