Harvey Barnes - what do you think?

Just interested to see how people view Harvey Barnes - both right now and in terms of promise. I haven’t fully made up my mind, but I think:

- currently, a ‘decent’ LM option as no one else is really an option with some flashes of brilliance. Maybe not the very best but certainly good enough.

- as a prospect, clearly he is very exciting. I don’t think he’ll make it to the very top but certainly as a premier league regular. Maybe as a top impact off the bench - and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Before people shoot anyone down like ‘give the kid a chance’ based on their views etc it’s literally the purpose of both the forum and in particular this thread.

What are other people’s views?

 

Definitely worth persevering with. He’s got plenty of pace which scares most defenders, his final product will improve with game time. The left wing seems his best position and for now I’d start him in the home games and maybe Albrighton in the away games for his ability to defend a bit more. Quite a few teams are well aware of him which shows he’s held in high regard away from Leicester.

 

Has been ok - shown some good things but they have come in patches.

Am surprised he keeps on starting tbh as his current form doesn't not merit that imo - would like to see Gray or Maddison get a run out on the LW again.

Will be interesting how he reacts to our fickle fans when they inevitably turn on him.

 

Current form Gray doesnt deserve to be in the matchday squad

Barnes seems to be trying too hard at times. He needs a goal to settle himself

I think he has shown alot of promise and maturity in his performances so far. He does drift out of games time to time but always tries to make things happen and deserves to start every week IMO

Albrighton when he returns should start on the right and Barnes on the left

 

Gray has been played as a AM and RW to little affect - his real position is LW and I would like to see him there again.

 

Gray is alright. Mainly just no one else at all to play his position.

 

Got a standing ovation from the crowd when he came off today.

 

That wasnt because his performance. He was shocking today. Barnes was quiet other then them 2 everyone was outstanding today.

 

We lack depth on the wings. Gray and Ghezzal havent been good enough. Barnes is learning but showing alot of promise and that just leaves us with Albrighton who is injured

3 priorities in the summer is Tielemans, Striker and properly replace Mahrez

 

Kid's a talent .... as soon as he gets a couple of goals I suspect he will really take off

 

What did he do that was shocking - I thought he had a good game today and combined well with with Ricardo with them terrorising Bournmouth's LB so much that Fraiser was out of the game because he spent most of his game covering so their forwards didn't get any service from their best crosser of the ball.

If I imagined all then then the crowd actually were cheering for Ghezzal coming on and in that case good for the lad - our fickle fans had scapegoated the poor bugger for not being a clone of Mahrez so is good that he is getting such positive reactions after the ****e that was inflicted on him.

 

Gray had 1 or 2 good moments but still nowhere near good enough. He wussed out of some tackles, miscontrolled the ball too often. And what annoys me most is he beats his man and then cuts back and then has to try and beat him again. Gray has been below par for sometime. I expect more from an attacking player then just helping the full back. They should be a something that he should do anyway

The toxic atmosphere has gone completely. The players have more confidence. While Ghezzal and Iheanacho didnt get much time in the little they did they seemed more confident when they touched the ball

 

People forget that he is a 22 year old as he has been with us for a while - he deserves some slack like Barnes is getting as he is still learning and is playing in an unfamiliar position.

In this game when he beat his man he cuts back is because he is so fast there is no one with him to pass to - Vardy has lost a step so needs time to catch up. Ironically given my previous qualms about him, the kid actually needed to be more selfish and go for goal then but doesn't seem to be as confident in cutting inside and shooting with his left foot like he does when he plays on the left and cuts inside and onto his right.

Also when our fullback is as good as Ricardo, why wouldn't you want him to have the ball more often - earlier this season that seemed to be our main strategy with Albrighton covering for Ricardo's runs forward.

I wouldn't say that he is playing great - look at my earlier posts where I state I don't want him as a RW and I have stated a few times that we need to bring in another winger - but he isn't as bad as you think and shouldn't be written off.

 

Demarai Gray has played over 100 games in the Premier League now (Even has a winners medal) He has been here over 3 years and had a world class winger in Mahrez to learn from. But yet hasnt shown any sort of consistency in his whole time here

What he is showing week in and week out is nowhere near good enough for the talent he has

Barnes has played a very small handful of games. Recalled from a highly succesful loan spell to a higher division which was losing and lacked creativity. Too circumstances but overall Barnes has done well. Much better then Gray recently

Gray isnt playing an unfamiliar position apart from when Coco the clown put him up front. He is a winger and playing on the wing. Playing on the right wing is his best position imo as he struggles when he comes inside. His best work is getting on the outside of full backs and using his pace

And it wasnt because no one could keep up why he cuts back. The box was full

So no Gray doesnt deserve to be judged the same as Barnes. Gray should be doing much better then he is. Ive not written him off, if I had it would be much easier as I would just say he is **** and bin him. Hopefully Rodgers can work with him like he did with Scott Sinclair at Swansea and Raheem Sterling at Liverpool

 

Gray has played 143 games as a LW and only 22 as a RW in his entire career https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/demarai-gray/leistungsdaten/spieler/292417/plus/0?saison=ges Not sure how but you can say that playing on the left and right are the same but from that you can see that he is a left winger.

In the same amount of games, Barnes has assisted twice while Gray has scored twice while playing less minutes and in different positions - those are the stats.

I still say drop Barnes and play Gray in his real position as LW - the way you are judging Gray, I say the same things about Barnes but add bad positioning and awful finisher to the list. Kid needs to be sent back out on loan to relearn what he seems to have forgotten but seems to get a free pass for being "promising" when the year older Gray doesn't.

 

If Barnes hasn't improved when he's played another 2 years & 90 games he'll get the same criticism. We've been wanting for Gray to improve for a long time now. I'm hoping Rogers can be the one to help him finally develop.

 

Reason Gray get banged on the left wing is because he was never going to get the shirt off Mahrez. And yes playing on the wings is the same. You job is to attack from wide, score and create goals while helping your team mates. Something Gray has never done for us

Demarai Gray has played 120 games for us now. 9 goals, 7 assists. Just 1 of them assists is this season. Thats pathetic


Barnes needs a goal to feel like he belongs. He is getting very close to everything he does. As for the “bad finisher” tag you obviously havent seen his goals for Barnsley, West Brom and at youth level.

Barnes doesnt get a free pass but afforded more time and understanding when he is just making his way. He is a proper team player and he isnt scared of putting his foot in. The say loan him back out is an absurd comment now. Talk about giving up on someone

 

For someone that hasn't written Gray off, you have a lot of bad things to say about him - especially in comparison to Barnes who who you call a "proper footballer" when he has done bugger all.

When Gray played on the left wing for Birmingham it was because of Mahrez? Kid is a left winger - he has trained to play there and has been playing there the pretty much the whole of his career so I have no idea why you have a problem with that.

Are you ambidextrous? That is the only reason why you must think that there is no difference between playing on the left and right because most people aren't. If football was so easy that players can easily play one side over the other then we should play Barnes on the right and he shouldn't have any problem even though he has never played there before right?

I hope Barnes doesn't turn out like Patrick Bamford and Matej Vydra who scored for fun in the youth leagues and Championship but can't buy a goal in the Premier League. The step up is real and so far it is massive for him.

I still say loan him out as while he "isnt scared of putting his foot in" he isn't "a proper footballer" yet and he will be pushed down the pecking order when we hopefully get someone decent in at RW and Albrighton back and kid needs game time.

Hopefully he will prove me wrong, score a hattrick vs Hudderfield and be the next coming of Mahrez.

 

What are you rambling on about now? No one used the word “proper footballer” except you. Gray can play either wing. Its a poor footballers excuse when they blame that for poor form. As for saying bad things about Gray I say what I see and what the majority of the fans see.

You are the only Leicester fan Ive seen questioning Barnes. Your writing the lad off after 5 mins. He has more assists for us this season then Gray btw. He links up with his team mates much better and will actually get back to defend and actually put a foot in. But I dont need to defend Barnes as everyone who watches him play sees something in him except you

Gray is at crossroads now. If he doesnt step up under Brendan Rodgers then yes. Its time to “give up” on him and move him on

 

Yet you can't see how Gray performed well in the last game and got applauded off by the crowd?

You have your opinion and just want to start another fight with me for daring to have a different one again - I have said my piece and that is that.