Ross Barkley was once tipped to be a future England superstar but these days, the Everton midfielder is struggling for games and form – and it really showed during the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool this weekend…
Everton fans here in the pub watched on as Barkley turned in a hot-headed performance where he was often outshone by an array of Liverpool attacking talent.
In hindsight, it really should be Barkley turning in these sorts of performances and given that he is now 23-years-old, he should be hitting the peak of his career and potentially helping his side to Champions League football.
Even the landlord here in the pub has felt a little let-down by his performances of late and with plenty of other rising stars coming through the ranks and making a name for themselves at Goodison, is Barkley’s time coming to an end?
With that in mind, here’s 3 reasons why Barkley should be sold by the Toffees after his derby-day performance against Liverpool…
England call-ups don’t justify club starts
There was plenty of sympathy on offer for Ross Barkley this week after he was twice called up to the England squad to play no minutes of football in the friendly against Germany and the qualifier against Lithuania.
But club-form certainly doesn’t warrant international minutes or visa-versa. You only have to look at the impact the likes of Adam Lallana has at Liverpool – he’s the kingpin and everything he does for the Reds he can do on the international stage too.
Toffees fans here in the pub want to see Barkley doing well but he shouldn’t get in the first-team if it’s not on merit and if he’s not playing, should he be moved on?
There are other Everton youngsters turning in better performances
Matthew Pennington, Mason Holgate, Tom Davies and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are all getting starts ahead of senior pros these days and over the past few weeks, the youngsters have been absolutely superb.
But Barkley really doesn’t fall into that category in the slightest and whilst the more recent academy graduates continue to grab the headlines at Goodison, Barkley rather passes by like a damp squib.
He’s the one that should be guiding them, not the other way around.
All the hype and not enough performance
In world football, the stage really doesn’t get bigger than the Merseyside derby and in what was a hot-tempered affair, Barkley seemed keener to get himself sent off rather than turn in a match-winning performance that would see his side prevail.
It adds up to this consistent hype that at the moment, isn’t being fulfilled in the slightest. He’s got the skill, quality and talent needed to become a real England star but whether it’s a question of attitude or work-rate is yet to be seen.
But if things don’t change over the next few games, his future might be in question when the summer does roll around.
