Eric Barber

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Eric Barber (born January 18, 1942 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland) is a former Irish professional footballer.

He spent most of his career playing for Shelbourne in the League of Ireland with who he had three spells with from 1958-1966, 1971-75 and 1978-80, managing them during the 1979-80 season.

During his time with Shels, Barber scored a club record 126 league goals. He was part of Shels FAI Youth Cup winning side in 1959 and went on to win the league championship in 1962, and the FAI Cup in 1960 and 1963, beating Cork Hibernians 2-0 on both occasions. Barber scored in every round including the final in the 1960 cup win and in the 1962 cup final defeat to Shamrock Rovers. His goal in the 1960 final was a lob from almost forty yards.

Barber was capped once by the Republic of Ireland during his time with Shels in a World Cup qualifier in Spain.

In 1966, Barber signed for Birmingham City, but never became a regular. At the end of the 1966/67 season he was offered a chance to sign for Chicago Spurs in the National Professional Soccer League. After just two days in America, Barber scored twice on his debut at Oakland Clippers, and went on to finish third top scorer in the NPSL. At the end of the season the franchise moved and became Kansas City Spurs and Barber moved with them and finished second top scorer in the league that season.

Barber then moved on loan to Shamrock Rovers for the 1969-70 season as the Kansas City Spurs ran into financial difficulty and scored two goals in 2-1 win against Schalke 04 in the Cup Winners' Cup [1]. He made two appearances in Europe and went on to be the club's top goalscorer that season.

Then Barber got the offer of moving to Vienna to play for Wiener Sportsklub, but despite an impressive start with nearly a goal a game in his first eleven games, an injury and subsequent row about the treatment for it saw him eventually return to Dublin as Shels paid a IR£3,000 transfer fee for him. he played for Shels in their FAI Cup Final defeats in 1973 and 1975, being red-carded in the replay of the 1973 decider in Flower Lodge.

He was Rovers' assistant manager in the 1978/79 season.

[edit] Honours

League of Ireland Championship: 1
- Shelbourne - 1961/62

FAI Cup: 2
- Shelbourne - 1960 and 1963

[edit] Trivia

At the end of 2006, Barber is the ninth all time top scorer in the League of Ireland with 141 goals.
Barber was Shels top league scorer at the end of ten different seasons.