As the headline says: Manchester City have just signed Gareth Barry from Aston Villa for a fee of £12 million. For the curious, that’s less than the ~£15 million bid Liverpool tabled for him last season, and also less than the £14 million Man City reportedly spent on Craig Bellamy. Barry was in the last throes of a contract he refused to renew, of course, so it all just goes to show that no chorus of doting nine-year-olds can drown out a man’s desire to play for a club that has finished at least three spots below his current club in each of the last three seasons. I don’t care how noble his chin is. Richard at AMSL has the word on Barry’s logic.
Read More: Aston Villa, Gareth Barry, Manchester City
by Brian Phillips · June 2, 2009
It’s a good signing for Manchester City but I think it points to the end of Elano and Robinho at Citeh. When Mark Hughes dreams at night it’s of scrappy doughboys who get the red ass, not the beautiful game.
$$$.
I think there is room in City’s midfield for Barry, DeJong, Robinho, and Elano. Elano has looked decent wide right – he sends in a nice cross.
However, the gaping hole up front has yet to be filled. Neither Jo nor Bellamy is the answer.
And hey, City paid less than Liverpool offered? Hats off to City for not paying a ridiculous sum
…dear jesus. This does baffle logic
I’ve thought about this, and while the hypocritical, cynical money-grabber is he obvious story-line, I’m not entirely certain that’s all there is to it.
For a second, lets take on face value that he really is motivated by Champions League football. He’s 29, so he’s still got at least 2 years at the top of his game, most likely. So, as much as he’d like it to be, it doesn’t have to be next year.
Who, of the CL teams was going to sign him? United or Chelsea – overstocked with mostly better at his position. Liverpool or Arsenal – certainly, and reportedly interested last season. But certainly, and reportedly broke this. That’s actually probably too pat an analysis, for the latter two, but I don’t think Liverpool will be buying without selling, and I really don’t think Arsène was ever really that interested.
I don’t see Barry as a player who is particularly well-suited for a foreign CL side (Arsenal, offered as evidence) so I think he may have made the pragmatic decision to choose the club most likely to break the top 4 next or the following season. Amongst: Villa, Everton, Man City, or “the field”, who, if you were laying money down, would you pick?
If you want to remain cynical (which admittedly is very easy to do, this is football) who would you pick, if you were also getting paid a fortune by one of them in the process. Certainly enough to dispel any linger doubts over City’s chances Vis-à-vis Villa’s.