Gareth Barry

Man Citys player of the year, the man who lets Silva, Yaya, Aguero do their magic.Last year I saw him as a decent back up to NDJ and Yaya this year he is my player of the year.Apart from a poor game against Bayern(away) he has stood out among so called superstars. Barry> Parker!

You usually talk a load of twaddle JHDI - so was quite shocked to see your post. Agree with you. Barry has been outstanding this season.

Wouldn't go as far to say he should be player of the season, but his performances are way underestimated by other fans, he looks to be relishing playing in a top team and rarely puts a foot wrong. He is the sort of consistant, no nonsense player all succesful teams need.

BWTAC

According to other fans Barton is twice the player Barry is.I could bet anything he is one of the main voices in the dressing room.Off the top of my head his drunken binge with AJ and Hart and a stag do in America(think it was Harts) he would get in my Premiership team of the year.

i wouldn't even let barton kiss my arse.

there are several players who are having cracking seasons so far. long may it continue.

Quite difficult to chose a POTY especially with all the rotation thus far but for me Silva has been the focal point of most of our good play & is the best player in the PL at the moment.

Micah is having a great season too

I'm going to be controversial.

I think the only real difference between Silva and Barry is the level of awe involved. We see the little magician dancing through players, shrugging off tackles, creating space, placing inch perfect passes through defences and he even scores some wonderful goals - the one against QPR being a proper stand out moment in a game where we needed to score. He is a joy to watch. BUT. When it comes to taking shots, he's a bit of a Darius Vassell. When he runs through and shoots off the cuff, he's brilliant, but as soon as he thinks about it, he seems to panic and ends up faffing about. True, even his faffing is delightful, but I'd rather he didn't when he could shoot.

Barry, on the other hand, is roundly ignored. I've been watching him a bit more closely and he does a lot of the same stuff as Silva, but further down the pitch. He's good at breaking up play, he reads the game very well and makes sure he's in or around the right place, he can tackle, his distribution is unfussy (which is best in his position - keep it short and simple, retain possession), and he can even get forward into space and have a shot as well. It's not as glamorous a role, but he does it well.

I suspect Barry will always be overlooked because his role is considerably less glamorous and he does it without fuss. And also without the scything challenges of De Jong.

Well said Leo. Barry is certainly an unsung hero and came in for a lot of stick last season with some Blues. He has been tagged as "slow" - but for me he is a grafter and creator of chances for us. Several of his passes to SWP and now Edin or Silva have been brilliant. He also fires 'em in at times (like bullets). What about that shot against Bayern? He was unlucky. He's certainly been on form this season. Works well with Silva.

I am not saying Barry hasn't been good but he is not on the same planet as Silva

Barry is good at what he does - Dependable, solid, hard working performer who tackles back well & breaks up play as well as setting up the more skilful players BUT he is slow & there are other players who can do the same job & some would say better - Milner & De Jong for example at City but there are many others across the Premiership

On the other hand Silva is an exceptional player & there is no-one at City & not many in the PL who can do what he does. True Silva's finishing touch isn't always there but for me he is improving as the season goes on

The true test is how we would do without either player. IMO we can easily do without Barry. We could also do without Silva but he is the creative hub behind much of our play so he would missed a whole lot more

Barry has been superb this season, doing his job without fuss. Silva has been out-of-this-planet in certain games...but has been a little more 'very good' in others.

Silva has been so good in games, we all expect the same. Very good, good in pretty much every game does it for me.

Barry is a different player. If we had a choice of which of the two we had to drop...it would be Barry...but Barry allows Silva to do what he does, and Silva will always get the plaudits...FACT.

Both for me are integral to the way we play...and Barry may prove that against Chelsea.

FFS - Long live Gareth Barry:P