Diamond Heist Part 2

Ross Barkley’s departure for Chelsea has left a sour taste in the mouth for Evertonians. In the 2nd of a 2 part article, we look at his Everton career and what Everton could do to prevent this from happening in future. Click here for Part 1 of this article.

Barkley’s Dutch Disaster

Ronald Koeman arrived with the reputation as a disciplinarian. He would be the man to get the best out of the players. If you’d asked some Evertonians about national service for 16 year olds at the time they would have been all for it. Barkley had had a disappointing World Cup, not getting any game time as England crashed out under Hodgson. His confidence was at an all-time low. Barkley scored against Spurs but was substituted at half time in a 3 nil win over Sunderland. He was then dropped for the first time in his Everton career and Koeman spoke about it publicly.

“Barkley is already playing four years in the first team. You are not any more a talent, that means you need to show you have improved,” Koeman told the BBC. “I still believe in his qualities, but if I am not totally happy or it is a tactical question, he does not start.”

At this stage, Barkley had less than 2 years left on his contract. This is the time when players usually start thinking of going elsewhere. Everton’s policy had usually been to do contracts in the summer for budgeting reasons. Barkley had been criticised by a small section of fans, the press, the England manager and now his own manager. He went away with the England squad where players often talk about what it is like at their own clubs. It is criminal that it got to this stage. Murmurs of interest from Tottenham appeared.

Koeman continued to criticise Barkley to the point where the player asked the manager why he was talking about him all the time. The contract negotiations were not going ahead as planned and Koeman took a typically hard line.

Koeman told the Liverpool Echo, “I spoke about this with Ross. He mentioned that it is always about him. I said: ‘Ok, start to be afraid when they don’t ask about you. Then you need to be afraid.”

The 20 Million Pound Mistake

Barkley improved during the season but off the field issues then caught up with him. A video emerged of Barkley being attacked in a bar. He was then publicly criticised by Kelvin McKenzie in a disgraceful article. Barkley responded in the best possible way with a goal against Burnley. The Goodison crowd sang his name throughout, showing their support for one of their own. Barkley jumped into the crowd showing his appreciation for the support. No one at that time would have believed that he would leave Everton. Within 3 weeks, it was clear that he would.

Koeman told the Guardian in May that he was not confident on Barkley staying. “No, because it is a long time that he is thinking about his future. But I’m not worried because I like to work with players who like to stay. And it is not about his decision. We will go on. We are looking for players in that position. Even if he stays, there will be more competition for him next season.”

In July, Koeman told the press, “We made a really good offer to him to sign a new contract, he declined that contract and told me that he is looking for a new challenge. Okay he is not in Everton’s future anymore.”

Koeman had secured a 7^th place finish at Everton and looked secure in his role. Ross Barkley like most people who have a job and hate their boss, looked for another job. When most people leave their jobs, however,  it doesn’t cost their employer twenty million pounds.

Barkley’s Bank

At this stage, Barkley had one year on his contract remaining. At the time he scored his wonder goal against Manchester City in 2013, he was said to be worth 50 million pounds. With one year on his contract, suitors knew they could wait it out while his value plummeted. Chelsea came in and offered 35 million for him at the transfer deadline. Barkley, injured at the time, decided to decline the offer and stay at Everton. This cost Everton 20 million pounds. Barkley eventually left Everton for 15 million pounds. We will never know how much Barkley and his agent profited from this. We do know that Everton suffered.

Lessons For the Future

So what can Everton do to prevent a talented young player leave in future? Looking back through Barkley’s Everton career, there is not a lot that the club didn’t do right.

One could argue that Leeds was the wrong club for Barkley but Neil Warnock was seen as someone who could teach him tactically. We have seen with Liam Walsh and Brendan Galloway that loans are not always the best way of developing players.

Roberto Martinez protected Barkley, perhaps recognising a sensitive nature, praised Barkley often. He did speak about what Barkley had to do to improve but always framed it possibly. He certainly got the best out of Barkley in his first season. Unfortunately, the team regressed in his second and third seasons and Barkley lost confidence.

Support

Barkley’s relationship with the fans has generally been positive. The majority of Evertonians have been supportive of Barkley although there has been the odd voice of dissent in the crowd. TV camera’s once clearly picked up a ‘supporter’ shouting ‘s***e’ you lad’ at Barkley as he was about to take a corner. The atmosphere at Goodison certainly turned toxic at the end of Martinez time but that was directed at the manager. Jagielka’s half time pep talk to Barkley proves that it affects the players.

On the other hand, the rousing reception he got after his incident though proved how loved he was by Evertonians. The fact that he actually had a song  showed his popularity. As it is, he left a short message on Instagram thanking everyone at Everton without specifically mentioning the fans. It was buried underneath his message of gratitude to all those that thanked him following his move. It was a fairly painful divorce for Evertonians. 6 months of the silent treatment and then gone.

The Carrot and the Stick but Mainly the Stick

Ronald Koeman was honest with Barkley, often in public. Perhaps this wasn’t the way to deal with Barkley who was a very sensitive soul. Koeman did frame some of his comments with admiration for Barkleys talents but came across as cold. His remote relationship with the players ended up being Koeman’s downfall. Compared to the encouraging father figure he had in Martinez, Koeman seemed more like the strict Victorian headmaster. Barkley did not respond well to this. Discipline is needed at all clubs but the old school style of non-man management doesn’t work anymore. Even Moyes had mellowed before he finished at Goodison.

Ronald Koeman was fired in October. Afterwards, Oumar Niasse spoke of the treatment he received as Koeman tried to freeze him out. Evertonians were impressed with the dignity Niasse showed. Many were appalled at Koeman’s treatment of the player. Barkley too suffered under Koeman although not to the extent of Niasse. The tough love approach backfired. But was Koeman’s treatment of Barkley the reason he left or was it simply the straw that broke the donkey’s back?

Contract Policy

Finally, the club have got to review their contract policy. Players value depreciates when they have less than 2 years on their contract. The clubs bargaining power decreases with each year off the contract. Agents know that this is the best time to negotiate better wages. A player is never in more danger of having his head turned than when his contract is running down. This was the case with Barkley. At a time when he wasn’t getting on with his manager, had 18 months left on his contract and rumoured interest from Tottenham, it is likely that Barkley decided then.

Farhad Mosiri touched on this in the AGM. He stated that Romelu Lukaku was sold as he had 2 years left on his contract. It was felt that Ross Barkley would sign when he was at that stage of his contract but it was not to be.

The Tragedy of Ross Barkley

Overall, the tragedy is that Barkley never won anything with Everton. He suffered from poor management at times and didn’t fulfil his potential. Like his former idol, Wayne Rooney, Barkley went to another club to win things. This is the real tragedy of Barkley’s time at Everton.

Roberto Martinez dream was to build a side around the young trio of Stones, Lukaku and Barkley. All have gone now to Champions League clubs. If Everton are to reach that level, they have to ensure that they keep their diamonds and prevent another heist from happening again.

What is your reaction to Barkley’s transfer? Does he have the right to call himself an Evertonian or have the club let him down? Let us know in the comments section below. Click here for Part 1 of this article.