Burnley spell rubbed salt in the Plymouth Argyle wound with Ashley Barnes | OneFootball

Ashley Barnes wasn't given the opportunity to prove himself at Home Park, and left the Greens ruing their decision years later

Watching Ashley Barnes bouncing off defenders week after week at Turf Moor must have been a bittersweet watch for Plymouth Argyle fans over the past decade, as one of their own carved out a career at the highest level of the game.

Having come up through the ranks at Home Park, the frontman barely got a chance to get going before leaving for Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer of 2010.

With over 150 appearances for the Seagulls, the striker made a name for himself on the south coast, before a move to Lancashire saw him become a regular in a side that bounced between the top two tiers of English football.

All the while, the Greens were having to work their way back from near-oblivion, and would have been left ruing the decision not to put their faith in the academy graduate before he caused mayhem higher up the football pyramid.

Plymouth Argyle rejection spurs Ashley Barnes on to future success

Having been given his debut as a 17-year-old against Wycombe Wanderers in the League Cup, there would have been many who expected Barnes to kick on in the years to come, but the Home Park hierarchy had different ideas.

A succession of loan spells in non-league saw the striker having to bide his time for first-team football in Devon, before Paul Sturrock gave him an opportunity to impress in the second-half of the 08/09 campaign.

A first goal for the club in a 4-0 win over Coventry City looked to have got his professional career up and running, but with Sturrock given the boot the following December, the Argyle youth product was immediately knocked down several pegs by the incoming Paul Mariner.

Just weeks after the former England international’s arrival, Barnes was sent on loan to Torquay United in League Two, before Brighton borrowed him for the remainder of the 09/10 campaign from March onwards.

Little did anyone know then, that the move along the South Coast would become a permanent affair with four goals in eight games proving to Mariner exactly what he could do, with the Seagulls only to happy to sign him up during the following summer.

That rejection at Home Park wrangled Barnes, with the current Norwich City man opening up on his time at Home Park to Plymouth Live years after his departure: "I went to Torquay but that was a loan that was full of false hope. It helped to make me a better player. I ended that quite quickly.

"Eastbourne Borough was the one for me, it was an amazing time and I was playing for a little bit under Paul Sturrock before I started to go on loan and there was another change in manager when Paul Mariner came in.

"That was one person’s opinion, he didn’t rate me and didn’t think that I was right for football, but you look where I am now. I think I have proved him wrong, that is for sure.

"Of course (I used it as motivation), especially because Paul Mariner was a striker as well. But for one reason or another, he didn’t fancy me," said Barnes.

"But like I said that is just one guy's opinion but a few managers I had there before him thought highly of me and they helped me when I was there and helped me improve as a player.

"Unfortunately, because one person came in, it didn’t quite happen like that, but that is part and parcel of football and when you are young you need to learn, you need to grow up and you need to find your feet.”

Ashley Barnes thrives after Brighton move while Plymouth Argyle plummet

That carelessness in neglecting one of their own would come back to haunt Argyle in the years to come, with Barnes immediately finding his feet in his new surroundings, with 18 goals in his first full season with the club, as Albion waltzed to the League One title.

A strike on his return to Home Park will have felt sweet for a player who was proving just what he could do when given the opportunity, while Argyle were on the way towards a second straight relegation.

From the second tier to the fourth in the blink of an eye, Argyle were left battling for their EFL status for the years to come, while Barnes had already earned himself a return to the second tier, and was keen to take the opportunity with both hands.

The goals and all round contribution in the final third continued despite the step-up in quality, as successive seasons with goal contributions in double figures seeing Albion reached the Championship play-offs in the 12/13 campaign.

Still just 23-years-old heading into the following season, Barnes had already racked up 150 appearances for the Seagulls, and looked destined for the top before too long.

January 2014 comes along, and Sean Dyche is only too happy to make Barnes a Burnley player, with the forward fitting the bill for what the current Everton boss wants from his man up top.

Putting his body around all over the shop, bringing others into play, and disrupting the opposition defence as much as possible; these are things Barnes does with aplomb, with his mid-season arrival helping his new employers reach the Premier League for the first time in five years.

200 Premier League appearances later, and the former Argyle star has had quite the career in the top flight, with the Clarets even getting into Europe following a seventh-placed finish in the 17/18 campaign.

But while Barnes was netting at Anfield and Old Trafford, Argyle were left trying to rebuild from scratch, having come within hours of complete desolation due to their money issues at the time.

How they could have done with a homegrown talent ready to give his all for the club; selfless in the final third, as well as having a clinical eye for goal himself, who knew exactly what playing for Argyle meant.

They did have it, and they let it go, as Barnes followed the likes of Dan Gosling, Jack Stephens, and Joe Mason out the club during the time, although his feelings towards his first professional club won’t be the same as those given the chance to prove themselves in green, as he seized his chance to make a name for himself elsewhere.

The Greens only had themselves to blame for not giving the striker the opportunities during his time at the club, and will regret not putting their faith in youth when the side needed to rely on the stars of tomorrow the most.