Part 1 - Special Feature: Who can replace Gareth Barry in England’s central midfield?
After a truly abysmal world cup followed by a wonderfully dull EURO 2012 qualification campaign thus far, the English defensive midfielder Gareth Barry is now public enemy number one in an England shirt at the moment. English football
has always been under the microscope before and after global tournaments such as the World Cup and so by association the players have to also face up to extra thorough analysis and criticism.
However, dissecting Barry’s game requires no rocket scientist, it doesn’t even require that stereotypical thorough analysis, it simply requires a pair of eyes and considerable experience of understanding and watching football at
the club and international level.
Barry’s short comings are evident and it is safe to say that the former, Aston Villa midfielder hit rock bottom during England’s FIFA 2010 World Cup knock-out match at the round of sixteen stage against Germany. Germany’s youthful
offensive midfielder, Mesut Ozil definitely schooled Barry in the art of how to control the ball and then distribute it effectively as well.
In the dying minutes of that encounter when England were caught on the counter attack, it was Gareth Barry’s job to support the likes of Upson and John Terry in their defensive duties but alas, the Manchester City man looked extremely
leggy as Ozil blitzed past him to gift Germany their fourth goal of the match.
Back then, Barry was given the benefit of the doubt by certain media circles as it was thought that the 29 year old footballer was suffering from fatigue after a lengthy Premier League season with Manchester City.
However this benefit has now quickly evaporated because Barry’s performances for his club side in a three man midfield have been better than his performances in a two man midfield for the English national team. Finally, the conclusion
has been made; Barry is not good enough as a footballer to play for England in a two man midfield alongside Lampard or Gerrard.
So now the question arises is Barry really the best man in the defensive midfield position? Is he really the only resort that England have got with regard to this specialized position in central midfield? If there are other contenders,
then who are they and are they better than Barry?
The first contender for Gareth Barry’s withdrawn position in central midfield is Manchester United’s Michael Carrick. A lot of people have come forward since England’s draw with Montenegro and said that Carrick should be a part
of Capello’s starting eleven in England’s next qualification match.
One has to find some positives in Carrick’s game; yes the former Tottenham player has a lot of composure and subtlety on the ball which in itself is a bit different from your conventional midfield enforcer like De Jong or Mascherano.
Carrick is also good when it comes to playing possession football, a strategy that England usually attempt to succeed at during their matches at the international level under Fabio Capello.
Michael Carrick’s laid back style is also suited to the slower paced international football where referee’s are over protective of players and are often trigger happy when it comes to their whistles. One cannot also discount the
fact that Carrick has three English Premier League medals to his name and not only that the Englishman played a crucial role in Manchester United’s triumph in the UEFA Champions League final in 2008 against Chelsea in Moscow. Maybe it is finally time for Capello
to realize that Gareth Barry really isn’t making his mark on the current English national team setup, maybe it is time that Carrick is given his chance to accomplish what Gareth failed to do.
Where there are several reasons to include Carrick in England’s starting eleven in place of Gareth Barry, there are numerous signs that propose that Carrick is a below par footballer at best. Carrick last started for Manchester
United way back in April against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford after that start, the Englishman started for United again against Valencia at the end of September in the current UEFA Champions League season.
Such a prolonged period out of the first team is definitely a result of his woeful display against Munich way back in spring of 2010. Michael might be good against average or below average opposition but against teams which look
to attack more often, Carrick escapes into the rabbit hole.
He takes the easy route out and opts to do nothing at all due to the fear of doing something wrong and it is not as if Carrick has not been given his chance, in the past two years, Carrick has played several times for his national
team in the past two years but his lack of form has pushed Capello to the edge as far as considering him as a regular starter in the English national team is concerned.
Tags: