Hayward on Barry

There's a interview with Gareth Barry in today's Observer by Paul Hayward ahead of the Fulham game, in which he discusses - amongst other things - his summer move. Hayward is clearly a fan, and there is an interesting paragraph that details a recent observation of Barry:

In a recent City home game I began listing the variety of Barry's passes and charting his influence on team-mates in an expensive, attack-minded side. He played the short prod and the sweeping curl to an overlapping colleague; he slid, stroked and clipped the ball on both sides of the pitch; he linked attacking play and tracked back to assist in defensive positions, tackling, screening and looking to start forward moves again with intelligent balls from deep areas.

Although Craig Bellamy is taking many of the plaudits as the standout player so far this season, Barry's contribution can be considered every bit as important. The paragraph I took from the article sums Barry's abilities up precisely and I have been hugely impressed with him right from the opening day of the season.

Seeing him at close quarters, you do get an appreciation for just how good a player he is - something I underestimated during his time Villa - and not even ten games into his City career he has effortlessly fitted into the side (operating in more than one role) and looks as though he will become an integral part of what Mark Hughes expects the side will achieve.