Season › 2011-12 › News Barkley benefits from dropping back Michael Kenrick , 6 March, 10comments | Jump to most recent Ross Barkley was the latest buzz at the beginning of the season when David Moyes blooded the young midfielder in the Everton first team from the first whistle of the 2011/12 season. Just 17 at the time, he quickly showed his talent with a string of impressive performances but following a couple of glaring errors that underscored his lack of experience against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park and rumours that a host of Premier League clubs were showing an interest in him, Moyes decided to give Barkley a break away from the spotlight. He returned to the first team squad on Saturday for the 1-1 draw with QPR and now academy boss Alan Irvine believes he will once again show his ability in the league. ?David knows the right times to bring young players in and then take them out. Ross deserved to be around the first team at the start of the season and was starting to do well before he began to hit the wall," Irvine told the Liverpool Echo. ?That happens in youth development — it's always round the corner with young players. Having to compete with seasoned first team players is always tough, and David decided it was time to take him out, and the club has managed that brilliantly. ?He's played for the first team, reserves and U-18s and full credit to him and the staff who made sure he knew what was happening. There was no ego when he came back to the U-18s or no, ?Why am I being dropped?'. ?He wasn't dropped, it was for his benefit and he gets that. He came out of the firing line and if David puts him back in his team towards the end of the season he will be fine.? Barkley is already an England U21 international and level and was a member of the U17 side that beat Spain 2-1 in the final of the 2010 European Championships. The young midfielder's physique and ability has drawn many comparisons Wayne Rooney but the Blues will be hoping to hang onto their prized asset. Quotes or other material sourced from Sportsvibe Reader Comments (10) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads