Ross Barkley

[Nixon_The_Bike_Thief]

1) Where are there any credible sources linking us with a move for him?

I can provide a credible source that we have not sounded out the player in any way........ Ross Barkley.

 

[Anonymous]

IMO Barkley's talent level is comparable to Max Meyer at Schalke, who is younger, has that same ability to burst through the middle of the pitch past players, and who Liverpool are supposedly bidding £8m for. That English tax is going up and up.

+1

Meyer's biggest weakness is Barkley's biggest strength. And the one thing which will set him apart on the PL. Power. Allied with excellent technical ability he's the prototype PL midfield player.

Meyer may well turn out to be a good player, but Barkley is already proving to be better and he's doing it in the PL. We get far too wrapped up in the cost of players. He's either good enough or not, and if he is whether he costs 30 million or 60 million should be irrelevant to us as supporters.

 

[its a Barm]

buy buy buy he is the future.

 

[Anonymous]

We paid 35 million for Fernandinho last summer and so many people whined about how it was a waste of money etc. Turned out excellent because he had the physical and technical attributes to succeed in the PL. Barkley's got them at 18. That makes him worth much more than Fernandinho IMO.

 

[waspish]

Think our owners want value for money they look at the amount of money for these English players and think you can get a top established player for the fees these clubs want

 

[jimbopm]

IMO Barkley's talent level is comparable to Max Meyer at Schalke, who is younger, has that same ability to burst through the middle of the pitch past players, and who Liverpool are supposedly bidding £8m for. That English tax is going up and up.

+1

Meyer's biggest weakness is Barkley's biggest strength. And the one thing which will set him apart on the PL. Power. Allied with excellent technical ability he's the prototype PL midfield player.

Meyer may well turn out to be a good player, but Barkley is already proving to be better and he's doing it in the PL. We get far too wrapped up in the cost of players. He's either good enough or not, and if he is whether he costs 30 million or 60 million should be irrelevant to us as supporters.

But it does matter though doesn't it? We have a spending cap, are you really advocating spending that much of our budget on a player who may or may not be (i'd say the odds will be stacked in favour of the latter) the best midfielder in England?

They were saying the same about Wilshere 3 years ago.

 

[BringBackSwales]

IMO Barkley's talent level is comparable to Max Meyer at Schalke, who is younger, has that same ability to burst through the middle of the pitch past players, and who Liverpool are supposedly bidding £8m for. That English tax is going up and up.

+1

Meyer's biggest weakness is Barkley's biggest strength. And the one thing which will set him apart on the PL. Power. Allied with excellent technical ability he's the prototype PL midfield player.

Meyer may well turn out to be a good player, but Barkley is already proving to be better and he's doing it in the PL. We get far too wrapped up in the cost of players. He's either good enough or not, and if he is whether he costs 30 million or 60 million should be irrelevant to us as supporters.

completely naive to say that cost is not important

 

[Anonymous]

+1

Meyer's biggest weakness is Barkley's biggest strength. And the one thing which will set him apart on the PL. Power. Allied with excellent technical ability he's the prototype PL midfield player.

Meyer may well turn out to be a good player, but Barkley is already proving to be better and he's doing it in the PL. We get far too wrapped up in the cost of players. He's either good enough or not, and if he is whether he costs 30 million or 60 million should be irrelevant to us as supporters.

But it does matter though doesn't it? We have a spending cap, are you really advocating spending that much of our budget on a player who may or may not be (i'd say the odds will be stacked in favour of the latter) the best midfielder in England?

They were saying the same about Wilshere 3 years ago.

The spending cap we have this summer is a hinderance, I've already acknowledge that - but the point I'm making isn't about an arbitrarily imposed cap by UEFA - i'm talking about our willingness as a club to pay big fees. As I said we paid 35 million for Fernandinho, a player who most people knew little about, and even those who did baulked at the idea that a guy who's not even a Brazil international, and is a "defensive midfielder" should cost that much money.

I've never rated Wilshere and he certainly hasn't shown IMO the kind of promise which Barkley is already doing. Also, with Wilshere again he doesn't have the power or the physical presence that Barkley does. That's what is setting him apart. Much like Rooney you can see physically he's already a specimen and he's only 18/19 years old.

If people don't rate the player fair enough. However at some point we are going to have to sign some English players unless we expect the academy to produce 5/6 who are good enough to play at the highest level in the next two years. I'd rather we bought someone like Barkley (or Shaw), than ending filling the squad with shite like Sinclair just to make up the quotas.

I've posted this previously but I also firmly believe that if we want to be seen as the biggest club in England and the best, which Abu Dhabi are clearly heading for, then we need to be seen to be the preeminent destination for the best young English talent. You spend 40 million on Barkley and people applaud and say he's going to be world class. You spend the same on a Spanish, Italian, German, player and people say you're ruining football. It might be hard to accept but perception is all important in football.

 

[franksinatra]

I would have no issue in spending money on Barclay if we were prepared to alter the team to make the acquisition worthwhile.

As evidenced of late, his best position appears to be off the main striker or at the pinnacle of the midfield three a tactic we rarely use, and if we do, it will mean playing one up top and im not sure Aguero is suited to this role.

Fernandinho was mentioned in the thread and his signing is a case in point. Firstly I think he is a cracking player but we spent top money on a player and shoe horned him into a position he is not fully suited. Fernandinho would be best suited with a holding midfield midfielder behind yet that was never going to be the case with Yaya in the team. Consequently we looked quite exposed in central midfield and although I do not rate Garcia we looked better balanced at the back end of the season (defensively) and the fact we have been pursuing Fernando suggests it has also been noted by management.

If we want to progress in europe a switch to 4-2-3-1 maybe neccesssary and therefore if we alter our tactics domestically the signing of Barclay or even Fabregas would make sense. If we try to shoe horn them into a system, pay top whack, we may find next summer were trying to plug another gap.

 

[Anonymous]

completely naive to say that cost is not important

Unless you're actually Sheikh Mansour, then you should read my post again. The important part is "irrelevant to us as supporters".

What he pays for players is his business. Whatever "cap" we have this summer will be moot come next summer because of the way our business is being run. Even this summer, i've already CLEARLY shown how the signing of Barkley could be financed quite easily and without much fuss.

EDIT:

Here's a look at the potential financial implications baring in mind the salary cap and net spend rules.

INCOMING:

Fernando/Sagna 14 million
Benatia 25 million
Barkley 45 million

TOTAL : 84 million

OUTGOING

Micah 5 million
Rodwell 5 million
Milner 10 million


TOTAL: 20 million

NET SPEND 64 million

Baring in mind we have a cap of 49 million we would need to structure the incoming deals so 15 million across all the deals was paid out either next summer or in incentives/bonuses. That isn't difficult to do as nearly all transfer fees are paid out over a period of time. Rarely is the whole thing paid in one go.