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A Letter To Mr Barry
Dear Gareth,
If you really want to leave Villa, please put it in writing (not the news of the world) and forsake your loyalty bonus. This means that Villa can accept a lower bid from Liverpool and your transfer can go through.
Thanks for 10 years of service, but please now f**k off.
Paul ( Then the papers can start on about Berbatov) O'Sullivan AVFC
Hand In A Transfer Request Boyo
To Fayez Khan concering Gareth Barry. A couple of your quotes that I'd like to comment on if I may:
"...he stated to O'Neill that he wanted a move a while ago, a deal still isn't done and let's face it O'Neill has been p***ing about in the media himself delaying it and asking for too much."
Take your Red tinted glasses off for a second and look at the cold hard truths here. Prior to his Euro 2008 punditry stint, Martin O'Neill was in the media virtually every other day, stating how much both he and Randy wanted Gareth to stay at the club. Indeed, it was Gareth himself who said that he wouldn't comment on it until (a) Liverpool came in with an offer - and here's the important part - that was SUITABLE TO ASTON VILLA and (b) he was done playing for England. Hardly O'Neill's fault, that. Upon saying that he wants to move, has Martin O'Neill said that he won't allow it to happen? No. His actual quote was that "if Liverpool meet our valuation then Gareth Barry will get his express wish to leave Villa Park". Now re-read that quote and tell me where O'Neill has been p***ing about because it seems very cut and dry to me.
The only p***ing about in the media, as has been mentioned constantly by Liverpool fans, Villa fans and all neutrals alike, has been carried out by your club - first with Rafa conducting all his business via the media and then with Steven Gerrard very subtly tapping up his best mate by saying he would like to see him at Anfield. Again, I fail to see MON's presence in any of this. Oh, and with regards to his valuation by Villa then it has already been mentioned by others on this site that Michael Carrick was bought for £17m and Owen Hargreaves for £19m. Considering his age and Premiership experience, is it really that far wide of the mark to suggest that Barry is worth £18m? In my eyes at least, he's certainly no worse than either one of those players.
"Every person has their breaking point, Barry reached his, simple as, he's giving everything to that club and feels they owe him a smooth transfer to a different club, is that so wrong?"
Five words to Gareth Barry: Hand. In. A. Transfer. Request. Oh, what's that you say? But if he does that, he'll lose out on loyalty payments owed to him by Villa? Well, there you have it then Gareth - what's more important to you, Champions League football or a bit of a pay out which, let's face it, you could undoubtedly live comfortably without? Considering that he has used the media to effectively turn his back on the club that employs him and the fans that have been chanting his name constantly through good times and bad, I find the use of the word "loyalty" leaves a sour taste in the mouth. The bottom line is this - Barry won't be seen playing football in a Villa shirt again but unless Liverpool accept that they will only acquire his services by paying what Villa have asked for, then he won't be playing in a Liverpool shirt either.
Jeff (wondering how many Villa fans regret buying the recently released "Gareth Barry - 10 Years" DVD) Gowen
Villan, Oldbury
An E-Mail From One Of A Touchy Bunch
So Nick Miller writes an article most Liverpool fans with a iota of intelligence disagree with (no jokes please) and when we all write in to point out where he went wrong we're sarcastically referred to as being "in no way a touchy bunch"?
Like Rafa, we're damned if we do, and damned if we don't!!
Rob McCormack
Villa Owe Barry Nowt
Fayez - where to start...
Two summers ago, Gareth Barry agreed that in exchange for £9.36m, paid in 48 instalments, he would play for Aston Villa for four seasons between 2006 and 2010. He now wants to renege on that deal, but the club don't; until the club change their mind, the contract stands as is. Villa have stated that if they are paid the going rate for an English midfielder in Barry's position - bear in mind he is also a club captain - they will release him from the deal he was quite happy with until 3 months ago. However, as it stands, the club are in charge. Barry wanting to leave is not enough.
He's given everything to this club? We owe him a transfer? I don't think so. Everything that he's given to this club has been in exchange for very healthy wages. In return we've had several good seasons out of him, particularly since his current manager took over, realised he should be playing in central midfield, and has since brought the best form out of him - form which has got him into the England team. Lest we forget, Barry spent a good 6-7 of his 10 years at Villa complaining about being overlooked for England. Would you not then suggest that his current manager is owed something more from Barry beyond having his integrity, dignity and ability questioned publicly in a horrible tabloid rag?
You think everyone would applaud his boldness if he was foreign? I suggest you spend a few moments perusing F365 for stories and mails on the Ronaldo transfer saga to see how foreign 'boldness' has been received.
I appreciate that the concept of paying a particular price for something you want is possibly a little looser in Liverpool than other parts of the country, but as it stands, Liverpool know what Barry will cost them. If they don't want to pay it, that's their problem; unsettling Barry to get Villa to drop the price hasn't worked, and the hordes of irate 'scousers' demanding that Villa do as they're told isn't going to work either.
Neil Raines
Is This The Most Patronising E-Mail Of All Time?
All the talk at the moment seems to be about Liverpool and Rafa's transfer policy, and people not understanding what Rafa is trying to achieve, well I'm going to try and make it clear for people.
It's clear to see by looking at Liverpool's record in the Champs league since Rafa has arrived that the gafa has petty much got the Champions League sussed, and Liverpool have a team that can make a challenge for that title. What Liverpool don't have is a team that can challenge for the premiership title. Last year we started exceptionally well and ended on a good run, but cocked it all up in the middle of the season, this I believe is down to us having a good continental style team who can perform well in fair weather conditions, but lack the players needed to get stuck in through those winter months.
So, how do we get a team that can challenge for the Prem? Bring in players like Villa, Aimar, Quaresma, Silver etc...all good players, but will they help us grind out results through those winter months? Will they be suited to the Prem? How long will they take to settle?
No, what Rafa is doing is trying to bring in good Premiership players, who can help us win the Premiership. Players like Barry, Keane, Bentley, Milner (please don't bring in Milner), Downing et all. That way we can not only be the best in Europe, but the best in England as well.
Mark (Rafa the Gafa knows best) Warrington
Two Words For You
The answer to almost all the questions that you posed with regard to Rafa's transfer "policy" consists of simply 2 words. Steven Gerrard.
The reason why Rafa is trying to strengthen centre midfield is that he needs solid workers in that area to play behind Gerrard. THis allows Stevie to do what he likes best, namely go wherever he wants in the opposition half and never cross back over the halfway line. Its no wonder a great player like Xabi Alonso (admittedly past his best) wants out.
He need solid workers that are prepared to fetch Captian Hollywood's buckets of water. Mascherano seems content, and Barry would apparently give anything to play in the same team as the icon that he clearly has a man-crush on.
Everything else that Rafa appears to bungle stems from the formation that he has to play accomodate Gerrards "roaming" roll. With only one striker in the team, clearly Torres, how can he really get top talent that wants to play as an out-an-out striker ?/ Samuel Eto, as one guy suggested, is a pipedream. So Rafa is in the market for players that can be played wide, or up front if needed occasionally. Trouble is, these players are all the rage and dont come cheap when youve spent your budget on Torres. So you get Babel, an unfinished product, Kuyt re-positioned, and Harry Kewell (hoho), topped up with affordable out-and-out wingers who arent good enough (see Pennant and Gonzalez).
The fact is, Rafa's other transfer business has been decent. Reina gave them 2/3 solid seasons, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Agger, Mascherano and Lucas all look fine. Its wide and upfront it looks bad because he cant admit that he is entirely dependent (tactically) on Gerrard and Torres. He must buy players that only suit that formation or sell Gerrard and go back to a more 4-4-2 formation, giving him greater options when dealing in the transfer market.
This year is a classic example. Why buy Barry when you might get Xavi ? Why go for Keane when you might get Eto or any number of decent goalscorers to help Torres. Because Barry will sit there and fawn over Gerrard and Keane will play wide if he is asked.
Mark R Johnson
It's A Good Point
I continually read in the mailbox these Liverpool fans excusing their gross domestic incompetence with cries of 'under-funding' being the primary reason. As an Arsenal fan, believe me that I know a thing or two about under-funded squads built on the cheap, in comparison to your rivals. Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano collectively cost more than almost the whole Arsenal squad. So I suppose the question I want to ask of Liverpool fans is: if the reason Rafa has been unable to even participate in the title race has to do with money, can you please explain how a team like Arsenal was able to compete, whilst Liverpool were not?
Stewie Griffin (expecting us to sign an embryo and continue with that clown Senderos. And don't get me started on Eboue. Or Almunia. Dear God so much dross)
Babel; Rubbish
Why is every Liverpool fan defending Benitez's transfer dealings with the signing of Babel. Last time I checked, and I've checked often, he is laughably shite. Prozone stats show (probably) that he loses the ball 84% of the time he receives it.
It sums him up when Arsenal were tracking him and Wenger said "we're not sure if he's of the necessary level", and then Benitez came in and bagged $11m worth of crap.
Martin "Sun Ji-Hai is better than Babel" Todoroski, MCFC
It's Not Newcastle's Fault He's A Thug
What Joey Barton did is wrong. No question. But people need to get off Newcastle about this. It isn't their fault and it's not their responsibility, legally, morally or ethically, to sack him. The most recent quotes from Dabo are utter nonsense.
"Newcastle (who)...truly lack ethics and morals... have invested a lot in this guy and they do not want to lose a lot of money. The club does not care a damn about the law and it shocks me."
What exactly is shocking there? You've pointed out the investment they have made in him and are understandably unwilling to lose. There's nothing in the law that says they have to sack him, sell him, suspend him, loan him, drop him, do anything to him... Nothing. So, shut up about Newcastle. Joey Barton is at fault here, not the club.
The only thing shocking is Dabo's inability to formulate simple, logical thought.
Niall, Korea
Ade Is Playing With Arsenal
Am I the only one who thinks that Adebayor is playing Arsenal? It all starts with these transfer rumors, Arsenal don't want to sell and Ade says confidently "I am staying". A few words with his agent later and hes back saying "well I cant rule out anything"! Then he goes on to talk about how he deserves TH style wages?? Sounds to me like this guy never had the intention of leaving but decided to take this ridiculous transfer saga as a way of cashing in
Wasif, Spurs
Simple
Isn't the whole Adebayor saga quite simple?
Arsenal don't really want to sell him, because he's an impressive player who would be difficult to replace - strong, quick, skilful leaders of the line are like gold dust, even if they lack a bit in the finishing department. However, every player has his price, so they put a silly money tag on him - if Barca stump up, then they at least have a chance of being able to afford a replacement. But they probably won't, so Wenger keeps his player.
Meanwhile Adebayor himself stepped up a level last season, and expects his earnings to go up accordingly. Given that Arsenal have said all along that they'd offer him a new, improved contract, this just becomes a negotiation.
Meanwhile a couple of big, glamorous clubs say they want him. As far as I can work out, all Adebayor's said is that he loves Arsenal and would love to stay, but he wants a better contract. And if it doesn't work out, and Arsenal can make a lot of money out of it, and he goes to play for a high-profile club, then fine, everyone's a winner.
What's the big deal?
GP, London
A Universal Solution
Sticking to the 3-paragraph maxim, I have a single simple solution to the problems of 1) players barracking the referee, 2) s**te co-commentators and 3) wrongly given decisions. Why not stick the ref in with the commentator? 1) With the ref off the pitch no-one but the commentator can question him. 2) The ref would in effect be the co-commentator, thus generating P45's for the likes of Lawrenson and Pleat. 3) The ref would not only be able to see all the replays but he can also vocally justify any decisions he makes if the commentator doesn't understand them, making us all better students of the game.
He could announce his decisions over the stadium PA and the fourth official could step in if there is any ambiguity (positioning of free-kicks, walls etc) on the pitch. (And if the players were told that the fourth official is deaf there'd be no point in them harranguing him either).
If the players don't play ball the ref could simply abandon the game by announcing over the PA that he's going home and both teams would be awarded minus one point for failure to fulfill a fixture due to their inability to play the game to its official - and very simple - rules.
Simple. And as an added bonus, "who's the w**kers in the commentary box?" could actually be sung from home as well as at the ground.
Really, don't thank me,
Mort Snort
He's Quick, He's Strong He's Got A...
In response to Edward Beresford's letter asking who will be The new Barry
Unluckily for Villa fans I've got a feeling they will go through this all again next summer. The player I'd like to nominate is Ashley Young.
After christmas last season (when given a free reign to roam) he was excellent and rightly got an England call up. If he plays the coming season as he finished the last, combine that with some more international experience the "Big Three" will undoubtedly come knocking. So called flair players usually command outrageous transfer fees but a young ENGLISH flair player who has already been purchased for £10 million, christ he could go for anything !
Ladies and gentlemen the new Garry Barry - Ashley Young.
Sorry Villa fans.
Baz
Fixing The Transfer Problem
Isn't it about time FIFA & UEFA got to the core of the problem in football. It's not player wages, too many foreigners, clubs up to their eyeballs in debt or any of the other airy fairy ideas they've come up with recently. It seems to me that the main problem is the transfer system. Clubs buying very average players for wedges of cash large enough to choke a herd of elephants because they have the available cash/finance. How do they fix this problem? Easy.
Make it a rule that transfers for all the clubs in all the top leagues have to be "revenue neutral" over a rolling period of say 4 years, i.e a club who spend 20M every year for three years will have to balance the books in year 4 by recouping 60M in transfer revenue. Allowances would be made for player depreciation and long term injuries etc. Clubs who fail to do this will be subject to a 20 point penalty at the start of the next year for the first offence double that for the second etc. This can be started at any time as it won't have any effect on players clubs already own.
What will this achieve?
Clubs will have to be a lot more careful in players they buy, no more open checkbooks for a bunch of average players. No more billionaires buying unlimited success year after year. Managers will actually have to think and manage there clubs and players properly. This will also help to break up the cartels at the top of most leagues and also stop these clubs running up huge debts.
Force clubs to bring players through their youth systems. Who knows we may even get some half decent England players out of it.
Allow them to get rid of the abomination that is the transfer window.
Take a lot of the power away from that parasitical breed of people otherwise known as "football agents".
Put a lot of useless "gossip columnists" (not the F365 ones of course) out of work, just think no more Ronaldo type sagas and the amount of trees saved would be enough to end global warming at a stroke.
It doesn't affect the players wages so their happy. It won't restrict the movement of players between clubs (except with them being limited by their talent or lack of it) or force any unworkable quotas on foreign players so the EU won't get upset. Clubs could even use the money they save to reduce ticket prices (yeah right, must get a pair of those rose tinted glasses). There must be some sort of down side with this idea but I'm buggered if I can see what it is.
Robin (don't applaud just send money) Singapore.
A Few Problems
Just read an interesting email from Pete, Shropham about giving each team 3 challenges like at Wimbledon for bad decisions. Letting only the captain use them is a good idea. My concern would be what decisions are you going to allow to be challenged.
The matter of fact ones are straight forward - was it over the line, was it inside the box etc. What about the more subjective ones??? The best example I can come up with for this is the Mascherano sending off at OT. It was blatantly obvious to everyone except Andy Gray that the little chipmunk look-alike had constantly been in the refs ear telling him to f**k off and had already been booked for a daft tackle. If the captain were allowed to appeal this decision, how could the fourth official know what had gone on in the lead up to the 2nd yellow???
The idea is a good one, but the types of decisions which can be challenged would need to be restricted to absolute matters of fact. I think 3 for one game is too many and would offer 2 per side with this only going down if the challenge is not upheld. To take this one stage further and clear up a lot of crap within the FA would be to take a leaf out of Rugby League's book. If the ref isn't sure on a particular incident or didn't quite see all of it and only books a player or gives a free-kick when may be a more severe punishment would have been warranted the ref in Rugby League is allowed to put the incident on report there and then for a panel to look at afterwards for review.
This does happen to a certain extent but appears on a more informal basis with refs reports etc. In these instances it is clear right at the time of the incident that the ref wants something looking at instead of getting statements from the FA days afterwards that they are going to look at something. Neither proposal is difficult to implement and would give the ref with the hardest job of the lot a bit of breathing space.
Tim (not gonna happen as this would help the game and the FA never do that) Collins
Good Memory
Going back to an old theme of reply to old letters - the day after the Champions League final some United fan wrote in saying something along the lines of, 'imagine what it's like being a Citeh fan, United won the double whilst they've lost their best manager in years, players are deserting etc, etc.'
Well just to keep you updated we're very happy with our manager, we've just signed one of the most promising young strikers in the world, our goalkeeper is about to sign a new contract, our most influential player & captain (& 4 times in a row Player of the Season) has turned down £25k a week more at another club to stay with us and we'll never see Sun Jihai in a City shirt again....so all in all we're doing very well thank you and you don't need to worry about us.
Of course being City we'll mess it up but till then....that is all.
Gavin (Loving Dunnie's loyalty - he could teach someone a thing or two....probably not stepovers though) MCFC
Summer Is Here!
Transfer speculation, overly overly-sensitive Liverpool fans, Wimbledon, and daft mailboxes, it can only mean one thing... Summer has arrived! So, I've waited till that football nonsense was out of the way to ask you (again), to beg you; can we please, please have a mailbox archive? Would it really be so difficult to do? I know that since the awesome Beckham Corner disappeared that someone in there is doing nothing. Put them on to it. There are so many good reasons to have one, and all it will take is more work (for the same pay) from you guys. Sky+HD etc...
Joe Donohoe
We'll see....
