With the season over in 8 games, the only positives to take from this abject season are the Toffees’ European tour and Phil Jagielka’s goal of the century (anything to wind those loveable Reds up). As well as the team overall being a disaster, some players have also been disappointing and might not even be at the club next season. One big positive I can cling on to, however, is the recent form of the Republic of Ireland international Darron Gibson- the Derry born man has shined in recent games, most notably during the home tie against Young Boys of Bern. The resurgence of Gibson has started the debate of Gibson vs Mr Consistent of last season, Gareth Barry. Barry has this season struggled to reignite last season’s performances, which in some people’s opinions valued him as an important player for the club. In this piece I will try and find out who is the better player; Gareth Barry or Darron Gibson.
Gareth Barry
Let’s first look at 53 time England international, Gareth Barry, who has been under much scrutiny this season for his performances. I am the first to admit when we signed Gareth on loan from City last season I was quick to write him off, but fair play to him after that last gasp goal-saving tackle against Chelsea in his first game for the blues he played his socks off and certainly made me change my mind on him. Barry was such a key player last season for us as he could slow down play whenever he wanted and he made key tackles in games. This season has been completely different for him- it has passed him by and he has been found out time and time again with his age. With this being more of a frequent occurrence this season, more and more fans have questioned the manager for his inclusion in starting 11’s and with the introduction of Muhammad Besic and the recent surge of Gibson, Barry’s place in the team has been called into question by fans. In my opinion, even though some his games this season have been very poor for the standards he set last season, Barry is still a good enough player for us and a lot of his work he does on the pitch goes under the radar- it’s unfortunate for him that his bad games get more coverage than his good games. Even though Barry plies his trade as a holding midfielder, he spends a lot of his time acting as a centre half as the two full backs push up. This role is better if Barry is in it as he has the experience of playing in a defensive role earlier on in his career at Aston Villa, where he made his full debut playing as a left back. Whereas Gibson has been more used to playing as a centre midfielder or as a defensive midfielder, so being playing that deep is a new experience for him.
Darron Gibson
Now onto the challenger. Gibson’s time at Everton has been very stop-start for many reasons but one reason more than any other is his injuries (and as I type he has pulled out of the Irish squad with a groin injury). This news is a blow to Gibson as he was starting to stake his place and win over fans with his recent performances. It is also a blow to the whole squad in general as he was making chances for players like Lukaku, who have thrived on through balls, and this season Lukaku has been calling out for someone like Gibson as his delivery to players has been second to none. Past seasons for Gibson have shown what he can do, with two goals to his name, one against Manchester City and one a season later against QPR. As well as Barry having experience, Gibson has also had his fair share of experience at the highest level; he won the league with Manchester United and played countless Champions League games but for all the positives he had at United he had numerous negatives. He flirted with the starting line-up and the bench on a regular basis and there were reports that the Old Trafford faithful didn’t like the Derry-man and within a day of him joining the social media site Twitter, he was forced to delete his account because of the abuse he was getting. But a lot has changed since his time at United, the Evertonians have taken a liking to him and he has a fighting chance at being a regular in Everton’s midfield. Age is on Gibson’s side as he 27 years old and Gareth is 34, and while Barry will have to plan for life after football in 3 years’ time, Gibson still has 4 or 5 years of football left to play.
To conclude, if you want a midfielder who is more defensive minded you should go with Barry but if you want more of an attacking role you should go with Gibson. If you want my opinion on the situation, if we lived in a footballing world where no one got injured I would go for Gibson but unfortunately we do, so I would have to go for Barry. Even though Gareth hasn’t been his best this season I still think he is an important player for us. Anyway if you wanted to throw the cat amongst the pigeons you could have Besic over both of them, but that for another debate entirely isn’t it……
