The Premier League is back but the Barclaysmen never left. Cult heroes took over during the international break and you couldn't escape them on social.
The Cultras Football Podcast may just have saved social media with their hashtag, #Barclaysmen, celebrating the underappreciated heroes of the noughties who made the Premier League the best on Earth. These are the midtable hitmen; the Lancashire Pirlos and Midlands Maldinis; the journeymen who wound up in Wigan or Middlesbrough or Bolton or Blackburn whose video highlights have been immortalised alongside indie sleaze of the era. 1899INE on social deserves credit, too, for helping to define the video style.
The trend caught fire. Yakubu was named the ultimate Barclaysman by the pod, while clubs copied the compilation style. We came up with our own favourite half-century of Streets Won't Forget stars who deserved just a little more adoration, too. Viva les Barclaysmen.
FourFourTwo's 50 favourite 'Barclaysmen' in Premier League history: 50. Charles N'Zogbia
Sir Bobby Robsons last signing at Newcastle United, Frenchman NZogbia played his entire career in the Premier League courtesy of later spells at Wigan Athletic and Aston Villa. Were not sure we need to say much more about how influential NZogbia was at the DW Stadium than to point out that he earned two full caps for France while a Wigan player.
Nonetheless, well add that the winger also scored the winner in a sensational 3-2 comeback victory against Arsenal in April 2010 to effectively secure Wigans Premier League place in 2010. He then grabbed five goals in the last six games of the 2010/11 season including another late winner in a 3-2, this time against West Ham United to take his goal tally to double figures and help Wigan claim ten vital points that kept them in the division again.
49. Matty Taylor
Who doesnt love a scorer of brilliant goals? And thats what Taylor was, helping Portsmouth get promoted in 2003 and becoming a regular on Goal of the Month montages over a fine Premier League career that lasted until 2015 (bar one year back in the Championship with West Ham).
We could tell you about the left winger/left-backs career a bit more like how he breached double figures for Bolton in 2008/09 but lets be honest, you just want to see that goal against Everton, dont you? Alright then.
48. Stelios
Or Stelios Giannakopoulos, to give his full name, though he was known mononymously throughout his spell at Bolton Wanderers (and Hull, but he only played three games for them, so lets ignore that). The attacking midfielder was one of a series of brilliant low-key signings from overseas made by Bolton Wanderers in the early 2000s, arriving in 2003 and attracting interest from Manchester City and Liverpool in his first two seasons at the club.
Stelios seven- and nine-goal hauls in 2004/05 and 2005/06 were vital in helping Bolton scale to 6th and 8th respectively, but Sam Allardyces departure in 2007 spelt the beginning of the end for Stelios, who was released the following year.
47. Dean Ashton
West Ham fans will still tell you that things could have been very different for them in the 2010s had it not been for Ashtons ankle. A prolific Crewe youth product, the striker made a huge and immediate impression for Norwich City in 2004/05 with seven goals in 16 games despite the Canaries being relegated from the Premier League that season, earning a move back to the top flight with West Ham.
Ashtons form earned him an England call-up in 2006, but he was forced to pull out with a serious ankle injury suffered in training that kept him out for nearly a year and from which he never truly recovered. Ashton managed one more full season, scoring 10 in 31 for West Ham and finally getting a deserved England cap, before having to return to the treatment table and then retiring aged just 26 in December 2009. The Hammers were relegated the following season.
46. Paul Robinson
The goalkeeper one, not the left-back one or the Neighbours one. One of the final products of the Leeds United youth academy before the financial crisis that precipitated their demise from Premier League standing, Robinson had a real Joe Hart career: early success followed by a swift fall from prominence.
Robinson earned his first England cap while still at Leeds and established himself as number one in 2006, by which time he had been at Tottenham for two years. But an increasingly error-strewn run of form meant he was ousted first by England in 2007 and then by Spurs in 2008. He improved again at Blackburn Rovers, but was overlooked for the 2010 World Cup squad, and his career petered out following Rovers relegation in 2012. Oh and Robinson also scored two goals in his career, getting forward late on to head home for Leeds in the League Cup in 2003, then watching a long free kick bounce over Ben Foster for Spurs in 2007.
45. Loic Remy
There are those players whose stars shine brightly for just a season or two before disappearing just as quickly. Remy was a brilliant example of the phenomenon, joining Queens Park Rangers for a club record fee in January 2013 and showing enough promise in a relegated side to earn a loan move to Newcastle.
Remy was brilliant in the first half of the season, but injuries and suspensions meant he missed a lot of the second half of the campaign; he nonetheless finished with an excellent 16 goals in 24 games and earned a move to Chelsea.
Once again, Remy was great to start off with, finishing his first season with seven league goals in 6 starts and 13 appearances from the bench, but was unable to carry that into his second campaign and was loaned to Crystal Palace, for whom he played eight games without scoring. And with that, he was gone from English football forever.
44. Lucas Neill
A hard-tackling and old-fashioned Australian right-back with a disciplinary record to match, Neill took his first steps in senior football at Millwall and made a name for himself in the lower tiers before getting a move to Blackburn Rovers.
Neills form attracted interest from Liverpool in the January 2007 transfer window not popularly, after he had broken Jamie Carraghers leg with a tackle some years area but opted to join West Ham instead. Neill cited a lack of personal contact from Rafa Benitez as the primary factor.
43. Shola Ameobi
A lot was expected of the 6ft 3in centre-forward when he broke through the Newcastle United academy, and in truth he never got there with his goalscoring tally not that it stopped Newcastle from giving him a whole 14 years to come good.
In fairness to Ameobi, the pressure of expectation that he might be a long-term successor to Alan Shearer would be much too much for anybody to live up to. His excellent work ethic, likeable personality and goalscoring record against Sunderland (seven in seven from 2005-12) made him a favourite nonetheless, with the latter earning him the nickname The Mackem Slayer.
His appearance on MTV's Cribs is still legendary.
42. Hugo Rodallega
Yes, were going to get a lot of Wigan in this list. The Colombian winger with distinctive long hair arrived from his home country in 2009 and soon started to show he had a flair for the spectacular that became more and more of a hallmark of that hard-working Athletic side after Roberto Martinez took over as manager.
Rodellega scored the winning goal against Stoke City that confirmed Wigans safety from relegation on the final day in 2011, and went on to help guide Fulham out of a period of poor early-season form with some vital goals soon after joining in 2012.
41. Brad Friedel
The record holder for most consecutive Premier League appearances, the goalkeeper went over eight years without missing a single league game for Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa or Tottenham from 2004-2012. Also, playing at Galatasaray under Graeme Souness is unbelievably Barclays, for some reason.
On top of that sheer longevity, Friedel established himself as a cult hero. His story could have ended after he flopped at Liverpool, but Friedel gradually earned himself more and more respect for his increasingly impressive performances. Friedel also has a delightful (1) in his Apps (Gls) column, having once scored a last-minute equaliser Blackburn against Charlton only to concede at the other end moments later.
