Chester City (on loan)

12

-

Oldham Athletic

183

7

Aston Villa

119

1

• A utility player
• Athletic
• Quick
• Good stamina
• Very difficult to go past

• Gives too much space to the defenders
• Sometimes goes too far forward
• Poor crosses
• Not a threat when in possession

Barrett found it hard to impress sections of the highly critical Goodison crowd, who always seem to need a scapegoat.  His hands-off style of defending, where he backed off and blocked, rather than diving in to crunch the legs of opponents, went largely unappreciated for many months as Earl doggedly toiled to build his reputation at the club.  Barrett's nebulous footballing qualities led to a strong polarization amongst Evertonians: either you loved Earl the Pearl, or you were an unremitting Barrett Basher – there was no middle ground.

Then, in the early part of the 1995-96 season, Barrett was having continual problems with his knee that led to an exploratory operation.  But the results were to prove bad: Barrett was out for the rest of the season.

It says a lot for the Lancashire lad, that he came back from the depression of such a long layoff, to prove himself in front of those critical fans during the 1996-97 season. Barrett was one of the few constants in Everton's declining team, missing only two games, and he even won the coveted accolade of Toffeenet Player of The Month – not once but twice!   

Barrett's prospects under the new manager, Howard Kendall, did not look so rosy.  One of the first things Kendall did was to buy in Tony Thomas, the Tranmere right-back. The next twist by Kendall was to use Graham Stuart as the right-sided wing-back in games against Scunthorpe and Barnsley, before he was dispatched to Sheffield United.

In December 1997, Kendall made it clear to Earl The Pearl that he would not be a part of the team Kendall is building at Goodison Park.  After warming the bench for Everton's last match of 1998, he spent a month or so on loan at Sheffield United before finally leaving on a free transfer to Sheffield Wednesday, where he teams up with Andy Hinchcliffe.