Thierno Barry has gone from a striker Alan Shearer winced at to one he now wants to praise. After the Frenchman’s brace against Coventry, Shearer gave David Moyes credit for the turnaround, while Gary Lineker pointed to a statistic that says as much about what Barry still lacks as what he already has.
The run
Barry’s two goals on Friday night took him to 10 for the season in all competitions, two more than he managed in his whole first campaign at Everton. He has scored in three successive games for the first time for the club, and has six in his last seven. In the Premier League, only Erling Haaland and Alexander Isak have scored more.
What Shearer said
Shearer was candid about how Barry used to look to him. “You mentioned David Moyes and you have to give him credit for the work that’s gone on behind the scenes,” he said, in comments reported by the Liverpool Echo.
“There’s so many times I’ve looked at Barry and seen him miss sitters, and I was thinking: ‘Oh my god’. How has he missed that?’. Without a doubt he’s improving, but he keeps getting in those positions and doesn’t stop.”
His emphasis was on temperament as much as technique. “Already mentally he must be really strong,” Shearer said, adding: “It’s a great credit to him and he’s getting his rewards now.”
Lineker: the xG tells two stories
Lineker, a former Everton forward, made a different point on The Rest Is Football. “A word on Thierno Barry. He’s quite interesting because he’s got a higher xG than Erling Haaland,” he said. “That tells you a couple of things.”
“First, he needs to improve his finishing, which maybe now with two goals he is; secondly, his movement is clearly exceptional and he’s getting into positions to score.”
His conclusion was optimistic. “Down the line, because he’s still a young man, it’s easier to improve your finishing than the natural talent of finding positions to score goals.”
Same striker, two readings
The two views are complementary rather than opposed, but the difference in emphasis matters. Shearer is describing a player whose confidence and composure have caught up with his work rate, and he credits the coaching staff for that. Lineker is describing a player whose underlying numbers were always good, and who is now converting more of the chances he was already creating.
If Lineker is right, Barry’s run is less of a hot streak and more of a correction: a striker who was getting into the right areas all along is finally being rewarded. If Shearer is right, the improvement is real and coached, and should hold. Either way, the evidence points in the same direction. A striker with high expected goals who keeps finding the positions is likely to keep scoring, even if the finishing never becomes clinical.
What Barry says
Barry himself pointed to the work behind the scenes, including sessions with Leighton Baines. “I want to make this season mine, so I just work a lot every time to do my best,” the 24-year-old said. “Things are better now. The fans know me more.”
Why it matters for Everton
Barry’s goals have helped make Everton one of the in-form sides now pressing Chelsea, who are fifth, for a top-five place, alongside Bournemouth. With Arsenal well clear at the top, a race Ashley Williams has already called “a one-horse race”, the fight for the places behind them is where Everton’s season will be judged.
Our verdict
Shearer’s honesty about the “sitters” is what makes his praise worth listening to; he is not a soft judge of strikers. Lineker’s xG point is the better predictor, though. Barry’s movement has been the constant, and his finishing is catching up. If that continues, Everton have found the reliable scorer they lacked, and Moyes deserves the credit Shearer gave him.
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