Mr Barry - The Final Offer!!

[Jez]

O'Neill threatens Reds with deadline on Barry

Stuart James and Sachin Nakrani

The Guardian, Friday July 25 2008

Martin O'Neill's frustration over Liverpool's protracted pursuit of Gareth Barry has prompted the Aston Villa manager to warn Rafael Benítez that he is poised to set a deadline for the deal to be completed. That threat puts Liverpool, who appear to be closing on the signing of Robbie Keane from Tottenham, under renewed pressure to meet Villa's £18m asking price or face the prospect of losing out on the England international after failing with four offers in the past three months.

Benítez's pursuit of Keane seemed to be coming to a conclusion last night after the striker was left out of the Spurs squad which drew 1-1 in a friendly against Hercules in Spain, and O'Neill also wants a swift end to the saga involving Barry.

Villa had been anticipating a fifth offer for Barry, who may feature in the Intertoto Cup game against Odense tomorrow, but O'Neill revealed yesterday that Liverpool had not responded to a letter sent more than two weeks ago which outlined his club's demands. The impasse had been expected to continue for several more weeks but O'Neill's latest comments suggest he is ready to break off all talks with Liverpool if there is no indication that an £18m offer will be forthcoming.

"We don't know where we stand at this minute," O'Neill said. "Liverpool have not officially come back to us in any form of writing. It is a really awkward position and at some stage there will have to be a timescale on it because we cannot just keep going on. We have got our own plans to make and we shouldn't be at the behest of Liverpool football club. We have got to get on with things."

The lack of communication from Anfield is hardly surprising. In the wake of the collapse of Xabi Alonso's move to Juventus and Peter Crouch's transfer to Portsmouth, Benítez has made signing Keane, rather than Barry, a priority and has insufficient funds to complete both deals unless players are sold. One deal the Liverpool manager has completed is that of the striker David Ngog, 19, from Paris St-Germain for around £1.5m.

The one silver lining for Villa is that with each day that passes the likelihood of Barry starting the season as their player increases. That prospect will not appeal to the 27-year-old, who has publicly expressed his desire to leave and experience Champions League football, but he will have little option but to continue at the club where he has spent the past decade if Liverpool cannot finance the deal.

It was notable yesterday that O'Neill no longer seemed resigned to losing his captain. "My preference - and hopefully I'm speaking for a lot of Villa fans, if not all of them - is that we would like Gareth to stay at the football club," he said. "Deep down we would love him to stay."

Villa, meanwhile, hope to complete the signing of the goalkeeper Brad Friedel from Blackburn in the next 48 hours, subject to Paul Robinson leaving Tottenham for Ewood Park. Blackburn have made an offer for Robinson, believed to be in the region of £3m, but it has yet to be accepted. Spurs, who signed him for £1.5m from Leeds United in May 2004, want a larger fee. They will not hold out for long, though, having signed Robinson's replacement, the Brazilian Heurelho Gomes, for about £7m from PSV Eindhoven, and a deal looks set to be completed swiftly.

Clicky

[Sit_Down_Potato_Head]

In all seriousness, I don't think this was ever a win-win situation for Liverpool.

They claim to be members of the so called "Big 4", but it really is a "Big 3" with Liverpool lagging some way behind. OK, signing Torres has been a massive success for them, but its not had the desired effect of putting them on equal footing with Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal. Liverpool really are the Big 3's poor neighbours.

From a club with a rich history, instead of hearing about success, all we hear is boardroom unrest, debts, and the potential of falling further behind the Big 3.

So it really shouldn't have to be a win-win situation - as if Liverpool really were in touch with the Big 3, they'd have "won" this already.

So let's move onto Redman's latter "win" in the "win-win" situation.

If Barry doesn't sign for Liverpool, what have Liverpool gained? The chance to sign him in January?

That's clearly a possibility, but with Barry having 2 years left, its not like they can get a pre-contract agreement, or expect a reduction on Villa's asking price. Furthermore, they'll have even less money in Jan '09 than they do now.

Also, there's the distinct possiblity that Barry could change his mind. Consider (i) Liverpool struggle in the Champs Lge, (ii) Villa progress in the UEFA cup and (iii) Barry maintains his England place for the World Cup qualifiers. On the flipside, he's had a bad few weeks, but he's only been punished for the NoTW article and is clearly back in the fold.

Yes, clearly, there's a lot of "ifs" in here, so I'll add some certainty.

It's certain that Liverpool will come out of this in a poor light.

(1) Certainly, their No. 1 target this summer was Barry, and if they fail to land him it just makes them look "also rans" against the Big 3. Liverpool fans can talk about "Rafa's mind games" all they want, but if Man U were in for Barry at the start of the summer, they'd be enjoying his services, not looking like a bunch of cheapskates.

(2) They've clearly breached Prem Lge rules K3 and K8, so we're within our rights to queue up behind Spurs with our complaint. Wouldn't it be funny if they got a suspended punishment from the alleged Keane tapping, only to find we're waiting in the wings with ours?!!

So to sum up, there's lots at risk for Liverpool. If they fail to get in the top 4 this season without being able to demonstrate (or afford) their fans' ambitions, as the man said, Gerrard will consider his future and Torres will be at Stamford Bridge before you can say Abramovich.

Win-win? Not on your life.

[Football-Crazy]

In Rafa's four season, we finished above Arsenal and win CL and made to two finals and three semi finals. We also won FA cup during that time. So i think we did very well compared to Arsenal but I agree Chelsea and Man u are hard to catch. So i don't know this Big 3 stuff and we being neighbours. If not better, we and Arsenal on similar terms. We have more chances to do better in Cl than you doing better in Uefa Cup (at least our past record in CL - which is much much better than Arsenal - tells the same thing). Keane deal will be done by monday. But I am not sure if we are interested in barry anymore (untill Alonso leaves).

Also there are lot of ifs and buts in your statement. For a moment I thought I am on a Bitter's (everton) forum.

[Redman]

In all seriousness, I don't think this was ever a win-win situation for Liverpool.

They claim to be members of the so called "Big 4", but it really is a "Big 3" with Liverpool lagging some way behind. OK, signing Torres has been a massive success for them, but its not had the desired effect of putting them on equal footing with Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal. Liverpool really are the Big 3's poor neighbours.

From a club with a rich history, instead of hearing about success, all we hear is boardroom unrest, debts, and the potential of falling further behind the Big 3.

So it really shouldn't have to be a win-win situation - as if Liverpool really were in touch with the Big 3, they'd have "won" this already.

So let's move onto Redman's latter "win" in the "win-win" situation.

If Barry doesn't sign for Liverpool, what have Liverpool gained? The chance to sign him in January?

That's clearly a possibility, but with Barry having 2 years left, its not like they can get a pre-contract agreement, or expect a reduction on Villa's asking price. Furthermore, they'll have even less money in Jan '09 than they do now.

Also, there's the distinct possiblity that Barry could change his mind. Consider (i) Liverpool struggle in the Champs Lge, (ii) Villa progress in the UEFA cup and (iii) Barry maintains his England place for the World Cup qualifiers. On the flipside, he's had a bad few weeks, but he's only been punished for the NoTW article and is clearly back in the fold.

Yes, clearly, there's a lot of "ifs" in here, so I'll add some certainty.

It's certain that Liverpool will come out of this in a poor light.

(1) Certainly, their No. 1 target this summer was Barry, and if they fail to land him it just makes them look "also rans" against the Big 3. Liverpool fans can talk about "Rafa's mind games" all they want, but if Man U were in for Barry at the start of the summer, they'd be enjoying his services, not looking like a bunch of cheapskates.

(2) They've clearly breached Prem Lge rules K3 and K8, so we're within our rights to queue up behind Spurs with our complaint. Wouldn't it be funny if they got a suspended punishment from the alleged Keane tapping, only to find we're waiting in the wings with ours?!!

So to sum up, there's lots at risk for Liverpool. If they fail to get in the top 4 this season without being able to demonstrate (or afford) their fans' ambitions, as the man said, Gerrard will consider his future and Torres will be at Stamford Bridge before you can say Abramovich.

Win-win? Not on your life.

As you say, there are an awful lot of ifs there.

Lets put this into perspective. This is just a transfer and transfers fall through all the time. Barry is/was Liverpool's top target and we might look a bit silly if we fail to secure his signature but how that related to our perceived status within the top 4 is beyond me, as is why you consider it to be of any real significance. In six months time, it'll all be a distant memory, whatever the outcome.

We should also remember that the only thing preventing this transfer from happening is Liverpool's unwillingness to meet the asking price - there is no desperation, despite what Gerrard said. If Liverpool want him badly enough, they can have him. But apparently, there are other priorites.

As for any breach of regulations, if they are as clear as you believe, Villa will be able to provide evidence to prove them. I'd be surprised if there were any clandestine meetings between Benitez and Alex Black or any recorded telephone conversations.

[fastzombies]

can someone tell me if barry asks for a move will he be waivering a lump sum (loyalty bonus is it)?

and if so how much.

and could that be deducted from what we're asking & allow the move to go through?

if this is the case then it shows this proposed move is not just for footballing reasons but is very much about money aswell.

[Bozzy]

Scott Carson is the latest player to turn agent and tell Gareth Barry where his future lies :x :

West Brom goalkeeper Scott Carson feels Villa skipper Gareth Barry would be best served moving to Liverpool.

Carson has played for both clubs involved in the Barry transfer saga and believes the time is right for the England midfielder to leave Villa Park.

"I think if he wants to leave he should really," Carson told BBC WM.

"However, people have got their price and if Liverpool cannot match the price then they have got to come to some sort of agreement."

BBC Sport

[Jas]

Scott Carson is the latest player to turn agent and tell Gareth Barry where his future lies :x :

West Brom goalkeeper Scott Carson feels Villa skipper Gareth Barry would be best served moving to Liverpool.

Carson has played for both clubs involved in the Barry transfer saga and believes the time is right for the England midfielder to leave Villa Park.

"I think if he wants to leave he should really," Carson told BBC WM.

"However, people have got their price and if Liverpool cannot match the price then they have got to come to some sort of agreement."

That's rich. Remind me Scottie - how many times did they send you out on loan?

BBC Sport

[Jas]

Scott Carson is the latest player to turn agent and tell Gareth Barry where his future lies :x :

West Brom goalkeeper Scott Carson feels Villa skipper Gareth Barry would be best served moving to Liverpool.

Carson has played for both clubs involved in the Barry transfer saga and believes the time is right for the England midfielder to leave Villa Park.

"I think if he wants to leave he should really," Carson told BBC WM.

"However, people have got their price and if Liverpool cannot match the price then they have got to come to some sort of agreement."

BBC Sport

That's rich. Remind me Scottie - how many times did they send you out on loan? Idiot.

[fastzombies]

oops

[dont_do_it_doug.]

I have this funny feeling we'll be seeing an apology issued from Gareth Barry in the near future. Public or not.

I've calmed down a wee bit since the article, I'll take him back.

[ianrobo1]

I have hardened DDID, however if we see an apology I will accept that

will we, guess it depends on Plop thus MON's comments today, I suspect Barry is ready to do that IF the deal fell down, no one else would want him

[dont_do_it_doug.]

I have hardened DDID, however if we see an apology I will accept that

I've gone the other way, I've softened a fair bit. It will be tough for the lad because he'll get dogs abuse for a few weeks, until he scores a goal or wins a couple of man of the match awards. Punishment enough? Probably not. But the most important thing to me is the continued success of Aston Villa football club. If that means keeping our best players then I'm all for it.

That said, if relations between player and manager are buckled beyond repair I'd rather we flogged him for £15m than nothing. We've held out long enough IMO, the best deal must be on the table by now.

[Sit_Down_Potato_Head]

I have hardened DDID, however if we see an apology I will accept that

will we, guess it depends on Plop thus MON's comments today, I suspect Barry is ready to do that IF the deal fell down, no one else would want him

It'll take more than just an apology - a lot of hard work and clear evidence of commitment will do it for me. However, the NotW article aside, I can't recall Barry blotting his copybook and generally being a model professional.

After the Berger reconciliation the other season, nothing will surprise me.

[Sit_Down_Potato_Head]

In Rafa's four season, we finished above Arsenal and win CL and made to two finals and three semi finals. We also won FA cup during that time. So i think we did very well compared to Arsenal but I agree Chelsea and Man u are hard to catch. So i don't know this Big 3 stuff and we being neighbours. If not better, we and Arsenal on similar terms. We have more chances to do better in Cl than you doing better in Uefa Cup (at least our past record in CL - which is much much better than Arsenal - tells the same thing). Keane deal will be done by monday. But I am not sure if we are interested in barry anymore (untill Alonso leaves).

Also there are lot of ifs and buts in your statement. For a moment I thought I am on a Bitter's (everton) forum.

But the 'ship* has still left you on the island, and that's whats really eating away at you.

* The Premiership, that is.

[ianrobo1]

I have hardened DDID, however if we see an apology I will accept that

will we, guess it depends on Plop thus MON's comments today, I suspect Barry is ready to do that IF the deal fell down, no one else would want him

It'll take more than just an apology - a lot of hard work and clear evidence of commitment will do it for me. However, the NotW article aside, I can't recall Barry blotting his copybook and generally being a model professional.

After the Berger reconciliation the other season, nothing will surprise me.

SDPH, your right MON has shown if you apologise you ill be brought back in, therefore I think in private Barry has done this, hence possible inclusion tomorrow

he needs now to get the fans onside but the thinking is if MON is prepared to forgive then maybe we should ?

but e need if not an apoloy from Barry some statement of clear intent and commitment if he is to stay

[MMFy]

I have hardened DDID, however if we see an apology I will accept that

will we, guess it depends on Plop thus MON's comments today, I suspect Barry is ready to do that IF the deal fell down, no one else would want him

It'll take more than just an apology - a lot of hard work and clear evidence of commitment will do it for me. However, the NotW article aside, I can't recall Barry blotting his copybook and generally being a model professional.

After the Berger reconciliation the other season, nothing will surprise me.

SDPH, your right MON has shown if you apologise you ill be brought back in, therefore I think in private Barry has done this, hence possible inclusion tomorrow

he needs now to get the fans onside but the thinking is if MON is prepared to forgive then maybe we should ?

but e need if not an apoloy from Barry some statement of clear intent and commitment if he is to stay

Agreed entirely.