Gareth for pounds 1m was a rip-off! SAYS JOHN GREGORY; EXCLUSIVE: MIDFIELD ACE BARRY'S FEE STILL PAINS EX-BOSS.Byline: By MAT KENDRICK JOHN Gregory John Gregory may refer to:
Villa are expected to bank a club record fee if they cash in on Barry after Liverpool tested Martin O'Neill's resolve to keep their skipper with a player plus cash offer earlier this week. But Gregory, who handed Barry his Villa debut at Sheffield Wednesday exactly 10 years ago this weekend, still feels the club were ripped off by Brighton & Hove Hove (hōv), city (1991 pop. 65,587), East Sussex, SE England. It is a modern residential seaside resort. Albion back in 1998. With both parties arguing over who Barry belonged to, a Football League tribunal ruled that Villa must pay the Sussex outfit pounds 1 million based on future appearances and an England call-up. Brighton were also given a 15 per cent sell-on clause, meaning they could bank a further pounds 2.1 million if Villa insist on a complete cash deal rather than a player exchange with Liverpool. Gregory infamously fumed at the time that Brighton had no right to the player and "wouldn't recognise Gareth Barry if he was stood on Brighton beach with a seagull seagull a noisy, gregarious bird that frequents the seashore. Web-footed, hook-billed, white with gray wings. Member of the family Laridae and of the genus Larus. on his head". "We got absolutely robbed at the time by Brighton," said Gregory. "He was substitute for Brighton youth team once. They didn't even know who he was! "Suddenly Bryan Jones, the youth development officer at Villa, took him from there and he came to us. We tried to agree compensation and we couldn't. "When I put him in the first team his valuation went through the roof "Brighton were very shrewd and they knew the longer they left it the more they'd make because Barry was doing so well. "Also at the start of the season he got called up by Glenn Hoddle Glenn Hoddle (born October 27, 1957 in Hayes, London) is a football manager and former player for Tottenham Hotspur and England. He has had spells as manager of Swindon Town, Chelsea, England, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and most recently Wolverhampton Wanderers. to train with the England squad and that put his valuation up even more. "We'd already paid pounds 100,000 at the time and we ended up paying pounds 1 million for him. "That sounds cheap now when you see what he's achieved, but it should've been a lot less." Barry signed his first professional deal with Villa on the same day Gregory took over the Villa Park hotseat in February 2008. Gregory then handed him his debut in professional football as a substitute at Sheffield Wednesday on May 2 of that year. The former boss knew he had a special talent in his midst - but he feels Barry has been held back by Villa's topsy-turvy form. "I often used to say I don't pick the team, players make you pick them, then force your hand by playing consistently every week," he said. "Certainly for Villa I had no other choice than to pick Gareth week in, week out - he warranted his position. "With the England set up it wasn't quite the same. Villa struggled a bit and players tend to reflect how well their club team is playing and their personal performances suffer. "Gareth was a victim of that with Villa not doing so well and consequently his England chances were limited. "It's no coincidence that with the resurgence of Villa under Martin O'Neill the team are playing well and Gareth, in particular, has been outstanding. "That's got him recognition and he's very much in Fabio Capello's thoughts." Barry is a close pal of Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (IPA: ['stiːvn 'dʒɛɹɑːd]) (born 30 May, 1980, Whiston, Merseyside) is an English football player. He is the captain of Liverpool, where he wears the number 8 shirt. and Gregory believes mixing with the Liverpool skipper and other members of the England squad could have turned his head in recent months. Gregory believes at 27 and with a decade of top flight experience, Barry has now reached a stage where his next decision will have a crucial impact on what he goes on to achieve in his career. "I don't think it's a financial thing any more," said Gregory, who faced a similar situation 10 years ago when Dwight Yorke This article is about Dwight Yorke, the football player. For the black supremacist, see Dwight York. Dwight Eversley Yorke (born November 3 1971 in Canaan, Tobago) is a Trinidad and Tobago football player. He currently plays for Sunderland A.F. left Villa to join Manchester United. "In a few weeks' time there's going to be two English clubs in the final of the Champions League and there will be a lot of jealous Premier League footballers wishing they were playing. I'm sure Gareth will be one of them. "That will be the deciding factor and I think Villa will find it very difficult to persuade him to stay." Gregory feels the versatile left-footer is a perfect candidate for the England captaincy and believes a move to a 'big four' club could boost his claim. "He's got all the credentials and if he were to get into that position with England he'd continue to be a model professional," he said. "I think the captaincy this time around might be too soon but if he can go on and win things then I'm sure he's a perfect choice for the future." matkendrick@mrn.co.uk CAPTION(S): PRICE TO PAY: John Gregory handed Gareth Barry his Aston Villa debut as a teenager, left |
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