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Everton Past Player Profile
EARL BARRETT
Right-Back

Earl Barrett FACTS
Born Rochdale, 28 April 1967
Height 5' - 11" (1.80 m)
Joined Everton from Aston Villa in January 1995 (Ł1,700,000)
Debut v Newcastle United (a), 1 February 1995
Nicknames The Pearl
Last Game v Manchester United (a), 28 December 1997
Left Everton to Sheffield Wednesday in February 1998 for free.
Honours 3 Full English Caps, 4 B, 4 U-21
PREVIOUS CAREER
Seasons Club Apps Gls
1985-1987 Manchester City 3 -
1985-1986

Chester City (on loan)

12

-

1987-1991

Oldham Athletic

183

7

1991-1994

Aston Villa

119

1

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
  • 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
BIOSKETCH
 
The arrival of one of Joe Royle's favourite players at Goodison Park in 1995 spelt doom for one of the most loyal servants to the club: Matt Jackson.  However, Barrett arrived too late to figure in Everton's successful FA Cup run, being cup-tied by Aston Villa, thus allowing Jackson to play and win at Wembley.

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.

 
EARL BARRETT – EVERTON CAREER STATISTICS
Season Squad
Number 		League
Apps(sub) 		League
Goals 		Cup
Apps(sub) 		Cup
Goals 		TOTAL
Apps(sub) 		TOTAL
Goals
1994-95 4 17 (-) - - (-) - 17 (-) -
1995-96 2 8 (-) - 5 (-) - 13 (-) -
1996-97 2 36 (-) - 4 (-) - 40 (-) -
1997-98 2 12 (1) - - (-) - 12 (1) -
Totals: 73 (-) - 9 (-) - 82(1) -

Cup Statistics include all other non-league senior matches, as counted by Everton FC in the Matchday Programme
© Marko Poutiainen and Michael Kenrick 1998
Last update: 23 February 1998

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