Gareth Barry has become somewhat of a forgotten man at Manchester City and for his country. What does he have to do to get the England recall that he craves so much?
Gareth Barry is one of the Manchester City and England players who always seems to do what is expected of him, no more and no less. He has missed out on the latest England squad and has voiced his desire to get back into the shirt and wear the three lions over his heart. He has a long way to go before he’ll be re-considered by Roy Hodgson.
The first thing that Barry has to do is win his regular place back in the Manchester City team. He has a brilliant opportunity to do this because Roberto Mancini frequently uses him just in front of the back four. Now that Nigel De Jong has left the club, Barry can make the midfield enforcer role his own and this could be his way back into England.
The problem is that this is not Barry’s natural style of play, he is not an aggressive player and seems to prefer a more creative role. However, both Manchester City and England are blessed with players in creative positions so if Barry wants an England recall then he may have to do a re-think on the way he plays for club and country. It is a role he could make his own as the only competition he has on a national level is Scott Parker of Spurs.
“I am obviously disappointed because I want to play for my country but I am not ready to retire yet, and will just keep working hard. The injury came at the wrong time with the new manager coming in. It is tough sometimes to force your way back in – I have experienced it before,” said Barry.
This brings us onto the next point which is consistency and staying injury free. Barry has to be consistent in whatever settled role he plays for Manchester City. He should then be used in the same role for England. Consistency is what will get him noticed by the England boss and consistency is the reason that some other players are in the England team when some may have considered them not good enough on the surface.
Injuries are a curse which plague all professional football players. You get injured, you lose your place in the side, you get fit again and you have to earn that place back. Barry’s best chances of an England recall are if he can stay injury free and work hard behind the scenes at Manchester City to stay as fit as a fiddle. This way, the only time he can lose his place in either side is if he is playing poorly and he seems determined not to let that happen.
The good news for Barry is that he has got his first 90 minutes under his belt in the 3-0 win over Sunderland last weekend. This is the first of many small steps he needs to take on his road back to an England shirt.
image: © jbagley
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