A former javelin thrower in his school days, Rory Delap's throw-ins were iconic during Tony Pulis's second Stoke City reign from 2006 to 2013.
Throughout those years, Stoke's Brittania Stadium became a fortress under Pulis and Delap's throw-ins caused havoc for opposition defenders.
So much so that on FIFA 11 on the PS2, Delap had a personalised long throw-in commentary and animation that only he had in the game. The FIFA 11 feature was a nod to the impact Delap had on the game at the time.
A former Irish international, Delap won 11 caps for the national team between 1998 and 2004 but his international career was hampered due to injuries resulting in a number of squad withdrawals.
Delap forger a career across the water with a whole host of clubs including Stoke, Southampton, Derby and Sunderland to name a few racking up an impressive 504 appearances throughout his club career chipping in with 33 goals.
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FIFA 11 Feature Brings Back Nostalgia
The nostalgia comes as the latest trend on Twitter sees people posting videos of iconic players and moments from the Barclays Premier League while using the hashtag #Barclaysman.
Delap is the king of Barclaysmen.
My word. Not sure a compilation has ever gone this hard. The ultimate #Barclaysmen — Rory Delappic.twitter.com/cmLac38Kiw
— Jack Kenmare (@jackkenmare_) September 9, 2024
Amidst the incredible nostalgia for the Premier League's greatest age, it's fascinating to remember that Delap's throw-ins even had their own special feature on FIFA 11 on PS2
All the #Barclaysman content I’ve seen reminded me of a niche feature on FIFA 11 on the PS2 where Rory Delap had a personalised long throw in commentary and animation that only he had in game. Ideal for recreating some prime Barclays action back in the day @thecultraspod pic.twitter.com/Z7YzpT923i
— Rhys Jones 🏴 (@Rhysj37) September 10, 2024
The Barclays Premier League era in the 00's seemed to produce a huge amount of memorable players and the FIFA games released each year seemed to cement a number of players legendary status among fans.
Those years were iconic and interest levels within the league began to peak, we've taken a look at some of the most memorable #Barclaysman tweets below. The videos bring a whole load of nostalgia flooding back to memory.
We had to jump on this trend with the most quintessential #Barclaysman of them all 😅
Morten Gamst Pedersen x The Subways 🎶#Barclaysmen | #Rovers 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/lb1dE6v6FE— Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) September 10, 2024
Glenn Whelan x Hey ya pic.twitter.com/1UgWp0mSoZ
— 🇮🇪 (@scfcethan) September 10, 2024
We need to be taken back to a time when there was less diving and time wasting and debates were fuelled by which player had produced the moment of the weekend. Nice to know Barclaysmen also thrived in video games
