Leon Barnett

Three days later, he made a starting appearance in a 1–0 away defeat to Reading in the League Cup second round, but was substituted in the 55th minute and replaced by Keith Keane.

He featured as a 74th-minute substitute for Markus Heikkinen as Luton were defeated 5–3 at home to Premier League club Liverpool in the FA Cup third round, a match they led 3–1.

Leon Peter Barnett (born 30 November 1985) is an English former professional footballer.

A defender, he primarily played as a centre-back, but also played as a full-back, central midfielder and striker.

He began his career with Luton Town where he made his professional debut.

He joined Luton Town in 2002 and progressed through their youth system.

During the 2002–03 season, he made his first-team debut for the club at the age of 16, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute for Marvin Johnson in a 2–0 away win over Woking in the Football League Trophy on 22 October 2002, but failed to feature again during the season.

He featured twice in the Football League Trophy and once in the FA Cup during the 2003–04 season, but was still yet to make a league appearance for the club.

He signed a professional contract on 27 September 2004, one day before making a starting appearance in a 2–0 away defeat to Swansea City in the Football League Trophy, during which he was shown a red card after only 12 minutes for a foul on Adrian Forbes.

On 18 November 2004, Barnett joined Southern League Premier Division club Aylesbury United on a one-month loan.

He made his debut for the side in a 3–1 home defeat to Histon two days later.

His final appearance was in a 2–0 away defeat to Merthyr Tydfil on 18 December 2004.

He made a total of six appearances for the club.

After the expiration of his loan at Aylesbury, Barnett returned to Luton, but failed to make any further appearances during the season.

He was however named in the matchday squad for the 2–1 away win over Wrexham on 23 April 2005, which was enough to guarantee Luton the League One title.

Barnett began the 2005–06 season by making his Football League debut as a 90th-minute substitute for Russell Perrett in a 1–0 away win over Hull City on 17 September 2005.

Barnett was subsequently not included in Luton's matchday squads until 29 October 2005, when he came on as a 62nd-minute substitute for Chris Coyne in a 1–0 away defeat to Coventry City.

During the month of April, Barnett featured in the final five matches, to finish the season with a total of 22 appearances in all competitions, with Luton finishing in 10th place in the 2005–06 Championship table.

On the opening day of the 2006–07 season, Barnett scored his first professional goal in a 2–0 home win over Leicester City.

Two weeks later, he scored a header, his second professional goal in a 2–2 draw with Stoke City on 19 August 2006.

After a brief loan spell with non-League side Aylesbury United, he established himself in the first team at Luton and made 70 appearances in all competitions before signing for West Bromwich Albion in 2007 for an initial fee of £2.5 million.

In his first season with Albion, he helped the club win promotion to the Premier League by winning the 2007–08 Championship.

Barnett continued to feature on the substitute's bench at the start of 2007, until he briefly broke into the first team, making starting appearances in a 3–3 draw with Cardiff City, a 3–2 home win over Championship leaders Reading, their first defeat since the opening day of the season, prior to a 2–1 away defeat to Leeds United.

Barnett featured in all but seven league matches, making 43 appearances in all competitions and scoring three times, but could not prevent Luton from being relegated to League One after a 1–0 away defeat to Derby County on 20 April 2007.

He won the Luton Town Player of the Season award, voted for by the club's supporters.

Barnett completed a move to Championship club West Bromwich Albion on 26 July 2007 on a four-year contract for an initial fee of £2.5 million.

The fee would rise by a further £250,000 depending on appearances and the club would have to pay Luton a further £250,000 should they gain promotion to the Premier League.

Barnett made his debut for the club in a 2–1 away defeat to Burnley on the opening day of the 2007–08 season.

He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 away win over Scunthorpe United on 22 September 2007.

His performance in a 2–1 away win over Leicester City on 8 December 2007 earned him a place in the Championship Team of the Week.

He started in a 2–0 away win over Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the season, which was enough to guarantee West Brom the Championship title.

As a result, this triggered a promotion clause which was agreed with his former club Luton, thus the latter received an add-on of £250,000 from his transfer.

He later lost his place in the side due to injury and loss of form, spending the majority of the 2009–10 season on loan with Coventry City.

He joined Norwich City on loan in 2010 before completing a permanent transfer in January 2011.

His first season with the club led to a second career promotion from the Championship after finishing as runners-up.

He appeared sporadically over the following two seasons and was loaned to Cardiff City in the final months of the 2012–13 season before being sold to Wigan Athletic at the end of the campaign.

He made nearly 100 appearances for the club, winning League One during the 2015–16 season.

He finished his career with spells at Bury and Northampton Town after being forced to retire at the age of 32 due to a heart condition.

He subsequently launched his own football academy.

Barnett began playing at the age of 13 as a right sided midfielder for local team Bushmead Wanderers, competing against boys a year older than himself.