Barnes

[cutsy123]

Said it b4 and i will say it again. Hes the best striker we have. Playin well with vokes today

[ElectroClaret]

They can't handle him. Putting himself about well and a great finish.

[cutsy123]

Save gray to run em ragged from 70th min

[Bin Ont Turf]

Some posters on here hate him though.

[Shore claret]

Thought that was the plan when the line up was touted last night, palace struggling for defenders so could tire later in the game.

[ElectroClaret]

Some posters are congenital idiots.

[Holtyclaret]

Having a great game so far, so much better when he concentrates on playing football!

[John Johnson 1605]

Barnes wouldn't look out of place in League 1 and yet he is our top PL scorer. He should be absolutely commended for making the most of his limited abilities.

[MACCA]

Horses for courses in the prem. Great today against a physical side. Not so great against some of the others.

He looks mobile against these 2 CB. Can't wait for Gray to get on. He'll be great if Palace chasing game. Won't be able to push up as high.

[bfcmik]

Apparently he has been fouled 70 times so far this season. Only 3 PL players have been fouled more often - Hazard, Costa and Zaha (100!).

It wouldn't surprise me if he hasn't committed an equal number though

[Croydon Claret]

Love his passion.

[bobinho]

Its a fine line with Ashley. Either he's physical enough to be a real pain for opposition defenders, and that helps his game, or he's too physical and gets punished by the refs and that affects his game in a negative way.

I love him. If he played for anyone else, i'd hate him. He's a handful AND some.

[JTClaret]

S h!t but good.

He's not the most skillfull but can scuff the ball in the back of the net.
Horrible to play against and best of all, scores important goals.

I love him.
His winner against Palace at home is my moment of the season

[minnieclaret]

if he hadn't got the break with his air shot on Saturday there could have been a public lynching.

[Zom Zom]

I love Barnes. Cracking player.
I feel he's a bit Marmite for some though. I've had a couple of heated 'exchanges of words' after a few beers about him, as I used to do about Andy Cooke. One fella threatened to 'have me outside' once as I was leaving the JH Stand. I wouldn't mind, but Cooke scored one and made one that day and all I had suggested was that he would be my MotM!

[bartons baggage]

When he retires from football he'll make a great news reader.

[Fez]

He has no real stand out ability apart from his commitment and determination. That doesn't make him a good footballer it just makes him a handful. He's useful for the way we play and he causes a nuisance, but i wouldn't say he's a good footballer.

[Lord Beamish]

I love Barnes. Cracking player.
I feel he's a bit Marmite for some though. I've had a couple of heated 'exchanges of words' after a few beers about him, as I used to do about Andy Cooke. One fella threatened to 'have me outside' once as I was leaving the JH Stand. I wouldn't mind, but Cooke scored one and made one that day and all I had suggested was that he would be my MotM!

I loved Andy Cooke. A grafter with a reasonable end product. Top scorer with 19(I think) in the car crash that was Chris Waddle's season in management.
The next couple of years he made an ideal foil for the goalscoring phenomenon that was Andy Payton. Payton would not have been half as successful for us, neither would we have been promoted under Stan, if Andy Cooke hadn't been beating the sh1t out of oppo centre backs.

[Greeny]

Our Ashley had a good game against Palace because he actually focused for a change on playing football rather than constantly falling over. Made a massive difference to his + the team's performance.

[KRBFC]

Attitude and application spot on, footballing ability very little. When he puts his tools to work he can be quite effective, when he doesn't its like playing with 10 men and a wrestler who gives away a free kick everytime we get the ball forward. His biggest asset is his ability to win a free kick, but its also his biggest issue. A fine line, a 1 in 7 type player. We need better but his contribution over his career with us has been pretty good.

[Paul Waine]

Attitude and application spot on, footballing ability very little. When he puts his tools to work he can be quite effective, when he doesn't its like playing with 10 men and a wrestler who gives away a free kick everytime we get the ball forward. His biggest asset is his ability to win a free kick, but its also his biggest issue. A fine line, a 1 in 7 type player. We need better but his contribution over his career with us has been pretty good.

I always like the way he often brings the ball under control with his chest. Sometimes he's fouled while he's doing this, others it can lead to a promising lay off or Ashley is looking for the "killer" cross.

UTC

[jojomk1]

We were fortunate on Sat in that Sakho was injured and the other guys could not cope anywhere near as well with Barnes and Vokes
As others have said AB was much better at Palace, as he concentrated on his game rather than looking for fouls - and I hope this side of him continues for the rest of the season
He was however very lucky with his goal as he totally mishit the first attempt
But, if we are serious about improving our starting 11 for next season, then for me AB and SV would be on the bench with a new striker coming in this summer

[boatshed bill]

decent analysis of our forward pairing on MOTD. Said we bullied their centrebacks, basically by winning many headers. Not fouling really helps.

[Ightenclaret]

He's a right pest. Which has been good for us.