Between the dynamic ticket pricing scandal and these two not making it on to the Ballon d’Or shortlist (what about Cristiano Ronaldo’s numbers in Saudi, guys?!), it’s fair to say that Football Daily and the rest of you were at a low ebb going into the international break. But then, a ray of hope amid the disgraces of Social Media Disgrace TwiXer. A post from The Cultras Pod emerged from the shadows, with nothing but a dream and a hashtag. #Barclaysmen was born, its mission clear: to cleanse the timeline with nostalgic compilations of early-2000s Premier League footballers set to music of the era. Neither the footballer or the music had to be good. In fact, if the footballers were too good, they are not Barclaysmen at all. Paul Scholes is not a Barclaysman. Neither is Thierry Henry. But James Beattie? Barclaysman. Yakubu? Barclaysman. Matty Taylor? Barclaysman. Hey, we don’t make the rules. Taylor is maybe even the quintessential Barclaysman, with a license to shoot from downtown whenever he wanted. Oh, for the days of a speculative shot! Pep, what have you done to us?! Sure, the terms “Prime Barclays” and “Pure Barclays” have been around for years and, admittedly, #Barclaysmen is basically just a Grant Holt-inspired rebranding of “The Streets Won’t Forget”. And yes, some have taken it too far – Fabio Borini’s compilation, set to Just Jack’s Starz in their Eyes, was an uncomfortable watch, while Brentford’s admin tried to get in on the act despite the fact the Bees only reached the Premier League in 2021. But don’t spoil this for us. This remains a good, wholesome thing. We just want something to watch, something to feel, while we’re stuck at the back of a Ticketmaster queue. A wise person named EM Hudson once said that people “can literally just sit around and name old sports players and just have the best time”. Amen to that. And especially if Hard to Beat by Hard-Fi is playing in the background. |