Gareth Barry is in all the papers today and depending on the one you're reading, he's either off for £12mn. or £14mn. in the summer or he could commit to the club for the rest of his career.

I've gone past caring what he does. Yesterday he as good as came out and said he wants to stay but the club have to start matching his expectations, so I'm guessing if the club spend he'll stay and if they don't he'll be off. I'd just like the club to confirm or deny the Liverpool approach.

You know my views on Barry so I don't have to go through those again, but isn't anyone a little surprised at how all of this has started?

It all started with Bill Howell asking Martin O'Neill about the Barry to Chelsea rumour. The thing is, there wasn't a Barry to Chelsea rumour doing the rounds until it was asked by muppet Bill.

Knowing that Bill is probably on the payroll somewhere he was asked to ask this question, either by Barry's agent or Martin O'Neill - who else?

I'm guessing someone got what they wanted though because it appears Liverpool have made contact, because the club haven't denied it.

The point is that Barry has as good as said 'I can do it here, match my ambition' and if for some bizarre reason him saying that prompts Martin O'Neill to spend on real quality, then excellent, but just because Martin O'Neill says something doesn't mean it should be taken as gospel.

But the whole Barry thing is actually quite staggering, it was all created by Bill and Martin in an interview. One week later, from nothing, and all this.

Comments (41)

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Dr Jebend said:

I think fair play to Barry if he has said that. Realistically he is coming to his peak and now is the only chance he will get to play for a so called "big club". But i dont think it is unreasonable to question the clubs ambition, because its obvious he would rather win trophies at villa. No one can blame him for that surely?

April 19, 2008

kieran84 said:

It wasn`t created by mon and bill in an interview at all it`s been going since the last transfer window.As for barry he obviously wants to go or he would just say otherwise,so good luck to him he deserves it we will find someone else.

April 19, 2008

Chrisodon said:

He's going i just think with his up coming testimonial and all the renewed speculation about him going isn't just coincidence. He's been a great player for villa and i wish him all the best.

April 19, 2008

Damian said:

kieran84 in the article written by bill howell it says 'frequent speculation' the last speculation relating to barry was in october 2007 - not very frequent this barry to chelsea rumour is it? why even bring it up or comment on it? martin o'neill doesn't comment on speculation does he ...

April 19, 2008

dan in perth said:

It makes me so mad that I could do a wee !

April 19, 2008

kieran84 said:

so what?it doesn`t matter who started it or reported it liverpool or chelsea are not going to buy him just because bill howell brought it up again,if they want barry they will bid if they don`t they won`t like i said if he wants to go let him go and we will get s**tloads of money.Good luck to barry he deserves a shot at the big time.

April 19, 2008

jinksy said:

Fair Play to Barry, Let's hope this makes our Billionaire Chairman invest at last in the team, not in training grounds , pubs & art gallerys. Then we will buy the top class players we were promised last year instead of the crap Coker& Knight. It's time to put up, MON it's time to prove you can buy to players. Mr Learner it's time to prove you are not in it to make money.

April 19, 2008

taglor said:

I said before it would worry me if Barry goes just because he obviously doesn't believe in MON's plans and if he stays then maybe he knows good things.. Mark Hughes came out this week and said that Blackburn need to spend big to take it to the next level this summer I hope that we hear the same sort of intention from MON or RL.

April 19, 2008

NH08 said:

I think its been blown a bit out of preportion this whole thing. Until Liverpool make a firm bid then you can't make much of it. Barry saying he wants to play European football has been going about for ages now, its why he wanted to leave when DOL was manager. But now MON has got us aiming for that this season, and I think with some good spending in the summer we won't need to worry about Barry. If it is all true, I still think he'll stay for another season by which point it'll probably have blown over, especially if we challenge well in Europe and on the domestic front.

April 19, 2008

jaf said:

I think its great Barry has come out and said, Villa have to match his ambitions and spend some money in the summer..! Hopefully this will kick start things in May. I nreally think he will stay if the club spends some money..! Good to see the poll results also.

April 19, 2008

BBB said:

Unfortunately we've reached that time of year where rumours start doing the rounds, and usually 99.9% of these rumours come out of nowhere. That said, with both Barry and O'Neill talking about this rumour, you have to think there's some truth behind it. And why not? Barry's started to hit his best form right at the business end of the season, he's scoring goals, he's all but cemented his place in the England squad and he's still got his best years ahead of him. Why shouldn't other clubs be casting envious eyes in his direction? I'd call it a compliment to the lad. That said.. Liverpool? Oh come on, if Barry wanted to kill off his burgeoning career he really couldn't do it any faster than by joining this motley crew. They're in the papers every day nowadays, but unfortunately for them not for the right reasons. Gillett hates Hicks; Hicks hates Parry; Benitez hates everyone; Out of the Premiership race by October; new stadium on hold; new stadium cancelled; takeover imminent; no-one wants to touch them with a bargepole; no investments; transfer funds; have to sell Torres and Babel because they can't repay the loans taken out to sign them in the first place.. contrast this borderline desperate atmosphere with the calm exuding from Villa Park at the moment. Randy Lerner and his crew have not just steadied the ship, they've laid deep foundations for future success. Barry, more than anyone, will know the potential waiting within the second city's finest at the moment. And he believes that potential can be realised, if it can be matched with enough ambition. I don't think there's a Villa fan out there that doesn't think the same. We battled to keep hold of him two years ago, and the assurances he was given at that time have all paid off - take it from Barry's own words: 'From two years ago to where we are today, we've made exactly the strides the manager told me we would do. He said we'd be competing for European football again, which we are. He told me my own individual game would come on and I'd be playing for England again - which has also happened.' Barry's no fool, and he knows that while he's a first pick for ourselves, any move from Villa would involve a big risk and there would be no guarantees for him elsewhere. Does he stay at Villa and be the iconic figure in our midfield - the player the team is built around - or does he gamble becoming second fiddle to Lampard/Essien/Ballack or Gerrard/Mascherano/Alonso? Does he risk being shifted out of position, being sat on the bench for every other game and maybe losing his international place as a result, and STILL not finish any better off in terms of silverware? The grass isn't always greener, Barry's sensible enough to know this but even so, there's some hard thinking and big decisions ahead for both him and our management this summer.

April 19, 2008

Dizzy Mugs said:

Speculation. Treat it like it is.

April 19, 2008

Leroy said:

If anything all of this speaks volume of what kind of manager MON is. Season before last Barry was set to leave for £4mil. Im just nervous that if we sell, there will be cut price options bought in, when clearly we need a value for value type replacement. I think that if we get Nelson that will send a message out, because if im not mistaken, MON was quoted as saying that he went in for him in Jan, but didnt match Benficas rising valuation. Thats the type of player we need...

April 19, 2008

RUDDY91 said:

well if he leaves or stays just look at Riccardo Montolivo on youtube he can score goals he's got skill he can pass and he sets up goals he is what we need if we want to break into the top four also a possible replacement for barry

April 19, 2008

Arrlui said:

Two 1-0 wins and we're 5th again. Barry won't sneeze at regular football when challenging for the CL right?

April 19, 2008

RUDDY91 said:

i realy hope this does nt happen but barry is one player being linked out of the club and now john carew who could be heading for werder bremen

April 19, 2008

Sasa said:

Barry has basically said that he'll stay if we finish 5th (or 6th if Pompey finish 5th and win FA Cup) and buy class acts. I'm happy because it means MON will have to buy in the summer, however it also wouldn't suprise me if MON swapped him for some rubbish Pool players like Crouch. I would def sell Barry for £15m as long as we bought some attacking midfield European talent to replace him. I like Barry but he'll get found out in the CL. I'm more worried about the effect on Young - he may come out and say I want top 4 footie (if they show interest) if Villa dont match my ambition. Young would be very difficult to replace, Barry wouldn't be as long as we bought Modric, Van der Vaart etc...

April 19, 2008

elcaputan said:

it is fair enough that barry has said this, he has been a loyal servant to the club through thick and thin, and now that he is getting the recognition for his ability (for which villa supporters always said he had) it is a good thing that he has ambition and even better he thinks he can realise this with villa, lets just hope barry and MON have the same idea of ambitious signings!!!

April 19, 2008

nan was a fan said:

I think everybody with ambition should play for the Super Top Elite Four. They should all be on £100k a week. They can sit on the bench (in rotation) for big CL league nights and feel that special atmosphere. Meanwhile the rest of us should only play players who are crap or have limited ambition. But even then any player who has two good games in a row should switch to the Holy Four after a couple of weeks of manufactured media speculation. Boring, boring, boring. Wear our shirt, sign for life or sod off and join the other greedy bastards. Just stop bloody talking about.

April 19, 2008

nan was a fan said:

....it. Thanks

April 19, 2008

kohoutek said:

On the up side, if MON wasn't already planning a spree, I would think this sort of speculation will force his hand a bit. He'll know he can't build the team he wants if he can't keep the team's backbone intact in the meantime. And fair play to Gareth...Though, as many have said, I'd be curious to see just how much he's willing to give away in order to secure some silverware, ie, regular football, etc. Liverpool do seem a mess. I suppose we'll all be rooting for neither them nor Chelsea to win anything, making the prospect of moving a little less inviting, and perhaps creating more turmoil. On the flip side, it does point out what's obviously wrong with an entrenched top four. Every other club is considered a feeder, and this is the perilous part of trying to break in: being on the cusp and trying to retain players while strengthening. It's a bit of a Catch 22. You need European football to keep the players, but it's hard to get there and secure the players necessary for the next level without being in Europe and particularly the CL. I've always been amazed at how the expression of interest from one of these clubs is generally sufficient, in the end, for them to secure their targets, no matter whether the targeted players' clubs want to let them go. While MON could say, "Gareth has a contract and isn't going anywhere," in reality we know it doesn't work that way. So, if MON wants to keep Young and Gabby, etc., he's going to have to strengthen anyway, so it might as well be now. The real question is probably not whether Villa have the money, but whether they can convince the right players to sign. It would seem qualifying for European football will be critical to everyone's ambitions, and perhaps a bit sooner that we might otherwise have liked. Wherever the rumors have come from, and whether there's any real validity, it may simply mean that MON can not be as patient as perhaps he would've liked.

April 19, 2008

kieran84 said:

Players and managers come and go unless you are a top draw team thats the way it is i just hope villa fans don`t get over emotional about this,how can o`neill match a top for clubs ambitions at this point?thats not his fault they want to win the champions league we want to get into it fact,barry is setting himself up to leave because there is no way villa at this moment in time can match chelsea or liverpools plans.

April 19, 2008

AVMark said:

Yorke, Staunton, Southgate etc.... you can name the pivotal moments when deep down every Villa fan shudders and knows that our next season is about to be decided before it starts. Under Deadly it was that glorious time when all the bs was blown away and everyone could see him for the used car salesman he was. Now it's different, now for the first time, we find out whether we are taking the step or staying put. Because, you may spend big and win (like Chelsea) or through managerial brilliance build a team (like Arsenal) but one things for sure, none of the top four got there by selling their best players.

April 19, 2008

villafandan said:

oh good damian, this line of reasoning again. i never tire of it!! apparently you want the club to keep you informed of everything all the time and in the absence of this you'll think the worst. when statements are released you'll twist the words to suit your own agenda.

April 19, 2008

Damian said:

villafandan it would be boring if we just sat back and believed everything we were told. all i'm doing is looking at what barry has said, and taking from it that he wants to stay at the club and win things. but to do that, i'm guessing now, barry is saying we have to bring in quality. if the club dont bring in the quality, barry can leave, to try and win some medals and he'll probably get a pat on the back because everyone accepts that he wants to win things and do it at villa, but if villa dont go out and spend he has to go somewhere else to achieve his dreams .. the lad has just said exactly what we'd expect from him and its a good thing. he's dealt his cards, pretty much forced to in fact, but he's done it. i quite admire him for doing it too and who can really blame him for wanting to win medals and play at the highest level?

April 19, 2008

villafandan said:

except he didn't say any of that, you chose to interpret his words that way. from the timing, i would imagine this all came out of yesterday's scheduled press conference held by MON & barry. must have been quite awkward saying all this with the gaffer sat next to you. especially when he also has 2 years left on his contract. gareth barry will be a villa player next season.

April 19, 2008

Damian said:

but he did say this: "I've always said the ideal situation would be to do it at Aston Villa, but I've got to look at myself and be selfish as to what I want to achieve. The next two or three years are going to be the peak of my career. "We've had years of challenging for fourth or fifth. Then we have fallen away. That's the next step this club have to take — competing year in, year out." and yes, i am taking out of it what i want to but to me that reads like, spend big, make aston villa a success or i'm off. and i for one, don't blame him, if that is exactly what he does, IF we don't spend to challenge the top teams

April 19, 2008

villafandan said:

i'll come clean, of all i read yesterday, can't say i saw the "selfish" line. with my "glass half full" view i wouldn't have interpreted it that way, but i can understand why you did. i possibly owe you an apology.... but you're not getting one!! lol i stand by my statement that he has 2 years left on his current contract and MON is on record saying he intends to offer him a new one. now read into that what you would like!!

April 19, 2008

villafandan said:

no actually, i will apologise.... i may be jumping on your back a bit quickly these days. in defense, the possible sale of our captain is a big deal. i'm trying to think of a big team that sold their club captain without it really being a natural progression type thing. viera springs to mind... not sure clever that was.

April 19, 2008

brett said:

barry will go for £8mil, nolan and sidwell will come in plus hoyte for £5m and carson for £10m and villa fans will cause the internet to explode

April 19, 2008

Villa_Rules said:

After reading these newspaper storys late last night i think he will be off on his bike.Let me guess the replacment will be a 1 2 or 3 million pound signing I just think martin is scared of big money and it probley almost causes him a heart attack i bet when he splashed the cash on young he could sleep for nights

April 19, 2008

Villa_Rules said:

Damn dont u jh=ust wish u could edit your messages lol I was meant to say he couldnt sleep for nights when he splashed the cash on young Damian please allow us to edit or messages it comes in handy

April 19, 2008

nuffsynuff said:

I don't normally leave messages on these sites, but I've read everything here with interest, everyones opinion should be taken into consideration I guess. Personally though I have to agree with villafandan. After the strides villa have taken under Lerner/ O'neil, which largely revolves around a core of good young english players with a great togetherness, I think I would be a real shame if we lost Barry, he may yet to prove he is a world beater, but to us he is someone who makes the team tick and the only captain in the premiership that truly leads by example- a great role model who prefers to let his feet do the talking rather than screaming obscenitities at players or referees. Lets face it, when was the last time the villa had an established england international in the side?? I hope he wins things, he deserves to - but don't we deserve it to be with the villa?

April 19, 2008

andyarkitekt said:

it would be great if our comments got posted..never mind beng able to amend them!!

April 19, 2008

Villa_Rules said:

http://livefooty.doctor-serv.com/ Joe Calzaghe vs Bernard Hopkins Its on the homepage that they are showing it before you go trying to watch it make sure you download sopcast first then go to the page useing windows explorer firefox dose not work for that site Best time to tune is just after match of the day as you will skip out some of the build up fight due to start at about 2.00-2.30 On the same link you will more than lightly find the villa vs blues match 2moro who needs sky when you've got the internet

April 19, 2008

Arrlui said:

It's not on sky is it? Anyway, two wins and we're 5th. I've just seen Montolivo and Nelson. Both would be star signings for us but I'm not sure it's worth it at the expense of losing our captain. Nelson thumped one past Man Utd though and that's what we need. He gets the ball in the box every time, has trickery and pace. I wouldn't shy away from spending 20mil on the pair of them because that's what has to happen to take 4th.

April 20, 2008

tonebone said:

come on u villa boys!!! havent slept one bit but who cares!! lets do the f*ckers!!!

April 20, 2008

Mick70 said:

Sign of the times, nothing to be surprised about regardless of whether it's true or not. This summer is the turning point, we've done the consolidation thing long enough so now it's time to spend and to spend on players that can actually make a difference and complement the decent squad we have at present.

April 20, 2008

etdean said:

Liverpool is 4th, spent big and flopped, and has a lot of talent that can't even get into the starting lineup. Aston Villa is 6th and moving up. So Barry would be better off at Liverpool?

April 21, 2008

cornish brummie said:

selling barry would be an act of treason on a par with the past sales of andy gray or david platt. everything we do goes through barry, he just gets better each week. o.k. we could bring in mario, jose julio or whatever, would they be man of the match 9 games out of 10/ i don,t think so. we need an established right back and a 20 goals a season forward, henry anyone?

April 23, 2008

Damian said:

cornish brummie while nobody wanted to see gray sold, you cant complain at the success achieved after he left ..league and european cup

April 23, 2008

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