Loading ...Aug 02 2008
Martin O’Neill’s No Shock About-Face on Barry
It should surprise nobody that the July 30 deadline Martin O’Neill had imposed on a Gareth Barry transfer has not held up. Today, O’Neill admitted that the deadline now means nothing. The only time limit on the Barry-to-Anfield negotiations will be the end of the transfer window in four weeks.
O’Neill had originally implemented the transfer deadline so that his club’s whole summer wouldn’t be defined by the Barry saga. Unfortunately, it did not work, with Aston Villa’s plans being more influenced by Barry and the stall around his transfer than one would have suspected months ago. That this ordeal is carrying on into August after it looks such a sure, logical thing two months ago is a bit amazing. Liverpool stalled trying to sell Xabi Alonso and then funneled money to Robbie Keane all along knowing Barry was not going anywhere. If Martin O’Neill’s deadline attempted to mitigate the effects of Liverpool’s decisions, it hasn’t worked.
Barry does not want to stay but only wants to move to one club. That club finally seems willing to meet Villa’s evaluation, but they spent over a month balking at that price. Whereas O’Neill would like to have his money and be able to concentrate on his team’s problems at the back, he continues bogged in this Barry quagmire. It’s a situation that makes you question whether extracting the extra £2 million from Liverpool was worth the aggravation. It probably was, but that makes the ordeal no less infuriating for Villa fans who have alternated between disdain for Barry, to welcoming him in their Intertoto tie, to now feeling slapped in the face after Barry reiterated his desire to leave only days after being welcomed at Villa Park.
In the interim, Villa has acquired a keeper, Brad Friedel, that should keep them in the middle of UEFA Cup contention this season. Were Barry to stay, they would be a decent bet to finish in the top seven. Even if he leaves, O’Neill has a side that could qualify for Europe, especially if he takes the Barry funds and buys two quality backs to keep with his depth issues and keep Nigel Reo-Coker in midfield.
After two months of this story, with plot points stretching from Trinidad and Tobago to Denmark, I’ve come to feel for Martin O’Neill. At this point, he may just be trying to prepare for the season, yet is obligated to get as much as he can for one of his best assets. I challenge you to read his quotes (below) and not feel for him. When the Premiership starts and he can get back to the fun part of the job, he may be one of the happiest men in the league.
And just as I’m starting to feel sorry for O’Neill, I can’t help but feel that Liverpool (who seem to be unintentionally jerking Villa around) and Barry (who handled his transfer desire in a much more public manner than he had to) deserve each other. In three years when Liverpool to looking on Barry with the same wanting that they’re now looking at Xabi Alonso, I hope Rafa Benitez doesn’t put O’Neill through all of this again over Reo-Coker.
Quotes
“I was hoping that (the clubs moving on from the deadline) would be the case and this was not a matter of Liverpool missing the deadline by 15 minutes, as seems to have been reported.” - O’Neill
“Liverpool first showed their interest in signing Gareth Barry almost four months ago, so this is not a case of missing a deadline by 15 minutes. That’s simply not true.” - O’Neill
“The following morning we were very upbeat on the strength of what had happened on Wednesday evening. We were very buoyant and optimistic that everything could come back to normal again.” - O’Neill
“That wasn’t to be though. On Thursday there was a meeting between Gareth’s agent, myself and the player. They still felt that even though the deadline had passed they still felt Liverpool were going to come in and do the deal.” - O’Neill
“Gareth’s head is a bit all over the place at the moment …” - O’Neill
“There will be no deadline and Liverpool have all the time in the world now to sign Gareth Barry. They’ve got up to the normal window, which is the 31st of this month.” - O’Neill
“I have a football club to run and I really do want people who want to play for us.” - O’Neill
Links
Barry’s Reds Move Still On
O’Neill: Reds Can Still Sign Barry
O’Neill accepts Barry could still join Liverpool
Door open for Barry to exit Villa
O’Neill throws ball into Liverpool’s court over Barry
WFP Related Posts
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