Barry backing Silva

Gareth Barry has blasted criticism of team-mate David Silva, saying that it has been unfair (City face Wigan on Sunday and are 4/5 to grab the win).

The Spanish striker was one of the high-profile big-money moves conducted by Manchester City over the summer but he has failed to set the Premier League alight thus far.

His most impressive City performance came in Thursday evening’s Europa League win against Salzburg in Austria and the club clearly feel that Silva has an influential role to play at Eastlands this season.

Barry agrees with this view and points to mitigating circumstances as to why Silva has not yet found his form.

He said: “Any criticism of David is unfair because we all know the quality he has.

“He was always going to take time to settle because he has come into the Premier League from a completely different type of football.

“Against Salzburg he only showed small glimpses of what he can do. We know he will get better.”

Silva was one of Spain’s star players as they won the World Cup in South Africa over the summer. This meant that his season did not finish until the middle of July and he did not start training with City until the beginning of August.

Added to this was that he was required to go on draining trips to Mexico and Argentina. This means that there are clearly good reasons why Silva has yet to find his feet.

The man himself is confident he will succeed in the Premier League but Barry has been quick to point out that a timescale should not be put on his acclimatisation.

“The more he plays the more he will improve,” he continued.

“We know his qualities from training with him every day.

“But he is still adapting. The more time he spends in England and around our players, the better he will become.

“Sometimes it takes a player a season to settle before you see the best of them, but in the end I am confident his will be obvious to everyone.”

Manchester City have had a poor start to the season when compared to their lofty aspirations. They have only won one game so far in the Premier League and come into Sunday’s clash against Wigan on the back of a defeat to Sunderland and a draw against Blackburn.

Some have cited that the team has failed to gel and Roberto Mancini has pointed to six pivotal games which will influence their season.

The first was against Salzburg – a game which they won – and the second is the clash at the DW Stadium. City’s stars know that they will need to start performing soon if they are to realise their minimum aim of qualifying for the Champions League this season.

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Downing hands Houllier backing

Aston Villa midfielder Stewart Downing believes new boss Gerard Houllier will do well at the club and says his past record proves he is a top manager (Villa 9/1 – top four finish).

The former Liverpool and Lyon boss is hoping to officially take charge of Villa this week and his first game in charge could be against Bolton at home on Saturday.

Caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald will remain in control for Monday’s Premier League trip to Stoke City (Stoke 6/4, draw 9/4, Villa 9/5 – 90 minutes) as Houllier finalises his departure from his role with the French Football Federation, where he was technical director.

Houllier guided Liverpool to second in the Premiership in 2002 and also famously won the FA Cup, Worthington Cup and Uefa Cup with the Reds in 2001 before then guiding Lyon to the French title in 2006 and 2007.

Some Villa fans have questioned whether the 63-year-old was the right choice to succeed Martin O’Neill but winger Downing has backed him to do well.

“If you look at what he did at Lyon and Liverpool he’s got a good record,” the former Middlesbrough star said.

“It’s a great club, with good players and great facilities, so everything is in place for him to do very well.”

Downing was impressed by Houllier’s press conference last week and believes he can improve Villa’s fortunes.

“I saw his press conference when it got announced that he was the new manager and he came across very well,” he added.

“If you look at his past record as a manager, you don’t get jobs like that if you’re not very good.”

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.