Forging a career as a professional sportsperson is rarely a straightforward journey; just ask Keith Barker.
When Barker started playing sport, the aim was to become a footballer, and he was at Blackburn Rovers.
However, he ended up abandoning football and switched to cricket, where he has become so good that he’s been a professional for 15 years now, playing for Warwickshire and Hampshire in the County Championship.
It’s a fascinating change from kicking a ball with his feet for a living to batting and bowling instead, and it’s not something you see very often.
Luckily, he recently sat down with talkSPORT’s Scott Taylor to chat all about his time as a footballer before switching to cricket.
He said: “I started at Blackburn Rovers at the age of nine and got offered a contract at 16, and I was there for another four years after that.
“I had a loan spell at Rochdale and Cercle Brugge, Blackburn Rovers’ feeder club.
“I then played in St Patrick’s in Ireland for a few months, and then, it slowly went downhill.
“I was at Northwich Victoria, and at that point, things weren’t looking too great, so at 21, I said I was done with it.
“I got offered a trial at Warwickshire against Hampshire, and it went from there.”
Since hanging up his boots for good, Barker has played 163 first-class games, scoring over 5,000 runs and taking over 500 wickets.
He was initially scouted by David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd and was watched by Warwickshire’s second team before getting a trial.
Barker impressed, and with that, his career in football was over.
However, he does boast a few famous teammates.
“[At England youth level] There was James Morrison, Mark Noble, David Nugent.
“I played for England Under-19s and 20s, and that was a good experience, and I learned a lot from that.”
Nugent, of course, went on to earn one cap at senior level for England, while Noble made 550 appearances for West Ham, including over 400 in the Premier League.
So, although Barker found a different career, some of his ex-dressing room friends progressed to football.
Interestingly, the 37-year-old was at Ewood Park at the same time as Graeme Souness.
The regular talkSPORT guest had a reputation as one of the hardest around during his playing days, and according to Barker, nothing much changed when he was manager.
“I enjoyed it [playing under Souness].
“I had the odd first-team session when Souness was there, and to say that the players feared him [would be an understatement].
“He had issues with a few players. I don’t think the Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole were the Dwight Yorke or Andy Cole of Manchester United, and that wound him up.
“He would join in the odd few sessions. In all the years I have watched football, I’ve never seen tackles like it, and he was a big bloke.
“He laid the law down, and from what I remember, lads listened to it.”
Barker also spent time with Mark Hughes, who went on to enjoy four years with Rovers before being recruited by Manchester City.
The Hampshire man might never have made a senior appearance for Blackburn, but he respected Hughes.
“Mark Hughes was a bit different.
“I didn’t spend that much time around the first team when he was there. He seemed like a good man-manager.
“I remember Craig Bellamy being there and Robbie Savage, who saw himself as the big fish. He had some egos in there, managed them well, and got the most out of them.”
So, although his career as a footballer was brief, Barker met some real characters and top players during his time, and working under Souness must have been an experience.
Football might not have worked out for Barker, but his time as a professional cricketer has been more than a success.
Anyone who can play at such a high level in any sport deserves recognition, and having those experiences in football with Bellamy, etc, would have helped once he made it at Warwickshire.
And despite not making it as a professional footballer, Barker has no regrets about any of it.
“I would love to re-live those experiences – they were brilliant.”
Barker is a great example of how far determination and willpower can take you because though football didn’t turn out to be the sport for him, cricket was, and he’s brilliant at it.
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