Matthew Barnes-Homer

Matthew Barnes-Homer

Nomadic Matthew Barnes-Homer was born in Dudley just south of Wolverhampton, which is where he started his career in Football, joining the Wolves academy, but being released in 2004 without a senior appearance for the club. 

Barnes-Homer decided to start his footballing career in New York at the Syracuse Salty Dogs, prior to moving back to England to commence his career from the lower rungs of the English Football pyramid, joining Aldershot Town. Moves to Hednesford Town, Bromsgrove Rovers, Tividale, Willenhall Town before his first foray into the Football League after a successful trial with Wycombe Wanderers, his taste of League football would be short lived, being released at the end of the 2006/07 season with Wycombe failing to reach the League 2 playoffs. 

Back into Non-League, Barnes-Homer was snapped up by Kidderminster Harriers, where he showed off his goalscoring prowess. During the 2007/08 season, Barnes-Homer had scored just 6 goals, but his all action displays earned him a year extension, repaying the faith by notching 21 goals for the Harriers the next season. Continuing his fine goal scoring form into the 2009/10 season, drew the attention of Luton Town, who were newly in the National League and looking to recruit the best in the league, so they could make a quick return to League 2. 

Richard Money, having to move on Andy Burgess to make space in the squad for Barnes-Homer, finalised a deal in November 2009, which brought the latter to Luton initially on loan, with a permanent deal slated for the January window, thought to be in the region of £75,000. The rest of the 2009/10 season was plagued by poor form following his initial period on loan, with Richard Money confirming that a family bereavement had affected Barnes-Homer's form. However, the 2010/11 season started brighter for Barnes-Homer, finding his goal scoring boots, notching 5 goals in the opening 3 games, including a hat trick against Kettering, he finished the season as the Town's top scorer, albeit falling out of favour with manager Gary Brabin, who primarily used Barnes-Homer as a substitute, including during the Play Off final defeat to AFC Wimbledon. 

Although on the books for the beginning of the 2011/12 season, Barnes-Homer wasn't in Gary Brabin's plans, therefore he was loaned out to League 1 Rochdale for the first half of the season, where he struggled for game time, playing 5 games, scoring 1 goal. Upon his return to Luton, Barnes-Homer had his contracted mutually terminated, Following which, he joined Nuneaton Town before moving to Sweden to play for Ostersunds FK, where he played well enough to earn a move to Macclesfield Town ahead of the 2012/13 season. Moves to Forest Green and Cambridge followed with the latter being punctuated by a move to Tamworth for the second half of the 2013/14 season, as well as brief stints at Whitehawk and a return to Macclesfield, where he spent the 2014/15 season.

Barnes-Homer then began the nomadic phase of his footballing career with short stays at clubs as he moved down the football pyramid spending the 2015/16 season back at Aldershot, a loan back at Kidderminster Harriers, Farnborough, Wilmington Hammerheads, Brackley Town, Kettering Town, AFC Telford, Bromsgrove Sporting, Gloucester City and Hednesford Town. 

Barnes-Homer has dabbled with coaching, briefly being the assistant manager at Havant & Waterlooville.