It would now appear extremely unlikely that Gareth Barry will stay at Aston Villa this summer, thus disappointing manager Martin O’Neill, who has working round the clock to try and keep his jewel in the crown. Despite the Irishman building a squad of talented players, it appears to come down to the fact that Liverpool can refresh the parts that the Villans can’t reach, ie guarantee Champions League football every season.
The Daily Telegraph report that while Barry should be applauded for his honesty and logic regarding his situation, surely most Villa fans would rather he didn’t flog a dead horse and just say ‘I’m likely to leave due to the fact that I’m pretty pretty pretty ambitious’.
“Champions League football helps any player,” said Barry, who captained England during the second half of England’s 3-0 win against Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday. “You only have to look at the England squad to see the amount of players who get in the squad and start the games – the majority play in the Champions League.
“Liverpool are in the Champions League and Villa are trying to push for that. That’s all part of my decision if a bid gets accepted. It’s obviously very flattering, the team has made a bid for me, but until the bid gets accepted I can’t even think about it.”
Yes yes Gareth, but you clearly are thinking about it. Probably every waking hour in fact. It’s still a bit strange that Liverpool are pursuing players in the mould of Barry. Although he’s undoubtedly a class act, shouldn’t they find some wide players with a bit of pizazz as well?