Gareth Barry pleased with 6 Manchester City players in England team
Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry believes the fact that the core of England’s national team comprises of City players would help the club make its way up in the league.
England team had six City players on the pitch in the 3-1 win against Switzerland at Basel. It was the 2nd win in two Euro 2012 qualifiers for England.
City’s number one between the posts Joe Hart replaced former Manchester City keeper David James in the goal for England. Joleon Lescott was in defence and James Milner and Gareth Barry started in the midfield. Adam Johnson and Shaun Wright-Phillips came on as subs to make it a heavy City contingent in the national team.
Back in 1977, seven Liverpool players were fielded by Ron Greenwood for England. That match was also against Switzerland.
Barry, while talking to the media after the match, said that it was amazing to have 6 players from Manchester City on the pitch. He said that many have been criticising the club for splashing the cash and bringing in talent from Europe. However, having 6 players in the national team proves that the club has a domestic core and it would definitely help them make inroads in the Premier League.
The former Aston Villa player said that in the past, clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United have had multiple players in the England team and their success in the domestic league in the past proves that having a core team of English players is always great for the club. He said that if the team works hard and makes good use of its resources, there is no doubt that League success is within their reach.
Johnson has been by far the most impressive of City players in the team. The left-footed midfielder scored in both games for England and made a strong statement after being included by Capello.
Gareth Barry complimented his City teammate Adam Johnson and said that he has immense potential and can become one of the best left-sided players for England and Manchester City. He added that Johnson, since joining the club in winter from Middlesbrough, has been very impressive, and he is a player who wants to learn and improve all the time.
Barry, while commenting on Wayne Rooney, said that he was not surprised that Wayne got his name on the score-sheet. He said that Rooney was not at all bothered by the off-the-field controversy about his personal life, and he is a very strong character, so it was all set up for him to prove his critics wrong. The England midfielder said that Wayne Rooney is an asset to England and should be protected by the media and the team rather than throwing ludicrous allegations towards him. Barry said that apart from the goal, Wayne was very impressive overall and is key to England progressing to the Euro championships.
Gareth Barry also said that the new format of playing international games on Friday and Tuesday is beneficial to the players, and would give them more time to recover and perform for their clubs.
England put on two dominating performances on Friday and Tuesday against Bulgaria and Switzerland respectively. Following the disappointing World Cup campaign in South Africa, there were a lot of critical eyes on the team, and their recent form has given a lot of heart to the English fans, and has also given manager Fabio Capello some time to breathe as the media will now not be hounding him till England slip up once again.
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