Reports: Fresh Barry talks planned

, 30 June, 53comments  |  Jump to most recent
33 year-old apparently considering his options
Everton will hold further talks with Gareth Barry this week according to reports as Roberto Martinez has reiterated how important he feels the midfielder is to the team.

Media speculation has revived over the last 48 hours that the Blues have a deal in place for the 33 year-old, who is a free agent this summer after the expiration of his Manchester City contract, but nothing appears to have been decided.

Indeed, Barry appears to have a number of options open to him, although the fact that he knows the Everton setup so well now and would not need to relocate his family if he stayed at Goodison are factors that work in the Blues' favour.

"For us, [Gareth] would be an important player for the future but we respect him as a human being and we are going to accept whatever he decides and make sure whatever happens we are here to support him in every aspect," Martinez told PA Sport.

"He has been a special player for us and we will try to give him an incentive to stay even though there is nothing you can say to a player who has experienced everything in the last 10 months.

"Football happiness is a major aspect any footballer chases and Gareth and Everton are a perfect fit and the way he has been performing shows he has that footballing happiness. We all know what Gareth brings and how important that is."

The Everton manager, who is not scheduled to return from his World Cup pundit duties for ESPN until late next week, has yet to make any signings so far but he admitted that with all eyes on Brazil, the transfer merry-go-round has yet to really start moving.

"In a World Cup summer everything goes slow and everything happens at its own pace," he admitted.

Quotes sourced from Sporting Life



Reader Comments (53)

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Ant Dwyer
1 Posted 01/07/2014 at 01:11:02
Reading through the comments, a lot of your thoughts are the same as some that go through my mind.

Firstly, I can’t help but wonder why we will give Man City £2.5M for a man they do not own.

Secondly, I can’t help but wonder why on earth we are giving a 33-year-old man a 3-year deal.

Thirdly, why is this deal not yet complete?

Now I can see people saying the deal isn’t done yet because he’s contracted until today, but let’s be realistic: he is owned by one of the best-run clubs in world footy. They know for a fact that we are run by tight bastards who will not pay wages out that Man City owe, therefore I’m sure they’d have agreed to pay Barry right up to today.

He has defo used his head and looked about, rightly so... but I can’t help but feel we are becoming a little desperate. Many clubs want Barry but how many of them clubs are as good as us? Not many, I think. We should have only offered a 2-year deal and we shouldn’t be still paying Man City now Barry is a FREE AGENT!!!

Our club seems to lack the basics in business sense at the best of times but come on – if a man has no contract, no signing on few is due.

Simples.

Ged Simpson
2 Posted 01/07/2014 at 06:39:35
Some having an impatient moan re lack of transfers.

Seems ok to me: world cup, then transfer activity then new season. Fantastic.....i can avoid tennis, golf and other naff summer sports!

Anthony Flack
3 Posted 01/07/2014 at 07:05:46
As a fan and not an accountant unless Barry is knocking on the door right now and saying something like I love it, please sign me, then I would be inclined to let him fuck off somewhere else. I am sure he can afford his TV license...
Paul Andrews
4 Posted 01/07/2014 at 07:34:52
A lot of needless worrying over the financial side of the deal.

If he plays as well over the next few seasons as he did last season,will you be sitting in the ground worrying over his wage deal?
WTF has how much he earns got to do with the fan in the street?

That's modern football for you I suppose.

Martin O'Hare
5 Posted 01/07/2014 at 07:31:28
Much to old for a 3-year contract, if he does’t like it. well piss him off.
Phil Sammon
6 Posted 01/07/2014 at 07:45:46
I think the only concern, Paul, is that we don't want the club to blow it's budget on one player. You're right in what you say of course, we are football fans, not accountants. There's no point discussing the intricacies because we simply don't know all the information.

My opinion - sign him up!

John Audsley
7 Posted 01/07/2014 at 07:57:29
With BK in charge anything could happen...and wait for the negative spin if he doesn't sign........It certainly wont be Bill or EFC to blame if he doesn't sign the contract. It never is......
Darryl Ritchie
8 Posted 01/07/2014 at 08:01:39
I was wondering, If an another club signs Barry, do they pay the 2.5 million as well? Or is that a special deal reserved exclusively for us?
Richard Dodd
9 Posted 01/07/2014 at 08:14:17
Only at the closing of the window will we be able to see if the greatly increased broadcasting revenue has had much effect on the club’s finances.

If there are clauses in the loan deals that make redeeming them counter productive, then more funds will be available for transfers. If we see little net spending, then I guess it means BK is paying down the debt...

Duncan McDine
10 Posted 01/07/2014 at 09:07:31
Surely our wage bill will increase significantly this season with the new tv money adding around 20% (?) to our total income. This means our top earners will most likely be heading towards the £100k a week mark. There's no reason why Barry hasn't been offered a contract for 2 years at that level, so the ball is in his court.
Matt Traynor
11 Posted 01/07/2014 at 09:25:00
Duncan #37, as cynical as I am about our Board's motives and general ineptitude, even I don't think they would simply agree to lift wages due to the increased TV revenues. The TV deals are 3 year negotiated contracts, and as long as BT Sport are there to challenge Sky, the chances are the value of the Broadcast Rights will remain high. But the Premier League were not expecting BT Sport to be so aggressive or cash rich - to the point were BSkyB have simply given up in some areas.

So unless you had all your players on contracts that ran simultaneously to the Broadcast Deal, that would be a bad move. Other clubs are using the new found wealth to develop infrastructure, create a sizeable transfer fund.

If we continue to bump along throwing money at players in the hope that we'll secure their loyalty, we'll forever be in that group of teams on the outside looking in.

Jay Richo
12 Posted 01/07/2014 at 09:56:03
I’m sure Barry is over the moon that these further talks were leaked to the press. How many blues now think he’s holding out for a better deal or higher wages? How will he look now if this falls through? More importantly, what clowns do we have in our club that release this kind of info to the press?
Jim Bennings
13 Posted 01/07/2014 at 10:04:33
The concern for me is why, when Barry has had the whole of June, has he still not really decided where he wants to be next season?

He knew he was going to be a free man once July 1 came around so why still making his mind up? And how long do we give him?

He can't really need the money (what footballer does???) after playing at mega bucks City so why had he not already thought "I loved my football at Everton last year so it's a no brainer where I'm going"?

I just hope we don't allow this to drag on and on, we need it sorting by no later than next week, if he is still delaying then we have to move on.

Surely we have already offered Barry some sort if deal so he must know what we have to offer?

Let's not let this drag on Blues, it's the same with that Traore thing, if he's coming back for a year then do it, if not look elsewhere.

Dennis Stevens
14 Posted 01/07/2014 at 10:41:05
If we don't sign Barry, I wonder if Martinez might consider using Jagielka in that role. If I remember correctly, that was his regular position when we signed him from Sheffield United.
Thomas Lennon
15 Posted 01/07/2014 at 11:21:24
http://www.7amkickoff.com/2013/premier-league-seeks-to-create-permanent-underclass-with-new-financial-restraints/

So - there is only £4 million in new money available for pay as salary.

Mike Allison
16 Posted 01/07/2014 at 11:31:02
Jim and Dennis, have I missed something? Are you both joking?

Jim, Gareth Barry is not allowed to talk to English clubs until his contract expires, its a rule.

Dennis, Martinez, like most of us, has probably seen Jagielka playing in midfield before, and so there is no chance of it ever happening again. Alcaraz is more likely actually.

Paul Andrews
17 Posted 01/07/2014 at 11:35:04
Mike Allison,

Hallelujah.

Hope the penny drops now.

James Lauwervine
18 Posted 01/07/2014 at 11:34:45
Some discussion threads on here are so predictable. A stack of emotional nonsense interspersed with the occasional intelligent observation.

I would like Barry to sign but, if he doesn't, it won't be a disaster. I think RM has shown enough intelligence in his first season for us to be assured he will have alternatives in mind. He'll certainly have been checking out all sorts of options whilst in Brazil.

James Stewart
19 Posted 01/07/2014 at 12:01:19
We shouldn’t be offering Barry anymore than a 1-year deal. Giving a 3-year deal to a 33-year-old is madness. His lack of pace in the cup semi-final was already glaringly obvious.
Peter Cummings
20 Posted 01/07/2014 at 12:05:39
Given his age you would think that staying at Goodison would be his best plan given that he would have easy access to his home and related situations, but if money is his main concern, and that would seem to be the case if he is ’considering his options’, then we should quickly lose interest and continue to develop the resevoir of real talent we have at all levels of the club,
Tony J Williams
21 Posted 01/07/2014 at 12:23:05
This "it's his last big deal" shite really gets my goat.

The man is a millionaire several times over, he is never going to want for money ...ever (unless he blows it on dodgy deals/stocks)

His family is secure for at least two generations so this "let's get a few extra k a month" winds me up no end.

Offer him the deal, if his leech of an agent says no, tell him where to go!

Paul Andrews
22 Posted 01/07/2014 at 12:40:55
Tony,

It has been said often, if your employer was paying you x and the employer across the street offered you xx to do the same job, what would your response be?

Tony J Williams
23 Posted 01/07/2014 at 12:46:59
I would move jobs Paul, but that's not the point I was trying to make.

If there are no other offers out there and the scumbag agent is just angling for a higher wage no matter what, tell him to do one.

It's all about ego because he already has more money than he can probably ever spend.

Jim Bennings
24 Posted 01/07/2014 at 12:48:24
Jagielka in the midfield???

Arghhhhhhhh I think that thought would make even a Saint scream,

Jags is in the team only because he is half decent at reading the game, he has no ball ability whatsoever, infact I'd put him right up the with Unsy (David Unsworth) in being one of the poorest distributors of a football.

Mike, the point I was really trying to make is if Gareth Barry was so happy at Everton then why ( unless it's maybe Arsenal) would he want to speak to other English sides?

If he was seriously considering West Ham then it would be money over anything else, and if that were the case then we should move on.

I could understand him holding out for Champions League with Arsenal, perhaps that's the hold up.

I just believe that now here we are in July, he must have had time to take stock of where he wishes to be and if he has already spoken to Everton then he will know the offer on the table, if he doesn't deem it enough then all the delays in the World won't matter, he just won't sign.

Gylfi Syguardsson, a very useful player but victim of the 1000 midfielder system at Spurs is close to joining Swansea for 10 million!!

Another good technically gifted player but as per usual we probably don't have the millions of that mighty global force Swansea City.

Andrew Ellams
25 Posted 01/07/2014 at 13:00:17
Didn’t Sigurdsson sign from Swansea?

We can only speculate on the other offers Barry has had and he may have had offers from abroad and be weighing up family issues and all sorts.

Paul Andrews
26 Posted 01/07/2014 at 13:03:27
Tony,

So would I.

It's the modern game, mate — I dislike it as much as you. While the Sky money is rolling in, this is what will happen.

Jim Bennings
27 Posted 01/07/2014 at 13:00:18
People get their judgement clouded by the fact the transfer window hadn't been open that clubs don't sign players.

How about Lallana and Lambert to Liverpool?

Shaw and Herrera to United?

Sagna and Fernando to City?

Costa to Chelsea?

It strikes me all the sides vying for that top four yet was they not meant to be our objective?

All we have had is talk about extending a loan deal for a crock striker and waiting for who knows how long for Barry to decide over a deal that should have been thrashed out in May.

It didn't take that long to make Kevin Campbell or Steven Pienaar's loan spell a permanent one.

A player should instantly want to play for Everton Football Club.

If he is undecided like in any situation in life then you feel like you are thinking it's not the best option so you leave it.

Jackie Barry
28 Posted 01/07/2014 at 13:11:14
If we are being held to ransom by Barry. I say let's move on and look elsewhere. Yes, he had a great season but who's to say that may have been his last and it's all downhill now?
Sam Morrison
29 Posted 01/07/2014 at 13:03:58
Have to concur with James@45. Barry talks are imminent, we've been waiting til his contract expires, and we'll know one way or another soon.

All this 'He can sign now or piss off' stuff seems kind of unnecessary, and – in the unlikely event he reads these threads – not exactly a carrot to him staying.

He's never claimed to be an Evertonian and has been here less than a year, so it's not shocking to me that – as a family man especially – he would take his time and consider his options.

Sam Morrison
30 Posted 01/07/2014 at 13:21:06
We did play Jags in midfield and it was a revelation: he was amazingly average.
Patrick Murphy
31 Posted 01/07/2014 at 13:32:54
Jim (54) look at the clubs you mention and think to yourself - what have those clubs got that Everton doesn't have? Also 3 of those clubs will be competing in the CL next season and the other is always expected to finish in the top 4 as a minimum.

Top 4 next season will be an almost impossible ask for Everton FC or any other club who is financially challenged – I dislike it as much as you do but that is just the way it is – deal with it.

Derek Knox
32 Posted 01/07/2014 at 13:09:08
Having read all the comments, we seem to be going round in circles with what is basically conjecture.

Not one of us know, with any certainty, what the behind scenes scenario is, or indeed how it actually works!

One thing that I have always thought about, when transfers abound, is what the player is thinking himself. Most are swayed by agents and more often than not 'misled'!

How many times have we seen players be transferred at a ridiculous fee, then a few months down the line the Manager is sacked. The new Manager does not see the player as being part of his plan etc.

I think most players want to play in every game (if fit) and feel wanted by both Club and fans alike!

There is little doubt that he fits the criteria there, and Roberto is here for the foreseeable future too!

Patrick Murphy
33 Posted 01/07/2014 at 13:41:49
Thomas (42),

An interesting item... although it is dated from 2013, so, without checking, I don't know whether those figures are the agreed figures. It also seems to me that in order to raise salaries over and above the figure agreed, clubs such as Everton would have to sell their star players to raise revenue – a lose-lose situation. It might also explain the Gareth Barry situation as his wages would be a significant draw on the overall wage bill and it might also explain the fee imposed by Manchester City as an accounting 'get out of jail' card relating to a club's wage bill.

It might be the reason why Everton's CEO Robert Elstone has been aggressively selling season tickets this year.... For a club like Everton, how are they going to spend all of that TV revenue if not on players' wages? Ah ha ... accommodation at Finch Farm and such like.

It looks like the modern-day football supporter will have to take more than a passing interest in accountancy as it seems it is far more important in relation to new signings and player retention than we had supposed.

Thomas Lennon
34 Posted 01/07/2014 at 14:02:39
Patrick,

I see it as a good thing as there is now 'spare' cash to spend on infrastructural projects – something we have needed for 30 years or more. I don't think it is any coincidence that talk of a new stadium has firmed up recently either as this has the makings of where our 'deposit' would come from.

We can spend any extra money form season ticket sales & merchandising so both of these have become far more important – the TV money will be spent where it does most long term good.

On the face of it, a good idea.

James Marshall
35 Posted 01/07/2014 at 14:07:27
Bloody Everton... dragging their feet on yet another transfer... here we are, it's just gone 2pm on the 1st July, the day he becomes a free agent – AND EVERTON STILL HAVEN'T SORTED OUT THE DEAL!!!

Get a grip, chaps.

Sam Hoare
36 Posted 01/07/2014 at 14:28:22
I reckon he'll be ours by the end of the week unless he's tempted to cash in across the pond with the New York franchise.

In the meantime the big question for be is which striker will we bring in? This is the decision that will likely make or break next season and there aren't that many viable options that I can see....

Lukaku — out of our price range plus wants CL football
Remy — wants Arsenal apparently
Welbeck and Hernandez —depends on new manager
Bony — likely cost £20m after a strong debut season

Who else?

Mike Green
37 Posted 01/07/2014 at 14:39:46
I'd be well happy with Hernandez, Sam – right attitude; he has got plenty of goals in him... good age... something to prove.
Andrew Ellams
38 Posted 01/07/2014 at 15:01:24
Sorry but no to Hernandez. The guy is an impact sub (even for Mexico) and I would rather not see us spend that sort of cash for a guy that is best at coming on at the end to try and rescue games.
Jim Bennings
39 Posted 01/07/2014 at 15:12:57
The make-or-break moment this summer is whether the Everton Board are going to back Martinez and be fully supportive in his sky-high ambitions of getting this club in that Champions League or at least winning silverware.

The likes of Lukaku and Bony should never be out of a club like Everton's price range. We are a consistent top 8 Premier League club and have rarely ever splashed money out just for the sale if it is on wages etc.

Regardless of whether Lukaku, Bony, Ince, Sigurdsson or whoever are overpriced (and most are), we need to pay for the proven quality. We know whatever we would get if we signed Lukaku for either £2 million or £22 million, and that is around about 17 to 20 goals a season. Same with Wilfried Bony. He would come in and score the goals that would have us in or around the top 5 or 6. That's what paying for proven players does.

Welbeck? I'm sorry but I wouldn't have him; he is a poor-man's Daniel Sturridge and wouldn't get you the required amount of goals... he gives you a lot of running and energy but, for me, he's just a more hyped-up version of Marcus Bent.

Hernandez is a strange one. It would be difficult to see him playing the lone-striker role all that well. He is a good goal-poacher for tap-ins but there are two things that I have reservations about:

1) Would he get the right kind of service and support behind him? He would need a disciplined Barkley getting up to help him and the wise players couldn't just hit him like at times with Lukaku last year.

2) He would have me question, can he play over the full 90 minutes, week-in & week-out? It's something that he seems to have struggled with at Man Utd these past two or three years.

Patrick Murphy
40 Posted 01/07/2014 at 15:24:43
Thomas,

I agree with you, in fact it should have been in the rules from the very outset of the Premier League, that a certain percentage of TV money was to be used for infrastructure. However, as the rules are only about to be imposed, it does leave those who have built up their revenue over the last 20 years at a distinct advantage and consigns clubs such as Everton as also-rans.

If the board could persuade somebody to build a new stadium for little or no cost to the football club, it might just enable us to be more competitive — but that's a massive 'if'.

Jay Harris
41 Posted 01/07/2014 at 15:10:30
It appears the loan arrangement included a clause that determined we would pay a certain amount for future games played for EFC after the loan period ended on an installment basis of number of games played which is how I guess the £2.5 million was calculated.

It is concerning however that we were originally informed that his signing would be announced within 48 hours and now, 3 days later, he still hasn't7 been signed.

I worry that this has Elstone/Kenwright stamped all over it and we all know about their track record which is what pissed Moyes off.

Richard Dodd
42 Posted 01/07/2014 at 17:14:22
The word at our Wigan office today was that, if Barry turns us down, Roberto will turn to McArthur or Maloney as his replacement.

Preliminary talks have already been held... with the latter said to be the most fancied.

Paul Andrews
43 Posted 01/07/2014 at 17:49:04
Jay,

Who was it that informed us he would be signing within 48 hours?

John Audsley
44 Posted 01/07/2014 at 19:43:28
So...

Doddy reckons that we might sign Maloney from Wigan to play Defensive Midfield....

FFS — he's back and on fire.

Trevor Lynes
45 Posted 01/07/2014 at 19:47:30
I am watching all the top teams tying up deals with ’name’ players whilst we are discussing signing Barry??? Roberto said he needs 6 or 7 players and once again its the ’NERO’ theme on the fiddle being played by our useless board.

They are like Misers hanging on to all the money made over the past two or three windows plus the huge rewards made this season from TV revenue etc. We are like the people with their noses pressed up against the window panes watching the top clubs dining in fancy restaurants.

It is no wonder we are hardly known compared to our neighbours and the untouchables at the top. They are bidding for the world’s best players whilst we are linked with Barry FFS. I just get angry and frustrated by our own fans total acceptance that EFC have no money and any decent known players are out of our budget.

As Victor Meldrew would exclaim. ’ I don’t believe it’ !!

Dominic Tonge
46 Posted 01/07/2014 at 19:54:34
I saw an interview with Barry when he first signed on loan. In the interview, he talked about the fact his wife was against moving from the North West because she has horses.

He said that there was no way she would even consider a move because they have stables and a paddock. He made light of it, but I think it’s a touch of the Unsworths. He will sign. I think it was on the official site if anyone is bothered enough to root it out.

Brian Wilkinson
47 Posted 02/07/2014 at 00:41:49
Barry is now a free agent, hence why we have been waiting til now to save £2.5 million; however, before Barry signed, we had an agreement in place that, should we keep Barry, we would need to make an agreed minimal payment dependent on how many years contract he signed.

Man City paid a large part of Barry’s wages last season so insisted, should Everton sign Barry, then we will need to pay that set amount; all this was signed and agreed by both clubs.

Now his contract has run down, we get to save a few pounds... when, all said and done, we should’ve just paid the £2.5 million. It’s embarrassing we risked letting his contract expire to save a couple of bob.

When all is said and done, we still need to pay City the agreed amount; absolute crazy risking another club nipping in instead of just signing the guy up.

John Zapa
48 Posted 02/07/2014 at 05:45:36
It's a penny wise, pound foolish approach by the club. They are trying to save a few weeks worth of wages. If they miss out on signing him to save a few thousand pounds, they will end up paying millions to sign a replacement.
Mike Childs
49 Posted 02/07/2014 at 19:02:23
Go young! Thanks Gareth but we'll be going in a different direction. We can replace his physical prowess effectively I believe, it's his football brain that we will miss. I don't see him being the difference between a top four finish or less. We all know what our A1 priority is......
Robert Collins
51 Posted 03/07/2014 at 10:20:42
Hello John Zapa @ 75

It might be that Barry is just holding out for a deal closest to his £120k pw at Citeh and a 3- or 4-year contract?

We probably want to pay him £50 - 80k pw and 1-or 2-year contract? He’s playing the field hoping Roberto will become anxious and cave in. He’s made his money and should be grateful of the second chance at EFC!

Roberto should stand firm or show him the door if he doesn’t sign soon, there are other players out there!

Matthew Williams
52 Posted 03/07/2014 at 16:58:55
FFS, when will we learn? Go with youth and save a few bob in the process. I am fucking tired of signing older, past-it players looking for a final fling in the Prem. Loads of Blues rate him, I know... but jeez – can’t a club of our stature find better somewhere worldwide?!?
Tom P Owen
54 Posted 04/07/2014 at 13:53:11
I think #74 has hit the nail on the head.

I think Barry will sign, but it’s the bit about Everton paying Man City that is probably holding it up.

A 2-year contract, with the view to a third year sounds plausible. Would be surprised if we offered a 3-year deal.

He may even jump ship to MLS after a year – who knows – but I think it’s imperative that he’s on board for next season.

I patience is needed on this one. Barry will know Goodison is the best place for him next season.

Andrew Ellams
55 Posted 04/07/2014 at 14:02:40
We need to sign Barry and the Bosnian guy Besic. That way, we get a 33-year-old who was excellent for us last year and a 21-year-old who gets to learn the English game and develop over the next 2 or 3 years.

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