The Everton midfielder strengthened his case for a place in Roy Hodgson's squad next summer with another effervescent midfield display.
There were newcomers, new combinations and a new captain. The least experienced England team for 20 years, one with only 140 previous caps between them, is destined to be a curiosity. It will generate quiz questions. It won’t be the starting 11 in Euro 2016 next year. It will be no surprise if some of them don’t even make Roy Hodgson’s final 23.
But Ross Barkley will, barring injury or a dramatic loss of form. If he faces an anxious wait, it will be when the team is named, not the squad. Because, game by game, his case for a place in Hodgson’s strongest side grows.
He was the A-lister in the B team that won 3-0 in Vilnius. England wrapped up their perfect 10 victories in qualification against decidedly imperfect opposition. The October double-header against the Baltic nations have been largely forgettable games, played against inferior opposition and with weakened sides, but Barkley’s contribution stands out. He is a class above some of the other stand-ins. He is entering that golden period in a player’s career when he threatens to influence every game he plays in.
He has been a catalyst for England twice in four days. Barkley provided the pass of the match against Estonia, supplying Theo Walcott for the opening goal. He broke the deadlock in a different way in Vilnius, even if his fierce strike took a telling deflection.
Comparisons abounded in his breakthrough campaign of 2013-14. He was likened to Michael Ballack and Paul Gascoigne. When he lets fly from distance, however, there is something of Steven Gerrard about him. One forceful Merseysider is aping a second and, perhaps, threatening a third.
Barkley is keeping the ball when he passes and threatening when he shoots. He is a player who is developing at pace, one who is answering criticisms by the week. Last season, he wasn’t productive enough. He only scored twice in 40 appearances for club and country. Now he has three goals for Everton plus a further two for England, all by the first half of October. It is the sort of return that allows him to have designs on the No. 10 spot.
Admittedly, those goals have come against San Marino and Lithuania, but others have had the chance to prey on the minnows. Some have not. If England are to play a central-midfield trio in France next year, they need at least one to have an eye for goal. Michael Carrick, Jordan Henderson, Jonjo Shelvey, Fabian Delph and Adam Lallana have never scored for their country. James Milner only has one goal, Jack Wilshere just two. Barkley is beginning to offer a dimension his rivals do not.
He is starting to see off challengers. A year ago, he was being shunted out to the flanks at Everton, losing a three-way fight with Steven Naismith and Samuel Eto’o to claim the No. 10 spot in Roberto Martinez’s side. Now he has been installed in his preferred position for his club. If he was diagnosed with a severe case of second-season syndrome, he is now experiencing a third-year resurgence.
He is reasserting himself at Everton. For England, he has benefited from others’ misfortunes. He might not have started against Estonia had Carrick been fit. He was summoned against Switzerland when Delph contrived to injure himself in the first minute. But, crucially, he has exploited unexpected opportunities.
Providing he is not asked to impersonate a winger, Barkley has begun to illustrate his versatility. He is being deployed differently by two managers. England are playing 4-3-3, Everton 4-2-3-1. In Hodgson’s current shape, Barkley presents a threat to players such as Milner, Delph and Henderson.
If Hodgson reverts to 4-2-3-1, he becomes a challenger to Wayne Rooney. If the current Evertonian continues his fine form and the former one’s struggles persist, it will present a test to Hodgson: is his captain really an untouchable? Because now Barkley offers more of a possibility of the sort of driving runs the older Scouser made in Euro 2004.
The other slot in the side that Rooney can fill is as the spearhead. In the absence of England’s record scorer, Harry Kane deputised. He is the most willing of runners, the lone striker who roams from touchline to touchline, halfway line to goal-line. He brings a level of mobility that Daniel Sturridge does not and Rooney perhaps cannot. His eager athleticism is reminiscent of Danny Welbeck, a firm favourite of Hodgson’s.
Kane’s shoot-on-sight policy was evidence of his determination. When a former England striker, Emile Heskey, was in a barren run, he seemed to shy away from shooting, hoping his selfless work would compensate. Kane takes the opposite approach. He looked to blast his way out of a drought. He had eight attempts, and one ended up in the Lithuanian net. Yet it was an own goal by goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis. His was an evening of personal frustration, Barkley’s one of greater fulfilment. It brought more hints he can flourish in France.
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| Rose Barckley |
But Ross Barkley will, barring injury or a dramatic loss of form. If he faces an anxious wait, it will be when the team is named, not the squad. Because, game by game, his case for a place in Hodgson’s strongest side grows.
He was the A-lister in the B team that won 3-0 in Vilnius. England wrapped up their perfect 10 victories in qualification against decidedly imperfect opposition. The October double-header against the Baltic nations have been largely forgettable games, played against inferior opposition and with weakened sides, but Barkley’s contribution stands out. He is a class above some of the other stand-ins. He is entering that golden period in a player’s career when he threatens to influence every game he plays in.
He has been a catalyst for England twice in four days. Barkley provided the pass of the match against Estonia, supplying Theo Walcott for the opening goal. He broke the deadlock in a different way in Vilnius, even if his fierce strike took a telling deflection.
Comparisons abounded in his breakthrough campaign of 2013-14. He was likened to Michael Ballack and Paul Gascoigne. When he lets fly from distance, however, there is something of Steven Gerrard about him. One forceful Merseysider is aping a second and, perhaps, threatening a third.
Barkley is keeping the ball when he passes and threatening when he shoots. He is a player who is developing at pace, one who is answering criticisms by the week. Last season, he wasn’t productive enough. He only scored twice in 40 appearances for club and country. Now he has three goals for Everton plus a further two for England, all by the first half of October. It is the sort of return that allows him to have designs on the No. 10 spot.
Admittedly, those goals have come against San Marino and Lithuania, but others have had the chance to prey on the minnows. Some have not. If England are to play a central-midfield trio in France next year, they need at least one to have an eye for goal. Michael Carrick, Jordan Henderson, Jonjo Shelvey, Fabian Delph and Adam Lallana have never scored for their country. James Milner only has one goal, Jack Wilshere just two. Barkley is beginning to offer a dimension his rivals do not.
He is starting to see off challengers. A year ago, he was being shunted out to the flanks at Everton, losing a three-way fight with Steven Naismith and Samuel Eto’o to claim the No. 10 spot in Roberto Martinez’s side. Now he has been installed in his preferred position for his club. If he was diagnosed with a severe case of second-season syndrome, he is now experiencing a third-year resurgence.
He is reasserting himself at Everton. For England, he has benefited from others’ misfortunes. He might not have started against Estonia had Carrick been fit. He was summoned against Switzerland when Delph contrived to injure himself in the first minute. But, crucially, he has exploited unexpected opportunities.
Providing he is not asked to impersonate a winger, Barkley has begun to illustrate his versatility. He is being deployed differently by two managers. England are playing 4-3-3, Everton 4-2-3-1. In Hodgson’s current shape, Barkley presents a threat to players such as Milner, Delph and Henderson.
If Hodgson reverts to 4-2-3-1, he becomes a challenger to Wayne Rooney. If the current Evertonian continues his fine form and the former one’s struggles persist, it will present a test to Hodgson: is his captain really an untouchable? Because now Barkley offers more of a possibility of the sort of driving runs the older Scouser made in Euro 2004.
The other slot in the side that Rooney can fill is as the spearhead. In the absence of England’s record scorer, Harry Kane deputised. He is the most willing of runners, the lone striker who roams from touchline to touchline, halfway line to goal-line. He brings a level of mobility that Daniel Sturridge does not and Rooney perhaps cannot. His eager athleticism is reminiscent of Danny Welbeck, a firm favourite of Hodgson’s.
Kane’s shoot-on-sight policy was evidence of his determination. When a former England striker, Emile Heskey, was in a barren run, he seemed to shy away from shooting, hoping his selfless work would compensate. Kane takes the opposite approach. He looked to blast his way out of a drought. He had eight attempts, and one ended up in the Lithuanian net. Yet it was an own goal by goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis. His was an evening of personal frustration, Barkley’s one of greater fulfilment. It brought more hints he can flourish in France.
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