“When you look back it puts a lot of pressure on your home life, as humans we want consistency, the same routine that comes with footballers, even in daily jobs people like consistency.”
Since leaving Cheltenham Town in 2019, former Robins forward Tyrone Barnett has moved around clubs in non-league football, but feels as though he has found a way to get the best out himself both on and off the pitch.
“When you’ve got to move on someone’s say so, I was 15-years deep into my career, so it was something my family and I were used to, I did most of the travel as they were settled in where we live now. It was more just me knowing my body and becoming a better traveller, I did a lot of travelling back and forth to home, it can be difficult if you don’t make time for the people that are the most important in your life.
“I’m 38 now so at the time when I got promoted, there were times I had to concentrate on not putting myself first and playing in the National League North meant a lot of travelling.
“Playing at step three last year for Leamington I was getting home sometimes at 6:30pm and I was like ‘this is wonderful’. I felt like this was probably the best level to stay at to minimise the distance, especially away games. In the National League North, it can be very challenging and very demanding.”
Barnett looked back on his time as a professional and described the differences he’s experienced in terms of preparation ahead of games.
“The workload, training everyday your body builds up muscle memory and for me, my first year as a professional was the hardest when it came to the strain I put my body through, but I was 24 at the time so I was young, fit and it didn’t have that much of an effect on me. I got fitter and better by playing football every day, which is a result of being full-time.
“Like anything in life, if you’re doing it day in, day out, you will get better at it and you’ll have the time to perfect your craft, to work on certain things you need to get better at and that isn’t as available when a lot of lads train in the nights.”
The Stourbridge forward spoke about his teammates’ workloads and his own experiences of managing their work schedules with training and playing to the best of their abilities.
“They’ve got really demanding jobs during the day, so sometimes it is difficult to get up for it and it might’ve been different for me if I had not had that experience as an 18, 19-year-old. If I just came out of academy football, then getting thrown into a job and then training at night might’ve been different, but for me it was a smooth transition because I did it at that age.”
Barnett acknowledged that he doesn’t know how long he has left playing football as he is turning 40 at the end of October, but has found a new lease of life at Stourbridge, scoring goals for fun since his move at the end of January.
𝐓𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝟑𝟗 🎶
— Stourbridge FC (@StourbridgeFC) March 8, 2025
An excellent display topped off by two quality goals saw Tyrone Barnett pick up today’s MOTM!
Well done, Ty 👏 pic.twitter.com/Lz1ugoEcoT
“My time at Alvechurch came to an end due to decisions out of my control as a player so I don’t know how long I have left playing football.
“Either that will be down to my choice or not being able to play at the level I want to, I want to dictate what level I play at. I want to play at the highest level possible in conjunction with my work and life commitments.”
“So, I was happy to get an opportunity to play for Stourbridge and its looking good, scored a few goals, more than I had done at Alvechurch and football works like that sometimes. Different players and environment, new lease of life. No one can really pinpoint why that is the case, but for me that is a good thing and I’m happy that I am able to carry on playing.”
