Are you trying to defend Barnes!!?? He is an average (at best) Championship player, who cost us any chance of winning at Sheff Wed, and now this. Runs after and trips a ref when we have a severe striker shortage, thereby putting our club at serious risk of missing out on the play-=offs. Yes, we know who the petulant tw@t is here. It is Ash Barnes. Gus has over-protected him and his p1ss-poor attitude, and now WE reap the rewards. Get rid.
I'm glad someone else finally posted this without it being me. (Pretty certain i'm on a large number of ignore lists for daring to criticise Barnes for more than just his temperament!)
With life in general at what age do you stop referring to someone as young? If the law is a barometer of age then in this country one could say 18, when you're finally 'allowed' to do everything within the context of the British judicial system, or perhaps 21 if in North America but then we'd be stretching a point.
Within the context of a footballer's career I would say 23 is most certainly well and truly over the age that anyone can be considered 'young' in footballing terms! You might allow a raw 17 or 18 year old the odd indiscretion for an over reaction akin to a disgruntled Sunday league player. In what sane world is it acceptable to be the footballing equivalent of Bruce Banner and get away with it consistently without repremand or a simple Latin shrug of the shoulders and the exclamation that "this is just Ash, and we have to deal with it!"
Once and for all on the record I want to state that when played as a central attacking force, be that as an auxilliary striker or out and out striker Barnes has a HUGE amount to offer this team. He's committed, of above average pace, is strong and certainly knows where the goal is (IF he doesn't have to think about it that is - i.e finishes without thinking) and generally has that uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time. BUT he should have cut out all of the ludicrous crud which makes him such a difficult and infuriating human being - the constantly looking for a free kick, when it clearly wasn't/isn't one, the way that any such decision goes against him is met with a hold of the head and a look of utter incredulity on his face. (It really does come to something when a South American striker new to the English game is on his case trying to make him stay on his feet and quit trying to win free kicks for invisible challenges.)
I have long since given in to the fact that Gus appears to favour Barnes as some kind of pet project and instills almost doggedly blind faith in him but now even he must be thinking enough is enough.
Gus is nothing if not outspoken and I find it incredible that a manager in this vein cannot come out and chastise one of his own team for such wantonly reckless behaviour when he thinks nothing of incurring the wrath of every official in the land for condeming referee after referee for comparably meeningless minor errors.
I genuinely am utterly confused and baffled at our stance over this situation as a club, for all the plaudits we have attracted for our off the pitch progress in recent years I really do fear that we are fast becoming one of the most disliked clubs for our managers comments and 'gamesmanship' like on the pitch antics. I don't want to have to go to games singing that no one likes us and we don't care, because that's not the Brighton way. Well not the Brighton I know, or thought I knew.
