Banking on Barry

Everyone likes to feel wanted. But I bet Gareth Barry didn't think it would happen like this. Suddenly, it seems, the midfielder is being hailed as the panacea to the sticky situation England find themselves in. This quiet lad from Hastings is being billed as the remedy to a sequence of events that, potentially, leaves his country on the back foot.

With Ledley King following Rio Ferdinand onto the treatment table, Fabio Capello looks set to trust in Jamie Carragher as John Terry's central defensive partner for tomorrow's game against Algeria.

As a result, the lack of pace in that area needs a little more protection than the Frank Lampard-Steven Gerrard axis used against the US. That applies here because, as Carragher said the other day, he and Terry will naturally drop off against quicker strikers, leaving more space to fill in front.

So step forward Barry. Your country needs you to resume a partnership with Lampard at the base of midfield that worked so well during qualifying. There will be some sceptics, of course, arguing that it comes to something when we are banking so heavily on Barry, an understated sort who has not enjoyed the best of seasons for Manchester City.

At his worst, the 29 year-old tends to look a bit ‘hippy', not in the flower-power sense you understand, but in the way he moves about, his wider-than-average hips slowing him down.

This is not ideal when patrolling that dangerous territory just in front of England's back four, where clever players can do serious damage. Barry's critics would argue for a more mobile type, someone such as Owen Hargreaves who dashed about in Germany four years ago, busily putting out fires to eventually become one of England's most valuable players.

Well, apart from the fact that the squad, unfortunately, does not contain a Hargreaves type, there is also more than one way to skin a cat. In other words, you can do the same job by using your nous to get your body in the way at the right time.

On his game, Barry is capable of that because, positionally, he is very astute. He does not have to tackle so much as intercept before moving the ball on with his neat passing range. For a comparison, think of Andrea Pirlo. You do not see the Italian diving about. He uses his ‘bonce' at the base of midfield.

And that is what Capello will demand if he plumps for Barry. He will want the left-footer to show discipline by mainly sitting, so allowing Lampard to drift forward every now and again. This system would inevitably mean Gerrard moving back to the left, which is not as big of a problem as some like to claim. England's captain, it is true, was inspirational last Saturday in his favoured central position. There is an argument to say he should remain there.