Subject: Gareth Barry or Frank Lampard

Well Barry has been amazing for England and it would be unfair to pull him out and when Barry plays he gives Gerrard a chance to go up and they keep playing that and i think thats great that Gerrard and Barry are combining but now that Lampard is fit and available for selection, I dont think that McLaren should play him because it will be unfair and the tempo that England has been playing might change, does anyone have any opinion on this?

Barry every time if it was my team. He plays where the manager wants and does as he is told. Lampard fades too much, both in stamina and conviction.

I think as soon as Hargreaves comes back Barry will be moved out of CM. Possibly to left back after that injury to Ashley Cole.

Nicky Shorey should play left back he is quite good there

England has got to keep Barry if they want to qualify because if not its all going to break down

or they play someone miles better in Owen Hargreaves?

yes but Hargreaves have no match fitness and i doubt that he will start for Man U with Carrick and Scholes on fine form

I wouldn't agree that Owen Hargreaves is miles better or even better at all.

That is because he isn't. Barry get a bad press because he does nothing flash and photogenic. He is very, very good at football though.

Exactly.

Which is where England managers cave in to the press all the time. It would not surprise me to see Gerrard and Lampard play against Russia and England lose their shape and team play.
(edited)

Just because John Motson says that Barry has put in another "man of the match performance" that doesn't make him a world class player overnight. If you haven't noticed John Motson knows NOTHING about football just statistics. I am not saying Barry didnt play well because he did but he is not in the same league as world class players in his position such as Owen Hargreaves.

hold on, Barry was man of the match in 2 / 3 matches he played

Ah. You see I was basing my opinion on er, my opinion and not Mottie's...

I would rather have solid players that can be consistently relied upon than ones that drift in and out of games. I do not rate Hargreaves as being quite so world class, especially on performances for England.

according to John Motson, yes.

It's not overnight. He's been a very good player for years, if he'd transfered to one of the big clubs for a massive transfer fee we wouldn't even be having this discussion because he'd be an England regular.

Everyone's bigging up Gareth Barry at the moment. Our midfield does look loads better with Barry rather than Lampard, but I think it's more a case of it working better with 4-4-2 with wingers, a defensive-minded central midfielder (i.e. Barry and formerly Hargreaves/King when they've taken up the role and got similar plaudits) in order to release Gerrard/Lampard - and the success is the product of a better system that suits the team as a whole rather than because Barry is an immense player.

Playing him at left back just to keep him in the team is a ridiculous thing to do; Shorey is a better option at left back. Also, sticking Barry in at left back spells the return of that oh-so-effective 3 men in midfield and the return of Gerrard/Lampard +1, no width, and crap performances.