‘The Gareth Barry Saga – Part 2′ is set to be even bigger than the first one
Where does the future lie for Gareth Barry?
It’s no secret that Villa will lose Gareth Barry at the end of the season if we don’t make it into the Champions League and now as the shadows of doubt appear on our chances, the rumours begin to fly around.
The new addition to the fray this summer will be Manchester City, with Mark Hughes naming Bazza and John Terry as his main targets. Myself I can’t see him getting either. Terry seems happy at Chelsea and even if he did move I can’t see it being to a club that are yet to qualify for the Champions League. The same condition would apply for Barry.
Barry made it very clear that he wanted to join Liverpool for their Champions League status and if we can secure that this season that he’ll stay with us. I honestly think he secretly hopes we don’t make it.
Not that I think Barry dislikes us, I think he has enjoyed the time he’s spent with us but now that he has improved so much and become recognised as a quality player he has raised his ambitions and wants to play for a Champions League side that will compete to win the competition. Which he doesn’t see us as.
If (and that is still a big task) we qualify, we will really struggle to get far in the competition in our first season in there. O’Neill’s plans are not to win the Champions League next season but simply to qualify for it. By qualifying we can build the squad and then aim to be successful in it a few seasons in. It’s a long term plan is O’Neill’s.
But Barry is thinking shorter term.
The clock is ticking for Barry and he doesn’t have as much time to spare as MON, which will most likely see him join Liverpool (or Arsenal if they come back in for him) this summer.
Barry leaving would really throw a spanner on the works for us, as he will be very difficult to replace. Even if we do manage to entice a player of equal quality as Barry, he won’t know how to play with us like Barry does. Barry has been with us so long that he is part of the furniture on the pitch. New players come in and play around him moreso than he learns to play with them, so a newcomer may well get to grips over time but we won’t be as good without Barry for a few months at the very least.
It’s also a bit of a catch-22 because CL football is about the only way we could entice a player of Barry’s class but it’s also the only yardstick by which he’ll commit to stay.
This is only the beginning of this one. It’s going to roll and roll, you watch.
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