Barkley needs a summer break

If we get another 3 points soon then the rest of our fixtures will become relatively meaningless. Why not rest him then and let the lad go and represent his country at a major international tournament?

Free of the constraints placed upon him at Everton this season, Ross may re-find the kind of form he consistently showed for us last season. If he’s picked then he should go IMO and it should be down to the player and have NOTHING to do with the manager.

If a rest benefits Barkley and Everton then I'm all for it.

On one hand I am all for having a full off season on his jollies but then think that the lad needs to give his confidence a boost and the U21s might do that for him.

If he plays well in all that time he'd likely be off somewhere else and the media wouldn't give a fuck about if he's injured for friendlies but fit for competitive games and that he played without a rest the entire time he was in the Everton first team.

Fuck the U21's, fuck woy and fuck England. It's all a corporate scamming, fan fleecing, scapegoating, tapping up media circus that is designed to suck the money and joy from football fans with its best seats reserved for the Tarquins and Tobys and never ending substitutions.

I wouldn't be unhappy if he never went near woy (mascherano is the world's best player) Hodgson and the rest of those quarter final fucktards.

Classic club v country stuff. He should do whatever he wants and not listen to Bobby!!!

Deary me, let's not hold the poor little lad responsible for his own performances. After all, he's only 21, barely out of his doidies. By all means, let him go off and be "coached into playing in his Correct Position"... which in Barkley's case would be Upright With Head Out Of Ass. Maybe he'll learn to actually put in a strong, consistent, confident effort. You know, like a grownup.

Guess that is what TW is for, as we all have our own opinions.

The one who needs to commit to Ross is Ross. He's a big boy now. Everybody knows the talent is there, but he isn't going to succeed or fail because of Martinez, or Hodgson, or Southgate, or anybody else you want to blame. The only guy who can make Barkley a star is Barkley. And he's the ONLY one to hold responsible if he doesn't achieve it.

The only thing I blamed Moyes for was dropping him after he made a couple of mistakes and at that time he was not the only one. I believe that even you can see that this season there is a number of players who have lost confidence in the way the team is playing so who's problem is that?

Bill, I think his best position physically is where he played against Kiev... behind the striker... but I don't think he has the brain or the instincts for it. He commits to his decisions too early and stares at where he's going with the ball, and he can't adjust quickly enough when defenders anticipate him, so he loses the ball. Several folks on the TW forum last weekend were speculating that he eventually winds up as a striker, and given his explosive physical abilities and ferocious finishing, that's an intriguing possibility -- his reactions would be more important than his thinking.

Regarding your question about this dismal season, I think the manager and the players are equally to blame. The dropoff in performance from last year is everybody's problem.

Playing tournament football will do him the world of good. Those of you saying he needs to rest, really. He has hardly played this season and his World Cup was a none starter as Woy never played him in Brasil.

England should pick the strongest possible side and go to that tournament with the intention of winning it. Otherwise it is a waste of time and mediocre players will continue to roll off the treadmill into a mediocre England side.

Barlkley should want every possible footballing experience that can add to his development.

Intriguing idea to use him as a striker; if Lukaku and Kone are out for a while, it may be an option instead of Naismith

I think he should go to the U21s who are probably better than the full side anyway and he might win something!

Still, glad he's a Blue.

His decision-making can undoubtedly be poor at times but he has obviously not been handled in the way he needs to be. Good man-management should not turn a player who was the envy of all in the league last season into the mess that he is now

As Mike says, the lad needs to grow up, show more fight and determination, and get himself into the box. The awareness, skill and pace when he ran on to the Atsu pass to slot the ball home was an illustration of his capabilities. Sturridge does it across the park. Barkley could do it for us. I'll bet he wouldn't miss many sitters.

As for him having a break, he appears to have taken a break during games as well so should be fresh.

Many comments on here saying Martinez has coached the confidence/instinct out of the player. I just don't see that. Martinez has many failings but as far as I can tell he's let Ross play how he wants to play and encouraged risk taking. Yes, he has been played on the left or the right of a front 3, and been ineffective there. Don't see that as Martinez's fault when the alternatives have been an injured Pienaar or McGeady for much of the season.

I'm not sure that going this summer will truly do Barkley much good in the long run. I'd much rather see him managed far better by his club and find the form he had last season.

He can take Tom Ince's place. He has 'retired' from international football I believe.

I think actually what Barkley could use is a good rest, a nice holiday and 6 weeks of having no pressure to perform that will allow him to relax and rejuvenate mentally.

It’s the expectation that is weighing him down in my opinion and a Summer Tournament would only add to that. Let the kid have some downtime and re-focus.

I've never begrudged the player his full England caps but to me he has never looked quite ready for the honour and I can think of no International he has played in which he has made a real impact.

For me, the appetite for action of Harry Kane – who has left Ross for dead in the development stakes – is the one to be admired but if his manager says he should skip the U21s then that is what he will have to do.

Of all the youngsters I have seen in 50 years, Ross has received most acclaim. Perhaps next season he will realise it. Perhaps.

I guess it says all about how insignificant – outside our hearts – this great club has become.

Slightly off topic: I think that the poor pre-season was some of the cause of the poor Barry... at his age he needs to give it heaps in the pre-season and just keep limber and ticking over. The games will give him all the hard work he needs – or can take

One thing we should have all learnt this season, is simply Ross at 21 is not fit enough to have laced the boots of a 16-year-old Rooney. Rooney had more skill, desire, and arrogance, shame it was not the other way around. Because we needed a player of Rooney's appetite this season.

One chance I’d give him now is centre forward especially wth Luk out for a couple of weeks. Let’s stop wrapping him in cotton wool. In my early twenties I played Saturdays, Sundays, trained twice a week with both teams and 5 a side league midweek while in full time work. I don’t see how a young man needs to rest or have any other reason not to go on the pitch and give his all in every game. Oh, yes and there are the unbelievable wages he is on.

Maybe a bit OTT admittedly but we'll see how the history books get written.

With Barkley, he's such an enigma it's tough to say what is right. My feeling as a former athlete is to give him a mental recharge. None of us know the pressure he's under so I can only assume it must be immense beyond most measure. Let the lad live for a summer and come back stronger.

Don't we all!!

You're probably right there mate, the pressure of having all that wealth at such a young age without any financial nous and with the inner knowledge that he is taking us all for a ride and will sooner or later be found wanting – must be very worrying.

I know that sort of pressure would worry me shitless!! There's an old saying: If you can't stand the heat (pressure) get out of the kitchen!! Time for him to grow up and start delivering.