Anthony Barness

Football player infobox


playername = Anthony Barness
fullname = Anthony Barness
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1973|3|25
cityofbirth = Lewisham
countryofbirth = England
height = height|ft=5|in=10
currentclub = Lewes
clubnumber = 2
position = Defender
years = 1991–1992
1992–1996
1993
1996
1996–2000
2000–2005
2005–2007
2007
2007–
clubs = Charlton Athletic
Chelsea
→ Middlesbrough (loan)
→ Southend United (loan)
Charlton Athletic
Bolton Wanderers
Plymouth Argyle
→ Grays Athletic (loan)
Lewes
caps(goals) = 27 (1)
14 (0)
00 (0)
05 (0)
96 (3)
93 (0)
37 (0)
06 (0)
27 (0)
nationalcaps(goals) =
ntupdate =
pcupdate = August 9, 2008

Anthony Barness (born March 25, 1973 in Lewisham, England) is a defender, currently playing for Lewes.

Biography

Barness started out as a trainee for Charlton Athletic. It is to be noted that in his first spell at Charlton he scored Charlton's opening riposte after going 3-0 down at Newcastle, this strike was the goal of the match. Charlton went on to win the match 3-4 and this has been voted in the top 20 Charlton matches of all time.

His potential was spotted by a youth-scouting Chelsea side in 1992 — though some have said Chelsea only signed Barness after failing to sign his team mate, Scott Minto. During the four years which he spent at the club however, his chances of league starts were taken away from him at every possible opportunity. Thus, after just nineteen appearances in four years, he was loaned out to Middlesbrough (in August 1993) and Southend United (in February 1996).

Barness left Chelsea in August 1996, and returned to Charlton Athletic for a fee of 165,000 pounds. He was an important and regular part of the Charlton team, managed by Alan Curbishley. In his first season back at the Valley he was a virtual ever present and a top performer in a Charlton side struggling after the sale of Lee Bowyer. Barness suddenly left the first team in 1997 being replaced by Mark Bowen at left back and occasionally Paul Konchesky, and only made a handful of appearances from then on many at right back. Although Mark Bowen was an excellent performer for Charlton in the 97/98 season, many Charlton fans were perplexed by Anthony's replacement as he'd been a very reliable player. Alan Curbishley was quoted at the time of dropping him, that he'd been virtually ever present the previous season and appeared close to burn out. Though the fans saw a minimal drop off in form, it retains a mystery why he fell out of favour with Alan Curbishley.

On the move again in 2000, he went to Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer deal, but was soon relegated to starting only in Cup competitions — which manager Sam Allardyce often left to the second team. In his second year Barness made the right-back position his own, and became a fans favourite due to his effort for the cause. Barness continued to play for the first team over the next couple of years. He was set to move on loan to West Ham United in February 2004 but was recalled within 24 hours after Bolton suffered an injury crisis. He then played a vital role for Bolton as they set a record for the most consecutive wins by their club.

After being released by Bolton in May 2005, [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/4558981.stm Allardyce begins Bolton shake-up] ] he joined Championship side Plymouth Argyle on a free transfer the following month. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/plymouth_argyle/4092372.stm Plymouth complete Barness swoop] ] He impressed fans with solid performances throughout his first season with Argyle. He was released from his contract at Plymouth by manager Ian Holloway on 30 January 2007. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/plymouth_argyle/6311541.stm Plymouth and Barness part company] ]

In February 2007 he had a trial with Yeovil Town. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/y/yeovil/6361465.stm Barness could earn deal at Yeovil] ]

In March 2007, Barness signed for Grays Athletic until the end of the season, [ [http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/news/index.php?&newsmode=FULL&nid=40975 Two more for Grays] ] leaving two months later.

In August 2007 he signed for Conference South side Lewes. [ [http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/news/index.php?newsmode=FULL&nid=44295 Rooks snap up Barness] ]

Career statistics

"(as of September 13, 2006)"

References

External links

*soccerbase|421|Anthony Barness