England victory and Gareth Barry shines, again

Barry was absolutely class. Perhaps if we had spent bigger in the transfer window he wouldn't stand out so much in the Villa squad, but seeing that O'Neill didn't splash the cash Barry will now be on the big club radar. We could lose him and we should be worried.

Barry has a little bit more loyalty than that mate.....if he was gonna leave, he'd have gone to Spurs 13 months ago when we were offered £7m and he was offered £70k a week....Barry and Gerrard are the best thing I've seen in Englands midfield in years, so balanced it looked effortless. Could Lampard and Hargreaves do better ??......I really don't believe they could, too great big ego's v two genuine heart on the sleeve lads.....Barry has done more in two matches than Lampard has done in two years, and Stevie G loves it !!...

you may be right Astonmilan but there is a difference between Spurs knocking and Chelsea, Liverpool, United or Arsenal

Barry was awsome last night. He should have got man of the match. He plays like that week in week out at Villa. It annoys me when England fans seem to think Barry would struggle at International level. Just shows that Villa are definitely going to have a decent season.

I wonder if he ment to write 'fat' in the second paragraph when talking about Frank Lampard. But i agree lampard is rubbish for england and Barry is a more than capable replacement! Come on villa for Saturday and Barry can show that money grabbing swede sven why he should have picked him more often!

I honestly think that you are all worrying for nothing, Barry has been at the club since he was 17 (I think!) and has grown up at the villa. He has villa in his blood and suggesting that he would leave villa is like saying gerrard would leave liverpool.

I hope to see Barry in Russia and Estonia next month.
Against the weaker teams i'm sure he'll play Lampard, against the top teams he'll play Hargreaves but when it's teams between 10th and 50th in the FIFA rankings, Barry's your man. Either that or to please everyone we could just play 3-5-2 and have Barry, Gerrard and Lampard in the middle.

I can't see Barry leaving, he's our captain and he's devoted to the cause.
More money or not, he is Aston Villa now.

o'neill gave him a raise at the start of the season on account on his performances last year.
i don't think we should worry about him leaving yet but if he carries on playing well and we don't make europe by the end of 2009, then we can!

im worried about Barry.He will now as many people said be on the big clubs radar. TBH if was offered a top 4 club i wouldnt blame him for going. I hope it doesnt happen.

For now let's all hail England's new number 7. Frank can stay on the bench unless Gerrards injured.

Plus Damien....Villa now have a performance related salary and bonus scheme linked to Actim results, ground covered and goals etc... so his £47k a week can be £65k a week if we win and he scores or assists etc....believe it or not some players like being an essential part of something and although we've been in the wilderness recently, he really is part of something now. Maybe if we underachieve in the next two sesons he may decide to move on, but he's been here too long to jump ship now.....

lets not worry about other clubs villa are a big club at the moment and we are expanding even more, and im sure GB knows even more than we do as to where the club are heading!GB's Villa for Life!Barry for England cmon the lions!!!

In all honesty, we all love him, but i can't see the top 4 wanting him. Liverpool have got midfield quality better than Barry (Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko etc), Arsenal play pacier football than Baz can cope with, Chelsea only want people who they can spend 20mil on, along with having so many quality midfielders, and Utd have Hargreaves and Carrick in the role that Baz played in last night, along with tonnes of other midfield players. Not one of those clubs need Barry. The only place that i could ever see him going to is Spurs, since his family support them i believe, and they could do with him. But as was said earlier, if he didn't go 13months ago when he had the chance, what would be the point now. The guy played well yesterday, but he'll get dropped without a flinch when the others get back.

Agreed, AstonMilan

I have to disagree about Lampard, I think he is an overated player. I do think he is a good player, but take away his goals and hes is just a decent midfielder, not an excellent one. He doesn't add that much the team performance, and hasn't done so for 2 or 3 years. Yes he scores goals, but Chelsea can afford to accomadate him, England can't. I think an England team without Lampard in will score more goals overall through out the team, than a team with him.

We all know Barry leaving for a top 4 club won't happen. First off he's only had two great games for england and if it wasn't for injuries he would have been a sub seeing 20 mins at best! Secondly he's only now over the past few seasons really turning out the performances for Villa & England we knew he could but it's still not enough to alert the top 4. If Barry is to ever leave Villa it's for Spurs there's only so many times you can reject your boyhood club before regreting it later on. Even then we could possibly start finishing above them and he'll stay for here good. But there's no need to panic about Barry leaving just yet! Because it just won't happen anytime soon.

I bet Rafa Benitez will want Barry for his midfield now.

I can't imagine MON doesn't see the risk, and wouldn't do anything necessary to keep Barry if the others come knocking. In fact, playing for England might very well suit Barry's ambition, and decrease the likelihood of his leaving.

MON is in this to win, and Barry will know that. After all, it's under MON that he's gotten his call-up. Surrounded by equally hungry and ambitious talent, MON is creating a side full of ambition. Barry's success will only buoy the lads and make the silverware he's always coveted more likely. And I think it will only mean all the more to him being the cornerstone of it all.

To retain Barry requires the same success necessary to attract the other players MON would like. It all goes hand in hand, and that's definitely MON's goal. Look how good it all seems to be coming.

Early days, but the signs are all positive so far, and that's all you can ask.

I dont agree that Lamapard is a good player! He has a great shot and goal scoring record for club but that doesn't amount to anything when it comes to playing for your country. Lampard and Gerrard CAN NOT play well together and it has been proven over and over again. So as England coach you have to decide which one of those 2 plays FL or SG. Its a simple answer SG all the way!
For ages now England have looked unbalanced when these 2 play together because FL cant defend and SG is much better going forward than defending also. That leaves us vulnerable in midfield and at the back. In my opinion FL should be used ONLY when SG is out of the side or to replace him during a game. At no other point should these 2 be played in the same game. That leaves the question as to Who should partner SG in midfield? Without being biased Barry has made an excellent case for himself as being that partner. Obviously him and Gerrard get on like a house on fire so theres an immediate connection and understanding but more importantly we all know that GB is a more defence minded person naturally and that allows SG to do what he does best! However this also applies to Hargreaves who I think would also do well with Gerrard. As Jambi says take away FL's goals and you have a decent midfielder at best. Take away SG's goals and you still have a world class midfielder who can create chances, run box to box, have a great passing range and still give 110% even when the chips are down... and who likes playing with GB! (ok! I tried not to be biased ;D)
It was a great performance yesterday and well deserved victory for the lads and i think Mclaren has stumbled on the starting XI that could save him his job. I'm just really glad GB is now getting a well deserved run in the side! ;D

barry is mazin, lampard is sh***

oooops! I meant Lampard in the opening sentence of my little rant. But i'm sure LamApard isn't a very good player either lol

i dont think g.barry wil be going any where he knows mon is trying to make villa great again so he will be going no where, if mons plans all work out fingers etc crossed then there wont be just a top four but a top five and lets face it its about time some body gate crashed there party, hes the captain of aston villa fc so relax and enjoy the future and stop all this worrying or you will be the same if or when we do get other players into the english sqaud...lets beat man city,and get closer to all our dreams.up the villa

I read sm-where that steven Gerrrard said "i dont think ppl realise how well me and Gareth get on off the pitch"If Gerrard has influance at Liverppol maybe he could persuade him to join them.

to I HATE BLUES
Gerrard and Barry have been great friends since 2000 when they both made their debut for England. Being of similar age and being new to the squad etc they naturally got on well. My point is that they have been friends for 7-8 years now surely Gerrard would have tried to get him to Liverpool long before now if he was ever going to at all. Dont worry I dont think GB is going anywhere just yet! ;D

Barry adds so much to the England team and is such a better fit than Lamb-pard. He is definately on peoples radars now so we should keep him happy as best we can!

Ok im a huge villa fan season ticket holder in the holte end upper. Barry is a great player and we know he should of been included a long time ago and him and gerrard are working well together and i hope steve keeps them 2 in the middle.

However, Lampard and Hargreaves are world class players. How can you people say Lampard is sh*t when he scores over 20 goals a season from midfield and has the highest amount of assists each year in the premiership. he is argueably the most effective midfielder in the premiership. Thats why Chelsea tried so hard to keep him and thats why Real madrid barcelona and ac milan tried desperatly to get him. all 3 of their managers described him as the best center midfielder in the world. You cannot say a 20 goal a season midfielder (consistently) is sh*t, give me a break, some of you aint got a clue.

Up the Villa!

Yeah I've got to agree with Ayersy, what's with all this take away his goals c**p. Take away Thierry Henry's goals and his just a bloke pratting about on the pitch.

The point i was trying to make is that there is more to being a good midfielder than scoring goals. Thierry Henry is a striker so therefore goals are his only aim. Lampard scores goals for fun but cant defend to save his life doesn't even pass that well and his only thought is to shoot on sight. Fair enough if youre putting the work in at both ends of the pitch but he doesn't! I have friends who are Chelsea fans and even they admit that maybe he should change his position to striker cos thats all he seems intrested in. Who knows? Maybe a switch to centre forward might help feed his giant ego and he can get out of doing some of the donkey work a quality midfielder like Gerrard has to do!

sorry merlin i dont agree, If you watch lampard he is forever winning and picking the ball up on the edge of his own box, and his ball distribution is second to none. Lampard is not an all action midfielder like gerrard, but he is very very clever, his through balls and runs and space he finds in and around the box is fantastic. and if all he does is look to shoot thats good id rather our players have a few more shots like lee hendire used too. paul scholes cannot defend for his life scores less goals and less assists, yet he has been one of the premier leagues best ever players.

Thanks for clarifying merlin1. As much as I prefer a player like Stevie G in midfield who offers the complete game, there are plenty of players who occupy the attacking midfield role, of which Lampard is one of the best. Unfortunately they need a very defensive midfielder (like Makelele) along side them otherwise the team is at a loss defensively. Players like Gerrards don't come along often so a combination of Lampard and another defensive midfielder (hopefully Barry over Hargreaves) is an excellent alternative.

think gareth barry is great player and good on him up the villa he has been mazin for us this season so far and lampard is no good he is a load of trash.