Embed from Getty Images

Bio:

John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. Often considered one of the greatest England players of all time and one of Liverpool’s greatest ever players, Barnes works as an author, as well as a commentator and pundit for ESPN and SuperSport. Initially he was a quick and skilful left winger, then he moved to central midfield later in his career. Barnes won two League titles and two FA Cups with Liverpool. He also earned 79 international caps for England.

Barnes was born and raised in Jamaica as the son of a military officer from Trinidad and Tobago and a Jamaican mother. He moved to London, England, with his family when he was 12 years old. He joined Watford aged 17 in 1981, before playing 296 competitive games for them, scoring 85 goals. He debuted for England in 1983, and in 1987 joined Liverpool for £900,000. In his ten seasons there, Liverpool won the then-top-flight First Division twice and the FA Cup twice. He scored 106 goals in 403 matches. By the time of his last cap, in 1995, he had more caps than any other black England player. After two years at Newcastle United, he ended his playing career at Charlton Athletic in 1999. Barnes had eight months as Celtic head coach when his former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was director of football. He has since managed the Jamaica national team, in 2008–09, and English club Tranmere Rovers, for four months in 2009.

Continue reading “Focus On; John Barnes” →

Embed from Getty Images

Bio:

John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a former footballer and manager. Nicknamed “Aldo”, he was a prolific, record-breaking striker. His tally of 329 Football League goals is the sixth-highest in the history of English football.

During his early career, he worked his way up through the lower leagues. He played in every league from the old Fourth Division to the old First Division. Initially signed as a replacement for Ian Rush, Aldridge spent over two successful seasons at Liverpool. He won the league and FA Cup once. He narrowly missed out on a second league title. Aldridge spent two seasons at Real Sociedad. He was the first non-Basque player to sign for the club in several decades. They abandoned their selective recruitment policy. In 1991, he returned to England to play for Tranmere Rovers, becoming their player-manager in 1996. He retired from playing in 1998 and resigned as manager in 2001 and has not managed since.

He was a Liverpudlian by birth. He was recruited to play for the Republic of Ireland as part of Jack Charlton’s “Granny Rule” policy. His great-grandmother was from Athlone and traveled to Liverpool to settle in the 19th century. His career with Ireland coincided with their most successful period in international football, and he played at two World Cups.

Continue reading “Focus On; John Aldridge” →