GoS-DB Players

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Greens on Screen started its life in 1999 before many of the football sites that we are familiar with today, including Plymouth Argyle's own official site. Greens on Screen is dedicated to the sights, sounds and history of Plymouth Argyle Football club. It is owned and run by the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive, a charity dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and display of the heritage of our great football club.

The site owes its existence to Steve Dean.Without Steve's dedication and commitment for over 25 years, GoS would not exist and be the valued and loved resource for all football fans that it is today. The site is truly the envy of many clubs, and we owe a huge debt to Steve for his tireless work, and continued support behind the scenes.

Greens on Screen's first page was published in January 1999. Its early purpose was to bring Plymouth Argyle a little closer to those unable to see their team, and whilst it has changed a great deal over the years, its core themes - sights and sounds for Westcountry exiles - still stand. The site was very lucky to take on the content of Trevor Scallan's Semper Viridis in the summer of 2007, and in 2009 launched GoS-DB, a wealth of facts and figures from PAFC's history. A year later, we embarked on a complete history of Argyle, with much-valued contributions from chapter authors. Greens on Screen was taken over by its new custodians, The Argyle Archive, in 2024.

Greens on Screen is an amateur website and proud of it. It is run by a team of volunteers from the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive (Argyle Archive). Without the hard work and much-valued contributions of these volunteers, running the site would not be possible. Greens on Screen is self-taught and as a result, a little bit quirky.

Greens on Screen remains advertisement free, which means we are grateful for the generous support of our donors and the work of our volunteers to help keep it free of promotions. If you would like to support the work of Greens on Screen, please consider donating to the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.

GoS's sole aim is to be a service to fellow supporters, and we look forward to continuing to celebrate Argyle's history for many years to come.

Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.
April 2024

Thanks to Dave Rowntree for many of the player images after 1984.

Can you help? This page is the result of the best endeavours of all concerned. If you spot a mistake or know of facts to add, or have a better photo, please get in touch using 'Contact Us' (top, right).

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CHRIS BARKER

Born: 02 March 1980

Came from: Queens Park Rangers Went to: Southend United

First game: 09 August 2008 Last game: 02 May 2010

Appearances: 58 (52/6) Goals: 0

Barker started his career with non-league Alfreton Town before joining Barnsley in 1999. He played over 100 games whilst at Oakwell and was twice voted the club's Young Player of the Season. Moving to Cardiff City in 2002, he became the first choice left-back for much of the following four years, either side of a brief loan spell with Stoke City. Finding himself out of the team at the start of the 2006-07 season, Barker joined Colchester United on loan and spent a very successful year there. A free transfer to QPR followed but after an injury-disrupted season there, he moved on to Argyle. He made a big impact in his first season at Home Park, impressing with his reliable play at both left-back and centre-back. A serious calf muscle injury ruled him out at the start of the following campaign and it was several months before he could return to action. After new manager Peter Reid made it clear that he saw Barker's future away from Home Park he moved to Southend United on loan in August 2010.

Barker's deal at Southend was made permanent after the first month's loan and he signed a two-year deal, reuniting at Roots Hall with then manager Paul Sturrock. He went on to be voted Player of the Year for the 2010-11 season and was later made club captain. In a three-year stay in Essex he clocked up over a century of games for the club and a solitary goal in the League Two play-offs against Crewe Alexandra in the 2011-12 season. He was released from his contract in August 2013 and joined Conference side Aldershot for the start of the 2013-14 season. Having taken over as caretaker player-manager of the Shots in February 2015, he hit the headlines for his first match in charge, a 1-0 defeat at Altrincham, after an own-goal was unfortunately credited to him.

Barker left his role at Aldershot, three games into his third season, having made 81 appearances for the club, and continued his playing career with a short-term contract as player-coach at Hereford in the 2016-17 season, where he made five appearances. He then moved to Weston-Super-Mare as player / assistant manager later that season, making 15 appearances.

He then moved to Forest Green Rovers in the summer of 2017 as manager of the under-18 side, following the Gloucestershire side's promotion to the EFL, and he played a key role in the development of the club's academy. However, shock news came on New Year's Day, 2020, when Barker was found dead at his home in the Cyncoed area of Cardiff at the age of just 39. Tragically, it was later revealed that he had taken his own life.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION

If you can add to this profile, perhaps with special memories, a favourite story or the results of your original research, please contribute here.

APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]

The details below reflect appearances in all first-team competitions.

I'm very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree, the PAFC Media Team and Colin Parsons for their help with photos. Thanks also to staff at the National Football Museum, the Scottish Football Museum and ScotlandsPeople for their valuable assistance.

The following publications have been particularly valuable in the research of pen-pictures: Plymouth Argyle, A Complete Record 1903-1989 (Brian Knight, ISBN 0-907969-40-2); Plymouth Argyle, 101 Golden Greats (Andy Riddle, ISBN 1-874287-47-3); Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (Michael Joyce, ISBN 1-899468-67-6); Football League Players' Records 1946-1988 (Barry Hugman, ISBN 1-85443-020-3) and Plymouth Argyle Football Club Handbooks.

Greens on Screen is run as a service to fellow supporters, in all good faith, without commercial or private gain. I have no wish to abuse copyright regulations and apologise unreservedly if this occurs. If you own any of the material used on this site, and object to its inclusion, please get in touch using the 'Contact Us' button at the top of each page. Search facility powered by JRank Search Engine. UK time at page load: 28 March 2025, 11:27.