So perhaps Barnesy was not so bad after all…

[lancyclaret]

With Vokes out for the season and Ings not quite recovered, Barnes will be expected to lead the attack for the next 2 games (Watford (a), Barnsley (a) at least.

He will probably be up front in a 4-4-1-1 formation with someone like Treacy, Kightly or Stanisalaus playing just behind him. He was badly let down against Leicester when Burnley opted to play 4-1-4-1 after Vokes injury.

I think most Burnley fans have been fairly impressed so far - steady if unspectacular contribution so far.

 

[trueblue]

You are saying Barnes would pressure Ulloa for his place. This to me is very much a criticism of Ulloa. You need someone with similar qualities and scoring ability to do what you suggest, not Barnes.

On a match by match basis, Barnes did pressure Ulloa for his place - because if Ulloa wasn't performing, Barnes could come off the bench and take that role. Quite how that's a criticism of Ulloa, I've no idea. He's an excellent striker but even the very best players will have the occasional day when it's not working out for some reason. As for his scoring abilities, he scored 5 goals in his 11 starts as a centre-forward while Ulloa was out injured.

 

[kevo]

I have no doubts whatsoever that we would now be comfortably in a play-off place if Ashley Barnes was still at the club. He would have buried that penalty for a start.

But he was AWFUL at pens! I didn't dislike him at all, but he was a dodgy penalty taker.

 

[tommynockers]

On a match by match basis, Barnes did pressure Ulloa for his place - because if Ulloa wasn't performing, Barnes could come off the bench and take that role. Quite how that's a criticism of Ulloa, I've no idea. He's an excellent striker but even the very best players will have the occasional day when it's not working out for some reason. As for his scoring abilities, he scored 5 goals in his 11 starts as a centre-forward while Ulloa was out injured.

He had 22 apps with us this season 5 goals! 2012- 2013 34 apps 8 goals!! 13 goals in 55 apps I would expect a midfielder to do more. He is not good enough even if Ulloa is injured or playing badly!!

 

[NorthStandTopBoy]

Ashley Barnes is league 2 standard. Worst striker I have ever seen.

 

[trueblue]

He had 22 apps with us this season 5 goals! 2012- 2013 34 apps 8 goals!! 13 goals in 55 apps I would expect a midfielder to do more. He is not good enough even if Ulloa is injured or playing badly!!

Yes. 5 in the 11 he started as a centre forward and wasn't defending the left wing. Almost a 1 in 2 ratio. As a support striker, he was an excellent option. Of course there are more prolific strikers around - they just tend to be very, very expensive.

 

[tommynockers]

Yes. 5 in the 11 he started as a centre forward and wasn't defending the left wing. Almost a 1 in 2 ratio. As a support striker, he was an excellent option. Of course there are more prolific strikers around - they just tend to be very, very expensive.

So you want to bring him on as sub for ulloa when in all 11 games he came on as sub this season he scored 0 goals. Great Plan! I think we will just have to disagree. I for one would not be pleased if tomorrow Oscar announced that he had made a mistake and he had payed back 750,000 for Ashley Barnes as our new spare striker!

 

[Super Steve Earle]

Barnes was fairly average and to suggest our problems are due to him leaving is just stupid.
Remember he choose to leave for a bigger pay packet and the club had to cash in before he left for free (as has been pointed out many times on these pages) like the majority of fans was none to bothered if he stayed or not, what IS the problem is the fact that the club has trouble in attracting new players on the wages we can afford and numbnuts absolute refusal to play attacking football.

Alternatively : Barnes was fairly GOOD and to suggest our problems are due to him leaving is just LOGICAL.
Remember he choose to leave for a bigger pay packet and the club CHOSE to cash in before he left for free (as has been pointed out many times on these pages) like the MINORITY of fans was none to bothered if he stayed or not, what IS the problem is the fact that the club has trouble in attracting new players on the wages we can afford and numbnuts absolute refusal to play attacking football.
HE WAS UNDER CONTRACT, WE NEEDED HIM, OSCAR WANTED HIM TO STAY, THE CLUB SHOULD HAVE KEPT HIM!

 

[trueblue]

So you want to bring him on as sub for ulloa when in all 11 games he came on as sub this season he scored 0 goals. Great Plan! I think we will just have to disagree. I for one would not be pleased if tomorrow Oscar announced that he had made a mistake and he had payed back 750,000 for Ashley Barnes as our new spare striker!

Nobody sets out to sign a 'spare' striker. But finding one that offers as much as Barnes did all round is likely to cost a lot more than £750k. Hopefully we'll find the money somehow for an upgrade on what we had but the evidence since January isn't that convincing.

 

[tommynockers]

Nobody sets out to sign a 'spare' striker. But finding one that offers as much as Barnes did all round is likely to cost a lot more than £750k. Hopefully we'll find the money somehow for an upgrade on what we had but the evidence since January isn't that convincing.

We have actually got 27 points since he left, out of 15 games. The 23 games he was here before Jan we got 29 points. So since Jan we have made great improvements!!

 

[Weststander]

Ashley Barnes is league 2 standard. Worst striker I have ever seen.

You haven't seen much football then.

Barnes's record was fantastic for us at League One level and reasonable at Championship level, especially as in the latter he was often a sub or helping out in midfield. An awful lot of double standards with some blinkered Albion fans - CMS and Ulloa could miss plenty of sitters and half chances, and yet not receive the slagging off that Barnes did in identical circumstances.

 

[tommynockers]

I have no doubts whatsoever that we would now be comfortably in a play-off place if Ashley Barnes was still at the club. He would have buried that penalty for a start. Still, the fans got what they wanted and forced him out of the club – congratulations!

Hope to see him come back to the Amex and scoring against us (as long as we win 2-1!).

Statistics don't show this. 23 games with him this season 29 points!! 15 games without him 27 points!!

 

[T soprano]

Poor old BARNSEY don't even play for us now and still getting stick

 

[DumLum]

We had a hypothetical conversation in the pub Sunday along the lines of, if Murray and Barnes were still our strike force this season, I personally think we could be up where Burnley are in the league. All completely irrelevant I know, but......

Murray and Wood surely?

 

[catfish]

You haven't seen much football then.

Barnes's record was fantastic for us at League One level and reasonable at Championship level, especially as in the latter he was often a sub or helping out in midfield. An awful lot of double standards with some blinkered Albion fans - CMS and Ulloa could miss plenty of sitters and half chances, and yet not receive the slagging off that Barnes did in identical circumstances.

Agreed. And he's a better player than than Lita, Obika or Rodriguez.

 

[drew]

I have no doubts whatsoever that we would now be comfortably in a play-off place if Ashley Barnes was still at the club. He would have buried that penalty for a start. Still, the fans got what they wanted and forced him out of the club – congratulations!

Hope to see him come back to the Amex and scoring against us (as long as we win 2-1!).

Totally deluded and the stats don't support your arguments.

I was gutted when we sold him. Gutted. He's going to do very well for himself indeed and prove himself to be a top half Championship striker.

There are some utter morons in Albion's support.

So, assuming Burnley take the second automatic slot as seems likely then you expect Barnes to be off loaded by Burnley after less than 6 months!!!

We are solid defensively, but missing goals. He scores goals.

Deluded.

We need goalscorers.

We do NOT miss Ashley Barnes' lack of goals. We do miss Andrew Croft's goals from Midfield however..... along with that other striker that is never available.

Ashley Barnes is league 2 standard. Worst striker I have ever seen.

This. Crofts is who we miss, not Ashley Barnes.

Barnes was adequate but in no way is he a quality striker for this league. Good luck to him but lets not pretend he is something special!

 

[nwgull]

Statistics don't show this. 23 games with him this season 29 points!! 15 games without him 27 points!!

Yes but don't let your statistics get in the way of people writing FACT after their opinion, as if it somehow makes it true.

By the end of the season, people will re-writing history to the extent that Barnes will have single handedly hauled Burnley into second place in the Championship.

 

[somerset]

This. Crofts is who we miss, not Ashley Barnes.

Exactly......we are (barring a few exceptional moments) mostly OK at the back...... mostly OK out wide and mostly OK up front.....we have nothing in a central or attacking midfield role......nothing at all...

 

[Acker79]

Statistics don't show this. 23 games with him this season 29 points!! 15 games without him 27 points!!

Statistics can be used to show lots of things

He played 22 league games. We won 8 (36%) drew 8 (36%) and lost 6 (27%), giving us 32 points (1.45 per game). Without him our league record is P16 W7 (44%) D3 (19%) L6 (38%)* giving us 24 points (1.6 per game).

With him we score 1.18 goals per game, without him we score 0.81 gpg

In his favour:
We score fewer goals, and lose more frequently without him.
Four of the five games in which we've scored 3 goals this season, came with him in the lone striker role.

Not in his favour:
We win more games without him.


It could be argued that for a large part (12 games) of this season he was playing in an unfamiliar role, that his win rate increased as he grew more familiar and more experienced and better in that lone striker role (one win in his first six, average nsc rating of 5.18, three wins in his last six average NSC rating of 6.98).

So, you see, statistics can show we are better without him, some show we were better with him/would be in a better position had we kept him

 

[Perfidious Albion]

I was at Leicester City last season when Ashley Barnes fired a weak penalty at Schmeichel who saved it. To say that he "would have buried" last Saturday's opportunity is speculation.

Barnes was o k for us but his scoring record was not great for a forward. There were reasons for him to go and the club cashed in for what they could get - fair enough......The trouble is that the replacements have not worked out, so far - Maybe tonight