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Speedy winger Les Barrett made his League début
for Fulham in a goalless home draw against Blackpool in January 1966 in a
season that saw the club struggling to avoid relegation to the Second
Division. Despite the Cottagers eventually losing their First Division
status in 1967/68, Barrett's performances on the flanks led to him winning
England Under-23 international honours against Greece. Disaster struck the
following season when the club went straight down into the Third Division
and though a number of top flight clubs showed an interest in him, nothing
materialised and Barrett remained at Craven Cottage. When the club won
promotion in 1970-71, Barrett was not only ever-present but was Fulham's
leading scorer with 15 goals. He was still with the club when they reached
Wembley in 1975 and won an FA Cup runners-up medal after they had been
beaten 2-0 by West Ham. Barrett whose accurate pin-point crosses created
numerous chances for his colleagues, also liked to cut inside and have a go
himself and in 491 League and Cup appearances for the Cottagers, he scored
89 goals. He left Craven Cottage in October 1977 to join Millwall for
£12,000 but after just eight league appearances for the Lions he headed for
the United States before returning to end his career with a spell as
player-coach of Woking. After working as a British Telecom engineer, he now
runs a garden centre in Earlsfield, south-west London.
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