You are quite right about Chambers, also making the excellent comparison to the Rowing team and their efforts.Chambers must under no circumstances be allowed to get away with this selfish and potentially ruinous attempt to represent GB at the Beijing Olympics.

B I Jones, Southampton, UK

I live in a resort area in Florida that is frequented by British vacationers. My daughter is a server in a well known restaurant here in town. She often gets little or no tips by people from your country after being told she has done a good job. Can you tell me why Britons are the worst tippers?

Yvonne Lessmann, Naples, Florida, USA

Bearing in mind Rafa's methods to entice Barry away from Villa, and the recent story of the same methods to take Keane from Spurs, I'm beginning to think this is just the Spanish way. Can anyone tell me the difference between these "approaches" and the methods Real are using for Ronaldo?

Clive Rigby, Adelaide, Australia

Great article Matt - sums up exactly how most Villa fans feel.

We don't begrudge Barry wanting Champions league football after 10 years good service but his conduct recently has been disgraceful.

Brendan O'Malley, Birmingham,

liverpool and barry are just as bad as ronaldo and real, but i think benitez must have completely lost it, selling alonso at cut price and then signing and inferior player for maybe £6 million more, what is he thinking?

will, grimsby, uk

It is a sad reflection on Liverpool, Barry and Black that while they have resorted to every tactic to drive down Barry's price, Lerner and Villa have forgone £2m in shirt sponsorship to support a children's charity. The big man and the big club are Lerner and Villa.

Mark Lowen, Oxford, England

At Last

A reporter who see's and writes about the whole Gareth Barry saga how it really is.

It's a shame GB has gone down the public outcry route. He is only distancing himself from a club where he held hero status.

Liverpool ! one simple question. 18 million, pay the cash if you want him !

Sam, Cannock,

Barrys price is also driven by the fact that he is an international regular, his club captain and his club DONT WANT TO SELL. Alonso has been told he is excess to requirements, therefore he should be cheaper.

Richard, Adelaide, Australia

Gareth Barry is responsible for his promotion to the England Team, not O'Neill. In what possible way does Barry owe O'Neill because Villa changed their mind and didn't accept an offer for him from Portsmouth? Villa has settled for mediocrity for years (including O'Neill), Barry deserves better.

Phil McCrack, Philadelphia, USA

At last a media pundit has told it as it is instead of bigging up one of the untouchable top four.
Liverpool tried through devious methods to get Barry on the cheap, and now it seems they are doing the same with Keane of Tottenham. Barry, Black and Liverpool swimming in the mud together.

ROBBO, Melbourne, Australia

Many Villa fans wanted him to stay. But when he made clear his wish to go, we accepted, and wished him well. Now, just because things are not moving fast enough, he deemed it fit to bad-mouth a club that treated him well. He could have left on the high and be welcomed back, even in Liverpool shirt.

sgvilla, Singapore,

I feel pursuit of Barry is driven by his buddy Gerrard.Rafa has annually evolved LFC towards his final 'aim'.Barry a 'poss' cog in wheel for 2 yrs max

Not fit to lace Alonso's boots.

Rafa has hard decisions, little/no $$. G&H exit. DIC allows REAL quality eg Berbatov etc & complete Rafalution

Ayaz, Wakefield,

It's O'Neil who's out of order. Barry has given 10 yrs loyal service. What's O'Neil thinking that Barry will play for him if Villa block his dream move. All that will happen is Barry won't play hard for villa and they'll sell him in the Jan Transfer window.

Craig Moran, Poynton, Cheshire

Ever since the arrival of Mascherano, Alonso's importance to Liverpool dropped. He excels in a SOLO holding role, controlling the game from deep; alongside Javier in the newly favoured 4-2-3-1 he hovered about aimlessly. Barry fits into this fold perfectly due to his left foot, versatility & energy.

Michael, Glasgow, uk

Andrew Lawton. Name the last time Aston Villa deliberately over inflated the price of a player.We are quite well known (outside of London obviously - that's up north to you) for selling players on the cheap.

Mike Smith, Solihull,

Carrick and Hargreaves were both much younger than 27 when they made their moves and both had longer than two years left to run on their respective contracts.Mascherano who is a regular in the top ranked international team and 4 years Barry's junior cost £16.1 M.Barry isn't half the player he is.

Declan, Cork,

Hard to see how United overpaid when the two players have been integral to their success.

The most astute comparison though is with Alonso. That Rafa wants Barry at the expense of Alonso suggests that Barry should command a premium. Whether Rafa is smart to make the swap is another question ...

Mike, Houston, USA

A more honest valuation for Barry would be between 7 to 10 million tops.Time for liverpool to walk away.Lets see how many other teams show any interest at Villas valuation.

louise mcnulty, liverpool, england

Great artical

Alex, sutton coldfeild,

'Andrew' I think you will find Liverpool's business has been made public because they wanted to turn Barry's head, unfortunately they have done just that.

Mathieu, Doha, Qatar

All you Liverpool fans can sit debating how much he's worth until the 31st of August. Its irrelevant. He signed a 4 yr deal in 2006, and that means Aston Villa can dictate his market value. A new contract is not just a pay rise.

Magnificent article long overdue

Eliot, London,

Barry is an excellent holding midfielder but the essential question is do Liverpool really need him? The answer is simply no.

Stephen Manick, Trinidad,

Have to salute Mr. Dickinson for exposing the double-standards that currently demean English football journalism

The flak that Ronaldo has taken for his actions is disgraceful compared to the virtual silence that has "followed" Barry's identical rumblings.

Luckily there are dissidents.

Sasu Laaksonen, Helsinki, Finland

Every player has "his price" no matter who it is and if Liverpool really want Barry then they will have to pay what Aston Villa want. I agree totally with the article, O'Neill turned him from a nobody going nowhere to an England regular,what price loyalty and how much money do these guys want ?

John Graham, Morpeth, England

LFC FANS - As an Aston VIlla fan I can tell you now Barry is anything but 'Average', he is a world class footballer and England are a different side when he is on the pitch. He performes consistantly at the same high level and has very few flaws in his play! £18M is crazy money but £15M he is worth

Dave Parkes, Alcester,

The problem with Liverpool is that they believe they are on par with Man United and Chelsea. However, they haven't got the same financial clout, hence their underhanded methods of unsettling players. Could the same now be happening with Robbie Keane?

Ray, Bromsgrove, Worcs

What clap trap. 'The going rate'... Tottenham slapped what they viewed as a prohibitive price tag on Carrick. More fool United for paying it but that doesn't mean every central midfielder is suddenly worth £18m, certainly not to Liverpool who already have Lucas, Mascherano, Gerrard and Alonso.

Andrew Lawton, London,

Since clubs like Villa deliberately inflate prices to deter interest, it is perhaps unsurprising that these negotiations are more public than they used to be.

Andrew Lawton, London,

Sorry but no way is Barry worth 18m. At 27 he is considerably older than Hargreaves and Carrick were when they moved to united. You can understand O Neill wanting to keep his captain but also Barrys frustration at being priced out of a move that could be his last chance for CL football.

Philip Blagden, Waterford, Ireland

I agree with joe,a couple of good games for England and suddenly he is a world beater I would prefer to keep Alonso rather than pay over the odds for a player who is not proven in champions league. Jim,Kilkenny

jim phelan , kilkenny, Ireland

As I understand it Gareth Barry would be due loyalty bonuses up to £3m if he leaves Villa without asking for a transfer. He should have considered his position before he signed a 4 year contract 2 years ago. If he wants to leave now, ask for a transfer and the bonuses could used in the transfer fee.

John Paterson, Taunton, United Kingdom

Excellent points Joe. I'd add that even UEFA technical panel made Alonso man of match when he started.

Alonso is heartbeat of ANY team as he makes the whole team play & create REAL chances, even Euro Champions

LFC DON'T need Barry at expense of Alonso! Villa, Silva etc FAR better investment.

Ayaz, Wakefield,

I also credited Barry with more intelligence than his article shows. He has been horribly ill advised to attack Martin O'Neill and Randy Learner in this way, I believe that if Liverpool don't meet Villa's valuation he will be watching instead of playing next season then there will be no England.

Mike, Redditch,

Hmmm why was there not all this fuss when Carl Myerscough failed a drugs test??
Isn't he going to the Olympics??
I could point out the differences but I think its obvious.

Michael Grell, Preston, Lancs

Joe from Chorleywood, if Alonso is sooo good why is Rafa selling him and trying to buy Barry?? He obviously thinks he's a better player, so if Alonso is worth £14m it's not unreasonable that Barry is worth £18m.

Richard, Sutton Coldfied,

Great article on Gareth Barry, 100% agree. The ball is really in Liverpools court and I think it will be an interesting few days.

Trevor Wagstaff, birmingham,

If Martin O'Neill can rake in £18million for Barry it will rate as one of the most astute deals of all times.
Barry is horribly one-paced.

Mark Paterson, Edinburgh, Scotland

Russ Cook Barry is under contract. if he wishes to move, he should be doing so with a pinch of humility. As the piece rightly says O Neil has certainly enhanced his game and as such England came calling. LFC have tapped up this player and should be facing the F.A.. O Neil and Villa owe them nothing

D Cottrell, Birmingham,

How after over 10 years of service does Barry owe Villa? During that time how much silverware has Barry won? Clearly you have your martin-o-neil-rose-tinted” glasses on. . . Because man u paid paid over the odds for Carrick and Hargreaves Liverpool should follow suit? I think not!

Mark, London,

good summary joe, i think the same, why is mon asking for 18mil? i would understand if barry came with a glowing cv, but he does not, he is a average player in a poor team, has he got what it takes to make the step up? only time will tell.

Amo, Derby,

Matt,

Spot on with your comments. One can only hope Gareth has been ill-advised rather than came up with this spineless manoeuvre himself. Its particularly sickening to hear him say his mind is made up and its purely because he wants CL football now, then stating Villa haven't offered him money.

Adam#1, worcester,

Thankyou for a balance argument at last !! From a Villa fan who cannot believe GB has acted this way after 10 years of fantastic support he has had from us,i thank you.

Paul Williams, BIRMINGHAM, WEST MIDS

I disagree completly with your article on Barry, at his age and with one year left on his contract he cannot be rated at 18 mill, O'neil has said he rates him at the same price as Macherano, the difference though is this guy is five years younger.

john eardkly, Chania , Crete

It seems ridiculous that Liverpool are chasing after Barry, and trying to raise the money to do so by offloading the far superior Alonso.

Especially considering they will have to pay more for Barry that they will get for the Spaniard.

Matt, London,

You forgot to mention Martin O'Neill gave Gareth Barry the captaincy the moment he walked through the door, it used to be Olof Mellberg. How ungrateful can Barry get? I'm afraid the comparison between Alonso that the person above mentions is not credible since England players go for more money!

Ginny, London,

Surely Barry has some sort of choice what team he plays for. The boot would be on the other foot if he wanted to stay at a team who wished to sell him.
It would seem his wishes for his future count for nothing. He has not been helped much, with his desired move, and is now late for training.

Russ Cook, leicester, leics

Barry is worth £18 million, Alonso is worth £14 million. Alonso has a Champions League, Fa Cup and European Championship winners medal and is arguably a greater passer then Barry. Barry's value is not driven by his skill but due to his nationality and the absurd prices English nationals generate.

Joe, Chorleywood,

As a Liverpool fan, could I please ask what the point of selling a better, younger player with European experience (Alonso) and replacing him with an average, older replacement? For more money?

Alonso > Barry

Greg, Cambridge,