Lea Barkus

Lea Barkus (born 7 December 1974) is an English former footballer who played as forward for Reading and Fulham. He was forced to retire from the professional game at just 22 due to a persistent back injury.

Lea Barkus
Personal information
Date of birth (1974-12-07) 7 December 1974
Place of birth Reading, England
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Bracknell Cavaliers (youth coach)
Youth career
000?–1991 Reading
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1995 Reading 15 (1)
1995–1997 Fulham 9 (1)
Total 24 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Born in Reading, Barkus began his career in the Youth Training Scheme at his hometown club.[2] After progressing through the youth teams, he made his first team debut in March 1992 age 17 against Chester City and was awarded man-of-the match for his performance. A few weeks later he scored his first goal in the 6–1 win over Torquay United though soon after he began to suffer from persistent back problems.[3] He made a further 11 appearances during the 1992–93 season but failed to add to his goal tally and never made another appearance for the first team,[4] though he was part of the Reading reserve side that won the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup in 1994.[5]

Although he had not played for the Reading first team since the 1992–93 season, and with his back problems to continue to hamper him despite surgery, Barkus joined Fulham for £20,000 in 1995. He made 16 appearances during the 1995–96 season, scoring twice,[1] but did not feature again and in 1997 was forced to retire as a professional due to his back problems. He moved into non-league football and then coaching.[5] As of the 2013–14 season he is a youth coach with East Berkshire Football League side Bracknell Cavaliers.[6]

Career statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Reading 1991–92[3] Third Division 61000000 61
1992–93[4] Second Division 9010001[lower-alpha 1]0 110
1993–94[7] Second Division 00000000 00
1994–95[8] First Division 00000000 00
Total 151100010 171
Fulham 1995–96[1] Third Division 9130212[lower-alpha 1]0 162
Career total 242402130 333
  1. Appearance(s) in the Football League Trophy

Honours

References
  1. "Lea Barkus". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  2. "Lea Barkus". Reading F.C. Former Players' Association. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  3. "Reading 1991–92". royalsrecord.co.uk. Royals Record. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  4. "Reading 1992–93". royalsrecord.co.uk. Royals Record. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  5. Sedunary, Alan (7 December 2013). "Born Royal". Short stay. The Royal: Reading vs AFC Bournemouth. Reading F.C.
  6. "Club contacts 2013–14 season". Bracknell Cavaliers F.C. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  7. "Reading 1993–94". royalsrecord.co.uk. Royals Record. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  8. "Reading 1994–95". royalsrecord.co.uk. Royals Record. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
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