John Barnes

speaker

1,771 appearances 2 recordings 2 series first heard Jan 2026 last heard 18 Jun

John Barnes’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 2 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 1.

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Give up swimming.

Because my dad said, if you're going to do anything, authenticity, discipline, determination.

So a young boy in London, when my friends were all going out, at 15, I had to go running around Hyde Park.

I used to run up.

And I hated it.

I'm saying, why do I have to do this?

Not preparing to be a professional footballer.

But he says, if you're going to do anything, you do it with authenticity.

So by the time I went to Watford, because I was so disciplined.

Graham Taylor was really tough.

It's really hard.

And I wasn't being disciplined to be a professional footballer, going back to Jamaica.

But my dad said, this is what you've got to do, just in life.

So when I went to Watford as a 17-year-old, you had players who were apprentices who'd bring up through the system, and I wasn't.

I was able to be good at the running and everything, and the fitness.

We used to do gym work and stuff.

So I think that, forget about how good you are.

Your talent, yes, we've all got talent, but it's about your attitude and your commitment.

And that's what my dad stressed for me, always.

So I didn't find it hard, all of a sudden, 17, being in a professional environment.

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