Midfielder
1992-96
| � Dave Hickson | ||
"....And as you come back to us, the roof has been taken
off by a thunderous shot from Barry Horne!" Mike Ingham's words on Radio
5 Live, almost exactly halfway through the second half of the afternoon's
commentary on 7th May 1994. The date is especially significant to Everton
fans as the occasion of the most important game in the club's recent history,
the match against Wimbledon in which they famously came back from 0-2 down to
spectacularly win 3-2 and avoid relegation from the Premiership by the skins
of their teeth (see THAT GAME).
Horne's goal was the second of Everton's three that sun-baked afternoon, almost certainly the most important in a career that hasn't seen him score many. Those he does get are often spectacular, as was this one – a swerving, dipping volley from 30 yards which cannoned off a post into the Gwladys Street End net. Already 29/30 and a Welsh international by the time he joined Everton from Southampton for �700,000 in August 1992, Horne enjoyed something of an Indian Summer to his career during his time with the club. He was always more of a ball-winning midfielder than a creator, but as such he was one of the best of his type, and in fact had a creative streak that few gave him credit for. It was a style of play that was right at home in the Everton sides he played in, particularly after Joe Royle's inheritance of the manager's chair. The club was perennially fighting off the threat of relegation, and Horne's robust play and industrious work were crucial to the club's survival and endeared him to the fans. He was a vital part too of the 1995 FA Cup-winning campaign, and of the Welsh national side's perpetual failure to qualify for anything – not for any want of effort on Horne's part. He became captain of his country during his stay at Everton, which ended in 1996 when he joined Birmingham City for �250,000. |
||
| HORNE, BARRY |
| 18/5/62 St Asaph |
| Lge apps 118 (5), total 143 (7) |
| Lge gls 3, total 3 |
| Caps 23 (Wales, up to July 1996) |
This page � Richard Pike & Marko Poutiainen 1999.
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