You Need to Mean Them, Barry! | OneFootball

For (most) children growing up in the early 2000s, Harry Potter was a pretty big deal. Now, I never did get dragged into dressing up as a wizard, but they were probably the first novels I read, or listened to — on tape, no less — over and over again.

And if you’re wondering where the hell this introduction is going, that’s a fair question. But stick with it.

Perhaps it was by osmosis. Perhaps those hours of reading and re-reading, of listening and re-listening to the audiobooks, just meant certain phrases or lines were cemented in a little boy’s brain and 20-odd years later, one of J.K. Rowling’s lines of dialogue would jump to the forefront of my mind to describe an Everton centre-forward missing a glorious chance in front of goal.

Still with me? Possibly not, but on the off-chance you are, the point will soon arrive.

The line in question comes somewhere deep in the fifth instalment of the series.

Harry Potter has just lost his godfather, and the killer, Bellatrix Lestrange, is taunting the teenager as he feebly attempts an ‘Unforgivable Curse’ (okay, I’ll admit, I had to refresh my memory there) her way.

“You need to mean them, Potter!”

And for whatever bizarre reason, when Thierno Barry managed to miss an open goal for the second time in Everton’s 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth, that quote sprang to mind.

Let’s have some creative licence: “You need to mean them, Barry.”

I promise, I’m not writing this drunk. Angry, yes, because Everton have once again thrown away another fantastic opportunity to put themselves in pole position in the European race. Concerned, yes, because their form at Hill Dickinson Stadium continues to be a growing concern. Befuddlement, yes, because David Moyes’ lack of proactive action from the bench and lack of trust in squad players is seemingly getting worse, but, I have my senses.

The thing is, that quote — the whole point of that long-winded intro — applies perfectly to Thierno Barry. I do sometimes wonder if he really means it.

Barry is a good prospect. He has not been adequately supported this season and has therefore been forced to ride through the rough patches and come out of them stronger for it. Everton’s recruitment let him down; there should not have been so much onus on him to lead the line this season.

But there has been, and he has, at least in recent months, delivered in terms of goals and, at times, he’s delivered in his all-round performances, too.

He does not get many chances, and that is never good for a striker. They will, naturally, then tend to snatch at the ones that do come their way. But we had begun to see more composure and poise from the 23-year-old. He has proved he is capable of scoring at this level.

On Tuesday, though, it went out of the window a bit.

First, there was the miss in the first half. Djordje Petrovic spilled James Garner’s free-kick, and Barry was presented with nearly an open goal. The ball was wet and spinning away, and the turf was slippy, but Barry still had the whole goal to aim at. Opta assigned the chance 0.72 xG. For context, a penalty is commonly assigned 0.79 xG.

Everton put the miss behind them. Iliman Ndiaye scored a spot-kick and, without playing particularly well, the Toffees went into half-time with a lead over a lacklustre Bournemouth team.

Yet, in my opinion, a much worse miss was to come.

Everton started the second half well. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall saw a goal-bound effort blocked by James Hill as it looked like the Cherries would wilt under a barrage of pressure.

Barry linked up well with Ndiaye, and for all the world, it looked as though the Frenchman would atone for his earlier miss (and misses happen, for all players — look at Cole Palmer).

Ndiaye slid it across, and all Barry had to do was move towards the ball. The goal had opened up, Petrovic was rooted to the spot. Six yards out, stride forward, swing a leg at it and finish. Game over.

But Barry waited. Barry did not push himself forward. He stood on his heels, wanting the ball to come to him and for no other player to react.

He did not show the level of conviction he had previously demonstrated for his goal against Leeds United in January, when he saw the space, attacked it and grabbed an equaliser.

This isn’t to say that Barry can’t do those things. He clearly can. But if he is to fulfil his potential and if he is to really grind it out in the Premier League, then these are the moments he has to take.

The ball from Ndiaye was accurate but lacked pace. But that’s what made it so perfect to attack. So ideal to get on the front foot and just make emphatically sure.

I don’t like to compare any striker to Romelu Lukaku, because he was a complete freak of nature. The full package at 20. A beast physically and a ruthless finisher. Yet what made Lukaku so good in front of goal was his nasty streak; his anger.

Barry is a more languid character, but there is no doubting he is a hard worker.

However, as I wrote after the Leeds game, there is a lot for him still to learn, and much of it seems to come down to that awareness, that desire to really make something happen. Whether it’s going up for a 50-50 (or perhaps even a 30-70) just to try and put the defender off, or whether it’s making sure you close the gap to a rolling ball and give a covering defender absolutely no chance of making a block.

But in that moment against Bournemouth, it didn’t look as though Barry did mean it.

Still, we must credit Alex Jimenez. He did not give up. He made the covering run, he dived in at just the right moment. He made a block that swung the game in Bournemouth’s favour. Ten minutes later, the Cherries were ahead.

Barry, meanwhile, headed to the Everton bench. One cannot surely blame Moyes for taking him off — he was not playing well, his misses aside, and Beto has performed relatively well from the bench as of late.

It was sad to see Barry hide his face in his shirt, clearly distraught. He knew how big a chance it was to put the game to bed, and he will not need reminding.

So all I’ll say, is this: He’s got to mean it. Really mean it.

Get angry, get nasty. Do not give that covering defender a chance to be the hero. Make that ball yours and then go and lash it home.

In the modern day, with the obsession with statistics (guilty as charged, by the way), it is easy to disregard ‘intangibles’. But they are still there, and they are still just as important as they ever were.

It’s sink or swim time, but if you’re going to stay afloat, you really have to mean them.

Barrys job is to put the ball in the back of the net. I don't care how many chances he gets, he has to score goals. That is why he is on the pitch.

I remember Yakubu. One game against Fulham I think it was, he had about ten touches and did nothing.

Final whistle went, we won 3-0 and he had scored a hatrick.

He didnt need multiple chances to score, one or two touches, ball in corner of the net. Thats what we need.

I don’t think he has the steel in him.

He’s languid, ponderous, doesn’t have a strikers instinct.

You see lots of times that he doesn’t anticipate, he doesn’t get across the defender. He doesn’t expect the mistake.

And when the chances do present he fluffs his lines more often than not. Like last night.

A commentator at Fulham said he had to improve technically after a ball to his feet ended up 10 yards away, out for a throw.

Must be very hard for our better players playing alongside this. Disheartening really.

Beto is no better, should have moved on in the January window when there was interest, replaced by someone new.

Of course you can’t do business in January, except plenty of clubs, including Bournemouth, do.

Poor recruitment is at the heart of everything that holds Everton back. Until this is resolved we are going nowhere but our better players probably are, and who can blame them.

I'm sorry to say, but, Barry is a headless chicken with no ball skill, and, lacks positional skill.

I've observed his face, of late, and, I'm not inspired by his nonchalant expression, like he do'es not want to be there. His skills and ability would be lucky to survive in lower divisions.

A bigger concern for me though, is who at EFC is buying these second class players.