FFs Barnes

[Super Steve Earle]

Love it. Get him off! (mendozas mate here) tho after the game speaking to WSL chaps they are all of the same opinion. Even one said well those goals mean he will play next week. And that wasnt complimentary.

The answer is : he plays UPFRONT or not at all. Not as a quasi left sided midfielder but UPFRONT.

No: The answer is he plays where and how Gus wants him. That's why he plays every week, is our top scorer, our most successful penalty taker for a couple of years, rarely substituted and does a shift every match covering the back, the midfield ,wide and centre upfront. Plus probably wins more free kicks per match than any other player.

 

[CliveWalkerWingWizard]

Love it. Get him off! (mendozas mate here) tho after the game speaking to WSL chaps they are all of the same opinion. Even one said well those goals mean he will play next week. And that wasnt complimentary.

The answer is : he plays UPFRONT or not at all. Not as a quasi left sided midfielder but UPFRONT.

I would like to see a more attacking left sided player - we agree there, but Gus doesn't and thats what counts - the results speak for themselves. (and if I was the manager we would lose 9-5 every game)

 

[Teddy Maybank]

Barnes works so hard for the team and made so much happen. Took goals v well. Felt he was less effective after the game was won. He is a striker, a combatative midfielder. He is not a winger.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

Exactly what is the poor bloke supposed to do to stop the constant bashing? It reminds me of Wilkins criticising Jake Robinson after his hat-trick at Huddersfield. Two crucial clearances deep in the first half when if Ipswich had equalised they could have gone on to win the game; they were dominating at that point. Then two clinically taken goals and very unfortunate not to set up a third. Come on people, we've thumped a bunch of whinging yokels (referring to their banner here - when we played them in the Carling Cup a few years ago, their bench were on more than our entire wage bill), our leading scorer has scored two goals, our main forward is back on scoring form, and we've watched one of the most skilful players, if not the most, ever to pull on an Albion shirt. Why not shut up and celebrate rather than moaning?

 

[Bold Seagull]

I just shouldn't come on here after a rousing win where I really didn't have a negative thought in my body, we looked the real deal today, AND the East Stand Brasserie reduced pies to £1 at about 6.30pm to finish on a perfect day......until you come on and log into NSC; I just shouldn't do it. Negative negative bullshit. Don't know why some people go to football if you can still moan after that performance.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

Thank God Gus picks the team and not the FIFA 12 managers on here

 

[British Bulldog]

Did yur head in? Lol bit like the bods who com on here week after week going on about Barnes...give it a rest

Find the last time I criticised Barnes? I normally stick up for him but he was sloppy today.

 

[seagullondon]

I was just pleased for him. Gus loves him and that is frankly good enough for me.

This. If Gus loves him, I love him. Hate him or not, he has got some important goals for us this season and last.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

He could always do a Leon Knight. Prove himself at a lower level (as he has done) and then f*** about, play a part in destroying team morale, when the manager has the audacity to play him out of position.

Ashley Barnes, he's... better than alright.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Seems like a very split set of opinions. Some people thought he was awful, a lot thought he was brilliant. Maybe where fans were sitting had an effect on how they thought he played?

 

[Weststander]

Seems like a very split set of opinions. Some people thought he was awful, a lot thought he was brilliant. Maybe where fans were sitting had an effect on how they thought he played?

A vote of 18,100 Albion fans would be interesting, as opposed to nsc where a vocal & ever present anti-barnes mob would give too small a sample.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I find this anti-Barnes stuff perverse. Vokes, on the other hand, gets the easiest of rides. Know who I'd rather have in the side. By FAR.

 

[Silverhatch]

Got a woman behind us who is constantly slagging off Barnsey. Thing is Gus has him doing a job on the left hand side and he does it really well. Made a couple of ricks today but DIDN'T GIVE UP and scored 2 goals. He can actually finish when he pulls the trigger.

 

[Turkey]

I'm on here every week saying how good Barnes is and he's done well today coming up with two goals. That said, I would agree that before his 1st goal, he wasn't having the best of games today. Was much better after the goal and his confidence was up.

 

[bhawoddy]

No not thread closed. Your acting like someone who just looks at BBC website and says 'oh barnes scored two goals, must be an ok player'. The fact is the first 65 minutes it was like we were playing with ten men and after his goal he only improved slightly. As for the guy saying "fishing", it's not fishing, it's an opinion that has lots of foundation.

this is exactly right! He was dreadful! had a 2 minute good spell then was awful again. How he gets in in front of at least three players who can play that position is unreal. Noone, KLL or the obvious starter Assulin!.

 

[Acker79]

I don't know what some people expect from Barnes. It's like they need to criticise him. He stands on the right wing and the ipswich keeper plays the ball to the centre circle, he makes his way from the wing to the centre, and gets criticised for not having won the ball before he even gets there. He does something that other players do and he gets criticised; he played the ball into CMS and it was a little over hit and gets slated, Razak and Buckley both did that same and received "ooh, bad luck, nice try!", he runs down the wing, mattock coming up behind him and he lays the ball off into mattock's path, mattock stops unexpectedly and Barnes is criticised (bizarrely for not playing it forward for mattock to run onto). Barnes has an occasional poor first touch and the moans come up, CMS has a poor first touch almost colliding with Navarro and nothing. Players get in to space and the one with the ball is criticised for not seeing the option, barnes gets into space, he's criticised for not yelling across the the pitch to let the player know he was available (and drawing attention to the defenders he has evaded). Any other player has an opponent closing down and the crowd yell warnings, Barnes has the ball, no one gives him the call, then they get pissy at him for being caught in possession.

It's sometimes like people expect him to have the attributes of every other player. When he doesn't do the CMS role of closing the keeper or defender down, he gets criticised (even when CMS is already playing that role). When he doesn't use the pace of Lualua, Buckly or Noone to skin the full back, he gets criticised. When he isn't making the defensive tackled of El Abd, he is criticised. No one seems to judge him on who he is, what he is in the team to do, or what he does.

And yet again, he was being criticised for other player's bad play (there was a moment when mattock cleared the ball by booting it into the sky, at which point he was criticised).

It was also a bit weird that when we're 2-0 up, CMS has just been clattered into by an ipswich defender, and the option being brought on is vokes, that people are surprised Barnes stays on. A winning position, so we don't need the constant harassing of CMS, we need the holding up strength of Vokes. If we take Barnes off and put Vokes on, he and CMS (with a knock) stay up front leaving space for Ipswich in midfield. Take CMS off, we have the strength to hold it up without losing anything in the middle.

I'm not saying barnes was great. But he was no where near as bad as some of the moaners on here and at the ground would have you believe.

 

[aolstudios]

No not thread closed. Your acting like someone who just looks at BBC website and says 'oh barnes scored two goals, must be an ok player'. The fact is the first 65 minutes it was like we were playing with ten men and after his goal he only improved slightly. As for the guy saying "fishing", it's not fishing, it's an opinion that has lots of foundation.

you are taking the piss aren't you? seriously? We were saying before the goals he was having one of his best games. It's not glamorous (unless he scores) but he puts in a crucial shift every game. That's why he's always in the team. Do you think gus is stupid?

 

[BHseagull]

This is what i said after Hull on Weds - and it is still true now...

Do you guys who like knocking Barnes every single week not think that actually he has a specific job to do, and there isn't another player in the squad who could actually do that job to the same standard? (Poyet even said exactly that in the post match interview tonight)

He is the Bridcutt equivalent further up the pitch, Gus picks him because he makes the whole make up of the side more solid, links up play between midfield and attack, defends from the front (and in his own penalty area quite a lot) and can also score goals... he is a major reason why we don't concede many goals.

I don't believe anyone sees him scoring 2 goals on the BBC site and thinks he had a good game, what I believe is that the people who appreciate everything he does, defensively and offensively see why he is so important to our side...

THIS. Barnes is massively under-appreciated. He does much more than the job of a striker.

We have seen how many he can score playing as a striker from last season. This season he has to work even harder off the ball & is still scoring a decent amount. He is a hot property & is still young. Whoever thinks otherwise must only see what happens ON the ball.

 

[aolstudios]

I don't know what some people expect from Barnes. It's like they need to criticise him. He stands on the right wing and the ipswich keeper plays the ball to the centre circle, he makes his way from the wing to the centre, and gets criticised for not having won the ball before he even gets there. He does something that other players do and he gets criticised; he played the ball into CMS and it was a little over hit and gets slated, Razak and Buckley both did that same and received "ooh, bad luck, nice try!", he runs down the wing, mattock coming up behind him and he lays the ball off into mattock's path, mattock stops unexpectedly and Barnes is criticised (bizarrely for not playing it forward for mattock to run onto). Barnes has an occasional poor first touch and the moans come up, CMS has a poor first touch almost colliding with Navarro and nothing. Players get in to space and the one with the ball is criticised for not seeing the option, barnes gets into space, he's criticised for not yelling across the the pitch to let the player know he was available (and drawing attention to the defenders he has evaded). Any other player has an opponent closing down and the crowd yell warnings, Barnes has the ball, no one gives him the call, then they get pissy at him for being aught in possession.

It's sometimes like people expect him to have the attributes of every other player. When he doesn't do the CMS role of closing the keeper or defender down, e gets criticised (even when CMS is already playing that role). When he doesn't use te pace of Lualua, Buckly or Noone to skin the full back, he gets criticised. When he isn't making the defensive tackled of El Abd, he is criticised. No one seems to judge him on who he is, what he is in the team to do, or what he does.

And yet again, he was being criticised for other player's bad play (there was a moment when mattock cleared the ball by booting it into the sky, at which point he was criticised).

It was also a bit weird that when we're 2-0 up, CMS has just been clattered into by an ipswich defender, and the option being brought on is vokes, that people are surprised Barnes stays on. A winning position, so we don't need the constant harassing of CMS, we need the holding up strength of Vokes. If we take Barnes off and put Vokes on, he and CMS stay up front leaving space for Ipswich in midfield. Take CMS off, we have the strength to hold it up without losing anything in the middle.

I'm not saying barnes was great. But he was no where near as bad as some of the moaners on here and at the ground would have you believe.

this

 

[Diego Napier]

Seems like a very split set of opinions. Some people thought he was awful, a lot thought he was brilliant. Maybe where fans were sitting had an effect on how they thought he played?

WHAT? Where they were sitting influenced their opinion? Are you serious?

Your first contribution to this thread was " [Barnes] He should have been subbed. Worst player for Brighton by far. Would have preferred to see Agdestein playing there if KLL needed a rest."

"Some people thought he was awful" - The usual inane comments have been posted about Barnes from the regular dunderheads who have probably never played football, apart from using their spare hand on their sofa.

Seeing the responses you've provoked, you've wound tour head in and come up with this latest conciliatory offering.

Let's look at Gus's thoughts about Barnes -

"I'm also pleased for Ash [Barnes]. He does things that people don't see. He works for us in a way that no other offensive player does and sometimes it makes the decision to change him really hard."

Gus's opinion or yours, hmm, which one is the more informed?