While despite never having been Barry's biggest fan until recently, one state of mind was that should Barry leave, it would have been virtually impossible to find a player of his quality to join the club.
If Martin O' Neill somehow miraculously managed to lure an £18 million pound player then there would then be the colossal question of whether or not he could fit in to the system, get on with the players, the manager, like the area etc. etc. The situation would have been precarious to say the least.
The other state of mind was that we had Steve Sidwell on the way, a good player with a good reputation, Stilian Petrov had shown some encouraging signs and Nigel Reo Coker had had a brilliant first season. Someone else could score the penalties and Ashley Young could take all the dead balls. And maybe just maybe the manager had a Juan Riquelme or a Rafael Van Der Vaart up his sleeve.
Then came the second leg of the Intertoto Cup tie with Odense at Villa Park. Wilfred Bouma goes down a horrific looking injury and having played many games at left full back before Barry took centre stage to a mixed reception.
Within about five minutes of appearing on the pitch Barry had won every tackle he had gone for, his commitment seemed good and after about ten minutes of his every touch being cheered by the majority of supporters it became patently clear that Barry was completely indispensable to Aston Villa Football Club. By full time the fans were hoping, praying, damn near begging him to stay. The rest is history.
By a country mile and a half, Barry is Villa's best footballer in the purest sense of the word. Without him the team can very often struggle to put more than two passes together as shown in last season's creditable 2-2 draw at Anfield. The result may have been good but it was no more than a smash and grab effort.
Without Barry, there is no link between attack and defence. Other midfielders shun the responsibility of taking the ball from the defenders to get the team playing, not Barry.
Always available to receive possession whether surrounded by opponents or not, the dynamo's deft control, use of his back side to hold off players, precise passing and ability to play with his head up are the obvious reasons for such confidence and assurance on the ball.
Look no further than a few weeks ago against Manchester United. With an angry Wayne Rooney breathing down his neck, Barry's shielding of the ball deep inside his own half was so certain that Rooney simply couldn't lash out as he didn't know where the ball was. A swivel of hips inside, then out and he's puts a 40 yard ball along the ground no less for Gabby Agbonlahor to run onto and "not" be fouled by Nemanja Vidic.
Qualities
Take Ashley Young's goal against Tottenham earlier in the season. Luke Young played Barry into all sorts of bother with two Spurs players ready to nip in and set up an attack. Instead, Barry took possession, shimmied between the two to leave both floundering and fed Young (of the Ashley variety) who went on to score the winner. Such class is irreplaceable.
Sure Barry is entitled to want to further his playing career at a side in the Champions League. However, his decision to criticise O'Neill for not trying hard enough to keep him was both out of character and unbecoming from the former skipper.
Sometimes lethargic in his approach under previous managers the Hastings native was ready to blow the final whistle on his Villa career seeking a fresh challenge just as O'Neill and Lerner came triumphantly riding into town. O'Neill knew right away that priority number one was keeping his star midfielder the club.
The decision to make Barry captain, switch him permanently into central midfield role and offer him a new contract had the desired effect. Barry's level of performance and consistency reached new heights and such form was rewarded with an England recall. He is now a regular first team starter for the national side.
A unique ability to play anywhere across the midfield, in behind a striker, left back or even centre back (remember those days) make Barry a standout player for Villa and indeed a standout performer in the Premier League in the last few years. Though, his best position is most definitely in central midfield.
A criticism often levelled at Barry is his lack of pace and while he's never been quick, he makes up for it with virtually everything else. His qualities far outweigh the speed merchants who can run very fast but never have any idea what's around them or what to do when they actually receive the ball.
Gareth please don't go, we need you.
With the club upwardly mobile at a rate of knots let's hope we can match his ambitions and that he hangs around past next summer and for many more seasons to come. After all, There's only one Gareth Barry, One Gareth Barry………….