Graham Barrett

Graham Barrett (born 6 October 1981) is an Irish former footballer who played as a forward. He began his footballing career at Arsenal, where he won the FA Youth Cup.[3]

Graham Barrett

Personal information
Full name	Graham Barrett[1]
Date of birth	(1981-10-06) 6 October 1981[2]
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland[1]
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Playing position(s)	Forward
Youth career
	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2003	Arsenal	2	(0)
2000–2001	→ Bristol Rovers (loan)	1	(0)
2001	→ Crewe Alexandra (loan)	3	(0)
2001–2002	→ Colchester United (loan)	20	(4)
2002–2003	→ Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)	30	(1)
2003–2006	Coventry City	55	(6)
2005	→ Sheffield Wednesday (loan)	6	(1)
2005–2006	→ Livingston (loan)	6	(0)
2006–2009	Falkirk	48	(8)
2009	St Johnstone	9	(1)
2009–2010	Shamrock Rovers	21	(1)
Total		201	(22)
National team
1998–2000	Republic of Ireland U18	11	(4)
2000–2003	Republic of Ireland U21	24	(5)
2002–2004	Republic of Ireland	6	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Barrett went on to feature for English clubs Bristol Rovers, Crewe Alexandra, Colchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion. He also appeared for Coventry City and Sheffield Wednesday. Barrett as well had spells with Scottish sides Livingstone, Falkirk and St Johnstone. He then joined up with Irish outfit Shamrock Rovers, with whom he won a League of Ireland championship medal. Barrett also played as an international for the Republic of Ireland's national football team.[3]

Club career

Arsenal

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Barrett signed professional terms with Arsenal in October 1998. He made his debut for the Gunners as a late substitute for Thierry Henry in a 3–0 victory at Leicester City in December 1999[4][5] He also featured as a substitute in their 4–1 win over Sunderland the following month.[4]

Having already won the 1998 UEFA Under-16 Championship with Ireland, Barrett then captained Arsenal's youth team to win the 2000 FA Youth Cup. During one of the final's two legs he received the man of the match award. Following such Gunners' manager Arsène Wenger encouraged Barrett to go out on loan to gain some experience. As so he joined up with club Bristol Rovers in December 2000. However he played just 20 minutes under Ian Holloway, and was diagnosed with glandular fever thus losing a stone in weight and spending six-months on the sidelines.[5]

During the 2001–02 season, Barrett again went out on loan, this time to Crewe Alexandra, where he made three appearances in his month-long loan stint. He then returned to Arsenal before Wenger agreed to allow him to join Colchester United on loan in December 2001. Barrett quickly became a fan favorite at the club, in scoring a brace during a 3–2 win against Northampton Town on Boxing Day 2001. These were his first goals in professional football in only his third game with the U's. Barrett then netted a further two goals in 20 games for Colchester, but an injury suffered during a 0–0 draw with Wycombe Wanderers curtailed the rest of his season. As a mark of respect, United fans dressed in green in their final home game of the season, in a nod to Barrett's Irish roots. Colchester manager Steve Whitton thus sought to have Barrett back at Layer Road for the following season. With this being said he opted to go to Brighton & Hove Albion on a season-long loan deal. Prior to joining Brighton he made his full international debut for Ireland in August 2002. This came after having made 24 appearances for the under-21s and representing Ireland at every age group since turning 15. He also scored in a pre-season friendly for Arsenal against Stevenage.[6] With Brighton, Barrett managed to attain 20 league starts, making a further ten appearances as a substitute, but again suffered a series of niggling injuries that held back his progress.[7] At Brighton he also scored once against Sheffield United.[8]

Coventry City

Barrett was released from Highbury in May 2003, joining Coventry City on a three-year deal on 30 May.[9] Barrett's injury problems continued while with the Sky Blues, where he made 32 league starts and made 23 substitute appearances in two seasons, scoring six goals. He joined Sheffield Wednesday on the loan deadline day in March 2005, where he scored once against Torquay United in six appearances.[10] Barrett was told by manager Micky Adams that he was free to leave the club despite having one year remaining on his contract.[11] Despite this he remained at Coventry, but, out of the first-team picture, went on loan to Scotland with Livingston. He played just six games for the club before suffering a season-ending knee injury.[7]

Falkirk

Signing a two-year with Scottish side Falkirk following his release from Coventry in August 2006, with the Bairns' medical staff satisfied with his rehabilitation after his serious knee injury the previous season.[12] Once again though, Barrett suffered further injuries, requiring an operation on his knee in October 2006. He returned to action for the 2007–08 season,[7] going on to sign a one-year contract extension in March 2008.[13] After three operations and later being informed that his injury had been misdiagnosed, Barrett left Falkirk after manager John Hughes sat him down and told him he would never be the player he was before suffering his injuries.[5] He was released from the club in January 2009.[14] He had scored eight goals in 48 league games at the Falkirk Stadium.[2]

St Johnstone

After going on trial with Heart of Midlothian, St Johnstone stepped in to sign Barrett after Hearts decided against handing him a deal. He was brought in to cover a spate of injuries amongst St Johnstones' forwards in February 2009.[15] After nine appearances and one goal against Airdrieonians,[2][16] Barrett was released by the club in the summer of 2009.[17]

Shamrock Rovers

Barrett returned to his native Ireland with Shamrock Rovers in August 2009.[18] In his two seasons with the club, he amassed 21 appearances and scored once, but he still struggled with persistent injuries, holding him back from progressing and making a greater number of appearances. He finally had to admit defeat in the 2010 season, playing his last game in July 2010, meaning he could not play a part in the chase for the League of Ireland title. His manager at Shamrock, Michael O'Neill, advised Barrett to assess his options, warning that he would "need to be careful and think about a few years' time." As Shamrock went on to take the League of Ireland title, Barrett was still eligible for a league winners medal.[5]

International career

Barrett represented the Republic of Ireland since the age of 15.[7] He was a part of the Irish side which won the 1998 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship in Scotland.[5] He went on to play eleven under-18 games for Ireland, scoring four goals. He then was capped a sum of 24 times whilst netting five goals for the Irish under-21s.[19] Barrett then scored on his senior debut for Ireland in a 3–0 victory over Finland.[20] Barrett would go on to make another six appearances with one goal scored for the Irish in all.[19]

Career statistics

Club

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Arsenal	1999–2000[21]	Premier League	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2000–01[22]		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	2001–02[23]		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2002–03[24]		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
Bristol Rovers (loan)	2000–01[25]	Second Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Crewe Alexandra (loan)	2001–02[26]	First Division	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
Colchester United (loan)	2001–02[27]	Second Division	20	4	0	0	0	0	20	4
Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)	2002–03[28]	First Division	30	1	1	0	0	0	31	1
Coventry City	03–2004[29]		31	2	0	0	2	1	33	3
	2004–05[30]	Championship	24	4	0	0	2	0	26	4
	2005–06[31]		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		55	6	0	0	4	1	59	7
Sheffield Wednesday (loan)	2004–05[32]	League One	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
Livingston (loan)	2005–06[33]	Scottish Premier League	6	0	0	0	1	0	7	0
Falkirk	2006–07[34]		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2007–08[35]		33	6	2	1	1	0	36	7
	2008–09[36]		15	2	1	2	3	0	19	4
	Total		48	8	3	3	4	0	55	11
St Johnstone	2008–09[37]	Scottish First Division	9	1	0	0	0	0	9	1
Shamrock Rovers	2009	League of Ireland Premier Division	10	1	0	0	0	0	10	1
	2010		11	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	Total		21	1	0	0	0	0	21	1
Career total			201	22	4	3	11	1	216	26

International

[38]

Republic of Ireland national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2002	1	1
2004	5	1
Total	6	2

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	21 August 2002	Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	1	Finland	0–3	Win	Friendly[39]
2	2 June 2004	The Valley, London, England	4	Jamaica	0–1	Win	Friendly[40]

Personal life

Having grown up close to Tallaght, Barrett followed his father, Gary, in playing for Shamrock Rovers. Gary began his playing career with Shamrock in 1980 under Johnny Giles, where he scored a number of goals. This factor was a draw to Graham when joining the club himself in 2009. [41]

Honours

Club

Arsenal

• FA Youth Cup: 2000[42]

Shamrock Rovers[3]

• League of Ireland Premier Division: 2010

International

Republic of Ireland[3]

• UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship: 1998

All honours referenced by:[5][43]

References

1. "Colchester United – Player profile". Coludata.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
2. "Graham Barrett – Football Stats – Soccer Base". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
3. "Graham Barrett". Soccerway.com.
4. "Graham Barrett – Arsenal.com". Arsenal FC. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
5. "Barrett's cruel decline robbed Ireland of a star". Independent. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
6. "Arsenal thrash Stevenage". BBC. 18 July 2002. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
7. Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. pp. 23, 24. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
8. "Brighton 2-4 Sheff Utd". BBC. 19 October 2002. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
9. "Coventry sign Arsenal striker". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
10. "Sheffield Wed 2-2 Torquay". BBC. 26 March 2005. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
11. "Coventry opt to release quintet". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
12. "Barrett completes Falkirk signing". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
13. "Barrett extends Falkirk contract". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
14. "SPL ins and outs". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
15. "Saints sign former Bairn Barrett". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
16. "Airdrie United 0-4 St Johnstone". BBC. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
17. "Queens secure Holmes from Saints". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
18. "Graham Barrett signs for Shamrock Rovers FC". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
19. "Graham Barrett". 11v11.com. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
20. "Keane inspires Republic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
21. "Arsenal 1999/2000 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
22. "Arsenal 2000/2001 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
23. "Arsenal 2001/2002 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
24. "Arsenal 2002/2003 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
25. "Bristol R 2000/2001 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
26. "Crewe 2001/2002 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
27. "Colchester 2001/2002 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
28. "Brighton 2002/2003 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
29. "Coventry 2003/2004 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
30. "Coventry 2004/2005 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
31. "Coventry 2005/2006 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
32. "Sheff Wed 2004/2005 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
33. "Livingston 2005/2006 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
34. "Falkirk 2006/2007 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
35. "Falkirk 2007/2008 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
36. "Falkirk 2008/2009 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
37. "St Johnstone 2008/2009 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Select season required via dropdown menu.
38. "Graham Barrett". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
39. "Finland v Republic of Ireland, 21 August 2002". 11v11.com. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
40. "Jamaica v Republic of Ireland, 02 June 2004". 11v11.com. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
41. "Barrett homes in on career revival". UEFA.com. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
42. "Class Of 2000". Arsenal.com.
43. "FA Youth Cup". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2013.

External links

• Graham Barrett at Soccerbase
• Graham Barrett at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database