I think that we are all missing one important point. Barry has still 2 years of his contract remaining. Aston Villa or O'Neill has no obligation to sell him. So if Liverpool really wants to buy him, just give Aston Villa the price that they want if they are so desperate to sign him. OK! Barry has given good service to the club but he would never have made it into the England team without O'Neill. Of course, Aston Villa will not make it to the best four next season, but who cares? The club has been around for over one hundred years and will be there the next hundred years. They have a very good youth system and only need to bring in one or two plays this summer to help bring on the young players on. There is no need to rush, O'Neill will bring the title and an European trophy to the club within the next 10 years. No player is bigger than the club. If Barry wants to leave the club then let him leave at the right price. If the price is not met and he still doesn’t want to play for the club, then let him rot in the reserves for two years, might be better than warming the Liverpool bench. If you are asking about loyalty then he has no idea of the concept. It doesn’t matter who you support, just ask a supporter of any club in a lower league, “Who is the best team in the league?” and they will answer, ‘mine”. If Barry is just thinking about money, then he has to realize that he earns in one year at Aston Villa that the average supporter would take a lifetime to earn. Finally, he wants to win a medal. Why doesn’t he stay at Aston Villa for one more year to try and win a medal, which would be more rewarding after spending 10 years with Aston Villa than a medal with Liverpool spent on the bench? I remember a few years ago when Bull of Wolverhampton Wanderers was offered a lot of money to play for a top first division club. But he turned all the offers down because of his passion and loyalty An Aston Villa supporter who really respects the loyalty of a player like Bull who put his club and supports first, before money or succ

i suggest should be given a green light to leave for whatever price.liverpool has already mascherano and gerrard in midfield, he will end up more frustrated by warming the bench.look at the likes of Anelka, sean wright phillips,they chose the wrong teams hence their poor form.

-----------------------------------------------we dont have to b very keen on Barry though.. He's nothing special, let M.O keep him at Villa n die trying to prove worldwide that he could sneak in the BIG FOUR with his captain. We should be more focused on keeping Alonso as i think we could bring the best out of him next season, n come on Rafa, get other quality players as we have faith n believe in you!! Give us that bloody TITLE this season-----------------------------------------------

please rafa dont waste the money please

maybe gerrard and lampard don't work well together, but england's world cup exit had a lot more to do with rooney being a raging psychopath than they're collective egos, and the failure to qualify for the euros came down to two thingsL 1) steve "i'm in over my head" mclaren and 2) the nightmare of a goal against croatia. barry might be a leader, but wasn't he also on the villa squad that finished 16th? in fact, hasn't he been on every disappointing villa squad for the last ten years? carrick might have fetched 18 million, but he is six or seven years younger, and still broke into the national side sooner than barry. i don't want to have to keep criticizing the guy, because he is a good player, and brings all the qualities 'wildcard' states, but i think 10-12 million would be a much more sensible valuation, 18 is beyond ridiculous.

Gareth barry is a leader for Villa. That is what makes him great to watch and support. The strength of a team is based on a strong backbone of players and a team full of experience. Gareth Barry's style of play supports this.
In two seasons under Martin o'Neill, Aston Villa have gone from 16th to 6th. Few teams can argue the incredible transformation that has undergone around villa park. And out of all the players who helped push Villa back up the table, it was Barry.
He might not be as classy as Ronaldo or Gerrard or fabregas. He's a player who does exactly what it says on the tin. He leads by example and plays the game with a great deal of effort and brings the best out of the players around him.
When Alf Ramay won the world cup for England, he didn't pick all the skillful players, or all the individually gifted players. He picked players who he knew would work well in a team. That is barry in a nutshell.
Lampard and Gerrard won't work together because they both have high egos, high standards; they are opposite poles; one plays in red, the other plays in blue. Barry is a team player and I would pay a lot of money to have a player to provides this.