Everton Fan View: Do the fans deserve to lose Ross Barkley?

It’s probably not often a sports blog quotes Marilyn Monroe, but here goes. She once said “If you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.” I’m not sure why this came to mind when thinking about Everton’s Ross Barkley, but it did.

Barkley seems like a man destined to leave Everton. With each passing day without word it seems more likely that he won’t sign the contract that is on the table. He was our man of the match vs Watford, and it’s not for the first time this season. He’s been one of our key performers and has bounced back after a couple of poor seasons to show how much he can impact the side.

READ MORE: Everton agree terms with Malaga and ex-Barcelona forward Sandro Ramirez

READ MORE: We did everything to keep Barkley, says Koeman

If he does leave, it’ll be interesting to know the reasons why. Was the money the issue? It seems unlikely. There aren’t any other offers out there on the table so he wouldn’t really know what he can get elsewhere. Is it the progression of the club? That also seems unlikely. Everton are in a good place, and things are improving on and off the pitch. While he could probably find himself at a club more capable of winning trophies, you wouldn’t say he currently has the quality to be a starter in of the clubs in Europe’s top leagues who have eyes on winning a title.

So is it the fans? That’s possible. We’ve not exactly been great to him over the last few years. In my time of watching Everton I’ve never known anything quite like it. The jeers and groans that he gets around the stadium are like nothing any other player receives. The reasons for that may be complex.

Fell below expectations

The likes of Tom Davies have come out of nowhere to be a star of the first team. Barkley was once the same; he was expected to be brilliant. The buzz around him was huge. Fans were sure we had another world class talent after Wayne Rooney. He’s not lived up to that. It doesn’t look like he ever will. He is, however, still a very good player, but maybe Evertonians are disappointed that we aren’t getting to see the player we hoped we would.

He was poor though. And for quite a long time. After his brilliant 2013/14 season he went on a long slump and didn’t really recover until half way through this season. As of now though, he has developed into a quality starter and if he stayed it’d be hard to improve on his current level of ability at the moment. His reputation is once again growing and has developed a consistency that has been key to Everton turning around a difficult start to the season.

READ MORE: 5 big ways Liverpool would suffer by missing out on the Champions League

If you offered an Everton fan an Evertonian player who would be a key member of the first team, they’d be delighted. We have that with Barkley, but with how his career has transpired the fans don’t seem delighted. They seem frustrated more than anything. If he leaves this summer then it should be seen as an absolute disaster, but I don’t think that’s the way most fans will see it.

We couldn’t handle Barkley at his worst. We jeered him, moaned at his every mistake and made him feel unloved in a royal blue shirt. If he leaves then it may be another club who gets to see him at his best. And maybe that’s just what we deserve.