Brandon Barker

[Neville Kneville]

Same

Must admit, Nev, it was a bit overly negative. Was my first thought too... Just be happy for the lad instead. The Rotherham fans were all saying he looked far too good for them, which is nice.

Same was said about Cole when he first went out. Then he dropped slowly down to that level. Barker might get something from that loan, which will be impressive if he does, but his lack of game time at City is imo the reason he can only get a loan at somewhere like Rotherham he has nothing on his cv. If he manages to show up well amongst that lot he really has got what it takes. But it's absolutely not what Vieira said was the aim for players of his calibre.

It strange that as the star of that team, he has ended up getting the worst loan.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Can't you ever be positive?

First you complain that he wasn't getting match time. Now that he is you have to find something else to whinge at.

You're firmly becoming an insufferable bore. You're on par with that Aguerovic bloke who keeps harping on about Shatov in every thread that he can.

Match time at City or a proper loan, like Byrne, Ntcham, Fofana. I suppose he can learn to take a kicking & maybe come back a bit tougher, but he can't learn much else.

 

[billymumphrey]

Match time at City or a proper loan, like Byrne, Ntcham, Fofana. I suppose he can learn to take a kicking & maybe come back a bit tougher, but he can't learn much else.

Define a proper loan mate? Seems like you argued for more minutes, now he's got it and impressed on debit which doesn't suit your narrative, so you're just shifting the goal posts and it now has to be of a requisite standard based on a criteria that only you yourself hold and can judge?

And of those other players you mention, Byrne and Fofana play in different positions to Barker. Maybe the teams that took them on already had enough options at AM/Winger? And maybe as Ntcham is French the club thought it would be easier for him to settle in Italy then Barker? At the end of the day who knows? Not you and not me - but to immediately jump to the conclusion that the club is trying to hold Barker back, or not supporting him to suit your own agenda is ridiculous.

 

[Blue Streak]

Okay just to throw this in. I was actually at the New York Stadium yesterday and Barker was without a doubt Rotherhams stand out player. Capping a decent display with a cracking goal (that I was sat behind). He tired late on in the second half but his running, ability and application were first class. The Rotherham fans around me couldn't believe they had him. And something I didn't know? the lad takes a cracking corner from either side.

 

[Cobra]

Define a proper loan mate? Seems like you argued for more minutes, now he's got it and impressed on debit which doesn't suit your narrative, so you're just shifting the goal posts and it now has to be of a requisite standard based on a criteria that only you yourself hold and can judge?

It can't gave been the plan for him to basically play no football at all for 3 months, and then go on loan to the bottom team in the Championship. He should have been on loan from the start of the season - he'd have played 15+ games now if he had.

 

[billymumphrey]

It can't gave been the plan for him to basically play no football at all for 3 months, and then go on loan to the bottom team in the Championship. He should have been on loan from the start of the season - he'd have played 15+ games now if he had.

Or, equally possible, it could have been that he was given a chance to impress in first team training, was assessed to not have necessarily made the grade yet, and then the decision was made that for his own development he needed proper game time so the loan with Rotheram was arranged? Again we don't know what happened, there could be all manner of factors at play.

Whilst I agree if he had had a loan from the start of the season he would have had more game time, I very much doubt that he would have had 15 games already. I think Fernandinho has made the most appearances for us this year and he's hit 16. I think most of the other loanees have made about 7-8 appearances each, and some of them, like Denayer, are probably more advanced then Brandon in their development.

 

[Centurions]

+1


I think brandon forced city to send him out on loan after seeing that pellegrini just wanted him in the champs league squad to make the home grown numbers . He was our best EDS player and could have easily gone to a better club on loan during the summer . Very poor management by the club and pellegrini.

Were you aiming for "dick post of the day", well done, you got a bullseye.

Barker would have been on the 'B' list so HG wouldn't have come into it.

How do you know that he could have gone to "a better club" during the Summer, are you privy to all other clubs dealings and squad rosters (including incomings and outgoings)?
Doubtful, since you don't even seem to know anything about your own club.

You do know that it's only until January don'y you?

 

[ancoats]

Okay just to throw this in. I was actually at the New York Stadium yesterday and Barker was without a doubt Rotherhams stand out player. Capping a decent display with a cracking goal (that I was sat behind). He tired late on in the second half but his running, ability and application were first class. The Rotherham fans around me couldn't believe they had him. And something I didn't know? the lad takes a cracking corner from either side.

cracking player and needs game time so a loan move is ideal for him maybe if there is 1 thing he needed to his game is toughen up and what better than league football and playing time. the Etihad youth setup is great for both Manchester city and the English game and if anything lower league clubs can make you a man

but you have not seen the last of brandon barker at Manchester city

 

[Cobra]

Does he actually need toughening up though? He's hardly an 8 stone weakling a la Willo Flood. I'd bet my house that Barker is bigger and stronger than Raheem Sterling, and he was never farmed off to the Championship to 'toughen up'.

 

[twosips]

Does he actually need toughening up though? He's hardly an 8 stone weakling a la Willo Flood. I'd bet my house that Barker is bigger and stronger than Raheem Sterling, and he was never farmed off to the Championship to 'toughen up'.

I don't think he does either. I do worry that playing in a team really low on confidence could affect his too...time will tell, but sometimes loans can be counter productive. I share the view that perhaps he could have gotten something better in the summer than a loan to Rotherham, especially if Ntcham can get Genoa, Fofana can get Bastia (and Fulham) and Byrne can get the Eredivise. Barker has been a better performer than all of them, but I guess it is what it is. If he can star for these, against all the odds, and not get used then i don't really know what he'll be able to do.