I may have cracked it- What Rafa sees in Gareth Barry

[saveferris]

Remember the line up we started the season with?

During last summer Rafa talked about Gerrard being accommodated in the middle and taking measures to prepare for it.

I remember it very well.

This is how we started the season in the league

Reina
Finnan Carragher Agger Arbeloa
Pennant Alonso Gerrard Riise
Kuyt Torres

Now the obvious weak link here is Riise. Rafa wanted Gerrard to play in the middle but couldn't trust Babel or Benayoun to responsibly cover for his runs forward. So he put a more "solid" player instead. The freedom it gave Gerrard was at the expense of weakening one of our flanks when going forward.

Now imagine Barry there. Good crosser, strong tackler, good passer, not the quickest but covers a lot of ground and has great stamina. You could say he's a Riise type player but obviously A LOT better in every way possible. He can also get in the middle when necessary and allow Gerrard a more advanced role in some periods of the game.

Yes, there is a change of formation here, but buying Barry also gives us the opportunity to strengthen the middle when playing 4-2-3-1. Right now we have 3 experienced CM's while Lucas and Plessis are still kids. One injury to Alonso or Mascherano almost forces us to go back to 4-4-2.

We also have no real alternatives to Mascherano. If he's injured, we have no DM except for Plessis in the squad.

Barry can comfortably cover for a Mascherano injury and act as a midfield destroyer but he's also capable of replacing Alonso in games where a "passmaster" is not needed or wouldn't be as effective as someone like Barry. Games against the Bolton's, the Birmingham's or the Blackburn's for example.

Mascherano
Gerrard Barry
Winger Torres Winger

One holding midfield. Two midfielders who compliment each other in terms of balance (Barry can roam to the left easily from that position while Gerrard does so on the right). Here, Barry does what he does at Villa today. The left sided CM in a 4-3-3.

And then there's the third point I want to make.

Barry can cover the left back position.

Rafa is buying a right back, that's a certainty. However, I'm not as certain that he's buying a left back AND Gareth Barry.

We have Aurelio who Rafa rates, we've got Arbeloa who can play there and we have Insua who's coming through. All of them can play there yet you can't point to one of them and say "this guy will make the LB position his own". Aurelio is injury prone, Arbeloa is a bit inconsistent and he covers the RB position as well, while Insua is just starting to get into the first team squad.

So Barry can cover that position in a case of emergency while it still allows us to play any formation Rafa can imagine.

By this logic, there is no need to sell Alonso. He will still be needed. We're getting a player who fits nicely in a 4-4-2 and a 4-3-3 and we're giving Babel (at LW) and Insua (at LB) a chance to make their positions their own within the year, while still strengthening the middle and the left side with just one signing.

Could I be wrong? Definitely.

Could Rafa be a ****ing genius? Definitely.

Great post mate, certainly shows what Barry could bring to the squad. I hope he comes in addition to Alonso as we are looking for high quality squad rotation, this will bring more options in the formation we play an alternative to yours is obviously our current system alongside Mascherano which would also be good for Barry.

[Slinky Skills]

I'd welcome him at Liverpool and feel he'd be a good addition to the squad. He's not spectacular by any means but he is highly effective at what he does.

His game would improve even more if he came to us. I think we'd see a transformation in Barry not too dissimilar to what has happened with Frank Lampard at Chelsea.

When they got him from West Ham he wasn't a world class player but he was a good player with a lot of potential which Ranieri and Chelsea must have seen, look how he's turned out now.

Why can't the same happen with Barry. I say sign him.

Good post by the way John Doe.

[shanks69]

Says who?????? internet transfer wizards thats all. Alonso has said today in the press that he wants to stay, just maybe Barry is for the left hand side and Babel will move to the right

he wouldn't be the 1st player to say he isn't moving then in a matter of weeks has left,talk is cheap a certain micheal owen said there no rush to sign a new contract as he was happy then left for madrid.

[tomasjj]

Is Barry faster than Alonso?
Is he fast enough to play full back?

[JohnDoe]

Is Barry faster than Alonso?
Is he fast enough to play full back?

He's not fast enough to be a top full back, but he can play there in some games.

[tomasjj]

He's not fast enough to be a top full back, but he can play there in some games.

Just wondering, especially as many go on about Alonso's lack of mobility and pace in midfield.

[GypsyRed]

Great, a 12m utility player.

Ahh - but £12m isn't what it used to be when I was young....

[theriotact]

I would have him in a heart beat. We are all trying to do sums without any of the figures. United fans don't stop to count up if a player is worth it. If we pay 5m or 12m for him he'll be great for us across a few positions. He is better than many. Capello likes him, O'Neill, Rafa and maybe Grant. And he plays well with Stevie.

Is he the greatest player of his generation? No but we arent necessarily going to build a side around him, just use his talents in the team. We are showing ambition bidding for him I think, he is prised.

[DannyMan2006]

Is Barry faster than Alonso?
Is he fast enough to play full back?

Barry doesn't dwell on the ball and doesn't get bullied out of games. He lacks the class of Alonso, but will be better in the premier League. He's good in the tackle and has an eye for a pass. As others said he also has a good delivery from set-pieces.

No doubt Alonso would be streets ahead in La Liga, but we don't play in Spain. I'm sure there are better players than Barry who we could buy for CM, but we probably couldn't afford them, as well as having spare change left over for other more vital positions.

If we can lose Carson and Riise and gain Barry, then sell Xabi for a big fee, that could open up some funds for a top winger. It's a win win situation.

[DannyMan2006]

I'll also add that people scoffed at £12m for Ashley Young. Looks a great bit of business now by O'Neil.

Sometimes you have to take the risk.

[Fiddy]

taking the 12m to one side..........

a good cb
a good lb
a good lm
a good dm

plus he helps keep a british core to the first team and has an excellent work ethic

sounds like a rafa type of player to me, I also think if we play 442 he would be an excellent option on the left to give SG less responsiblity coming from the middle as JonDoe's point states

good penalty taker too

[Fiddy]

The scum pay 17mill for theirs.

[Harv]

Is Barry faster than Alonso?
Is he fast enough to play full back?

he's definitely faster than Xabi

he's alot stronger too.

I think we will keep both

[cannotmakeit]

Barry for the league and Alonso for Europe.

[rage]

and when does lucas play and develop never mind where do youth like plessis get opportunities? barry means the end of alonso.

and as for what rafa sees in him - we all know he likes to keep on buying more and more central midfielders, our strongest area of the squad and seems to have a blind spot in key areas that everyone else can see.