Giles Barnes played for Derby County between 2005 and 2009, making 95 total appearances for the club.
Giles Barnes is one of the few players to have played for Derby County in the Premier League, during that disastrous 2007/08 season under Billy Davies and Paul Jewell.
Paul Warne is now the man in charge at Pride Park. After Derby County’s draw against Plymouth Argyle last time out, Warne has the Rams sitting in a comfortable 12th place of the Championship table.
The season ahead remains one full of potential pitfalls, no less than when the Rams face Preston North End at Deepdale in their next fixture after the November international break.
But the dream of future Premier League football is alive. And one man who knows all about Premier League football at Pride Park is Barnes, who’s now 36 years old.
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What is former Derby County man Giles Barnes up to these days?
Derby County fans may feel old to know that Barnes is now 36, and that he left Derby County more than 15 years ago.
He was a youth player at the club and made his first-team debut under Phil Brown in 2005, going on to make 95 total appearances for the club and scoring 13 goals.
Barnes shone in the 2006/07 season, scoring eight Championship goals from midfield as the Rams earned promotion with Barnes being named the club’s Young Player of the Year.
He featured 21 times in the Premier League with Derby and scored once. Barnes though suffered with injuries, eventually leaving as a free agent in 2009 and joining West Brom.
The central midfielder spent a year-and-a-half with the Baggies before a spell with Doncaster Rovers, then spending four years with Houston Dynamo for whom he 132 total appearances and scored 32 goals.
Barnes then played for Vancouver Whitecaps, Orlando City, Mexican side Leon, and Colorado Rapids, finishing his career in India with Hyderabad in 2020.
Now, he’s an assistant coach with women’s team Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League in the US.
- READ MORE: Former Derby County favourite receives emotional send-off as he leaves club following six-year spell
Giles Barnes nets Derby County brace vs Manchester United
Barnes’ best Derby County moment arguably came at Old Trafford in the 2008/09 League Cup semi-final second leg, which the Rams went on to lose.
Nani scored a screamer for a star-studded Manchester United XI that included Cristiano Ronaldo, with Barnes scoring a penalty and a free-kick
The Barking-born former midfielder certainly enjoyed a prolific career which, if it weren’t for injuries, could still be going today.