Gareth Barry's most revealing interview since leaving Aston Villa | Claret & Blue Podcast

[@paulmersonvillalegend7809]

A fantastic servant to our club, soured a little the way it all ended for him at villa but I’m sure now we can all appreciate what he did for villa & was right to move on to win the honours he did. A model professional also seems a really decent guy never heard people speak badly about him.

[@matkendrick9179]

Yep, it was hard to see him go, but he was such a great player for Villa. Top bloke too.

[@paulmersonvillalegend7809]

@@matkendrick9179 Bit like you Mat 🤣 Keep up the great work fella you’re fantastic at what you do 👍🏻.

[@samanthavalle5130]

Excellent interview. Barry is one of my favourite all time Villa players so really enjoyed that. Great work guys.

[@matkendrick9179]

Cheers Samantha. We were so pleased to get him on the podcast. Thought he came across really well.

[@kash6592]

It obvious to see how humble and honest a guy Barry was. Never faulted him for wanting to leave and after seeing what he won, he was definitely the right decision. The only regret was that he didn't sign back to Villa when he left City, were we crying out for a solid professional with experience. A Villian Legend.

[@matkendrick9179]

Yes, he's a nice guy. One of the best players I've had the pleasure to watch at Villa.

[@gmansid3576]

Terrific interview. Mat, like a true Journalist manages to squeeze in all the questions we would’ve loved to have asked Gareth. Gareth Barry we salute you and again great work Mat. UTV.

[@matkendrick9179]

Thanks Gman, much appreciated!

[@matkendrick9179]

@@GodofMMA23 Haha, it's my son's bedroom - honestly! Mrs Kendrick won't let me decorate the matrimonial suite in claret and blue - haha!

[@BR-tf7jd]

As a City fan can easily understand how highly he is rated by Villa. Did a great job for us and was very consistent. Fully deserved all the awards that came his way in such a long career.

[@matkendrick9179]

Cheers BR60. Think Barry is sometimes underestimated by the wider football world, but we know how good a player he was!

[@sukhdevr3489]

Same here as an Everton fan. He was great alongside McCarthy.

[@rickbarley3263]

What a brilliant podcast..... Gareth Barry is a legend to all us Villa fans, and he's a top man as is shown in this interview. UTV

[@mattsmith9]

One of the best players to ever grace Villa. Absolute legend without a single second of hesitation. Was gutted when he left and could never understand why he never came back later in his career. Well done Matt. Great insight into the experiences of a player we struggled for 2 decades to replace. UTV.

[@petetandy4932]

Wish Gareth all the best. One of our best.

[@ashleypreece2135]

Absolutely loved this. What a genuine bloke! Thanks for the memories, Gareth 👏👏

[@willwill1402]

All time favourite Villa player for me. Was never happy how some fans treated him after he left. 10 years he gave everything! He deserved champions league football.

[@matkendrick9179]

Hopefully most fans will have learned to forgive him leaving over time. Better to have loved and to have lost then never to have loved at all!

[@GorgeDawes]

I had to chuckle when I saw him play for Everton against us. The first time he went to take a corner, the Holte End rose as one to either applaud him or boo him, or in several cases I witnessed, both.

[@craiglewis3547]

Great interview Mat, enjoyed it.

[@thinksmart5247]

Thank you Mat, fantastic interview. Not a single mention of Savo, tho! He claimed Barry cleaned his boots in his interview for serbian tv :)

[@alexavfclineham7301]

Brilliant interview Matt, I hope he gets into punditry or similar so we have another villan backing us up on TV. Respect for his honesty regarding his eventual move away, it never sat right with me how he was treated on his first game back at villa park. Top bloke that gave great service to us

[@matkendrick9179]

Thanks Alex. Yes, it all felt a bit sour when he left but I'm glad he came on to the podcast to talk us through it and set the record straight.

[@pattolley1064]

Really enjoyed this. Thanks for getting him on.

[@matkendrick9179]

You're welcome, Pat!

[@tomblundell9973]

Tremendous listen. My favourite villa player, really enjoyed that. UTV

[@RossiDeakin0406]

All the top players seem to have time and a effortless calmness in possession of the ball, and Barry is one of the genuine ballers to have graced the claret n blue shirt... UTV 👍 great content once again, always a pleasure.

[@matkendrick9179]

Cheers Ross. Yes, not sure I've ever seen a player as comfortable in possession as Barry. A Villa great.

[@darrenrussell1128]

Legend. Pleasure to have watched his career

[@darrenwoolley8433]

Brilliant interview Mat really enjoyed it Gareth Barry a legend. UTV

[@matkendrick9179]

Cheers Darren. UTV

[@Researcher83]

A legend and great servant to us. Sung his name many a game, He did his bit for us and you can't begrudge the man some success, i saw him down Fazeley Chip shop once with Carlton Cole and Steve Davis lol said hello, random info for you lot ✌🏻 UTV

[@matkendrick9179]

Haha, he's a top bloke. Love your Fazeley chippie anedcote, Cloudy!

[@waynedawkins7935]

Fantastic interview and a model professional, went on to have a great career and picked up one or two trophies along the way.

[@matkendrick9179]

Thanks Wayne. Yep, 'model professional' sums it up. Proud that he played for our club.

[@johnburton8457]

Loved listening to this, great bloke and a great player.

[@nickalatti3483]

Great interview Mat. More of these please.

[@jackgriffiths4229]

One of my favourite players growing up. Love his demeanor on and off the pitch and always had an air of grace about him. Left on a sour note given Cit£h were about to overtake us with their billions but seems to still have a fondness for the club. Great interview.

[@darrenmills4890]

What a player he was, couple of extra yards pace & we probably wouldn't have seen him in a Villa shirt for 12 years. Great interview Matt, UTV.

[@TrequartistaTV2.]

Great podcast. Definitely one of my favourites growing up

[@paulclark7664]

Great player. Knitted games together and was very calm. Solid stand up guy! Thanks Gareth ! And thanks for a warm interesting interview to the both of you !

[@imightbewrong_]

It was such a pleasure to watch this guy come through as a young lad at Villa. Getting to watch him perform at such a high composed level, knowing he was absolute class, hearing pundits slowly pick up on his abilities here and there and then watching him get into the England team. Inspirational. A legend in my eyes.

[@paulrichardson5450]

Great interview Matt ;) Super player for the Villa and had a great career for City & England :)

[@Jay-xs7fn]

One of my favourite Villa players

[@jamiemckell34]

Gareth, true legend and gent

[@theman328088]

Awesome interview.. thanks for getting him on and sharing..👍🏾👍🏾

[@MegaGrahamo]

Excellent interview mat great player I had the pleasure of watching Gareth throughout his time at villa.

[@joshuajones1793]

Brilliant interview Mat, I found it really interesting to hear how his Aston Villa career started and how it unfortunately came to an end, hopefully you'll get some more ex player's to join you for a chat about their own experiences whilst we're in lockdown! UTV! 👏🏾 💯

[@matkendrick9179]

Hi Joshua, glad you enjoyed it. Have you listened to the ones we did over the summer with Barry Bannan, Gabby Agbonlahor, Marc Albrighton, Martin Laursen and so on? Hopefully we'll be lining a few more up soon too!

[@joshuajones1793]

Yeah I have Mat, those episodes were brilliant as well to be fair, really interesting to find out what went on behind the scenes at Bodymoor under O'Neill and co! Keep up the great work, it's helping us pass the time nicely during lockdown I must admit! 👌🏾 UTV!

[@nastylee1977]

Great player, great memories. I'll be looking out for him on the cricket pitch next season.

[@TheLogicBeast]

Lovely bloke, cultured player.

[@dogsbollocksgenius9480]

Was so good at Everton even in his mid 30s, only realised how good he was when he was in our team, great player

[@chrisisles3614]

Nice one Matt to get a record breaker on. Top top player for Villa. Great work as always! UTV

[@Shadow-zz2ry]

Watched Gareth play Oxford in pre season friendly when Graham Taylor was in charge and was the first time he was put into CM and never understood why he was moved there as he was quite slow but by god he was a brut so strong on the ball playing in the middle of the field.

[@ronan81farrell]

Brilliant interview Matt. Thanks

[@clairecoghlan5008]

Brilliant interview with a Villa Legend thank you

[@jalliearts]

Absolutely loved this 🥰🥰 Barry is a legend 🦁

[@leecollison8795]

love him just a great

[@twotales7337]

GB was one of the first players that I saw break in to the first team. Pure class in any position. Gutted when he left from a selfish perspective but head he went on to achieve what he did. UTV

[@davidomahony1998]

Villa legend, great interview. One question that was missing was who was the best villa player he played with.

[@holteender8]

Great interview, will always love you Gareth.

[@zp8551]

One of the best players I’ve seen down the Villa and one of my favourites. Great player and great to hear him say Villa comes out on top as his favourite club. Up the Villa.

[@PatrickJScahill]

Enjoyed that one! Very positive and honest interview. Great to see you guys moving into this kind of coverage! Ask the Great Brian Little for an interview at some stage. That man has a special mind!

[@adrianmoore2849]

Simply fantastic player UTV

[@georgedolman444]

My idol as a kid. Was a great guy when I used to queue up by the railings after games just to chat to him. Its dispicible the way he was treated by "fans" after the service he gave us for years.

[@neilyringworm]

always seems like a thoroughly nice guy. Villa legend

[@gareth6956]

Barry, Young, Gabby were the reasons I started supporting the villa, i'm from Northern Ireland, my dad was a Man U fan. I remember wanting Agbonlahor on the back of my first shirt but the guy in the store couldnt spell the name and I was only 8/9 and hadn't a baldy either so ended up without a name.

[@MONGALOO]

Legend end of.......quality player 100% commitment,captain,consistent performances took for granted and fully deserved the 'bigger paycheck' eventually no problem with him going for it......

[@stevepinder8596]

Mat, great interview very informative 👍 UTV

[@VillaBravesGaming]

Great interview Matt. Gareth always was and still is to me a model professional. It did turn sour towards the end but he fully deserved his chance to go on to win titles, cups etc. He always seemed so calm in possession and one stand out moment for me was against Arsenal at Villa Park and he absolutely bamboozed John Hartson with some nifty footwork and made him look a complete plonker. Always assured in everything he did and it was a privilege to see him play in the claret and blue. Wish him well for his post football career.

[@jgmcfc]

You’re the one for me, Barry, You’re the one I really really love, & we all say… We’ll be champions again, In May One of my all time favourites as a City fan, Rolls Royce. Jealous you lot had him for 10+ years, a true professional & totally underrated footballer outside of any fanbase who watched him weekly.

[@RobertJewkes]

Mat is a great interviewer

[@tommayne8423]

Thoroughly enjoyed that Matt 👏🏼 classy footballer and a Villa legend 🦁

[@Marshall3034]

It’s about time we had a Gazza Bazza interview about his time at the Villa 💜💙🙌🏻

[@Researcher83]

Posted my comment, scrolled down here and i see a couple of great minds thinking alike lol

[@Marshall3034]

@@Researcher83 Don’t worry if people say it first or not lol But yeah, the guy is a club legend. Our best player for at least a 5-year span. Served a decade at the club so shouldn’t be holding grudges about him wanting to move on. About time we heard from him! Great minds 💯 #UTV

[@jamieevill8428]

Best player I’ve ever saw at Villa.

[@mhfire8346]

Villa legend! Excellent player

[@alexbyrne3263]

Big Gazza bazza 🙌

[@robbiegraham6359]

Brilliant player great interview

[@stevereeves2140]

One of the very best Villa players in the last 40 years for me.

[@davidblurton7158]

funny how both him and milner moved into midfield as emergency cover and were so good they played tor england in that position

[@thefilmandmusic]

Good interview

[@benwright1998]

Real number 6 💜

[@riverwolf8532]

I think he was led astray regarding transfers, comes across as an honest lad. Wish him all the best, shame he didn't come back to Villa

[@TimtimGaming]

Great stuff Matt

[@harryjohnson8371]

My favourite ever vile player

[@keithmurch8394]

Excellent interview as always Matt love all these ex players chats any chance getting Martin O, Neil 🤔

[@simonhateley3074]

Would you be able to do a podcast on your thoughts of the owners and where you think they will take or hope to take this great club of ours .keep up the good work .

[@Wrafeybaby]

Legend, simple

[@michae13james10]

What a glass cabinet showcase player Humble, grafter, legend.

[@Barry2Lyn7donbarry2]

Well done Mat & Gareth....a good listen/watch. Pleas😇ed to say Mat that you have migrated from ‘kinda’ to ‘kind of’ but still very much over used expression 😂

[@jawairiya257]

Villa legend💜

[@orchav6762]

Quality

[@wyvernlambi1892]

Great player for the villa. Did he ever have a testimonial?

[@user-ik9yh6rh9e]

Grew up adoring him, matured feeling backstabbed. The move the Albion was needless and definitely seemed like an intentional poke. Be interesting to see what he comes up with because his previous "my Villa tenure was X years ago" just isnt good enough. Loyalty has no time limit, not when we given him the best stage on the planet

[@Researcher83]

The original Gazza Bazza.

[@Researcher83]

A legend and great servant to us. Sung his name many a game, He did his bit for us and you can't begrudge the man some success, i saw him down Fazeley Chip shop once with Carlton Cole and Steve Davis lol random info for you lot ✌🏻 UTV

[@RobertJewkes]

Should have asked him about the taxi joy ride

[@andrewholdsworth4421]

Him and Lee hendrie are funny . Lee the joker and Barry the sensible one . Barry seen him in the Arsenal game when l was a kid he played midfield and played at back in the same game.l new he was going to make it was a great talent

[@danielsinha9594]

2003/2004 and 2007-2009 Gareth Barry Ran Tings

[@denhamcolm]

One of the all time Villa greats. Saddest day was when our fans booed him on his return with City, especially after he gave us another season. He knuckled down and didn’t complain after Mon blocked his Liverpool transfer, he should’ve been given more respect ✊

[@paulitm1]

Can't believe you introduce him as a true legend. Legendary Judas maybe.

[@ziudra91]

Any chance in bringing in MON in the future? Would be class

[@paulbrunton448]

Sorry but he went for pastures new, he was correct in the end, but no way is this guy a Aston Villa legend he played for himself, he played on but there's no love here for the Villa.

[@ay613]

More than anything it sounds like ur bitter m8.

[@Jamesavfc93]

I'm in early 🌚

[@jamesvarley766]

"if I had to pick a club out of any I played for villa would come out on top". stopped myself loving Gareth after playing for baggies. That comment may just of made up for it

[@leejohnson3209]

Villa played him everywhere except as a defensive midfielder. It was infuriating watching a player with no pace or dribbling skills being wasted in the left of midfield for so many seasons at Villa. He was a tidy passer of the ball but it's hard to say he excelled at anything really. He made the absolute most of what he had though.

[@thomassampson1807]

crikey how boring

[@mesaverde2042]

stop saying 'kind of'!!!

[@kanecadman5911]

Definitely not a legend.

[@paulbrunton448]

To be fair I don't think any club he's played for he has any love for, he is a professional footballer who wanted to make as much money out of the game he could, you will not see him as a coach or a manager, he doesn't have the passion.

[@DeejayVillain]

Bollocks to him... Mellberg was a legend... Mellberg wanted and deserved Champions League football... but Mellberg didn’t want to play against Villa... This turncoat couldn’t wait to get out as soon as our club made him famous, got him into the England squad and got him nice and friendly with Steven Gerrard!!!

[@jR-bk8wu]

lol he played 400+ times for villa and won the intertoto cup. cant blame the guy for having some ambition.

[@Hammerschool]

@@jR-bk8wu what's the point in supporting villa if they are just going to sell their best players all the time???

[@jR-bk8wu]

@@Hammerschool tell that to Doug Ellis.

[@kash6592]

@@jR-bk8wu exactly, he served his time and he left to win trophies. If Mellberg was at the level where the big clubs were after him, he would have left as well.

[@paulmersonvillalegend7809]

@@kash6592 Mellberg left for Juventus 😂

[@villainofthepiste5858]

I'm sorry but... Gareth Barry is/was the most overrated player ever to wear a Villa top. I'm not saying he wasn't good, he just wasn't as good as fans remember. He was so slow. Like running on a treadmill

[@Skibbitypappappa]

You can run fast on a treadmill though 😂