Barmby – A Future In Hull?

The name of Nick Barmby is one that continues to engage fans in debate as they argue whether the former England midfielder is good enough for Hull City.

Since arriving almost two and a half years ago in a wave of publicity, Nick Barmby has found his first-team opportunities hard to come by – under both Peter Taylor and Phil Parkinson.

With his chances at the KC seemingly limited, the news that Barnsley were interested in signing the player when the transfer window re-opens prompted debates into whether the midfielder would remain. Is his love of Hull City greater than his desire to play football?

Despite the Barnsley manager Andy Richie denying any truth in the reports, Nick Barmby also released statements indicating his will to remain at his hometown club. However, thanks to Vital Hull member ernshaw we’ve asked you the poll question, Will Nick Barmby still be here come the end of January.

Despite the player revealing his indications to stay, only 32% voted to say he would remain a Hull City player.

Nick Barmby must be a frustrated man. Despite the team occupying twenty-first place thanks to a superior goal difference, a man with the supposed talent of Nick Barmby is unable to force his way into Phil Parkinson’s first team plans. Despite a short stint in the team, Barmby was soon dropped again and now has to rely on cameo appearances in order to get onto the KC pitch.

Saturday’s game versus Stoke City was a prime example. With half an hour to go, Nick Barmby was given a standing ovation as he waited on the touchline for his chance. Any fan would be thinking ‘great, Barmby has a point to prove here’ and that he can transform this game. How wrong we were. One pass later and the ineffectual Nick Barmby had gone missing.

However, after reading comments on the Vital Hull forum, I may be being harsh to our midfielder. When you take into account the number of minutes played by each individual, the statistics show a different story.

So far this season, Barmby’s appearances have totalled a number of three hundred and three minutes over eight appearances – in total, 3.36 full games. With one goal to his name this season, scored in the League Cup against Watford, the midfielder has a strike rate of 29.7%. The only player producing anything near to these stats is the now injured Jon Parkin.

One can argue that Parkinson’s continued late substitutions of Nick Barmby and Michael Bridges are harming their chances of having a positive impact on the game. Instead, the fans only notice the players missing, like we did on Saturday.

However, despite these short appearances, the player’s never appear to improve. One main reason for this is obvious – the lack of match fitness. Both players are physically fit, but they aren’t match fit, something that is critical if the players are to make a positive impact on the fixture. The only way to get this is by starting games, but whilst that looks unlikely for the foreseeable future, both player’s will continue to struggle whilst making substitute appearances.

Interestingly, it seems many fans have become ‘bored’ of the Nick Barmby debate, realising he has nothing left to offer the club in a playing capacity. This is shown with 30% of voters casting their vote saying they ‘couldn’t care less.’

His ineffectual performance on Saturday seemed to do enough to convince a section of the support that he is no longer good enough. The calls for ‘the saviour’ have slowly started to diminish as each game goes by, and this will only continue until his next goal brings back a small amount of faith.

With Barmby’s wages deemed to be in line with a top earner at the club, Pearson must be wondering what to do with a player who has struggled to get into the team for two and a half years. Only 13% believe he will be sold where as 25% believe he will be loaned out, but following his previous statements of wanting to stay with his hometown club, would either option ever materialise into a move away from Hull City?

The once strong fan base of Nick Barmby is slowly getting smaller and smaller. Some fans still hold onto the hope that the player will be given his chance, and from the statistics mentioned earlier, their is an argument to follow, but whilst he continues to be resigned to cameo appearances, the player would be better off out of the KC than in it.