Thug

This. we had a confidence player, riding high on confidence, scored 5 in 6, and was playing well. we dropped one of our own players to make way for a lazy loan player in poor form. All over a reputation.

We really need to win this. Ive had a big moan about Barkley in the last couple of weeks, and I hope He puts in a big performance to shut me up tonight. UTV

Would love for this to happen. I’ve been very critical of him, but of course I want him to do well.

He has an assist - not assists. 1. (Which incidentally is 1 less than the total number of tackles he’s made in 923 minutes of premier league football) https://www.whoscored.com/Players/92547/Show/Ross-Barkley He has 3 goals, one huge deflection, one header from 6 yards out, and indeed 1 against Leicester that ‘others were not capable of’ (disputable) What highlight reel you been watching?

I think with him there’s a lot of wishful thinking. For some reason, just the name Ross Barkley has become synonymous with quality. However, I honestly feel that he has been riding the wave of ‘potential’ for too long. He’s 27 now, and for a player that has 0 defensive contribution, his most effective season to date was 8 goals! He has all the ingredients, but there’s something missing in the recipe. The odd thing is, we keep referring back to him in his ‘prime’ and then make excuses for not being match fit - but if you actually dig a little deeper and reflect back - it’s becomes clear that this is just him. Heres a quote from Ronald Koeman: “I think it's more the way we (Everton) used to play because the player himself is strong enough to do better pressing, although that's not only for Ross in particular because it's also the case for some of the other players up front. “You look to his qualities and he needs to be the key player between the midfielder and the strikers. It's that position in the midfield to create but also, defensively, you need to be part of the team. He can and needs to improve in all aspects but he's still a young player.” And here’s an Everton fans persepective in 2016: https://www.toffeeweb.com/season/16-17/comment/fanscomment/33578.html they were saying back then (in his ‘prime’) what we are seeing now. He hasn’t changed in 5 years. Unfortunately,I don’t think he’s going to improve much. Yes, he’ll have the occasional blinder, but more often than not, he’s going to be a frustration. So, unless Smith manages to do something that a whole bunch of managers before him couldn't.. I think he’ll be going back to Chelsea at the end of the season.

Nyland?

I think I’d go as far as to say he’s a better finisher than Ollie.

I watched him play vs West Ham, and I thought he was poor. Slow, and poor on the ball.

Really want him to do well. I HATED his moaning antics and rolling around on the floor while the game carried on when he first arrived. Once he grew out of that, I warmed to him. Then that clearing in the woods **** up his knee.

He’s a brilliant squad player. Loads of energy, and the perfect player to bring on to ‘sure things up’ whilst maintaining some level of attacking threat. To top it all off, seems like a model professional. Harshly treated on here.

U are right with everything you say. But I’d still want him. He’s quality.

Im afraid it’s this. Ive read a few historical articles on him, and this is a repeated criticism of him, even in his prime. I’m trying to find an article I read written by an Everton fan after he moved to Chelsea. I’d read it before, and I thought it was just sour grapes. However, the chap described him perfectly. Once I find it, I’ll post it. If he wants a career at the top level, he’s going to need to adapt. The days of the luxury player that just waits for his team mates to give him the ball before he ‘comes alive’ have long gone. There’s absolutely no reason why he can’t adapt, because he has the attributes, he’s just got to show the willingness to do it. £30-40m for Barkley, when West Ham pay £18m for a player like Soucek? I know who I’d rather have in my team.

Transfer fees are largely dictated by the length of the contract remaining. He was in the last year of his contract. Everton had to make a choice of accepting a £15m bid then, or losing him for free in the summer. In the grand scheme of things, they got a pretty good fee for him.

He started FOUR games (almost 10% of a season), before it clicked that he was utter garbage. At the time I posted whoscored stats (I know stats don’t paint the whole picture, but suffice to say that in this instance they do) that had him amongst the lowest 10 rated player in ALL the leagues they covered around the world. It was a shocking decision to persist with him. Let’s not try to dress it up any different.

I love these winger turned striker players. They just have this built in work ethic that you don’t always see in the ‘always played as a number 9’ type.

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if he doesn’t score another goal all season. His running is worth a goal to us as a team in every game. Need to fill the team with players with an attitude like his and Grealish’s.

As much as I love smith for everything that he’s done at Villa, let’s not pretend he’s without errors in judgement. The same coaching staff thought that Danny Drinkwater at 5% match fitness, coming from a loan spell where he couldn’t get into a poor Burnley team, was the answer to our midfield problems. Worse still - continued to play him, despite him being comfortably the worst player I have seen in a villa shirt - in the blind faith that he would by some miracle rediscover the form of a few seasons ago. A blind faith that almost cost us our premier league status. He frequently will persist in leaving players on the pitch when they are obviously gasping for air, and leave 3 sets of fresh legs twiddling their toes on the bench. I love the man - but spotting a knackered player is not his strongest trait. And after his little tantrum, I wait to see if Barkley gets a full 90 in the next match even though he’s crawling around after 60.

With all due respect, and not to disagree with many of your points, but I don’t think anyone is comparing to peak Barkley at Everton. Go take a look over at Spurs and Gareth Bale. It doesn’t matter how good you were 5 years ago. You’re only as good as your last few games.

Because if he had drilled it low and it was saved, we’d be asking Why didn’t he just chip it instead of drilling it low!

You misunderstand what I meant. I mean it doesn’t matter WHY he’s not fit. Only that he ISN’T fit. He’s prob at 60-70% at best. start him when he’s around 90% so that he can get that last 10% from playing. Bring him on for the last 20-30 for now, so can improve against tired opposition that aren’t just jogging away from him while he’s gasping.

To be fair mate, the guy presented it as his impression - not as fact. To jump on him for that was a bit harsh. I see you apologised, for which u deserve credit, and I think it should be left as that.

I really don’t understand this as an excuse. It’s like Gabby saying ‘Yh, I ain’t trained for 12 months, and I’ve eaten more kebabs than I’ve played games.’ and the fans saying ‘ohhhhh, that explains it! Yh ok, carry on.’ He’s saying he’s not fit. Why is he starting then??

I don’t think Barkley is totally at fault here (unless he’s insisting on being played). If he’s not fit enough to do the work, he shouldn’t be playing that many minutes. This is why I hate loans so much. If he was our player, I could see the sense in playing him to fitness. But we are in a no win situation here. Play him through his poor fitness levels, and if he plays REALLY well, the. Either you don’t get to buy him, or you double his value. If he doesn’t come good then you’ve played a weak team for no reason. We did it with Drinkwater, and now we’re doing it with him. He should be the one coming on at 60 minutes, hungry for action, and a point to prove. This undroppable status isn’t helping anyone.

Yes. So ideally come on when we’re chasing a game and need a spark. Unfortunately, can’t afford to be spending £30m for a super sub.

Brilliant keeper. Was awful last time, yet I was never nervous about him today. Sign of a strong mentality. Love this guy. edit: spelling