David Moyes not willing to let Thierno Barry rest on his laurels

Thierno Barry finally opened his goalscoring account for Everton after finding the net just before half-time in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Signed from Villarreal this summer, the 23-year-old struggled in front of goal and after coming increasingly close in recent weeks, he finally got the monkey off his back on his 15th league appearance.

However, manager David Moyes is unwilling to let the Frenchman rest on his laurels and expects goals to come more frequently from his striker.

“He will not be able to play another six games and only score one goal. He has been given the opportunity but I have to say Beto is beginning to show more. Barry will have to keep playing well,” said Moyes.

“In the opening games of the season, we were happy to change them around after 60 minutes because we were needing one of them to score and none of them were scoring at the time.

“The choice was to give Thierno a run in the team to get used to the Premier League but we are really hoping Beto comes back into form as well as we need the goals from both of them.”

Moyes also wants more physicality from Barry, who’s still getting used to the demands of the Premier League. While he has shown improvement in recent weeks, the persistent feeling is that the Frenchman could use his 6’4” frame better when up against towering centre-backs and he has gone down too easily.

“It’s very difficult to train physicality, you can get the boys to kick him in training a bit more – which they have done – and he has fallen down a lot but referees here play on and he’s not getting anything,” added the Toffees boss.

“When you are 6ft 4in and you’ve got what he’s got he’s going to have to learn to be a victim of being tackled and falling over.

“I still think he does it too much and I am on him even more to stay up. He is getting used to it but he’s still not there yet.

“He’s a boy who’s only been in the Premier League three months, so it would be difficult to say that’s him, he’s settled in, far from it.”

Reader Comments (39)

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Derek Knox 2 Posted 07/12/2025 at 16:23:23

Eric, well in you pinched my (obvious) line, hopefully, that is the monkey off his back but he has to be more prolific in front of goal.

His first touches are way better than Beto, but still lacking the clinical touch.

Les Callan 4 Posted 07/12/2025 at 17:02:07

Can’t wait for him to get those 15 goals that Paul Hewitt is expecting.

Paul Kossoff 5 Posted 07/12/2025 at 17:18:26

Women's Super League: Everton end Chelsea's 34-game unbeaten run - reaction That big win for Everton over Chelsea has huge ramifications at both ends of the WSL table.

At the bottom, the Toffees move six points clear of the relegation zone, while at the top the Blues are now six points adrift of leaders Man City in the title race.

Kieran Kinsella 6 Posted 07/12/2025 at 17:31:55

Interesting man-management.

You start him every week, he is on Cloud 9 after scoring, and the manager turns around and says he's crap and he's probably going to drop him for Beto.

Neil Cremin 7 Posted 07/12/2025 at 18:05:52

He is weak both physically and mentally. Even the commenters on Everton live case were on to him to get up and stop lying on the ground after a robust tackle.

Hope he toughens up. He will need to in order to be the type of striker we need.

Nicolas Piñon 8 Posted 07/12/2025 at 19:55:55

He probably is saying it to motivate Beto as well.

Sean Kearns 9 Posted 07/12/2025 at 19:58:50

The lad got beasted by Forest centre-backs at home!…

Milenkovic knew he had the better of Baz in the first half, and I personally demand more of that…. The same reason I don't enjoy women's football and have zero interest in anything about it, as someone kindly informed us above.

I personally don't just watch football for the skill, I watch it to see grown men put a hurting on each other. Physically and mentally!…

Baz is weak but we're Toffees and I'll back the lad while he wears the shirt. Rather have Beto though….

Also random point but seeing the left-footed Keenan Dewsbury-Hall score so many bangers with his right foot has really emphasized how shite Dwight McNeil is! I was always a McNeil supporter and thought he was good 😂 while many on here said he was shit. Now I see the light….

Dwight comes on to slow the game down when we are winning and is tidy with the ball, but no bloody wonder we weren't scoring many goals when he started.

Mike Gaynes 10 Posted 07/12/2025 at 20:24:19

I've said it when he arrived and I'll say it again...

It was always gonna take a full season for Barry, who probably weighs in around 175 lbs, to muscle up and get accustomed to the physicality of the Premier League.

I still think so. Give him 30 more games and a summer in the weight room and then we'll see what we've got.

Ian Bennett 12 Posted 07/12/2025 at 21:42:54

I can see him being sold, Dave.

He's not on massive money, he's down the pecking order, out of contract in 2027, and would offer a Premier League-ready player for someone near the relegation fights.

Slot could do a lot worse.

Sean O\'Hanlon 13 Posted 07/12/2025 at 22:03:04

Before we all get giddy AGAIN, after another 2-game winning run, thinking we have turned a corner and will soon be challenging for a top-6 spot -- just remember, we are Everton FC.

Next weekend, away at Chelsea. Our premature jubilation could well turn into a weekend of woe and misery.

We've all been there before -- and we fall for it every time, myself included. Please let our 2-game run turn into at least a 10-game winning spectacle!

Mark Murphy 14 Posted 07/12/2025 at 22:21:28

“The lad got beasted by Forest centre-backs at home!…”

To be fair, that Serbian centre-back is fucking massive!

And Barry with his dislocated shoulder still made him look a fucking tart!

Brendan McLaughlin 15 Posted 07/12/2025 at 22:24:00

Sean #13

"Premature jubilation"... suffered a lot from that down the years.

Neil Cremin 16 Posted 07/12/2025 at 22:35:05

Mike,

I know you are a big fan and may well overcome the physicality which he should do. I am more worried about his mental toughness. Believe me, I want him to succeed -- as I do with Beto, who has both but lacks the skill.

Believe me, I think we do have the makings of a team... Rome wasn't built in a day but I do see there is a team mentality forming.

Paul Griffiths 17 Posted 07/12/2025 at 22:48:24

Sean Kearns:'Milenkovic knew he had the better of Baz in the first half, and I personally demand more of that…. The same reason I don't enjoy women's football and have zero interest in anything about it, as someone kindly informed us above'.

I was hoping that you might be able to break down this broken English and make connections and meanings more clear.

I get it, you want to see more of Milenkovic getting the better of Baz [sic].

But then I'm not quite so sure what the connection is to women's football for you wanting more of Milenkovic getting the better of Baz [sic].

The 'someone kindly informed us above' is not really on the same page as you, is he? Bit of an own goal here. I think you might find that 'someone', like me, has an interest in the women's game.

Sean Kearns 19 Posted 07/12/2025 at 23:50:35

Paul Ferry lad it’s a fan forum, not a fucking UN meeting or legally binding document… I’m half pissed, half stoned just writing my thoughts on a Sunday afternoon. Wind your neck in la… the connection is that I want to see Barry giving Milekovic just as good as he was getting. I want to see a testosterone fueled battle of 6’5” grown men and I am baying for blood every weekend. Non of which I could get from the women’s game. If seeing silky moves and good football are your thing then I’m sure you feel different and that’s great. But the physical side of football entertains me most…. As for judging people’s comments and literature then LOL, if you really take this website that serious then I pity you. The website is half assed AI bullshit now anyway, so maybe it’s just bringing me down to its level… and don’t get me started on the betting advertising that’s plastered all over it!! Pisses me off every time I log on, and now I see that your condescending self is back well that could be the final nail for me. But surely not, I get too much joy out of stoking coversations and mature debates. Imagine the entire site was just boring soles like you who follow the masses and all act the same like a herd of sheep. Goodnight to all except our lord and savior Paul who cannot do any wrong and judges others diligently, to you I wish a thousand years of melancholy nightmares and restlessness. UTFT

Sean Kearns 20 Posted 07/12/2025 at 23:55:19

Also my original post was meant to say “I demand more than that”, but now when I post a comment the blue ‘Edit’ link no longer works and hasn’t done for weeks so I was unable to adjust said mistake… W⚓️

Paul Griffiths 21 Posted 07/12/2025 at 23:57:43

So, you can't provide the meaning and connections Sean?

Sean Kearns 22 Posted 08/12/2025 at 00:06:30

Lad I don’t need to 😂 piss off

Paul Griffiths 23 Posted 07/12/2025 at 00:12:45

Ah, I apologise, you did have a go at drumming up connections. I must have missed them in that long and winding atomic response.

'A testosterone fueled battle of 6'5” grown men and I am baying for blood every weekend'

Do you feel like this when you are sober, SK, or just when you are pissed (half-pissed and half-stoned adds up to pissed)? Do you like dog-fighting or bear-baiting?

You'll be lucky lad, you can count the number of Premier League players over 6'-5" on the fingers of your three hands. And three of them play for the same team.

Sean Kearns 25 Posted 08/12/2025 at 00:21:06

I feel that way when entirely sober. Much why I also enjoy rugby and NFL too!…

I could name 12 players who are all 6'5” or taller right now from a quick Google search. The majority of back lines and forwards are over 6 ft.

The Premier League is the land of the giants if you didn't know…. I once met Kurt Zouma who is a paltry 6'-3" and he was a hulking giant! I was personally shocked.

Sean Kearns 27 Posted 08/12/2025 at 00:24:38

May you please provide me with the connection between wanting physicality in football and dog fighting or bear baiting?

(Whatever the fuck that is... I'm not even going to look it up out of fear.)

Derek Thomas 28 Posted 08/12/2025 at 00:38:16

Despite the apparent efforts of The Premier League and PGMOL, last time I looked, football was still -- just -- a 'contact sport' thus, individual contests are still part and parcel of the game and anybody not fully prepared to literally go 'shoulder to shoulder' won't last too long at the very top.

Some players, James Vaughan for Instance, possibly had too much keenness, some players had all the skill but were alleged to have too much Birkdale, not enough Kirkdale -- both types faded into relative obscurity... very well paid in one case if I remember correctly.

One decent tackle can turn a game and possibly a season, like Neville vs Ronaldo.

Size and weight have no real bearing, it can help obviously, that's just simple physics. The old saying about the size of fight in the dog being more important than the size of the dog in the fight, still holds up.

There was nobody 'smaller' on a football field than Bobby Collins -- but there was nobody 'bigger' than him.

Until they officially change it to something more akin to 'touch rugby', then long live the individual contests.

First you play and win the 'Fight-Ball'Then you play and win your 'Foot-Ball'

You gotta fight,For the right,To Party.

Paul Griffiths 29 Posted 08/12/2025 at 00:40:59

It's quite clear, Sean. Both dog-fighting and bear-baiting (where trained dogs bait bears to wear them down and usually kill them) attract violent followers who would seem to bask in the gore and brutality of it all. Like you, they bay for blood.

Out of interest, there was a bear-baiting pit/theatre next door to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre when it opened in 1599 on the bankside.

Sean Kearns 30 Posted 08/12/2025 at 00:41:46

Also the number of tall players has no relevance here… Both Barry and Milenkovic are 6'-5” which was my original point.

I wanted to see a battle between them but instead my own player got bossed at home.

Paul Griffiths 32 Posted 08/12/2025 at 00:44:30

Derek (28): 'Too much Birkdale, not enough Kirkdale'.

Brilliant mate. Can I steal that off you?

Mind you, Brent Stephens lives in Birkdale!

Too much Freshfield and not enough Anfield? Too much Ainsdale.

Sean Kearns 33 Posted 08/12/2025 at 00:46:23

The bear-baiting thing sounds fucked as they are majestic apex predators, but I'm actually not a dog person and could probably watch a couple of ugly pit bulls go at it like.

Might even have a cheeky tenner of one of them. It's a cultural thing in parts of the US I believe and who am I to tell people how to spend their time… one might see QuaillHunting, fox hunting or duck shooting in much the same light.

All opinions, I suppose.

Mike Gaynes 34 Posted 08/12/2025 at 03:53:45

Neil #16,

I'm not a "big fan"... I just tried to provide as much info as a could on him when we signed him, as one of the few on TW who had actually seen him play.

(I watch Juve and Milan games when I can because Yank internationals are prominent in those sides, and I had seen Barry against both last season.)

I do see possibilities in him. Not buying his shirt yet.

Derek Thomas 36 Posted 08/12/2025 at 06:37:01

Paul @ 32; not mine to give away, I believe it was one of the Club Coaches -- who knows, it was maybe a bit harsh on Rodwell, but not totally inaccurate though.

For me, the jury is as yet, out on Mr Barry, will he both literally and figuratively 'kick out and kick on'?

Apropos of nothing; As to his shoulder, the previous home game (?... or was it Bournemouth??) he fell over his own feet at speed -- which is why I have doubts about his suitability for the super fast Premier League -- near the corner flag and went down heavily on the end of his shoulder, I wouldn't be surprised if he sat the next game or two out.

Brent Stephens 38 Posted 08/12/2025 at 08:51:51

Derek #28:

“Some players had all the skill but were alleged to have too much Birkdale, not enough Kirkdale”.

Oi, I heard that. Derek! I'll give you a bit of bleedin' Birkdale!

Mark Murphy 39 Posted 08/12/2025 at 08:56:43

Mike, I saw him go over when battling two Fulham players for the ball at speed.

He was fighting hard and I think he actually won the ball but was sent down. He didn't fall over his own feet.

Paul Griffiths 40 Posted 08/12/2025 at 09:17:16

Birkdale is fucking hard. Massive youth issues. You fellas who drive past the lighthouse house over the road from the golf course on the way to Lord Street know nothing.

Birkdale. Urban deprivation. A cruel area and Brent lives on the 14th floor in a building that was set on fire last week. I thought Crosby was hard, but Borkdale is north Toxteth 1981..

41 Posted 08/12/2025 at 10:04:36

Mike @ 37: well he would say that wouldn't he. I know what I saw, it was a potential broken collar bone in waiting the other week and I think he hurt it again Vs Forest.

If he is carrying the shoulder I'm not a fan of pain killer injections, but this is the Big Boys League and these thing's happen.

We'll see on Saturday.