He has been a permanent fixture in his midfield, to such an extent that, when he twisted an ankle ahead of last year's World Cup finals, all Capello's plans seemed to descend into chaos.Barry, it appeared, was the keystone, the cool head who allowed others around him to indulge in a little more adventure.

When he declared himself fit for South Africa, there was a genuine sense of relief inside the camp, but he never hit his best form during the tournament, undoubtedly hindered by a hastened recovery process.

He will always be vilified in some quarters by the way a swi t counter-attacking Germany team exposed his lack of pace in the second half of that crushing 4-1 defeat in Bloemfontein.

'Lack of pace is one thing that's been aimed at me since I was 17,' said Barry. 'I'm no slower now than I was then. That one incident from the Germany game was at the World Cup, so it will be remembered.

'You have to be strong, forget about it and play your normal game. I'm not going to go out and do extra speed training. It doesn't work like that. You are what you are.

'It would be easy to look back and say I wasn't fit, that I just wanted to get out there and play for my country, but I felt fit enough.'

In fact, Barry worked himself into the ground getting his ankle in shape for South Africa and, like Wayne Rooney, who also went to the World Cup on the back of an injury, has been slow to recapture his best form this season.

Only once before Saturday's win in Wales did Capello have Barry available and decline to use him. Never before had the Italian had him fit and failed to include him among the substitutes.

It appeared significant on a day when Scott Parker came into the deep midfield position and added a freshness to the team.
It seemed like a changing of the guard. Out with the old and in with the new. Apart from the fact Parker is four months older than Barry, that is.

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