Tag Archives: Barry

Barry backing Silva

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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.

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Players still behind Capello – Barry

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Gareth Barry insists the England players (1/12 to qualify for Euro 2012) still believe in Fabio Capello, as the squad go into their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

An appalling showing at the World Cup this summer led to many fans and pundits calling for a change at the top.

But Capello, who signed a new deal before the tournament in South Africa, insists he can lead the Three Lions to success and remains intent on reaching the European Championships.

England start their qualifying campaign with a home clash against Bulgaria (England 3/10, Bulgaria 8/1, Draw 10/3 – Match Betting) this Friday, before facing a trip to Switzerland next Tuesday, September 7.

Despite the struggles in South Africa and the major changes made to the squad since then, Barry feels the manager has the full support of the dressing room.

The Manchester City midfielder said: “Everyone is right behind the manager. I firmly believe the players and manager can go on and do great things. He is still the man to take England forward.”

Even though a number of the World Cup squad look to have had their England careers brought to an end, Barry (9/2 to score at anytime v Bulgaria) says nothing has changed in the manager’s demeanour.

The former Aston Villa man added: “He still wants us to play at a high tempo but the whole squad is pretty relaxed. Everything is pretty chilled there so there are not too many changes.”

Capello, though, will be without several key players through injury for the two upcoming fixtures.

Frank Lampard, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Bobby Zamora are already absent, and now Peter Crouch has been forced to withdraw.

The Tottenham striker misses out with a back injury, while Capello also has concerns over the fitness of Ben Foster (knee), Scott Carson (back) and Phil Jagielka (ankle).

All three players sat out Tuesday’s training session but the word from the camp is that the trio should be fit for Friday’s game at Wembley (5/4 both teams to score).

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Barry back in England ranks

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Gareth Barry returned to training on Friday and now has just over a week to improve his match fitness before England start their Group C campaign against USA on June 12 (4/9 England 3/1 draw 6/1 USA – match betting).

The Manchester City midfielder was in danger of missing the showpiece tournament in South Africa when he damaged his ankle ligaments in the defeat to Tottenham at Eastlands on May 5.

Fabio Capello had always considered the 29-year-old would be able to resume full training the day after the Rustenburg opener, but the sight of Barry in full flow on Friday has heightened speculation he could make his competitive return against the Americans.

The Italian has bent his own rules to accommodate Barry in his 23-man cut and his inclusion protecting the back four would allow Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard to push further forward.

The former Aston Villa favourite was wrapped in cotton wool in a light work-out with the rest of the first-team squad at the Royal Bafokeng north of Johannesburg but will be given every chance to improve his match sharpness.

Tottenham defender Ledley King, whose fragile knees are well documented, was also included in the training session.

However, veteran goalkeeper David James was not involved in the outdoor session and worked alone in the gym.

Capello is aware England will have to hit their straps if they are to make a statement in South Africa and accepts USA pose an immediate obstacle (1/20 England – To Qualify From Group C).

Bob Bradley’s men caused an international upset last year when they stunned reigning European champions Spain 2-0 in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup in Bloemfontein, South Africa – a result which brought about Spain’s first defeat since November 2006 and snapped a world-record 15-game winning streak and 35 without loss.

Capello said: “The United States are always strong at the World Cup and the first game is always the tough game for all of the teams.”

The Three Lions will then play Algeria in Cape Town on June 18 and Slovenia in Port Elizabeth on June 23. The World Cup betting suggests England should progress with ease, but the manager is taking nothing for granted.

Capello has argued the two nations are more dangerous because they can enjoy a pressure-off situation and feels all of England’s Group C opponents should be treated with caution.

He added: “Algeria are more dangerous than most people think. I saw the statistics relating to qualifying and they were the fifth highest scorers in qualifying.

“I also remember when we played Slovenia at Wembley that they were very good technically.”

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Barry fears played down

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Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry will see a specialist this week about his ankle injury but it is not thought that problem is serious enough to keep him out of the World Cup (11/2 England – World Cup 2010 outright).

Barry was forced to come off during the second half of City’s crucial top-four clash with Tottenham on Wednesday night.

There were initial concerns that Barry may be facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines, with the World Cup looming later this month.

With Fabio Capello watching on from the stands, the former Aston Villa man was forced to limp off, leaving worried faces on the City bench and amongst England supporters.

The 29-year-old is seen as an almost certain inclusion in the 23-man party to go to South Africa and Capello will now be anxiously awaiting news of his scan.

Reports claim Barry has just suffered a sprained ankle but England officials will not know the full extent of the injury until the results of the scan are revealed, although he is definitely out of Sunday’s game at West Ham (West Ham 3/1, City 3/4 – match betting).

England will announce a 30-man provisional squad on Tuesday (May 11), with the final selection to be made by June 1.

City manager Roberto Mancini claimed on Wednesday night that the damage was “not too serious”, although he admitted it would require further tests for a full diagnosis to be confirmed.

Capello has always stated that he would want no doubts over a player’s fitness if he was to select them for this summer’s tournament in South Africa and any injuries at this stage would put a major question mark over the player’s availability.

Meanwhile, the Italian will have been impressed by another top-class performance from Tottenham defender Ledley King, who now looks a good bet to make the squad.

Harry Redknapp revealed this week that Capello had been in touch with regards King’s fitness, but two games in four days have indicated he could feature at the World Cup.

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