The Wrong Way To Leave The Villa
The wrong way to leave a Football Club in my opinion, is the way Gareth Barry left The Villa. Yes he wrote a letter to The Villa Faithful which was published by the Birmingham Post in 2009, giving his reasons why he wanted to leave The Villa, which saw him move to Manchester City. Its not the letter that has made me feel betrayed and why I don’t want to see Barry back in the Claret and Blue, even though I needed a sick bag after reading it.
Its the statement’s that he made in a article to The News Of The World in 2008 which got my back up and made me feel betrayed as a Villa fan for the first time since I started supporting this beautiful club of ours. Barry said
“My mind’s made up, I want to join Liverpool. There’s no going back, it’s time for me to move on. I’m desperate to play Champions League football and that’s why I have to leave Villa.”
“It’s seven weeks now since the season finished but while the gaffer’s found time to be a pundit for the BBC at Euro 2008, he hasn’t found the time to speak to me. But Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has shown how much he wants me at Anfield.”
Excerpts from The News of the World
To be played out in the media in this way, to force a move away from The Villa, even though it was a year later, is not acceptable for me and a lot of Villa fans who pay to see there Hero’s week in and week out. There are Villa fans out there who do not feel the way I do, and would welcome him back no matter what he said, and I accept that, They say something like “He played out of his skin the season his transfer to pool fell through!? Forgotten that? Well no I haven’t forgotten that. But I expect every Villa player, wether they want to stay or leave, have been here for one or twenty years, to give 100% for cause all the time.
The Right way To Leave A Football Club
The right way to leave a Football club in my opinion, its when its not played out in the press, the way that it was when Barry moved from The Villa. For me, it has to feel like an overnight decision, when you wake up in the morning and find out that one of our players has been bought by another club. That in its self is sad to me to, especially when you see your player putting on another football jersey thats not the Claret and Blue. It hurts, but you get over it. You could even see them back one day at your club. But there’s a hard core of The Villa Faithful who wouldn’t accept any reason for a Villa player to leave, and I accept there right to feel that way to.
So I hope I’ve expressed myself in a way that you can understand. If you cant understand my reasoning, well thats fine to, I don’t mind expanding the debate. Just one more thing, if Barry was to come back to The Villa I would never make him feel bad about being here, by the way of booing or cursing him, I’ve never booed or cursed any body on the football pitch who is associated with our great club. #UTV
Would broadly agree Glenn. Nothing worse than players saying they want to move from Villa for a ‘bigger’ club or when they try to manipulate the press into a move. As for Gareth Barry, would probably be a decent acquisition and I would accept him back … but the game is getting faster all the time and I’m not sure he has the pace for the new young and hungry Villa team … he was never that quick anyway !
Thanks Gazza H Pie, I appreciate your comment.
not in a million yrs! Goes against everything PL is doing. Barry is overpaid&overrated. Does the basics WELL at best. So no. Milner on the other hand would be a big fat YES!!!
don’t agree with you on this one Glenn , he gave us 10-12 years good service cost us nothing(I think) and we sold him for good money….yes he said he wanted to go to Liverpool for champions league football ..yes he changed and went to citeh for the money..but can you hold it against him wanting one big payday to secure his future for him and his family after football ..and he got his champions league football with citeh abeit briefly , with all that said if he came back to villa he would only be a squad player hes getting on now and theres not much left in the tank. I understand your feelings G about this as I felt the same when downing left but the difference was downing publicly declared his loyalty to villa stating villa bought me in plaster I owe them for the trust and patience they have put in me…a week later he was at Liverpool..now that’s a rat
What it shows is players come and go and our great club lives on, no one is Bigger than the club. He would love to comeback ow he is on his way down. UTV
What it shows is players come and go and our great club lives on, no one is bigger than the club. He would love to comeback now he is on his way down. UTV
Couldn’t agree with you more Petrol hero. Like I said, a lot of Villa fans don’t like the way Barry left our wonderful club.
I don’t agree with what you have just posted about Gareth Barry. The lad gave 12 years of loyal service to villa and for that I wouldn’t mind if he came back. But he won’t come back anyways because some of the fans will get on his back.
He gave 10 yrs of his best days at the villa didn’t do much at city didn’t need 2 with the players they got round him only went for the money can’t blame him cause anyone would but still wouldn’t want him back to old & to slow now Cheerio barry & thanks alot for your service you can come back but please not as a player
Barry should of stayed at villa……I think they will finish top 6 or better this season…says an albion fan….
No player should stay at a club if they don’t want to.
Im just saying what I think, barry should of stayed, I think he wont figure much this season for city….?
Barry was a fantastic servant for the club. I don’t like the way he went public about his desire to leave but you cannot blame him for wanting to better himself and the facts show that he has won trophies at city.
I would have no problem with him returning but on a purely footballing point of view I think he is a ‘gone’ player. He still has an excellent touch/technique but physically he is even slower and looks overweight/lethargic. Watch the 2010 WC against Germany and this was very apparent. He can get away with this at city as they always have 60-70% possession along with athletes such as Yaya Toure around him. At Villa he would be required to do much more physical work due to both the style PL wants to play and the lack of possession we would have through out the season (compared to city).
I would have taken Barry back last year as we needed his experience and cool head, but I am not so sure we need him for the new season.
Player loyalty – players will always move on to a perceived bigger/richer club. It happens to most clubs e.g. Man Utd (Ronaldo to Real Madrid), Arsenal (Van Persie to Man Utd).
Real & Barca are the biggest clubs in the world right now and they pretty well buy who they want – but back in the 80s and 90s, Italian clubs would buy their best players (Maradona went from Barca to Napoli).
The best players will always go to where the money is as this usually equates to the more successful teams.
You also have to remember that we do the same when we transfer a player in and football is cyclical. It wasn’t that long ago that we bought players from some clubs that are now considered big/rich clubs, because at the time we were more successful e.g. Peter Withe (Newcastle), Andy Townsend (Chelsea) – you could even say Dean Saunders (Liverpool).
N.B. Other players who have returned: Steve Staunton, Andy Gray.