Anticipating the fixture to round off the month of August, I thought this is the most opportune time to provide the final views on the long running issue of the summer. Liverpool travel to the Midlands to face Aston Villa, and as we now know, Gareth Barry will be staying a Villain. That is until the next chance to switch arises.For me there is little competition between the midfielders at the centre of the saga: Barry and Alonso. I feel the Englishman outweighs his Basque counterpart in almost every aspect of the game. Barry is better equipped offensively (delivery, penetration, goals, assists, set-pieces), defensively (tackling, marking, endurance, ball-retention, concentration) and generally (versatility, composure, acceleration, decisiveness, leadership).
The fact is Gareth Barry would be a stellar addition to Liverpool FC, and all the evidence, being both statistical and anecdotal, displays Barry as top player. Our abject left side is a major concern, which may be soothed with a new arrival (Riera is taking a medical today), and Barry could have been a short-term solution. His sheer consistency in the Premier League is commendable, and alongside his box-to-box attributes he is often see as the lynch-pin of the Aston Villa team. His adaptability creates a wealth of options over the field, and for such an investment, the lack of injuries he has picked up guarantees his availability for a full season. And as he is English he contributes to UEFA domestic league quota legislation, which may be preventing the sale of Pennant or Finnan.
The man, originally from the South coast, has been subject to constant media speculation, taunts from his home crowd and the loss of his testimonial match. Lucrative incentives prevented him from handing in a transfer request, but an unauthorised newspaper interview took place criticising his manager. Administrative procrastination and politics then took place, with Benitez publicly urging an early conclusion towards the capture of his top target. Multiple bids were lodged and rejected over the months, with mixed messages from the owners over finances and willing for the deal to happen. The stumbling block seemed to be with deal-breaker Rick Parry, who has been under fire from all corners, and most recently from the manager, again. A statement released on the official website, with the notable exception of the owners names, read that the fee was "too high". Much has been reported in the media of the movement towards football being controlled by money more than ever. Players are often seen as assets and property, or as Blatter and Ronaldo stupidly see it: "slaves". Liverpool may have considered residual or sell-on value for Barry and deemed that they would not recoup enough on a sale of a player that haven't purchased yet.
I believe in today's relative economic climate, the market dictates the cost of players with prices rising year on year in spite of fears for global recession. Martin O'Neill and Randy Lerner have clear reasoning over the matter, with players in similar roles such as Hargreaves, Essien and Mascherano costing upwards of £18million. This price has obviously been baulked at, as a major factor in this transfer is the age of the player in question, and also the premium prices for English players. Benitez himself can be seen as delusional and hypocritical for demanding £16million for Xabi Alonso. Even though some could say he is protecting the interests of the club, he regularly excuses his chances of winning the league by referring to the spending power of the top 2 sides and the difficulties in beating teams with the likes of Carrick, Anderson and Mikel warming the bench. Such an inflated value has warded of interest from Juventus and league rivals Arsenal, but one stark development is the absence of interest from Spanish teams. The clubs make regular homeward bound calls for their ex-patriots through the press, but haven't even been rumoured to put in a bid.
As the seasons have rolled on, Alonso has been depreciating in form and value. He established himself in his first two seasons as an expensive import who could control the flow of the game, setting a tempo and rhythm to our play with clear vision and passing; the consummate professional. But subsequently has been laid off to the treatment room and been replaced by Mascherano, Lucas and most recently Plessis, playing bit-part roles with varying success.
I think there may be a future for the Barry deal, and the first opportunity will the the January transfer window. One point that supports this idea is that his UEFA Cup appearance in Iceland cup-tied Barry until the knock-out stages of the UCL this season, which get underway in February. This is when the competition really starts to take shape and a big-money name at such a time would be a great boost, even though such agreements are usually sealed in the summer. The structure of the deal would change, concerning the payment schedule, involving a lower price and perhaps instead significant add-on clauses or compensation.
But the most important reasoning to secure Barry is the necessity to bring in the right player for the team.
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