Merson: England are wasting Barkley's talent by ignoring him

Merson is way off here as he doesn't see Ross doing a Championship performance regularly like we do.

We let one talent slip through our fingers and look what he has won...

Come on, Ross, prove the doubters wrong.

Who should replace him, lads ?

He is carrying the pressure of expectation. Terrific talent and one of our own! Be careful what you wish because a Ross Barkley fullfilling his potential at another club would be heartbreaking!

As for England, yes, he should be involved!

I have little doubt he is going to get better and will be a regular when Wayne Rooney's finished with England.

Unless, he performs as we all know he can, then – when the next transfer widow opens – he may well be on the bench or off so watch out for a sensible announcement from Koeman as he did with our Belgian lump, bigging him up for a move.

I actually think people would be a lot more tolerant towards his mistakes if he got a bit of fire in the belly and closed down the opposition and was more of a team player.

Eventually add this part of his game to his scoring and creating and you've got a perfect Premier League midfielder playing for Everton.

I'd love to see more of the Ross that threw Arteta to the ground!

Cesc Fabregas

Once he has nailed down a place in the Everton team, then he can think about nailing down a place in the England squad.

Merson and Co don't watch him every week...

Fucking hell. If we've done anything it's 'being pateint'.

I doubt Merson has watched more than one full 90 mins of EFC this season. You just couldn't spout that sort of shite if you'd watched the lad.

I'm a huge admirer of Barkley's talents... but he needs to do so much more than he currently does.

Merson talks absolute shite and is the worst pundit I have ever seen – a complete embarrassment!

"Playing regularly for Spain."

Absolute drivel!

Wrong; the only blame for Ross Barkley wasting his talent is Ross Barkley

England's problem is that we don't have many players capable of doing the kind of magic Gazza did that day. There are perhaps two who can among the current generation but neither is in the squad for different reasons.

One is Dele Alli, who has unfortunately suffered an injury. But I was really surprised and disappointed that Ross Barkley wasn't selected. People keep saying he's a bit off form but he's still a kid. He needs encouraging now because he is a great talent.

When Barkley is on his game, he is the closest thing we have to a player like Gazza. I would love to be managing him at this time. He's a boy who needs to be told that “You're different class, go and run the game, they won't get near you”.Make him feel like a million dollars and he would go out and put in a performance.

He shouldn't be told “don't do this, don't do that — when we haven't got the ball get here, get there”. Let him play and he can open up any defence.

He should be getting the same free role for England as Eden Hazard now has at Chelsea. Look at what's happened to Hazard's game now he's not having to worry about tracking back all of the time.

On the continent, they don't tie their star players down like we do. Lionel Messi isn't being asked to do lots of defending. He drifts where he wants.

Not sure I entirely agree but those of us who think Ross has something are not the only ones.

What is with the likes of Koeman, Southgate and Martinez who play width on one side and not on the other? Is it because they want to help the opposition by only really attacking one side of the pitch?

A team can sacrifice a striker by only having one instead of 2 without affecting the balance of the team. But a team can't sacrifice a winger, because there always has to be attacking balance, to provide striker chances from both sides of the pitch.

He's got me beat, I've not a clue what to make of him, he has a very good game then goes missing for the next two or whatever!

I can only think he needs to be told in no uncertain terms that he's used his excuses up and will go to the highest bidder if he doesn't pull his finger out and quick.

In the first 15 minutes he was guilty of at least three terrible errors gifting Scotland possession. Then he did an unnecessary Cruyff turn and the commentator proclaimed "John Stones has really lifted his game under Guardiola"!!!

Barkley can still be an England player but he'll either need to play very well (he's not been bad so far) or move to another club.

Let's face it, apart from a 16/1 chance of winning the FA Cup we are not going to be pulling up any trees this season.

Let him fly. Tell him he is not there to defend, that he has a free role. So what if the experiment fails? It would be worth sacrificing a couple of league places to find out if we genuinely do have a diamond.

I'd forget working on him defensively, he's crap at it. What he needs is somebody to teach him how to keep working and finding space when the attack breaks down, like Coutinho, Hazard. or Silva. If these players don't hurt you this time, they are ready to hurt you the next... all too often, young Ross simply trots back with a gormless look on his face.

I'd also INSIST that he goes for the jugular more often. He is often stricken by indecision, work on him getting his shot off rather than delaying.

Playing for Everton these day must feel like playing in Madame Tussauds. When we do get movement it's usually poor movement, a pass is often made more difficult than it needed to be. We are screaming out for a coach who understands and can communicate the art of good movement – the guy across the park proper gets it.

I'm feeling increasingly desperate about Barkley, I don't recall wanting a player to deliver as much as I want this kid to, the thought of finally finding a diamond and not knowing what to do with him really depresses me. I would hate him to go elsewhere and sparkle, but I fear this will happen.

The difference between Coutinho, Hazard, Silva and our boy, is that they all play their football, both internationally and at club level, in teams where movement is intelligent, fluent and constant.. Ross plays for Everton and England and has never known the luxury of having several avenues opening up for him.

Looking back to check for spelling errors (as if I'd spot them anyway) I realise my post looks like a long-winded excuse for somebody who simply hasn't done the business on a regular basis. Maybe it is, but it has GOT to be difficult for any "playmaker" who looks up to weigh up his options, sees one is offside, another is running away and the remaining eight are not in the least bit interested..

If we could get somebody to teach our players the art of good movement (and it CAN be taught), we may find Ross is not the only diamond we have in our ranks.

Are you spouting "rumours" or is it just your hunch that he's partying?

I would add that Ross, after releasing the ball, goes and finds space himself and also when other players have the ball, instead of running towards them, which he does; again, go and make some space to receive the ball.

If he isn't already receiving this advice, he should be... and if he is, he isn't listening. He should be willing to listen to all constructive advice.

He's a decent player who has effectively had 3 Everton managers and 2 England managers scratching their heads, not really knowing what to do with him because he doesn't deliver consistently to a top level in any of the positions he's played in. Truly class players like Gascoigne and Rooney could be put in three or four positions and deliver but Ross appears to struggle with one.

I would love him to become the talismanic figure people think he could be but I think it could be a pretty long wait. For me, all the expectation which is put on him has been counter-productive, similarly to the England team he can no longer get into.

Maybe if he'd been eased into first team football and international football a bit more carefully, he might have had a better chance of developing but the root of the problem is he doesn't seize any of the opportunities he's been given to really nail down any of the positions he's played in – most likely because he's not quite got what it takes to excel in any particular role.

It's as if a completely new position needs inventing for him. He seems to be a proverbial square peg in a round hole. Is that because, when it all comes out in the wash, he simply isn't quite good enough? I would love to be proved wrong but time is starting to tick by now and I'm still waiting to see what all the fuss is about, to be honest.

His last goal for us was his 2nd in 23 appearances, counting the very fortunate goal v Spurs. Insistence on keeping him in the starting 11 is stunting our and Koeman's progress.

When he goes on the transfer list, let's see how many teams in the top 6 come in for him. He is IMO a future Sunderland player, like Rodwell, Januzaj... pure shades.

You are showing the loyalty of a doting Mum, who goes to watch her soldier son on parade, and screams... Look!, everybody is out of step except my Ross!

Is this a fact or a rumour, Mick?

I think we should let Ross go for broke and see what happens. I have a suspicion that, like a lot of young English players, he isn't as good as we want him to be and he lacks a bit of nous and resilience. We need to know.

It's one of the oldest sayings in the football world, along with "Never pass across your own box"*, "Give it and go", something the RS have taken on board big time this season and something which we have yet to embrace.

How often do we see Ross or, indeed, anyone else, pass the ball and then stand still watching (lack of) developments? Zero movement. Koeman needs to sort it out – we can see it, so must he.

* Never pass across your own box... it's something you see all the time now we've all adopted the "play it out from the back" strategy. Didn't Stones look a knob on Friday night?

I am sure he once said in an article that was his favoured position? Moving him forward would play to his strengths and minimise his weaknesses.

The only thing Ross can do is get his club game back on track and international selection will come automatically. Although I don't think it will happen soon.

Because of that inaccuracy, I give little credence to Merse's views on anything. Barkley is a regular 6/10 player for Everton but, whether he gets picked for England or not, I just wish WE had somebody better,