Ronald Koeman hails Gareth Barry as 'one of the best I've managed'
Sunday 21 August 2016 13:53, UK
Ronald Koeman has been impressed by Gareth Barry since taking over at Everton and rates the veteran midfielder among the best players he has managed.
The 35-year-old is showing no sign of easing up and on Saturday produced a typically combative display to help Everton to their first Premier League win of the season against West Brom.
Barry pulled the strings in central midfield at The Hawthorns and had a hand in both of his team's goals in the 2-1 victory.
He was involved in the lovely one-touch play that led to Kevin Mirallas' equaliser before marking his 100th Premier League appearance for the Toffees by heading home the winner.
It was his first goal in over two-and-a-half years since scoring in Everton's 2-0 home win over Norwich in January 2014.
"He is a very clever player on the pitch. His passing is fantastic," Koeman said. "If the team is compact he doesn't need to run a lot in distance, he can press, he can win tackles, he is aggressive and he was in the box and that surprised me."
"It did not surprise me because he was in the box but because at corner kicks he took his position.
"He is one of the best players I have managed in my teams because the cleverness of him in football is really of a high quality."
