The English Pirlo. That man from Hastings

[Sabster]

If Barry gets dropped and De Jong still stays in the team, I will be astonished.

Without Barry we struggle, as shown in recent games.

This video sums up the difference between Barry and De Jong:

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.mcfc.co.uk/Video/Match-highlights/Manchester-City-4-Swansea-0-extended-highlights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.mcfc.co.uk/Video/Match-highl ... highlights</a>

Watch from 4.50 ish as Swansea just dispossess Silva and break.

Notice which player (out of Barry and De Jong) is further forward then watch as one of them is bypassed and saunters back with no urgency whatsoever as the other busts with every sinew in his body in an attempt to stop Swansea.

De Jong makes Hollywood tackles.

Barry does 5x that.

Woah woah hold your horses mate.

I'm a huge Barry fan, but are you saying Barry's better than De Jong??

Yes

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

Of course it could. He's just not spectacular. Exactly the sort of player every club needs to support the superstars. I suspect most of those who don't appreciate him have never played the game.

This has been my point since he came, WA. He does what he does, and in a substantial number of games it has been invaluable. I can still see the CFC full back, was it Ivanisovic (sic) gettin' Barry's shoulder - an old fashioned shoulder charge with the full weight of 14-odd stones behind it. Nobody else can do the job Barry does, and because it is not spectacular the 'cognoscenti' don't see it.

 

[mancitymick]

He has to be class. Jackie "Get yr tits out" has his name on the back of her shirt

 

[the goats backside]

Vital member of the team at the moment

 

[Akai]

If Barry gets dropped and De Jong still stays in the team, I will be astonished.

Without Barry we struggle, as shown in recent games.

This video sums up the difference between Barry and De Jong:

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.mcfc.co.uk/Video/Match-highlights/Manchester-City-4-Swansea-0-extended-highlights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.mcfc.co.uk/Video/Match-highl ... highlights</a>

Watch from 4.50 ish as Swansea just dispossess Silva and break.

Notice which player (out of Barry and De Jong) is further forward then watch as one of them is bypassed and saunters back with no urgency whatsoever as the other busts with every sinew in his body in an attempt to stop Swansea.

De Jong makes Hollywood tackles.

Barry does 5x that.

Woah woah hold your horses mate.

I'm a huge Barry fan, but are you saying Barry's better than De Jong??

I kind of agree with him, but maybe not with tackles but Barry can offer us more than De Jong can. he got great passes, can go forward and assist + score goals.

I am still big De Jong fan though.

 

[BoyBlue_1985]

If Barry gets dropped and De Jong still stays in the team, I will be astonished.

Without Barry we struggle, as shown in recent games.

This video sums up the difference between Barry and De Jong:

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.mcfc.co.uk/Video/Match-highlights/Manchester-City-4-Swansea-0-extended-highlights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.mcfc.co.uk/Video/Match-highl ... highlights</a>

Watch from 4.50 ish as Swansea just dispossess Silva and break.

Notice which player (out of Barry and De Jong) is further forward then watch as one of them is bypassed and saunters back with no urgency whatsoever as the other busts with every sinew in his body in an attempt to stop Swansea.

De Jong makes Hollywood tackles.

Barry does 5x that.

Woah woah hold your horses mate.

I'm a huge Barry fan, but are you saying Barry's better than De Jong??

I kind of agree with him, but maybe not with tackles but Barry can offer us more than De Jong can. he got great passes, can go forward and assist + score goals.

I am still big De Jong fan though.

The stats dont lie from last season, Barry completed more tackles and won the ball more

 

[bobby chariots]

good post OP - yes it probably is the case taht he lacks outright pace but pace itself in football doesnt come from being able to run fast, it comes from pass and move in a forward direction. Rags (last year) generally were the paciest team in the prem, with perhaps the only other challenger being spuds, but it is more about their direct one touch game. Barry can run fast enough if the game is played right, and his game is all about knittiing it all together (which adds to our pace) and slowing down the opposition.

This is the key phrase! Nicely put. He's our Water Carrier? Or was it the Piano Carrier? Or summink..........
BTW, this is about the 500th thread dedicated to GB. No player in the squad produces such mixed opinion.

 

[Uwe's 80s mullet]

top player. quietley gets on with his job. the people who booed him are complete tossers.

 

[LeKoa]

I agree that the longevity of this thread reflects the diversity of opinion on Barry.

Gareth Barry serves as a reflection of Mancini's strategy as he has built a formidable team. Do we recall Mancini's first game as manager, at home to Stoke in December 2009? It was a workmanlike, professional performance that we won 2-0. No threats, no frills, just 3 points banked. What was very evident, however, was the remarkable improvement in the solidity and calm of the defence that Mancini had instilled within just 7 days of his arrival. Barry, and De Jong, played a major role in this as they protected their back four.

As the media and the armchairs were screaming about lack of attacking ambition last season, what they failed to mention was our excellent defence and number of clean sheets. And how we would invariably win a game in the midfield. Barry was a mainstay during last season. There is no coincidence that De Jong was left chasing shadows through most of the Community Shield until Barry came on. They are a unit.

Mancini is now confident with his defence and has allowed the attack to be far more probing. This season we will concede just as few goals, and score more. Mancini quietly and methodically has laid the foundations in the form of our keeper, back 4, and 2 holding midfielders. Quiet and methodical. Just like Gareth Barry.

He is a key player for City. Period.

 

[bluefromleve32]

most underrated player in the prem

some dicks booed when his name was read out in city square on monday. absolute dicks

you sure they werent booing at the size of the queue