Barry interest complicated by City midfielder's wages

Nooooooooooooooo

We're better off using one of our academy players like Conor Grant and accepting that we'll drop 3 or 4 league placings, than pay over the odds for Barry who is a stop-gap measure at best.

He can hold up the ball well enough, comfortable on the floor, not going to drive us forward at his age; however, a competent player.

Should we pay £100k? No...... can we pay £100k? No, so either a non-starter or Man City need to pay in part.

Arsenal interested? I don't think so; I couldn't see that going down well at The Emirates as a marquee signing.

Personally I hope it happens but Man City will need to stump up 50% minimum. If Fellaini is sold, we can use whatever money is left to look in January, at least comfortable in the position that we haven't got a massive gap there (unless you already count Osman).

I think this deal is a no goer unless Man City are willing to play nearly half of Barry's wages. Maybe we could shell out £60k a week maximum.

Unless your names Alan Smith, I can't think anyone would imagine us forking out £100k a week

If they pay 60% of his wages then maybe.

Alan's latest classic Mark, Sinclair and Barry, with Heitinga and Gueye leaving would guarentee top 6.

Christ knows what he's been taking.

Met him in Birmingham when the Liverpool interest was at it's height - told him not to score against us.

After watching his City and England displays I'd be saying the same thing if he played for us - dreadful since leaving Villa.

His Aston Martin needed a good valet as well.

No!! Old and slow!! Don't bother with players who are finished at top level of game. Please, don't bring in another Neville!!
We want young talented ambitious players who will take this club back competing at the very top end of European football.

Three or four places dropped means almost three million pounds in end of season prize money.Send Conor Grant for six months down a division for experience.

Just shows what state were in, when were contemplating a loan for Barry.
What limited time I've seen him play, hes never looked anything special, obviously plenty people seem to think hes decent, so maybe their right!

Martinez, must think hes jumped from the frying pan into the fire! I'm starting to feel sorry for the guy as well as us 'fans'.
Be honest, whats our long term prospects when its painfully obvious, theres never going to be any decent money available to buy sufficiently talented players to compete with the top 4 teams.
While these comedians have control of the club were juiced.

I think if they covered half his wages it would make sense. Has a good football brain and would be highly motivated as his last chance to play at a World Cup next summer.

What a crap article. I would have thought Barry's wages would have been one of the first two things considered (the other being his fee) so how they can 'complicate' things afterwards is beyond me.

What if 3 or 4 league places means the difference in getting into Europe?

What if 3 or 4 league places means the difference in getting into Europe?

Please, no!

What do you mean Jamie, Barry might get us into Europe?
You can get 17/1 on Betfair. Should be more like 25/1.
Were even 3/1 to finish in the top 6.
I'd love to be optimistic but not for me sorry.

Man City still haven't paid all of the Rodwell money so couldn't they sort a little deal out?

From Man City's point of view it might make sense to loan him out and pay half of his wages. The new arrivals have obviously leapfrogged him in the squad. If they cannot find a buyer and the loan is the only option they have to find a team willing to pay £100k per weak. By loaning him out and and paying half his wages they would save themselves £2.6m over the year. If he spends the year on their bench or even in the stands it will cost them £5.2m! We get an experienced international for less than we were paying Neville. He's not my first choice, but this deal could make sense for both parties. He may not be the quickest, but his experience will compensate for that. If he was that bad Mancini wouldn't have played him in nearly every match for the past two years.

I think this article sums up my argument for getting Barry in if we don't have the cash to get someone like McCarthy: http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/everton/id/1349?&cc=5739

Agree with Colin (830), City would have to subsidise this as a way of getting a player outside the squad out of the club. My guess is they might want to but he'd be no more than a squad player for us. Hitz with a bigger pay check. Didn't Barry flirt with dark side some years ago?

Lots of posts seem to draw comparisons between Barry and Hitzlsperger - but I don't really see this. In fact after Norwich I thought the move would be to play Gibson and Barry behind three move attack minded midfielders and a forward. This seems to make sense to me would provide more solidity and also would allowed Gibson a slightly less disciplined and hence creative role. If we can get a decent subsidy on Barry's wages i'd be all in.

David Holroyd, what is £100k / week for 52 weeks? Probably a lot more than we'd lose by giving grant a chance. Investing in upcoming players rather than expensive has-beens is the only way forward for a club like ours.

The key is obtaining the correct balance and not doing what villa did last season with chucking too many youngsters in the mix which could get us relegated.

I'm still of the firm belief that whenever we have an opening in the first team, our academy should be first port of call in case they have any decent players who might be able to step up.

If Martinez gives this more than 2 seconds contemplation I will go right off him. We are building for the future and the "Top 6 and Silver Trophies" merchants can all go and get stuffed.

We have a new young manager with fresh ideas about how the game should be played and he will need time and our support. Some of the players who were brought in by the old manager to play his type of football will also need time.
It's something we have chatted about on Toffee Web since Martinez arrived but now the season has started everything has been chucked out of the window. Wouldn't you know it.

Can someone please inform what Gareth Barry is /has ever been good at? I think he's another example of an over hyped average footballer. What Villa got from City was near theft.

Raymond@868, I was responding to Wayne@821.

I'd rather we had Barry and finish 5/6th than play one of the kids we don't really know anything about and finish 9/10th.

I think the biggest compliment I could aim at Barry is that he is a "tidy" player. Doesn't do a lot wrong, doesn't do anything particularly outstanding.

Good cover at the right price, but I think our squad needs an injection of something in the middle of the park which is more than just a bit of tidiness. We need dynamite.

Mark 827 Ross 832

Always putting words in my mouth. Where did I say give Barry £100k?

We have been linked with bringing Barry in with city contributing towards his wages. We have been linked with signing Sinclair. We finished 6th last season have already added quality. Barry is guaranteed quality, Sinclair is guaranteed pace and goals. He will put pressure on Deulofeu, Miralass and allow Pienaar to play inside. Liverpool could loose Suarez.

Please give me some good reasons why we shouldn't finish 6th again if them signings go through. Or do you fear the RS swansea an West Brom that much? Your negativity is depressing me.

What is guaranteed though, is that, you will both make crass remarks and fail to answer direct questions put to you.

Hmm good left foot, strong in tackle, rarely gives ball away, played in title winning side, desperate to win England place, no slower than Gibson and certainly injured less. Better defensively than Osman and we pay only half his wages....complete no brainer.

Hitzlsperger is still a free agent.

All very well to demand we sign someone better than Barry but I get the feeling that any and I stress any cash BK has left over from his spending spree this window is being kept for maybe one more signing if Felli and Baines both stay, maybe an attacking mid.

I don't think Baines will go but Felli might, if he does it will require us looking for a replacement and another, Barry would be good business, can slot straight in, knows the league, not a superstar but nor is Gibson, we have Barkley and Defoooloooo and Mirallas for that status plus others.

Rather have Barry in bank than Felli going last day and Gibson being out for extended time.

With our attacking full backs, signing Barry is a no brainer. He is happy to get forward but has made the 'water carrier' position his own over the last few years. He's got a good range of passing, can tackle, good injury record and is a team player. If we sign him he improves our midfield options and allows us to play a proper 4-2-3-1 formation providing adequate cover for Baines and Coleman to bomb forward without exposing the CB's too much.

What do we do next season?

Barry is not the long term solution we should be looking for, we have enough short termism from the board.

If Barry paid us £100,000 a week I stil wouldn't sign him.

Eric, at the very least it would give RM a year to figure out an answer to your question.

Take the England team, since Graham Taylor they've been talking about future planning and continuity and they've achieved nothing. There should be a mixture of planning for the future and fighting a current fire. Barry fills a void for maybe 1-3 seasons. Even for a fee I think it's a good deal.

If he is not prepared to take a wage cut and fight for his place in a world cup year of all years, then he can piss off.

Al, you sound like you've just picked up a pitch fork there. Let's burn him!

We'd be better off taking rodwell back on loan, can't see him getting a shout a city, plus he'd settle straight in. Or is he injured again?

Sad to say,Rodwell is a sicknote and with Alcaraz and Gibson in the same category,I can`t see our finances stretching to such benevolence.

Barry has always been one-paced (slow) but has covered it well at Villa and City.Manc friends tell me it began to show with a vengeance last season and the prospect of another Phil Neville frightens me no end.

Better by far,IMO,to concentrate on developing our younger players than providing pensions for old hacks on loan as all buying activity has been suspended whilst Fellaini`s expected move has gone on ice.

PS.Have a sneaky that it will be Wenger who snaps up the big fellow at the very last minute.Don`t despair though,they tell me the Russian market is open until October !

Phil, Barry is a vastly better player than Neville. He's very similar to Gibson. Not mobile but composed on the ball and will pass the ball around the park accurately and effectively.

I agree with developing the youth but I don't think anyone out of Lundstram, Grant or Junior is ready to step up and start 20-30 premiership games which might be needed if Gibson is injured lots. Barry would be great cover and then give the youngster a year on loan.

I think this would be a great signing. The guy is a top player and has played at the highest level and will give it one last shot to get into the world cup team. At 32 and playing CDM, he's certainly not too old either.

If we can get him on loan with City paying most of his wages, I don't see a down side here. He can certainly match what Gibson gives us and would lessen the blow of losing Fellaini.

100k a week, thats Citei prices, if we can pay 30-40k a week for him and Citei covers the rest, it would be a great coup imo.

WE NEED ANOTHER CM!

Also if the wages are a problem, why do we still have heitinga and gueye on the books - these two must be costing us about 80k a week combined - for very little in return.!

Because Heitinga is actually not a bad player. He had a bad few months last season, but he's been decent pre-season and we're going to need him to cover for Gibbo because he's made of glass.

Heitinga is also defensive cover remember, and a valuable squad player because he can play various positions. We need him in my opinion.

I very much doubt the Barry deal will happen, purely because we don't have the money to pay him. Arsenal are reportedly showing an interest, and if I was Barry I know where I'd rather be playing my football at this point in my career. As a non Evertonian (him, not me) he's far more likely to go to the smoke and play in the Champions League....and get paid.

Oh, aside from all of that, I think he'd be good for us. Solid player, good pro, and we really really need a central midfield player with experience. He's both of those things.

Beggars can't be choosers.

Heitinga may play this weekend as I think Distin is carrying a knock. Or will we see the first example of Martinez giving a youngster their first start at EFC as John Stones makes his debut?

We should be looking to bring in younger guys with potential, not picking up old cart horses on loan.

We need an experienced DM Ciaran...and have no money for a transfer fee. Got any suggestions of top 7 qualify defensive midfielders available for a minimal fee? Who are also younger with potential?

Ciaran perhaps martinez has seen enough in the academy and just needs loans to tie us over for a season or so. I mean how much would you have to spend to land a prospect like Barkley? You'd have to go to the continent and hope to find another Arteta type for a few million but these are obviously rare otherwise everyone would be doing it.

I don't think we should be signing Barry too old and very average.

Parker would have been the kind of player we need if only a stopgap.

Barry is always a day late and a dollar short

Ciaran we did bring in someone younger with potential, and people complained that we were developing him for Barca, once again the club can do no right.

I'd completely forgot about heitinga. I'd prefer to sell him as I think he's in his last 12 months and isn't that great a centre back, but if not, then I'd be happy to use him as cover for Gibson, should one of the younger players not step up.

The only (expensive)players I think we should be looking to bring in are ones which really add something tangible to the team. An average, slow, old overpaid defensive centre mid doesn't really do it for me. If we lost baines and fellaini though, it might not be a bad move solely on the basis that he could cover 2 positions to a reasonable standard if need be....but then if we lost them both you'd hope we'd have proper replacements lined up. Its not exactly unexpected that we could lose them so RM should've had time to identify replacements.

Personally I'd be happy to finish mid-table for a few seasons and get the the club on a financially sound footing by focusing on developing our own players. Maybe pick up a cup if we're lucky. Thats the only way we're going to have a sustainable chance of breaking into the moneyed top 4 positions in the medium-long term.

6th is ok, but its not silverware and its not vastly better than 10th in economic terms. We didn't get to be the "best of the rest" by buying overpaid, overrated has-beens. We did it by taking a gamble on upcoming young players. Fellaini, Cahill, Arteta, Pienaar, Jags, Baines, Coleman. All players bought young.

Remember the last days of Smith? Ginola, Gascogine? Took Moyes years to get rid of the OAP dross from the squad and get us competitive. Its probably a little harsh to lump Barry in with those(he's not quite ready for the knackers yard), but he's getting there.

I think the club are lining up an emergency temporary replacement for the United bound Fellaini.

And I think, with that in mind it's a good move. We wouldn't be paying all of his wages (someone suggested £60k a week, which sounds about right), so I imagine the club are expecting to get £25m for Felli + whatever it costs to loan Barry in terms of the loan fee (possibly £1million).

I think he's be a good temporary replacement, with a view to taking a bit more time to consider long term options over the course of the next 9 months.

James 015 - I think keeping Heitinga simply to provide cover (for DM or CB) is a an expensive luxury for us. The guy's suposeldy on 60k a week and a) is not first choice and b) is in the last year of his contract.

He may or may not be good enough now, fact is he hardly plays and cannot displace either Jags or a 35 year old Distin at CB. Also the guy is NOT a midfielder - regardless of the fact that our defence loving OFM decided to play him and Neville there (jeez - I shudder at the memories.)

Personallly, If we can get rid of Heitinga and his massive wages, we should take the opportunity to do so - surely we can get 3-4m for him in transfer money. As far as CB is concerned Stones and Duffy are there as cover if needs must and lets not forget Alcaraz as well, when he's recovered. So already have 3 CBs as cover - without Heitinga

We don't need (or want) to see Heitinga playing in CM so imo we should cash in on him now and use the money saved for another player - i.e. a proper CM (whether thats Barry or someone else is another point).

Although I think Heintga is going nowhere as he's going to run down his contract and look for one last big pay day move next summer.

I don't "do" Twitter, but I sometimes look at player's tweets on the OS. Heitinga made this comment this morning: "This season I am going to train harder every day. Time to #justdoit. Are you with me?"

Huh? Just made me think he wasn't training hard enough before!

Before slating Moyes for playing JH in midfield, where did he play against Betis for our current manager?

I have been harping on about the need for a CM all summer but I had in mind a proper youngish signing not a thirty-odd year old on pawn shop terms.

With Gibson pedantic and injury prone,I would have thought ONM would want to add pace and vigour to the squad and impressive that Barry has been earlier in his career,I can well understand why the Mancs wish to unload him now.

It is a sign of how our aspirations are slipping away so quickly that we`re now reduced to arguing about ageing `not wanteds` on loan agreements.

What are we suggesting when we say `he`d do a decent job etc`-that we`ll settle for top half because we`ve had a change of manager and the chairman`s a pillock?

For me,we must make the much derided 6/7th or else we`ll be sliding into the morass of midfield where 40 points is all that`s looked for.

I don't think Barry is the right man for the job, but if we do somehow manage to keep Felli and Baines, the one place I'd like to see us strengthen is defensive midfield. Gibbo looks like he'll have another one of those seasons with niggling injuries, so we need good cover. No one else in the squad can do it well enough, but to be honest I'm not sure Barry can do it well enough.

Its such an important position especially now that we have two attacking fullbacks. Funnily enough I remember watching Hibbo play that role for the youth team many moons ago (before he and Franny broke into the 1st team) and although too limited a player for Roberto's needs, I'm surprised he never played that role under Walter or OFM.

Phil. I have been asking for patience but must admit, you're last sentence makes a lot of sense. That word "morass" is pretty scary.

Dan Gosling is available for around £2 million from Newcastle. Would make an OK addition to the sqad for little outlay. Injury prone but might be worth a punt. Or has he burnt his bridges with Everton?

You piss-taker,Barry !

Not really Phil.
Gosling was a hero for us on more than one occasion and was once ranked alongside Jack Rodwell. The fact that Everton "forgot" to renew his contract is hardly his fault. OK, so he hasn't exactly set the world alight at Newcastle, but he is still young and might come right with age. Might make a good squad player for a couple of million.

Denis #072, Heitinga has already stated that it would be a good time for the Club to sell him as he only has a year left on his contract.

So hardly a case of the player letting it run down if the Club are going to do nothing about it.

I for one never want to see Dan Gosling in an Everton shirt again. Yes the club made a huge cock-up by not getting a contract sorted, but to screw us over when he had a gentleman's agreement was unforgivable. We showed faith in him, gave him his break in the Premier League and he stabbed us in the back. I'm not usually so melodramatic, but I have enjoyed seeing his promising career fizzle out. Karma is a wonderful thing!