What happens if I’m suddenly called into the England squad – me, a complete nobody, someone the footballing world had constantly ignored and under-estimated? And what if I then turn in a few man-of the-match performances and become the toast of pundits, newscasters and reporters as a result of my sparkling displays? Is it enough to warrant a £15million deal for me to join Chelsea?

It’s a fairytale of many ifs, I know! But compare my trail of thought to that of a true life story. Gareth Barry. Admittedly, he's not really an unknown quantity, and not entirely under-estimated, but over the decade-plus of his time spent at Aston Villa, he’s shone brighter than any star to pull on that famous claret and blue shirt – or scores of other team shirts for that matter. There’s no denying the guy is quality, turning in a further notable presentation of his abilities against Bolton this weekend.

Can you enlighten me as to how many teams have tried to prise him from Villa Park inside the last few years? The singular club that springs to mind is Tottenham. There’s been a couple of occasions where they’ve asked about his availability and been sharply knocked back. His performances remain unchanged from recent history and the lone real differentiation between the Barry of the present and the Barry of the past is the club captaincy, which he inherited from Olof Mellberg. He has always been a talisman in the Villa side and always been a firm favourite of the Villa faithful, yet no real firm bids have surfaced for a player of amazing ability.

‘Can you enlighten me as to how many teams have tried to prise him from Villa Park inside the last few years? The singular club that springs to mind is Tottenham.’


If Sunday’s papers are to be believed Chelsea are preparing a £15million bid for Barry. Ask yourself on what grounds and there’s only one answer. His recent England outings! Think of the England fold as a shop window and Barry has been well and truly positioned in it at the very front, with a crowd of potential purchasers quivering with glee at the thought of snapping up one of the men of the moment.

What really gets my goat is that it’s taken a handful of England performances to make people realise the quality he’s been displaying week in, week out all around the country. It just goes to show that football is a game of circumstance. If Barry had never been called up to the England squad, would we have Chelsea drooling over him? Let’s face it, if the first choice players had been fully fit, it’s most likely that he wouldn’t have been picked. Steve McClaren is another Sven, without the daring to stray too far from his typical England XI.

I guess what I’m saying is that it’s funny that it takes the world stage to make a team like Chelsea interested in a player like Barry. It was the same with Shaun Wright-Phillips. Of course, you do get the odd exception to the rule. The  latest one being Steve Sidwell’s move from Reading to Chelsea, but Sidwell isn’t in the same class as Barry.

I just find I don’t like the idea that if you’re not an international star, you’re not good enough for the top teams. Maybe it’s all relative and if you’re not good enough for your country then you’re not good enough for the top four? Even that goes back to whole reluctance of McClaren to stray from his original line-up unless he's forced into changes.

The only reason Barry was paired with Steven Gerrard in the England set-up is that McClaren stumbled across it due to injuries. What does that say to the future stars of the beautiful game? “Sorry, I know you're good, but the England team is currently full. Go wait quietly in the corner till it’s your turn?” No, that’s not right!

I’d be OK with the idea of Barry leaving Aston Villa if it was down to his consistency and ability. Not because he’s now the focus of the media-driven hype machine trying to justify any England show of inadequacy.

Either way, it’s not going to change the fact that Barry is now the next big thing that the bigger clubs are going to scramble over.

Tottenham can keep trying but Barry is not going to leave the Midlands to go to a club who have very similar ambitions as the Villa when he can be the man to take us there. Regardless of the fact that he was born in Hastings and was a loyal Spurs fan when he was younger, he has devoted 11 years to Aston Villa and it’s going to take a lot to get him to leave.

Maybe the mega-rich Champions League-placed teams will be the ones to take our hero, but please don’t let it be Chelsea. I don’t want the man who has put Aston Villa back on the map to end up in a rotation system at a club driven by money.

Barry, if you do decide to leave, a) good luck, b) you’ll be missed, and c) hold out for Manchester United. At least they got where they are the hard way.

Are you sick of the way Chelsea chuck their money about? Post a comment below or send your own article to Sportingo.