John Barnes makes harsh comments about Bazza

By: Martini Extra Dry | October 9th, 2008

Has Gareth Barry got what it takes to be an important player for England? Not according to ex-Liverpool and England winger John Barnes. He has said: “Lampard and Barry played well against Croatia and maybe Gareth will start, but, as for long term, other players are big game players. If you are playing Brazil in the semi-finals of the World Cup would you play Barry?”

Gareth has yet to be played in a ‘big’ game for that claim to be justified, having only recently been back in contention after a lengthy international hiatus. Since Barry has regained his England status, there has been no big games as we failed to reach the Euros last summer. By the time the next tournament comes around (and the opportunity for a big game) Barry will be 29 (old bastard! thats my age) and may well have 18 months experience at a top four side under his belt. If this is the case then he will also have Champions League experience too, will this make Barnes consider him worthy of an England place? Is it just that Barry is at Villa and not his beloved Liverpool that puts him off?

“He doesn’t have to shine, he is good enough to compete and be effective, but I don’t think he is as good as Gerrard or Lampard in terms of what you want from a midfield player. He is good enough to be in the team at the moment and good enough to be in the squad but long term I’m not sure. You have Owen Hargreaves who can come back in to that role so it is not as black and white to say it is going to be Lampard and Barry. If Joe Cole isn’t there you can play Gerrard on the left, but I would always play Gerrard because he is the best player in England.”

For a year or so prior to it eventually happening, Villa fans were calling for Barry to play for England and since then he has improved even further.

Is Barnes’ lack of faith in Barry justified? Can Barry hack the pace and forge a better partnership than Lampard and Gerrard have achieved? Only time can tell but I feel he deserves more faith and to be given a chance.