Gareth Barry

Being an Aston Villa fan, I'm hoping Gareth Barry decides to stay at the club this summer rather than bugger off to the likes of Chelsea or Liverpool. At Villa he's the fulcrum of the side, is guaranteed regular football and thus has every chance of keeping and establishing his place in the England side. At Chelsea (and to a lesser extent at Liverpool) he'd be just another "star" player fighting for his place in an ego-packed midfield, his appearances would be far more limited and his chances of furthering his international career proportionately limited.

It's akin to Wright-Phillips leaving Man City for Chelsea - had he stayed at City, he'd have been a regular all season and would probably have established himself for England too (and I dare say our World Cup Finals campaign would've gone a lot better too with him in form). Instead he was in and out of the Chelsea team and never really got going. He's making progress now but still isn't
exactly setting the Premiership on fire. Sure, he's won some medals but only as a bit part player whereas at City he could've been a legend which may in turn have fed through to international excellence.

It's similar scenario with Barry - he is to Villa what Gerrard is to Liverpool and Lampard has been to Chelsea - top man and recogniseable leader. Just what Ballack and Shevchenko had been before they too disappeared into the Chelsea morass. Yes, there's the lack of Champions' League football at Villa, at least for next season, but Martin O'Neill's doing a great job so you can see Villa
qualifying for it sooner or later. Sooner with Barry on board, and you could say the same for trophies. All they really lack is a 20 goal a season striker (despite scoring more goals than anyone but Man Utd so far this season!) and some rock-solid defenders. Once that's sorted it's all systems go.

Mind you, Barry's been ultra-patient at Villa and has seen more than one false dawn in his time there under the ancien regime of Doug Ellis, so you could understand him taking off. Be a shame though now it finally looks like the real thing taking shape at Villa Park.