Leon Barnett

West Bromwich Albion Barnett completed a move to Championship club West Bromwich Albion on 26 July 2007 on a four-year contract for an initial fee of £2.5 million. The fee would rise by a further £250,000 depending on appearances and the club would have to pay Luton a further £250,000 should they gain promotion to the Premier League. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 away win over Scunthorpe United on 22 September 2007. His performance in a 2–1 away win over Leicester City on 8 December 2007 earned him a place in the Championship Team of the Week. He started in a 2–0 away win over Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the season, which was enough to guarantee West Brom the Championship title. As a result, this triggered a promotion clause which was agreed with his former club Luton, thus the latter received an add-on of £250,000 from his transfer. Barnett made 36 appearances during the season, scoring three times. Barnett played in the League Cup second round match against Hartlepool United, who produced an upset by defeating West Brom 3–1 after extra time, with Barnett responsible for losing possession in the lead up to their first goal. He played the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw with Bolton Wanderers four days later, helping to keep a clean sheet to earn West Brom their first point of the season. Barnett made another starting appearance two weeks later, helping West Brom to win their first match of the season in a 3–2 win over West Ham United by winning a penalty after he was tripped by Robert Green, which was converted by Roman Bednář. However, during West Brom's next match against West Midlands rivals Aston Villa, he was at fault for conceding both goals and lost 2–1 as a result. His poor performance meant he was dropped to the substitutes bench and remained an unused substitute for the subsequent match, a 1–0 away win over Middlesbrough on 27 September 2008, West Brom's first away win of the season. Barnett was as an unused substitute for a further eight matches, during which time he sustained a knee injury, before coming on as a 27th-minute substitute for the injured Abdoulaye Méïté in a 2–0 away defeat to Chelsea on 26 December 2008. Five starting appearances followed, but he sustained an injury and had to be substituted in the 39th minute during the latter match, a 3–0 home win over Middlesbrough on 17 January 2009. Barnett's injury meant he missed a 2–2 draw with Burnley one week later, before returning to the starting lineup for the next match, a 3–2 home defeat to Newcastle United. He made one further starting appearance in a 2–0 away defeat to Fulham two weeks later, before a recurrence of his knee injury ruled him out for the rest of the season.

Coventry City (loan) On 4 November 2009, Barnett joined Championship rivals Coventry City on loan until the end of January, having made just two substitute appearances for West Brom in the league during the 2009–10 season. He conceded two penalties in consecutive league appearances, both of which saw him sent off in a 4–1 away defeat to Newcastle United on 17 February 2010, followed by a 2–1 home win over Scunthorpe United 10 days later. Barnett made 20 league appearances for Coventry during his time with the club. after having played his first match of the 2010–11 season for West Brom two days previously in a 2–0 away win over Leyton Orient in the League Cup second round. He was handed squad number 20 at Norwich and made his debut two days later in a 1–1 draw with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, forming a partnership with Elliott Ward. On 20 November 2010, Barnett scored his first goal for the club with a header from a David Fox corner in a 1–1 draw with Leeds United.

It was confirmed on 10 December 2010 that Barnett would join Norwich on a permanent three-and-a-half deal for an undisclosed fee, starting from 1 January 2011. On the following day, he conceded a penalty in a 2–0 home defeat to Portsmouth, for which he received his second yellow card of the match and was subsequently sent off. In protest, he threw the ball at referee Simon Hooper, which earned him an extended two-match ban from The Football Association. Barnett suffered a hamstring injury in a 2–1 home win over Reading on 12 February 2011, which ruled him out for the rest of the season. In his absence, Norwich won promotion to the Premier League as runners-up after a 2–0 away win over Portsmouth on 2 May 2011.

Barnett played in his first Premier League match for Norwich as a 71st-minute substitute for the injured Zak Whitbread in a 1–1 draw with Wigan Athletic on the opening day of the 2011–12 season. He started the next game, a 1–1 draw with Stoke City, but was adjudged by referee Neil Swarbrick to have committed a professional foul on Jonathan Walters in the second half, conceding a penalty and receiving a red card. On 26 September 2011, Barnett scored his first Premier League goal in a 2–1 home win over Sunderland. After featuring in a 2–1 home defeat to Leicester City in the FA Cup fifth round on 18 February 2012, Barnett was only named in the matchday squad on two further occasions, but remained an unused substitute in both matches. He made a further seven Premier League appearances, before featuring in three successive cup matches, On transfer deadline day, it appeared Barnett was no longer in the future plans of manager Chris Hughton, after he was offered as part of a bid in an attempt to sign Birmingham City defender Curtis Davies.

Cardiff City (loan) On 14 March 2013, Barnett completed a one-month loan move to Championship club Cardiff City as a replacement for injured captain Mark Hudson. Barnett made his debut for the club two days later in a 2–0 away win over Sheffield Wednesday. The loan was extended until the end of the season on 12 April. He formed a defensive partnership with Ben Turner during his spell at the club, making eight appearances, After the league championship was secured, Barnett was recalled by Norwich on 24 April to cover for injuries to Michael Turner and Steven Whittaker.

Wigan Athletic On 1 August 2013, Barnett signed a three-year contract with newly relegated Championship club Wigan Athletic, transferring from Norwich City for an undisclosed fee. He scored on his debut in a 4–0 away win over Barnsley on the opening day of the 2013–14 season. Barnett started in a 2–0 defeat to Manchester United in the FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium one week later. His second goal for the club came with a 90th-minute equaliser in a 2–2 draw with Doncaster Rovers on 20 August 2013. Barnett later made his Europa League debut in a 3–1 home win over NK Maribor on 8 October 2013. He scored his first Europa League goal in a 2–1 home defeat to Zulte Waregem on 28 November 2013. Wigan secured a place in the Championship play-offs after a 1–0 away win over Birmingham City on 29 April 2014, during which Barnett replaced Shaun Maloney as a 90th-minute substitute. A 2–1 defeat to Queens Park Rangers in the play-off semi-final second leg ended Wigan's hopes of an instant return to the Premier League after a 96th-minute winning goal from Charlie Austin, before which Barnett replaced Gary Caldwell as a 74th-minute substitute. Barnett ended his first season with the club having made 53 appearances and scoring five goals in all competitions. He remained an unused substitute for the majority of August and September, a 2–0 away defeat to AFC Bournemouth on 27 September, prior to a 0–0 draw with Nottingham Forest three days later, during which he replaced the injured Emmerson Boyce. Barnett played every minute of Wigan's matches in October, After serving his suspension, Barnett returned to the starting lineup and was an ever-present in the team, However, his sequence of starting appearances was ended by a hamstring injury which resulted in his absence from a 2–0 away win over Leeds United and the subsequent two matches. He returned to first-team football on 10 January 2015 in a 3–1 away defeat to Birmingham City, replacing the injured Iván Ramis in the 66th minute. Subsequently, Barnett made a further five starting appearances during January and February, Upon his return from injury, he was named on the substitutes bench for the remainder of the season, and Barnett's first appearance of 2015–16 came in the League Cup first round against League One rivals Bury, which resulted in a 2–1 home defeat. He scored Wigan's first goal during a 3–2 away win over Chesterfield on 5 September 2015 to begin a comeback from 2–0 down in the final 10 minutes. Barnett was sent off for a professional foul in Wigan's next match, a 3–2 away defeat to Port Vale one week later. Following his return from suspension, Barnett made eight consecutive starting appearances during September and October, He was named in the starting lineup on eight further occasions, and finished the season with 24 appearances in all competitions. before remaining an unused substitute in a 4–1 home defeat to Barnsley on the final day of the season which secured Wigan the League One title despite the result. On 3 June 2016, Wigan announced that Barnett would be released upon the expiry of his contract at the end of 2015–16.

Bury Barnett signed a two-year contract with League One club Bury on 19 July 2016. He made his debut in a 1–0 home defeat to Oldham Athletic on 20 August 2016, during which he scored an own goal. One week later, Barnett scored first goal for Bury to begin a second half comeback from 3–0 down to earn a 3–3 draw away to Walsall. He suffered an injury in September 2016, and returned to the team for a 2–0 defeat at home to Bolton Wanderers on 24 October. Barnett was later ruled out through injury once more with a calf strain, and returned to the team almost three months later for a 1–0 victory at home to Swindon Town on 11 February 2017. He consolidated his place in the starting lineup, and finished 2016–17 with 26 appearances and one goal. He signed a new one-year contract with Northampton in June 2018, with the option of a further year. Barnett retired from playing on 26 November 2018, as a result of a heart condition. During a League Cup fixture against Wycombe Wanderers, he complained to the club's physio of a high heart rate and feeling tired, stating "My heart felt like I was doing 10 box-to-box runs, but I was literally just jogging". He was sent to a cardiologist and was fitted with a heart rate monitor and, after a second incident in a match against Bury in October 2018, test results showed that his heart rate was reaching dangerous levels of 300 bpm. He was fitted with a pacemaker after being diagnosed with myocarditis and was advised that continuing his playing career would be unsafe. He subsequently announced his retirement with Northampton honouring the remainder of his contract and offering him the opportunity to work at the club to gain coaching experience.

Personal life Barnett married Kylie Baldry in 2015 and the pair have three children together.

Career statistics

Honours West Bromwich Albion Football League Championship: 2007–08

Wigan Athletic Football League One: 2015–16 FA Community Shield runner-up: 2013

Individual Luton Town Player of the Season: 2006–07