Barry Silkman, is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 who had a brief spell in midfield at Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

 in 1979 and a longer one at Leyton Orient

Leyton Orient F.C.

Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...

 (1981–1985).

Playing career

Silkman also played for Hereford United

Hereford United F.C.

Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...

 (1974–1976), Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace F.C.

Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

 (1976–1978), Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle F.C.

Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

 (1978–1979), Luton Town

Luton Town F.C.

Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...

 (on loan 1979), Brentford

Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

 (1980), Queens Park Rangers

Queens Park Rangers F.C.

Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

 (1980–1981), Southend United

Southend United F.C.

Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...

 (1985–1986) and Crewe Alexandra

Crewe Alexandra F.C.

Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...

 (1986).

It was at Plymouth that he first came to the attention of Malcolm Allison

Malcolm Allison

Malcolm Alexander Allison was an English football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Mal", he was one of English football's most flamboyant and intriguing characters because of his panache, fedora and cigar, controversies off the pitch and outspoken nature.Allison's managerial potential become...

, who deemed him to be a suitable player to bolster Manchester City's midfield as they struggled in the First Division.

He was the last British-born Jewish footballer to play professionally in the English top division. Maccabi Tel Aviv, one of Israel's top clubs, took him on loan in January 1980. At the time foreign players could not play in the Israeli league, but Silkman's Jewish faith meant that, according to the Law of Return

Law of Return

The Law of Return is Israeli legislation, passed on 5 July 1950, that gives Jews the right of return and settlement in Israel and gain citizenship...

, he was eligible for immediate Israeli citizenship. However, on hearing that this would also mean that he would have to serve in the Israeli army, he decided to leave and return to Manchester City.

Football agent

Silkman, in his early career as an agent, handled the affairs of several well-known players, including Mark Schwarzer and Lucas Neil, who he brought over to England as unknown players.

He has represented and negotiated transfers with some of the world's biggest football clubs, including Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Spurs and Real Madrid.

Notoriously secretive Silkman has worked on many occasions with super agent Pinhas Zahavi, including Eyal Berkovic, Yakubu and Geremi, to name but a few. More recently, Silkman was also instrumental in both Demba Ba and Thomas Hitzlsperger arriving at West Ham.

External links

• Barry Silkman Profile on www.uit.no/mancity/players