I was up watching the Ricky Hatton fight and just stumbled on this in the News of the World - who is Giles Barnes anyway?

Well, apparently he plays for Derby, has also broken in to the England U21 side and at 19 years old he also falls in to the 'buy young' category that O'Neill seems to like.

Former Derby boss Billy Davies thinks the youngster needs to grow up and show a little respect and according to the News of the World, 'some observers believe Barnes' head has been turned by the hype but he represents just the sort of challenge Villa chief O'Neill likes'.

The former Derby manager was a little more precise, "he's not the finished article by a long way, and still has a lot to work on. There are still many flaws in his game and he also has to understand it's not all about Giles Barnes. It's a team sport and it's about 16 players who are all shoulder-to-shoulder helping each other out."

I've probably seen him play but he doesn't stand out and reports are that Alan Curbishley has lost interest. If he's not good enough for West Ham should we even be bothering with trying to develop another youngster?

Giles Barnes probably has a good agent who is getting his name in the press but unless I can be convinced otherwise I think there are better things to be spending £500,000 on.

Comments (18)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Jeremiah said:

Well, what I've seen, he's probably the best player on Derby. That's not saying too much, though.

December 09, 2007

villa said:

ashley young was the best young player at watford last season, we took the risk and look how thats turned out. crap teams still have decent players, and at 500,000 it's not the biggest risk in the world.

December 09, 2007

mickey86 said:

i read it was £5million not £500,000

December 09, 2007

Rich said:

Good young player giles barnes is ... plays on the right or in the middle! Mate, how do you get to write these articles?? You dont know who giles barnes is? Football knowledge seems very little ...

December 09, 2007

Damian said:

at Rich i dont pretend to know every player in the premier league - like i said, i've probably seen him play but he clearly didn't make that much of an impression

December 09, 2007 | url

Robbie said:

I remember watching Giles Barnes in the Championship last year, and I was sure then that Villa should be buying the kid, he is quality. I think that O'Neill would be perfect to develop him as well. But think again if you think it's £500,000. I think West Ham offered in the region of £4mil and was told it was an insult. I think they want more than £5mil for him. I wouldn't begrudge paying it either, if he's as good as I've seen him in the past. Saying that, he's been injured a fair bit this season...we could do without a sick note.

December 09, 2007

JR said:

Barnes is class and was the reason a poor Derby side got promoted. Would be a great signing.

December 09, 2007

jonnn said:

giles barnes is going to west ham for £5m in january. it is a done deal. next?

December 09, 2007

alextaylor24 said:

i just posted my view on the brown article, not realising a there was an article on this rumour!! obviously he has been injured for much of this season but he is 19, highly rated and right sided which is exactly what we need. if he can turn out to be another certain player bought from a releagated club, then we will all be pleased. that right sided needs strengthening with an out and out winger because i really think we have become one dimensional with young on the left and we got found out against a portsmouth side with strength and power and awareness to pack out our left side.

December 09, 2007

cookie_monster said:

F**k off 'rich' you w****r..this site is for vila fans and people interested in the game....you probably have no life you silly c**t..get a girlfriend you sad bastard- if all your weekend involves is trying to slag off a very good article writer.

December 09, 2007

the_flabster said:

I wouldnt mind him but not to solve our RB problem. He has alot to learn so we shouldnt just be throwing him in there. Look at Curtis Davis, he hasnt just been thrown straight in and I think he will be better for it. If we are buying him for the future along with a proven quality RB then go for it. If we are buying him as our only proper RB then leave it, spend the money on someone we can all rely on. UTV

December 09, 2007

smylhr said:

we need a right winger, he should certainly be an option...

December 10, 2007

Rich said:

cookie monster .... i have a girlfriend and i spend my time going up and down the country supporting Aston Villa Football Club ... thats a good enough life for me.

December 10, 2007

Chrisodon said:

He's a quality Championship player so how will he be in the premiership ? Many times have players been called great outside the Prem and fail to make the cut, take nugent for a start he probably won't get in the pompey team in january when they lose there strike force for the ANC. We should widen our search if we want to make europe and stay there and make a impact in europe we need players with experience and previous european experience. Like SWP, Milner. Now i'm not saying we shouldn't gamble on the supposed next "big thing" at times but we shouldn't always be looking in the bargin basement we're a rich club and have the financial clout to attract Bigger and better names while developing players like Barnes and so on. If i was Mon i'd target A.Lennon i'm not sure he's ramos' prefered type of player he likes Wing backs (Alves) Someone that goes forward and tracks back. Even if we're laughed out of WHL with an offer for him it'll make players take notice that we're not just settling for mediocrity. The goal is there we just need to take our player targets much higher buy big and small not just British but look at all aspects. So Giles Barnes he's a good young british prospect but could he be the Future England Right winger ?. I'd say buy him but be wary on the fee 5 Mil seems a bit much for a player yet to prove himself in the prem. Difference between him and young was Young had 6 or so months to show mon his attitude and guile. Barnes still to show it on the big stage yet so it could fall flat on it's face.

December 10, 2007

anthony said:

1) 5m bid in for giles barnes 2) 6m bid in for wes brown 3) 6.5m bid in for bosingwa 4) 11m bid for jermaine defoe 5) and get another good playmaker like young on the right

December 10, 2007

tonebone said:

giles Barnes is a class player with bags of potential. he missed the 1st 2 months of the season with a broken foot so its hard to judge him on this season. He was derbys best player by far last year and has put in some impressive performances for Eng U21 scoring 7 goals in 12 starts. sign him up to play right with and Boswinga as right back, would def me we begin to attack down both flanks.

December 10, 2007

andy5759 said:

I can't say that I know anything about Giles Barnes either, £3.5 would seem about right if he's as unproven as peolpe say, £9m would be right if he's another Ashley. I'm told that Milner would not want to leave Toon, given the choice. Nicolai Dica anyone? He would get more goals from CM. We need to threaten from all areas.

December 11, 2007

skip said:

he would be good at villa its a wast of talant at darby

December 18, 2007 | url

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

Add Comment