29th September 2015

Yeovil Town make the long journey to Accrington Stanley tonight and we take a look at a former Glover who is a current part of the Stanley squad for a third spell.

Anthony Barry will forever be in the hearts of Glovers fans as part of the first ever Yeovil squad to walk out at Wembley during the 2007 play off campaign.

The Liverpool born midfielder was initially part of the Everton youth system but didn’t make an impact on the first team before he was released by the Toffees in 2004.

He would move on to Coventry and became a mainstay of their reserve side, once again the first team opportunity never came along and the chance to move on came along once more in the summer of 2005.

It was at this point that Barry would move on from the Sky Blues and onto his first spell at the Crown Ground when Accrington snapped him up on a two year deal.

Then in the Conference, the midfielder was suddenly a key player in the first team, he played 26 times during the first half of the 2005/06 season.

Accrington would go on to win promotion back to the Football League that season, but Barry wouldn’t be there to see it through.

Russell Slade had been scouting the scouser and when the January transfer window opened Yeovil Town paid an undisclosed fee for Barry’s services.

In a midfield with the likes of Chris Cohen, Arron Davies and JP Kalala, Anthony Barry was employed as the workhorse, picking the ball up from the defence and making sure the play makers ahead of him got it quickly and in the right areas.

During Barry’s second season at Huish Park, the Glovers would go on to make their Wembley bow. However the chase for promotion would be unsuccessful, Blackpool beating Slade’s side 2-0 at Wembley.

Those of you who have the DVD of this occasion can fast forward to an interview with Anthony Barry in the media zone after the game. Barry was clearly struggling with emotion after falling at the final hurdle.

Barry stayed with Yeovil in League One and played a total of 75 times across three seasons for the Glovers, still the most number of games he has played for one club in his career.

Upon leaving Huish Park in 2008 he would sign for Chester City but as that club descended into liquidation he would leave after just one season.

He moved to Wrexham but chose to move on before making his debut and he would sign with Fleetwood.

Fleetwood were a non-league club with big ambitions when he joined them and an established League Two side by the time he left a couple of seasons later.

He played more than 60 times for the side on the Blackpool coast before heading back to the south west with another big spending side, Forest Green Rovers.

He signed a three year deal but would only see through two of those years.

Forest Green were aiming to replicate the model set by Fleetwood and Barry was a key part of that effort in the first year.

By the time the 2014/15 season had begun Barry was finding his opportunities limited and an opportunity to go on loan to Accrington Stanley came along.

He re-joined the club for a second spell, actually moving back up into the Football League in the process.

The loan spell was extended until the end of the season before the second spell became a third one this past summer.

Instead of a loan deal, Barry signed a permanent deal and has been a regular member of the match day squad despite only playing a handful of times.

Images of Anthony Barry celebrating among the side at Nottingham Forest in 2007 will live long in the memory of Glovers fans, we just hope similar scenes will not be repeated this evening.