When Gareth Barry left, he left for money. Thing is, we'd all do the same and we'd all probably also say, if we were footballers, that it was for Champions League football before we actually joined the club that finished 10th. But we got £12mn for him when he left, so it wasn't bad business.
But he was branded Judas and £50 notes were printed up with his face on them and nobody should be surprised that it happened. And in all his four seasons at Manchester City so far, he hasn't once beat the number of Premier League appearances that he had in his previous seven at Aston Villa.
And while he played in a side full of fantastic players and won the title (but lets face it with the money Manchester City have spent if they didn't you could argue that the broken game was broken), he did look average most of the time and that quote is taken directly from a Manchester City supporter.
Why write about Gareth Barry at a time like this?
The reason I'm writing about Gareth Barry on my day off is because there is speculation today that we're interested in bringing him back and even though I never really rated Barry (sure he could pass a ball and yes he didn't lose it as often as Bannan), I'm actually going to reverse my position and in a sense, write that I think if he wants to come back and more importantly the manager thinks he can do a job, then why not?
It's not for anything in particular that he can offer but I've written on a few occasions recently that the one thing we are missing in the middle of the park is an older head. And you'd like to hope that maybe, just maybe, Barry feels as if he has reason to make an effort if he comes back and at 32 years old he can't come back expecting a lengthy contract.
So, the question of the day, although I think I know the answer with all things considered is this; would you welcome Gareth Barry back?