He played over 100 times for Everton before joining Liverpool and winning four trophies at Anfield

Yesterday at 05:15 AM

Fans of Liverpool and Everton still have at least two Merseyside derbies to look forward to this season.

The Reds were meant to face the Toffees at Goodison Park on 7 December, but the Merseyside derby had to be postponed due to Storm Darragh.

Although Liverpool and Everton are at opposite ends of the table, form often goes out of the window when it comes to the derby.

But despite the fierce rivalry between the two Merseyside clubs, there have been numerous players who have played for both clubs over the years.

Indeed, 28 players have crossed the divide from one club to the other – at senior and youth level – since the start of the 20th century.

One of those players made over 100 appearances for Everton before joining Liverpool and winning four trophies at Anfield, including a cup treble.

The player in question is Nick Barmby, who played professional football between 1992 and 2012.

Born in Hull on 11 February 1974, Barmby began his football journey with Tottenham Hotspur in 1990.

He rose through the ranks at Spurs and broke into the first-team, making 106 competitive appearances for the club and registering 26 goals and 19 assists.

Barmby’s efforts for Tottenham saw Middlesbrough break their club record to sign him in June 1995 as they landed him for £5.25million.

Nick Barmby’s time at Everton and Liverpool

Less than 18 months later, Everton went on to make him their most expensive signing, paying Boro £5.75million to bring him to Goodison Park.

Barmby impressed for Everton as he clocked up 126 appearances, 21 goals and six assists for the Blues.

His form led to interest from Manchester United, but Liverpool ended up winning the race for Barmby as they paid Everton £6million for his services in 2000.

It was the first time since striker Dave Hickson in 1959 that Everton had sold a player to Liverpool, though six players had gone from Anfield to Goodison in that time.

Barmby ended up having a maiden season to remember at Liverpool as he helped Gerard Houllier’s side win the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.

Indeed, the winger scored a penalty kick in the shootout against Birmingham City in the League Cup Final.

Injury stopped Barmby from taking part in the FA Cup final, but he recovered in time to make the bench for the UEFA Cup final.

The next season, Barmby was in the starting XI as he helped Liverpool win the 2001 Charity Shield against Manchester United.

Barmby’s post-Merseyside career

However, injuries hampered the rest of Barmby’s time at Liverpool, and he was sold to Leeds United in August 2002 for a fee of £2.5million.

Sadly, he continued to be impacted by injuries at Elland Road as he only made 31 appearances over two years.

Barmby also took in a short loan spell at Nottingham Forest while on the books at Leeds, and in the summer of 2004, he joined hometown club Hull City on a free transfer.

His time at Hull was fruitful, spending the rest of his playing career at HU3 and clocking up 196 outings for the Tigers.

Barmby helped City to promotion from League One in his first season at the club and, three years later, helped them get promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history.

The 2010/11 season saw Barmby make his first steps into coaching as a player-coach at Hull and, in November 2011, he became player caretaker manager after Nigel Pearson left for Leicester City.

Barmby announced his retirement as a player on 6 January 2012 before being appointed manager permanently on 10 January, a role he held until the end of the season.

Though this was to prove his only job in management, Barmby spent time at Scunthorpe United as a coach in 2019.

Barmby also won 23 caps for England and was the first Three Lions player to score under Sven Goran Eriksson with the opening goal in a 3–0 friendly win against Spain at Villa Park.

He was also in the starting XI for the famous 5-1 win over Germany in 2002 World Cup qualifying in September 2001.

These days, Barmby continues to be involved with Hull City, making the club’s Hall of Fame last year and speaking at the launch of a Tigers museum exhibit in the city’s central library in November.