Of course he's a sell out. He said he would only­ leave AV for CL football. Correct me if I'm wrong­ but City aren't the CL this in coming season are­ they ? He moved for the money and nothing else. I'm­ so glad Liverpool didn't get him he's an­ average player and not in the same class or league as­ Alonso.

"Man City are a club in­ transition"............from what?? From mediocre­ to average?

Villa had a good tilt at the top 4 this­ year and it all went to show just how hard it is to­ maintain the pace up there over a long and difficult­ season. I have a better understanding and deeper­ respect now for the top teams and all the posturing­ about City does'nt mean a thing. Sure, they'll­ win SOMETHING; stands to reason the huge sums of money­ being thrown around will reap some kind of reward. But­ week-in, week-out, year after year? I can't see it,­ but then I can't see anyone else doing it to be­ honest.
Barry's reasons for picking City are a bit­ hypocritical, given his very 'public'­ declarations about what kind of football he needed to­ be playing and who for. I personally felt sure he­ wasmore likely to be north london-bound and it would­ have been the right move for him, if a bitter pill to­ swallow. But to be quite honest it does'nt reflect­ on the time he spent at Villa, which was for the most­ part exemplary and in itself worthy of applause, not­ resentment.
I sincerely hope he does'nt fall flat­ on his face........but I get a feeling he might just do­ that!

that is liverpools signing of the summer barry the sell­ out going to city he is a good player but no where near­ the standards of alonso and all that cr**p about­ wanting to play in the champions league ''EARTH­ TO BARRY, MAN CITY AINT EVEN IN EUROPE!!!!!''­ all he wants is the pay packet city wont finish in top­ 8 next season!!!!!! YNWA

Not too fussed that Barry has gone to City to be­ honest, I think he is a good player, unproven at­ champions league level, but to opt out of Villa (a good­ uefa cup team) for a mediocre mid-table team that has­ much to prove and little to offer any professional­ (unless you seek cash)is baffling. All that chit chat­ about wanting to play Champs League was obviously just­ a ruse to get out of Villa Park.Maybe he didnt get­ along with O'Neill, who knows? But i am certain he­ has made a big mistake in signing for City.They are­ going nowhere.

hes good, but theres aloooooooooooooot better. and he­ jus wants the money, sell out @#$%

This is all very amusing. let's cut to the­ chase:

Villa are a well run family club who never­ really threaten to do anything.

City have been a­ complete circus for 30 years, but undoubtedly have far­ more potential than Villa now due to the Arab millions.­ Provided they can attract a few more top class, but not­ necessarily 'superstar', players - the likes of­ Eidur Gudjohnsen for example to add a bit of­ stature/hold up ability up front - City will have a­ very good chance of taking on Arsenal/Everton/Spurs for­ 4th next season.

Villa, unless they bring in quality­ through the spine of the side (they don't have a­ true goalscorer or a reliable centre half now) then­ they are now looking at 8th next year, at best.­ O'Neill is a touch overrated - the UEFA situation­ summed it up, Villa's best chance of silverware and­ surely he realised that 4th was a pipedream?

There are­ clear precedents - Blackburn, Chelsea - people need to­ wake up to the fact that City will only get­ stronger.

*Let's not also forget that City tore­ Villa to shreds with their passing at the City of­ Manchester Stadium not too long ago - that will have­ stuck in Barry's mind as they were outclassed that­ day.

#61 mudassar, i couldn't agree more. every player­ has his sell by date, but i did think he would have­ stayed at villa for one more season just to experience­ more european football. i dont think that anyone can­ call his professionalism into doubt as he had the­ opportunity to leave for mega bucks last season. i­ believe that city will be in europe at the end of next­ season, but whether hughes is in control is another­ matter. personally i dont think he will be. city will­ go for a name with experience and a european pedigree. ­ hiddink is out of the question at the moment,but look­ at how he galvanised chelsea. what would they have­ done had he been there at the start of the season. ­ trappatoni is a possibility, but he's getting on a­ bit. if city can get the manager they will be top 4­ without a doubt, sadly i dont think hughes is of the­ calbre to achieve this. i wish barry well at city and­ i think he will shine.
one of martin o'neill's­ gretaest qualities as a manager is his motivational­ skills. the man is a magician and is successful­ wherever he goes as he brings out the very best in his­ players. he built a fabulous team at celtic and he was­ loved for it; he was also respected by rangers fans. ­ villa is another club that will be pushing for top 4­ given a couple of players. i think only fulham used­ fewer players that villa last season. more depth is­ required.
clubs like city, villa, spurs and even fulham­ should be challenging for top honours in the epl and it­ really is fabulous to watch every week, so much better­ than up here in scotland. barring celtic and rangers­ the rest of the clubs would struggle in the english­ second division due to the lack of money in our game­ plus tha fact its run by self serving dinoThere was­ apoint to thsuars who think change is a dirty word and­ modernisation sounds their death knell...
Anyway, best­ of luck to gareth barry and every success to all your­ teams next season in the epl.
i only wish celtic and­ rangers wer

I'm a Man Utd supporter and I think Gareth was a­ very good buy by City. I think next season will be the­ real test for their fans and owners' patience. They­ finally have a chance to spend money on players seeing­ that most leagues around the world have ended. I­ totally agree with Rico's comments about which team­ would stand a chance of breaking into the top 4. City­ have the resources to do it, as long as they don't­ make the same mistakes Madrid have been making over the­ past few years by just purchasing attacking players. I­ hope Mark Hughes will assess the team correctly and get­ players that will strengthen the team and not just the­ its hype. Gareth Barry has done well at Villa and to be­ fair waiting for Liverpool wouldn't be to his­ advantage considering the strong midfield they already­ possess, I doubt he'd be willing to start on the­ bench. Arsenal would have been perfect for him as he is­ the mold of player they need in midfield one with­ premier league experience and a physical presence and­ could be a good captain too. But none the less hope has­ the success he craves for at City.

Barry played sh it loads of years for villa... he has­ been a good servant for villa and stayed loyal when he­ was not a regular in the first eleven... Think he­ deserves a pat on the back and should be applauded and­ not boooed...
He is 29, lets face it Villa wont be­ doing much in the coming months, however city with­ thier money cud break the big 4 next year... Villa were­ o so good this season and almost made the gooners cry­ but the size of the squad let them down...
I wonder­ what the problem at Villa is?.. We have been hearing of­ this squad being thin issue since the days of the­ pathetically poor yet spendthrift david O­ Leary...
Maybe if Villa had a few more players this­ season and had sustained their challenge Mr Barry wud­ still be at Villa Park come August...
BTW Martin O­ Niell is the best manager outside the top 4 by a­ country mile... He shuld be the next manager at any of­ the top4, whichever position opens first...shame­ Chelsea passed up on him... Afterall his record at­ Celtic is there for all to see... Hell he took­ Leicester City to Europe.... top that!!!!!!
Maybe Barry­ was hasty but i wish him well and i think Villa fans­ owe him as much as he owes Villa...
P. S. I am not a­ Villa or City fan

gonna take flack on his visit back to villa park

glad he has gone to city

Lets be honest, if someone offered to double your wages­ at wherever you work, most people would gladly jump at­ the chance. Though Villa came close, in the end they­ failed to break the Fat Cat Four. The only way anyone­ can do so is if one of the four have an off season or­ if another club has bags of cash ie Man City. Though­ they did finish below Villa this season, City are the­ only club outside the top four who have a realistic­ chance of breaking into the Champs League.Sure­ Spurs/Villa/Everton and a shock team might threaten but­ in the end they dont have the resources to sustain a­ challenge.

Give Barry a break, this move has doubled­ his money and furthered his chance of playing in the­ CL.

@michael.hardy11 'I bet I know where Martin­ O'Neil would rather be?'

Yeah, where he­ currently is at Villa Park thanks. Man City is not a­ bigger club than Villa, you've always lived in the­ Shadow of Utd and will continue to do so for another­ decade or so. Villa have a great Chairman, with money­ (ok, so not as much as yours) and are by far a better­ club for players to join. After all, you're not­ even in Europe next year. The only reason top players­ would join City is for the money.

Hell, even we­ can't get top players at the moment thanks to not­ being in the Champions League. But make no mistake, the­ only reason players would choose Man City over Villa­ (or any other top 6 club for that matter) is money.

If­ I was you, I would be far more concerned about what­ happens when the Arabs have had their fun or got bored­ of waiting for success and want to sell up. You'll­ suddenly be saddled with a huge wage bill and no way to­ pay it.

as a villian i wish barry well but still bit­ disappointed he left- however he was offered alot more­ money and i think he felt he needed a change, on the­ positives for villa we have 12million for a player­ who's around 30 and who had a year left on his­ contract- at least gareth always played to the best of­ his ability for the team unlike alot of want away­ players, good luck gareth.

last year it was said he wanted champs league/euro­ experience so yes he is a complete mercanary - no way­ am i dissing man city they will go places in the next­ few years - just not quite yet

Oh dear! There are a lot of rattles being thrown out of­ prams over this deal. As a City supporter I am­ delighted that Gareth Barry has signed for us and I­ can't see what the problem is with this move as far­ as his career is concerned. Aston Villa have achieved­ miracles this season considering their limited­ resources and average gate. In truth they have probably­ peaked this year, whereas City are a club in transition­ with virtually unlimited resources, a larger fan base,­ and a positive future. Gareth Barry will prosper at­ City, both professionally and financially and City will­ benefit from what he can add to the team. Plus, whether­ you all like it or not, he will help us attract more­ players of his class and ability. I bet I know where­ Martin O'Neill would rather be.

man city do have potential so good luck to garath­ barry,but they will only fulfill this with a better big­ name manager

Comment 46 Gazkitchenjunkie "The last time I felt­ this mad about a player leaving­ Villa is when Dwight­ Yorke left for Man U.MON knows­ what he is doing and I­ doubt that he put up much of a­ fight in trying to keep­ Barry, who has now lost all of­ my respect."
I­ think there ia a world of difference between the Yorke­ and the Barry transfers. I was at Everton when Yorke­ put in his non-performance, was withdrawn after 20 mins­ and sold the following day to a knocked down MU price­ along with a deal that Villa would take no action­ against MU for their illegal approach. The media­ don't understand why we hate Yorke so much after so­ long. Barry did not play his face to get his move to­ Liverpool at a knock down price, but conducted himself­ professionally. I say thank you Gareth!

im so FURIOUS, why leave for Man City a club going­ nowhere, we will be fist t o qualify for champions­ league not them and then Barry will wish he had stayed.­ I thought Barry was better than this, upset, hurt and­ betrayed right now. I understand he might have wanted a­ change but when he talks of making an improvement this­ just takes the p*ss

Gareth Barry has consistantly been Villa's best­ player,and has given 12 good years of fab service,like­ every one in the world after a time you need a­ different challenge and I think he has paid Villa back­ well by accepting a good deal for himself and getting­ 12 million in the bank for Villa, rather than dwelling­ at Villa for the rest of his remaining 12 months (Only)­ contract and then leaving on a free to the Fat Waiter­ at Liverpool! Wake up everyone Barry has been fair with­ Villa and I dont think most of the fans who are now­ slagging him off are being fair to him.I say thank you­ Gareth and I for one will be applauding you next season­ when you come back to Villa Park.