Aston Villa News 24/7Writer: Mike Field 
Date:Friday April 24 2009
Time: 3:56PM
UK time is: 07:26:21
Choose your club
Other Sites
Network Navigation
Vital Partners
'If It's Football, It's Vital'
Barry Happy With Improvement And 5th Place
Gareth Barry has called on fans to look at the bigger picture, and not our disappointment at slipping from 4th Place when we evaluate the season.
Speaking to the Express and Star Barry says that although we'll keep battling for a 4th Place finish, if we only achieve 5th then we would have had a good season again.
"Would fifth be progress? I think it definitely would be. No matter what you say, if you get to fifth from sixth then that is an improvement.
"Given we were minutes away from going eight points clear at one stage it`s so easy to look at it now and be disappointed.
"But for the fans it`s important to look at the bigger picture. We will keep battling for fourth but if we do end up fifth the club has had a good season again."
Whether 5th Place is good enough for Barry to desire staying with us is still open for debate, but there is no doubt overall this season we have improved in the league and potentially we should've done better but that's football for you.
At the start of the season we'd have all taken a Top 6 finish again, stability and steady growth is what we needed this season and in the league it's what we achieved.
Vital F1 Prediction League - Join now for Monaco
For the very latest Premier League odds
For massive weekly jackpots - Play the Football Pools Online
Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.
Your Comments
Not good enough for some (me EXCLUDED)
nazvfc
Fifth is an improvement. At the start of the season I wanted improvement, so it seems I've got my wish. Fourth would have been fantastic for us all, though I reckon it may have come too early in the (re)development of the team. GB can stay or go, he's served the club well, the only disappointment being last summer's debacle.
andy5759
If we finish a place higher than last year, on more points than the 60 we got last season, despite having played an extra 14 games then that would be improvment. Personally I think the club is more stable and forward thinking than at any time in my lifetime.
voiceoftheholte
If we finish 5th - and on current form, you'd say Everton are much the more likey to - then, technically, it would be an improvement. But leaving aside whether profound progress has been made or not, it will only be a case of 1 step forwards, x steps back. Exactly what that 'x' will be isn't clear at this stage, but it could be a lot worse than 2.
Albarnista
Fourth would have been a dream! Fifth is still very good! Even sixth would have been more than ok, and consolidation, and a proof that last year wasn't a fluke and that we are going places and the 5 year plan is on schedule! If you think the 3 of the CL semi-finalists are from the Top 4, and that so far not one PL club has been knocked out by any other European teams, it puts a fifth place finish in perspective! Stil makes me wonder just how far we could have gone in the Uefa cup if we had really tried! But I doubt that Barry will stay if an offer comes in from a Top 4 club. He has been a great servant, and I hope he still stays! Maybe now he has a solid England place, and England look set for South Africa, he wont be so bothered as before about playing CL footy!
villa_de
villa_de they are wise comments re CL standings related to our PL standing and on that basis we are definately making progress. I for one would never want us to lose GB as he is part of the Villa family and the backbone of our team. Almost impossible to replace. I say let GB have a say on who we buy so he has no excuses and offer a bumper pay deal to boot!
holte ender 1969
As a fan, I'd like to call on Gareth Barry to look at the bigger picture, and not our disappointment at slipping from 4th Place when he evaluates whether to stay or not at the end of the season. :P
AVFC4ME
Thats it AVFC4ME, exactly what I was thinking. 5th is improvement, so some might be disappointed etc, but I think we all need to realise that we are still moving in the right direction.
young_jonah
Have Your Say
Recent Articles
Villa's Pre Season Schedule (Tuesday May 21 2013)
Vlaar Pleased With First Good Touch Of The Game (Tuesday May 21 2013)
Villa Season Ticket Help Sessions (Tuesday May 21 2013)
They Think It's All Over - Not Yet - Soccer Sevens (Tuesday May 21 2013)
Vital Villa Man Of The Match v Wigan (Tuesday May 21 2013)
The Aston Villa Summer Transfer Thread Pt 1 (Tuesday May 21 2013)
Brentford Midfielder Linked (Tuesday May 21 2013)
No, No, NO. Weimann & Benteke Cannot Be Sold! (Tuesday May 21 2013)
Fringe Players Exodus Led By Richard Dunne? (Tuesday May 21 2013)
Villa Line Up Malaga Friendly (Monday May 20 2013)
Archived Articles
Vital Members League (view all)
| 1. | Pride of Lions | 953 |
| 2. | The Fear | 724 |
| 3. | BodyButter | 478 |
| 4. | kefkat | 389 |
| 5. | CDX_EIRE | 318 |
| 6. | ClivetheVillan | 258 |
| 7. | Villan57 | 242 |
| 8. | thefacehead | 239 |
| 9. | DeanoVilla | 208 |
| 10. | mike_field | 189 |
League Results (view all)
| Latest Results | ||||
| Wigan | 2 | - | 2 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 1 | - | 2 | Chelsea |
| Norwich | 1 | - | 2 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 6 | - | 1 | Sunderland |
| Man Utd | 3 | - | 0 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 1 | - | 1 | Fulham |
League Table (view table)
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 12. Fulham | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | -10 | 43 |
| 13. Stoke | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | -11 | 42 |
| 14. Southampton | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | -11 | 41 |
| 15. Aston Villa | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | -22 | 41 |
| 16. Newcastle | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | -23 | 41 |
| 17. Sunderland | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | -13 | 39 |
| 18. Wigan | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | -26 | 36 |
Breaking League News
| 2013/2014 - The year of change
» Spurs : 22/05/2013 04:11:00
|
| Last Man Of The Match Vote Of The Season
» Wigan : 21/05/2013 23:56:00
|
| Carroll Linked With NUFC (Again)
» Newcastle : 21/05/2013 23:43:00
|
| Players react to Pulis departure
» Stoke : 21/05/2013 22:37:00
|
| Stoke confirm Pulis exit
» Stoke : 21/05/2013 22:24:00
|
| Liverpool: Papadopoulos Is The Top Target
» Liverpool : 21/05/2013 18:31:00
|
| Out Through the Exit Door
» Chelsea : 21/05/2013 18:02:00
|
Current Site Poll (view all polls)
|
|
1 © - All content copyright Vital Network Ltd, not to be reproduced without explicit permission Copyright Issues
Cookie Policy
At Vital Football, we along with most other modern websites use small files called 'cookies' to create the most secure, effective and functional website possible for our users. Without these files our business model, based on advertising, breaks down and we would be unable to continue to provide the services that you are here to utilise. By continuing to use this website after seeing this message, you consent to our use of cookies on this device unless you have disabled them. For full details please read our Cookie Policy which can be found here. However, if you would like to disable cookies on this device, please view our Cookie Policy which contains an opt-out tool for disabling advertising cookies. Please also visit our information pages on 'How to manage cookies' if you would also like to block all other types of cookies. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies.