Barry Tucker

Barry Tucker

Personal information
Full name	William Barrington Tucker[1]
Date of birth	(1952-08-28) 28 August 1952 (age 72)
Place of birth	Swansea, Wales
Position(s)	Full back
Youth career
1970–1971	Northampton Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1971–1978	Northampton Town	214	(3)
1978–1982	Brentford	169	(5)
1982–1984	Northampton Town	63	(5)
Total		446	(13)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Barrington Tucker (born 28 May 1952) is a Welsh former professional footballer who made over 440 appearances as a full back in the Football League for Northampton Town and Brentford.

Career

Northampton Town

A full back, Tucker began his career at Fourth Division club Northampton Town in 1970.[1] After making his debut the following year, he went on to be a regular fixture in the team throughout the 1970s, making 214 league appearances and scoring three goals before departing the County Ground in February 1978.[1] A memorable moment was helping the club to promotion to the Third Division during the 1975–76 season,[2] though the Cobblers were relegated at the first attempt.[3]

Brentford

Tucker followed his former Northampton Town manager Bill Dodgin, Jr. to Fourth Division club Brentford in February 1978 in a £10,000 deal.[4] He went into the starting lineup at left back later that month and helped the Bees to promotion to the Third Division with a fourth-place finish at the end of the season.[5] He missed only five league games over the course of the 1978–79 and 1979–80 seasons and despite missing most of 1980–81 due to a contractual dispute,[4] he came back strong in 1981–82, making 38 league appearances and scoring four of the five goals he scored for the club.[6] After his seventh appearance of the 1982–83 season, Tucker departed Griffin Park.[6] He made 181 appearances and scored five goals in four-and-a-half years with Brentford.[6]

Return to Northampton Town

Tucker returned to Northampton Town in October 1982, with the club still rooted in the Fourth Division.[1] He made 63 league appearances and scored five goals before retiring from football in 1984.[1] Tucker made 302 appearances and scored 8 goals across his two spells with the Cobblers.[7]

Personal life

After his retirement from football, Tucker settled in Northampton and as of November 2013 was working for FG Metcalfe.[2]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Brentford	1977–78[5]	Fourth Division	18	0	—		—		18	0
	1978–79[5]	Third Division	43	0	1	0	2	0	46	0
	1979–80[5]		42	0	1	0	0	0	43	0
	1980–81[5]		23	1	1	0	0	0	24	1
	1981–82[5]		38	4	3	0	2	0	43	4
	1982–83[5]		5	0	—		2	0	7	0
Career total			169	5	6	0	6	0	181	5

Honours

Northampton Town

• Football League Fourth Division second-place promotion: 1975–76[2]

Brentford

• Football League Fourth Division fourth-place promotion: 1977–78[5]

References

General

• Barry Tucker at the English National Football Archive (subscription required). Retrieved 22 October 2013.

Specific

1. "Barry Tucker". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
2. "Where Are They Now? Northampton Town 1975–76 Division Four Runners Up". The League Paper. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
3. Northampton Town F.C. at the Football Club History Database
4. Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 288. ISBN 978-1906796709.
5. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 394–397. ISBN 0951526200.
6. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 163. ISBN 978-0955294914.
7. "Club records". www.ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2015.