Neil Barrett (footballer)

Neil William Barrett (born 24 December 1981) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Isthmian League Premier Division club Metropolitan Police.
Barrett started his career in the youth system of Chelsea, before joining Portsmouth in 2001. He made over 20 appearances in his first season with Portsmouth, but having not played over a season-and-a-half he moved to Dundee on loan. He joined them permanently in 2004, but left a year later following their relegation from the Scottish Premier League. Following a period with Livingston, he signed for Conference National club Woking in 2007. After half a season with them he joined Ebbsfleet United, and played for them in their victory in the 2008 FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium.
Barrett left Ebbsfleet after two seasons to sign for York City in 2009 and played for them in the 2010 Conference Premier play-off Final at Wembley. He was released by York in 2011 and after a short spell with Havant & Waterlooville in the Conference South he returned to Ebbsfleet United. After their relegation to the Conference South in 2013 he signed for their divisional rivals Basingstoke Town, but was released by them after one season.

Career

Chelsea and Portsmouth

Born in Tooting, London, Barrett started his career as a trainee in the Chelsea youth system. While at the club he was an England schools international. He joined First Division team Portsmouth on 25 June 2001 on a free transfer and he made his first team debut in a 1–0 victory at Stockport County on 25 August. His first goal for Portsmouth came with the equaliser against Gillingham on 8 September 2001 with a header from a Robert Prosinečki cross, in a game that finished as a 2–1 victory. Barrett was offered a new contract with Portsmouth in October 2001 after impressing in the first team. He finished the 2001–02 season with 26 appearances and two goals, despite not playing any games for Portsmouth from March 2002.

Barrett was taken to hospital with a suspected broken knee suffered during a reserve team game against Bristol City in September 2002, although an X-ray later confirmed there was no break. However, tests were carried out and he was expected to be out of the team for six weeks to recover from the injury. Having fallen out of favour at Portsmouth, he had a trial at Notts County in December 2002 and manager Bill Dearden commented that Barrett "could be a reasonable prospect". He finished the 2002–03 season with no appearances for Portsmouth and was told by manager Harry Redknapp he was surplus to requirements. He had a one-week trial with Wimbledon in August 2003, having been told he could leave Portsmouth.

Dundee

Having made no appearances for Portsmouth up to that point during the 2003–04 season, Barrett joined Scottish Premier League (SPL) team Dundee on loan until the end of the season on 23 January 2004. His debut came two days later in the 2–1 victory over Dundee United in a Dundee derby match, in which he made a reasonable contribution and was cautioned for a "bone-crunching" challenge on Charlie Miller. He scored his first two goals for Dundee in the Scottish League Cup against Motherwell, with a shot set up by Sebastian Kneißl and a header, although Dundee went on to lose 5–3. He finished the loan period with 13 appearances and two goals, during which he had to deal with a "serious" ankle injury.

He joined Dundee permanently on 18 July 2004, signing a one-year contract, after having his contract at Portsmouth cancelled. He scored his first goal of the 2004–05 season on 18 December 2004 with a 57th-minute goal against Aberdeen that was set up by Fabián Caballero, which earned his team a 1–0 victory. He finished the season with 32 appearances and two goals while Dundee were relegated to the Scottish First Division, and was released by the club in May 2001.

Livingston

Barrett had a trial with Major League Soccer team the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, and claimed he was offered a two-year contract, although this claim was denied by an organisation spokesman. He started a trial with League Two club Oxford United in August 2005 and in his first game was substituted after six minutes after sustaining a head injury. He resumed playing in the SPL after signing for Livingston on 9 September 2005, on a contract until January 2006, with the option of it being extended for a further three years, following a successful trial. He made his debut two days later in a 4–1 defeat to Hearts, during which he conceded a penalty kick. He made 11 appearances for Livingston, with his last coming in December 2005. Conference National team Exeter City handed him a one-week trial in September 2006, and after training with them for six weeks he was offered a contract until January 2007.

Woking

He eventually signed for another Conference National club, Woking, in January 2007 after being recommended to the club by former Dundee teammate Tom Hutchinson and he made his debut in a 2–0 victory over Altrincham on 20 January, in which he had a goal disallowed that was adjudged to be offside. Barrett missed some games because of injury and he finished the 2006–07 season with seven appearances for Woking, and manager Frank Gray wanted him to return to the club for pre-season training.

Ebbsfleet United

He signed for Conference Premier rivals Ebbsfleet United on a free transfer on 19 June 2007 as a replacement for Mark DeBolla. He made his debut in a 2–1 victory over Northwich Victoria on 11 August 2007. He sustained an ankle injury in the second game of the 2007–08 season, which meant he was expected to be unable to play for six weeks, before he made a "surprise" return after four weeks in a 1–1 draw with Burton Albion. He scored his first goal with a shot from 20 yards, which was Ebbsfleet's first goal in a 4–1 victory over Grays Athletic. He went on to score goals in two consecutive games, with strikes in victories over Burton and Weymouth. Barrett played for Ebbsfleet in the 2008 FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium on 10 May 2008, which the team won 1–0 against Torquay United. He finished the season with 44 appearances and three goals, after which he signed a new one-year contract with Ebbsfleet. He played for Ebbsfleet in their 3–2 defeat to Stevenage Borough in the semi-final first-leg of the FA Trophy on 14 March 2009, during which he sustained a broken jaw while scoring a goal, which ruled him out for the remainder of the 2008–09 season. He finished the season with 37 appearances for Ebbsfleet, scoring seven goals.

York City

Barrett signed for fellow Conference Premier team York City on a free transfer on 29 June 2009. He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Oxford on 8 August 2009, before scoring his first goal for the club with the opener in a 1–1 draw with Luton Town on 20 October with a shot in the bottom corner. He scored the opening goal in a 3–1 defeat to Premier League team Stoke City in the FA Cup third round on 2 January 2010, with a header from an Alex Lawless free kick. He picked up a hamstring injury during March 2010, missing one match before making his return in a 1–0 victory over Mansfield Town later that month. He played in both legs of York's play-off semi-final victory over Luton, which finished 2–0 on aggregate. He signed a new one-year contract with York on 13 May 2010. He started in the 2010 Conference Premier play-off Final at Wembley on 16 May, being substituted on 81 minutes, with York losing 3–1 to Oxford. He finished the 2009–10 season with 51 appearances and five goals for York.

Barrett made his first appearance of the 2010–11 season in the second game, starting in a 0–0 draw at Grimsby Town on 17 August 2010. He scored his first goal of the season with an effort from six yards out to score the final goal in a 4–0 victory at Rushden & Diamonds on 20 November 2010. He finished the season with 25 appearances and two goals before being released on 23 June 2011 after being told he could find another club.

Havant & Waterlooville

Following his release by York, Barrett went on trial with Luton and played the first half of their first friendly of the 2011–12 pre-season, a 4–2 victory away at Hitchin Town. He subsequently went on trial with Kingstonian of the Isthmian League Premier Division and played in a friendly against former club Woking. His next move came on 9 September 2011, when he signed for Havant & Waterlooville of the Conference South on non-contract terms, making his debut the following day after starting in a 2–2 draw at home to Sutton United. He was released by Havant in October 2011 after making seven appearances for the club.

Return to Ebbsfleet United

Barrett returned to Conference Premier side Ebbsfleet United on non-contract terms on 4 November 2011 after contacting manager Liam Daish over the possibility of signing. His second debut for the club came the following day in a 1–0 away win over Newport County, and scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season came with a header in a 3–2 win at Gateshead on 3 March 2012. Barrett made 28 appearances and score done goal as Ebbsfleet finished 14th in the Conference Premier, before signing a new one-year contract with the club in July 2012. He missed only four matches for Ebbsfleet in the 2012–13 season, making 45 appearances and scoring one goal, as the team were relegated to the Conference South after ranking 23rd in the Conference Premier table.

Later career

Barrett signed for Conference South team Basingstoke Town on 1 July 2013. His debut came in Basingstoke's 2–1 win away against Concord Rangers on 17 August 2013, before scoring his first goal for the club in a 2–0 home win over Eastleigh on 24 August. He made 28 appearances and scored four goals in the 2013–14 season as Basingstoke finished in 14th place in the Conference South table. He was released by the club in May 2014.

Barrett joined Isthmian League Premier Division club Leatherhead during the 2014–15 season and made his debut as a 73rd-minute substitute in their 2–1 away defeat to Maidstone United on 9 December 2014. He made 11 appearances as they achieved an 11th-place finish in the Isthmian League Premier Division table. Barrett signed for Leatherhead's divisional rivals Metropolitan Police in September 2015, and made his debut in a 1–1 home draw with VCD Athletic on 19 September.

Style of play

Barrett plays as a central midfielder and provides "plenty of drive in midfield". He has described himself as being "one to get in the box" and having "a bit of a knack of being in the right place at the right time". He has been described as being "not afraid of sticking his foot in". Ebbsfleet manager Liam Daish commented "He will bring a physical presence to our midfield and is capable of getting his name on the score sheet." and while at the club was pivotal in midfield.

Personal life

Barrett's wife Rebecca, whom he married in Leatherhead, Surrey on 29 May 2010, works as a flight attendant for Virgin Atlantic and he has a son called George. He combined playing with being Ebbsfleet's commercial manager during 2011–12.

Career statistics

As of match played 26 March 2016

Honours

Ebbsfleet United

• FA Trophy: 2007–08