On March 15, the outpost of the new season has been quietly played, Barton in two rounds of the tournament repeatedly provide assists, especially in a Shenzhen and Shenzhen New Pengcheng match, his accurate corner kick to help Grant a flying. At that moment, the national soccer coaching team, led by Ivankovic, was gazing at the excitement in the stands, and Barton's name was in the spotlight for being named to the national soccer training list. A document from New Horizons in Sports even predicted that Barton is expected to make another mark under Ivankovic, and the coach's emphasis on attacking wingers is evident.
Looking back at Ivankovic's past, he was known for his fast defense and counter-attacking tactics when he was coaching in Oman, which put a lot of pressure on the national soccer team. Now, this tactic may be introduced by him to the Chinese team. For the international players who have just joined the training, it is certainly a brand new challenge. On the training ground, Ivankovic repeatedly emphasized "speed and accuracy", which is his basic requirement for all players, while "confidence and bold breakthrough" is his slogan to motivate the players.
Ivankovic has been known to use formations such as 4-4-2 and 4-3-1-2, favoring the use of breakaway wingers. This is why he has recruited a number of wingers, including Barton, in recent times. In the winger position, Barton will have to compete with as many as eight players including Wu Lei, Wei Shihao, Fernando, Xie Pengfei, Lin Liangming, Chen Pu, Xie Wenneng and Dai Weijun.
Among this group of players, Wu Lei, Wei Shihao and Fernando are regarded as powerhouses and are expected to take their places in the two matches of the new season. Barton's rivals, Lin Liangming, Xie Wenneng, Xie Pengfei and Chen Pu, despite playing in the first round of matches, are far removed from Barton in terms of playing time and performance.
In the first two rounds of the new season, Barton played a staggering 84 minutes, and his assisting performances benefited Ademi and Grant. Among the rivals, Lin Liangming, Xie Wenneng, Xie Pengfei and Chen Pu also made two appearances, but their performances were clearly not good enough compared to Barton.
In terms of offensive stats, Barton was just as impressive. He attempted 12 shots, which ranked fourth in the CSL and was the only local player in the top ten. In terms of passing, he has completed 15 passes in two games, including six successful and four key passes. He is third in the CSL in passing behind Shanghai Seaport's Oscar and Chengdu Rongcheng's Andrigo, tied for first in the league with Shenzhen Xinpengcheng's Zhu Baojie in terms of successful passes, and higher than any of his competitors in terms of key passes.
In terms of the player's technical characteristics, Barton is quite well-rounded in both offense and defense. The tactical characteristics of the Jinmen Tigers require him to strongly support the wing-backs, and while players such as Lin Liangming, Xie Pengfei and Dai Weijun are unique in terms of breakthroughs and link-ups, Barton is much better at getting up and down the pitch.
