Leon Barnett today thanked Albion Tony Mowbray for helping him get his season back on track – by dropping him.
Barnett has been in towering form at centre-back since returning as a half-time substitute at Barnsley five games ago.
And the 22-year-old now believes an exile from the team that lasted almost a month combined with some intensive training ground work has helped him rediscover his best form.
“Whoever you are, when you’re left out of the team you’re a bit disappointed,” admitted Barnett.
“I was disappointed but now I look back and think the gaffer took me out of the team to watch and learn and see what I could learn from other players.
“Obviously it has paid off.
“The gaffer and Mark Venus (assistant manager) have definitely worked on me and in training sessions.
“I wouldn’t say they’re picking on me but they are definitely working on me and I’m sure they want me to do well.
“It’s not just me. They are working on everybody and I think people can see that when we play.”
Barnett believes continued defensive solidity will guarantee Albion promotion as the Baggies’ array of attacking talents are certain to score goals.
And he is now looking for recent signing Luke Moore to get his name on the scoresheet alongside 17-goal Kevin Phillips, 16-goal Roman Bednar and 12-goal Ishmael Miller.
“All our strikers are doing well,” said Barnett. “All we need now is for Luke to get involved, which I’m sure he will.”
• Barnett will not be suspended for Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final at Bristol Rovers despite collecting his fifth booking of the season against Plymouth.
The match was on March 1 – a day after the end-of-February ‘amnesty’ date, after which five bookings are punished with a reprimand instead of a ban.
6 Comments
I think Barnett is good when he just concentrates on defending, no nonsense, and i keep forgetting this guy is only 22.
he’s ok
he’s a decent defender for this league….
isn’t this pretty much the same article that was printed after he’d played about 5-10 games and then was droppedcuz he was naff?!
to be fair tho he’s been in good form in the past 2 games, hopefully he will be tonight!
I agree Bomber.
So long as Crazy Legs concentrates on just defending and leaves the football to other players he will do alright.
It’s when he starts pinging 40 yard passes I worry.
Barnett is still very much learning his trade - but he is doing this in the first team.
i really rate this kid - he is a cross between curtis davies and Big dave - not as cool as davies and not as powerful (yet) as Big Dave - but a good mixture of both.
I see great things for him if he keeps learning - and who better to learn from than TM ??
I agree with every word HB. No one played better against Plymouth and they began by showing they were not taking prisoners, but the kid matched them for timing, tackling and bravery. Alby is as brave as they
come being a ‘b****y Viking’ (Monty Python), so we don’t need to worry on that count, just whether these pair are now reading each other’s play…a la Wile and Robertson.
As I said about Ish on another article, what a great attitude for a young footballer. Don’t know what Mowbray and Venus do but it’s working wonders. Agree with Happy, he’s not the finished product yet but if he was we couldn’t have afforded to buy him.