Hull City: Ambitious deal for 23-cap England international was a historic statement - View | OneFootball

Nick Barmby signing for his hometown club in 2004 was a major statement by Hull City

Every football club has its fair share of hometown heroes and as far as Hull City are concerned, Nick Barmby is right up there.

Often regarded as the finest player to hail from the East Yorkshire city, Barmby's career saw him feature as a long-standing Premier League performer for over a decade, but his impact on his boyhood club was seismic after joining on a free transfer in 2004.

The landscape of City as a club was a complete contrast to the present day, with it being so often noted that Hull was the biggest city in Europe to never host top-flight football at the time.

However, already backed by the ambitious Adam Pearson and with Peter Taylor at the helm, the capture of the former England international sent out a major statement from the club who'd only returned to League One for the first time since 1996 just months previous.

Nick Barmby addition was a signal of Hull City's intent

After years as a top-flight player with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Everton, and Leeds United, Barmby returned to his home city in the summer of 2004 following the West Yorkshire outfit's relegation from the Premier League.

"I've really wanted this move,"he stated. "I've always wanted to play for my hometown club."

"It's a fantastic move for me, and it shows I've still got a desire to play football because I'm putting myself in the firing line, but I'm really looking forward to it."

The man who featured 23 times for England, playing in Euro 96 encounters and the notorious 5-1 demolition of Germany in 2001, would have an immediate impact on City's continued rise.

He notched nine goals in 39 League One appearances, including a famous double against Sheffield Wednesday in a 4-2 victory at Hillsborough and the fastest goal in City's history against Walsall, as the club passed straight through the third tier and returned to Championship level for the first time in 14 years.

Hull were able to consolidate their second tier position in Taylor's final season with Barmby scoring five times in just 26 appearances, before finding his involvement limited throughout Phil Parkinson's limited tenure in charge between August and December 2006.

But, despite injury problems, he would once again find the net twice against Sheffield Wednesday and score a vital equaliser against Stoke City in April 2007 to aid the club's survival bid under Phil Brown, before those niggles continued into the historic 2007/08 season.

However, his impact against Watford in the Play-Off Semi-Finals was profound, netting the opener in a 2-0 away success, before all but ending the Hornets' dreams of a turnaround in the second leg with a crucial goal just before half-time at the MKM Stadium, securing an eventual first trip to Wembley for Tigers fans.

"That's the thing I've dreamt of doing since I was a kid. To see your family in the stands and to have all the Hull fans there will be amazing," the experienced man said before the North London success over Bristol City, courtesy of fellow Hullensian Dean Windass' remarkable volley.

“When I first signed for the club myself and Adam Pearson sat down to discuss the club and the momentum was already building then. We spoke a couple of times and I will always remember we said that one day Hull City would be in the Premier League," Barmby stated 10 years later.

After promotion to the top flight was secured, Hull were immediately made favourites for relegation.

Barmby featured in the club's maiden appearance in the division against Fulham on August 16th 2008 but missed out on the majority of games during City's barnstorming adaptation to the Premier League, which included landmark victories at Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

However, he recorded his first top-flight goal since May 2003 with a neat finish in a 4-1 home defeat to Sunderland.

Hull struggled massively for form after the turn of the year however, but managed to retain their Premier League status at Newcastle United's expense, with the former international present in all but one fixture from March onwards, subsequently being handed a new contract.

However, the Tigers' stint in the Premier League came to an end the following year, with Barmby making just 20 appearances.

The arrival of Nigel Pearson in the summer of 2010 brought some much-needed stability to Hull on the pitch amid boardroom uncertainties, with Barmby returning to form under the experienced boss with five goals and two assists in 31 Championship appearances - his highest tally since 2005.

The last of his 32 goals in Black and Amber came in the form of a winning goal in a 2-1 scoreline over Cardiff City in October 2011, just weeks before Pearson returned to Leicester City in controversial fashion.

This saw Barmby initially take the reins on an interim basis and defeat his former boss 2-1 at the MKM Stadium, before being appointed as permanent manager in January 2012.

Hull were always on the periphery of the play-offs, but a nosedive in form between March and April saw the club eventually finish seven points short before Barmby was dismissed after a dispute with the Allam family.

"They thought I said something detrimental to the club which, if you read the press release afterwards," he revealed in 2022.

"Would I have liked a nice ending to say farewell? Yes, but sometimes you don't get that in life and I don't hold any grudge in the fact what happened, happened, and we got on with our lives."

"At the end of the day, sometimes great things happen in life and sometimes they don't. We moved on and to be fair, Steve Bruce came in. There was an FA Cup final, Europe and it was brilliant," Barmby added.

Regardless of the success that followed the ending of his association with the club, Barmby's contribution to the club's rise in the 2000s was acknowledged with an induction into the Hall of Fame in January 2024, and he continues to be held in such high regard by those who saw him don the Black and Amber on 197 occasions.