Background
Barnes was born in Darlington and joined his home-town club in 1997.
Barnes was born in Darlington and joined his home-town club in 1997.
He joined West Auckland Town before the 2010-2011 season. Then known as Garry Williamson, he turned professional in 2000 and made his Football League debut for Darlington on 12 August 2000 as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw away at Rochdale. He made five more appearances in League Two, and four in cup competitions, and spent some time on loan at Northern Premier League club Spennymoor United.
At the end of the 2000-2001 season, Williamson turned down Darlington"s offer of a contract extension, preferring to move to the United States to take up a scholarship at Yavapai College, Arizona, where he led the 2001 offensive rankings for Division 1 of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
He began the next season at Tow Law Town, but joined West Auckland Town during the season, and was leading scorer for the club in 2008-2009. He joined Spennymoor Town for the 2009-2010 season, but left due to work commitments.
Barnes rejoined West Auckland in August 2010.