Source: Daily_Mail
Gareth Barry - by the men who have turned him into a £12m England stalwart
Brian Little's last act as Aston Villa's manager was to sign an unknown schoolboy called Gareth Barry from Brighton in an acrimonious deal that cost them £1m, plus a 15 per cent sell-on clause.
It launched a career at Villa Park that spanned 11 years and 437 games, until he joined Manchester City for £12m in the summer. He may receive a mixed reception upon his return on Monday night with his new team but just in case Villa supporters need reminding of Barry's contribution since first making his debut in 1998, NEIL MOXLEY spoke to his four managers who gave a personal and unique insight into the England midfielder.
JOHN GREGORY (1998-02)On my first night as Villa's boss, our reserves played Preston and the coaching staff had told me: 'Come and have a look at this kid, he is special.' Truthfully, I wasn't impressed and certainly didn't think he was a midfield player. But, as the weeks and months rolled by, I began to share in the excitement.
He had already featured in a couple of games which had taught me about his temperament, but I decided to go with him on the left side of a three-man defence, having lost Steve Staunton and David Unsworth ahead of our first match of the new season at Everton.
That day, Goodison Park was electric, heaving with excitement after they escaped relegation the season before. Duncan Ferguson and John Spencer were up front, John Collins in midfield. Walter Smith had wasted no time making his mark.
And into this setting I had thrown a fresh-faced 17-year-old who looked as if he should have been at home on his PlayStation.
After 20 minutes I was convinced that, yes, I had taken leave of my senses. Everton were on fire. We couldn't get out of our half and Gareth looked like a little boy lost.
But then something special happened. The ball flew at him at around 80 miles per hour. An absolute missile that most players would have been happy to stick a head on to and send it back where it came from.
But this kid brought it down on his chest, flicked it up and then side-footed a pass out to our left wing-back Alan Wright on the half-volley.
You'd have struggled to see the very best, like Bobby Moore, reproduce that.
Suddenly, I saw a kid who was not frightened anymore. He went on to have a terrific match.
He was quiet and undemonstrative. But I'm delighted he has moved on and fulfilled that promise we saw in him.
GRAHAM TAYLOR (2002-03)WHEN I first arrived, Gareth was on the fringes of the first team. I'm still not quite sure to this day what had gone on in the last few months of John's reign. But I soon realised that he had that precious quality that every manager likes. He is a seven- out- of-ten player. Minimum. It's that consistency which you need. He never had a really bad game for me. And that left foot gives another quality that a lot of managers appreciate, a natural balance.
Seven years ago, though, I wasn't certain of his best position. I played a practice match behind closed doors against Walsall with him in central midfield. I wondered whether he would just watch the match going on around him, or whether he liked the play in front of him. It wasn't until Martin O'Neill came along that he really flourished there , although wide on the left he gave our midfield wonderful balance. When I turned up at Villa for that second time, he was growing into manhood but he was easy to manage. He listened. You never thought to yourself:
'He thinks he's bigger than this.' He took on board what you said. I'm pleased with what Gareth achieved. I consider myself a Villa fan but I think it was time for him to go, especially with the efforts Manchester City are making to establish themselves as major players. If he was that bad a lad, he would have stayed for another 12 months and Villa wouldn't have earned a penny. As it was, they enjoyed his services as a player and earned £12m for a player who had a year left on his deal. I know what the football industry is like. Gareth never, ever let what had happened with Liverpool affect him and I come down on his side. I hope he receives the thanks he deserves before kick-off on Monday.
DAVID O'LEARY (2003-06)Low maintenance: O'Leary guides Barry
I REMEMBER one day when my fitness guy, Steve McGregor, wanted the players to wear these tight-fitting leggings in training. A few of the lads took one look at them, thought: 'No way,' but Gareth went and sought Steve out, asked for an explanation as to why and put them on, no problem. Once he'd done it, the rest of the squad followed suit. He commands quiet respect through his actions. He is extremely low maintenance, too, which is a blessing for any manager. He had a routine and that's the way it was.
One Christmas, I remember that he failed to eat his dessert. He stopped by in the canteen for his lunch but that was it. We all looked at each other and wondered what the appointment was or what was so pressing that had kept Gareth away from his pudding. He explained he had to leave early because his partner had gone into labour. My staff and I just exchanged glances - we didn't have an idea she was pregnant! He can be quite serious at times. And although he's not the greatest talker, he is ambitious and just as serious about his football, too.
MARTIN O'NEILL (2006-2009)WHEN I arrived, there was serious talk of Gareth leaving. I think Portsmouth had lodged a bid of £4m. There might have been some interest from Tottenham, although there wasn't an actual bid on the table.
He was prepared to change his mind, stay with us and give it another go. I'm delighted that he did. I think it worked out well for him, too. He played in that central midfield role that he craved and he really started to blossom. One season later and it looked as though he was going to Liverpool. I didn't want him to go, but he wanted to play in the Champions League. They didn't meet our valuation. I was delighted with that. I wasn't going to stand in his way this season, if what he wanted to do was leave. I was a bit surprised that Manchester City was his choice.
