Barkley is banker for Southgate
Everton star shines in front of watching England manager as Lukaku continues his rich run of form
AS AUDITIONS go, Ross Barkley’s was right up there. The zeal with which he picked off West Brom must have impressed the watching Gareth Southgate. Thanks for coming, through to the next round.
Barkley will be in the England squad to face Germany and Lithuania in a fortnight. If not, serious questions should be posed of Southgate’s judgement.
‘Outstanding, outstanding,’ Ronald Koeman said of the midfielder. ‘The best I’ve seen Ross play,’ said Tony Pulis. High praise indeed for a 23-year-old who divides opinion on Merseyside.
This was a day for celebrating the life of Goodison great Alex Young — who died last month at the age of 80 — and one Barkley will take great inspiration from.
Young, nicknamed ‘Golden Vision’ after a triumphant eight-year spell here in the 1960s, was eulogised by Everton royalty with the sort of plaudits which should be applicable to Barkley.
‘Alex swayed and floated around the pitch,’ Joe Royle said. ‘It was artistry with Alex, a cleverness. He would stand on the ball, almost like a matador tempting someone to tackle him.’
Drawing parallels between the two would be folly right now, but Everton’s current No 8 should be aspiring to be revered to a similar degree when he looks back on a career just beginning to blossom.
Barkley plays the game at his own pace and was integral to this victory, a fifth at home on the bounce for Koeman. Locals give Barkley a hard time but that is largely because they know how good he can be.
Koeman’s challenge is to harness that unique ability and innate knowledge of his angles and timing. West Brom did not really have an answer. Two goals just before half-time halted their game plan.
Barkley was at the heart of the first, on 39 minutes, as he broke from midfield, slipping Romelu Lukaku in behind to push Everton 20 yards further forward.
From there Lukaku held the ball up, his is team-mates gallopingg up to reach their striker. Space opened up for Barkley on the edge of the box, from where he forced a smart stop from Ben Foster, before Kevin Mirallas followed up.
Koeman believes that hat Southgate (right) shouldh ld include Barkley in his squad.
‘If Southgate takes conclusions from today, Ross will be selected,’ Koema Koeman said. ‘W ‘What he did for the fi first goal was outstandi ing. He is playing fantastically.’ The Everton lead was no less than the home side deserved against a West Brom side looking to reach t their 50-point Prem mier League target in sing singles. B Bar a stinging Nacer Chadli drive and looping Darren Fletcher header, Joel Robles had nothing to do. Everton’s second came in first-half stoppage-time, Lukaku again at its heart. The Belgian gathered possession, waited for his runners and almost used Barkley as a decoy when finding the on-rushing Morgan Schneiderlin to dink the ball over Foster.
‘The five minutes before halftime has killed us,’ Pulis said. ‘All the goals were disappointing from our point of view. I thought Barkley and Lukaku were very, very good, and that’s the difference.’
Barkley shone brightest, using upper-body strength to palm markers off, releasing only when he was ready. Sure, he can frustrate, but as he told the Daily Mail last week, criticism is never far away.
He is pitching in with more goals and assists than ever before, but it is Barkley’s joie de vivre — as if he is knocking about in Merseyside back alleys with a ball and some jumpers — which should be remembered whenever he does move on.
He is being played further forward now, albeit not quite in the centre-forward role Young made his own, and the developing partnership with Lukaku, which is bordering on telepathic, is one to keep an eye on. And, with eight minutes remaining, Barkley stood Gareth McAuley up — and saw his mate ghosting between defenders. Lukaku’s 19th league goal of the season, his best-ever return, was the product of a measured cross, a measured header; a sprinkling of modern-day golden vision.