 He scored in six successive league games between October and December 1988, and went on to make over 40 league appearances, scoring 13 times, in two seasons at Swindon.He joined Bournemouth for a fee of £110,000 in March 1989, though he failed to settle and after only 14 games in which he failed to score, was sold to Northampton Town for £70,000.Barnes managed to star despite Northampton being relegated, and with Tony Adcock formed a successful striking partnership, Barnes scoring 37 times in 98 league games for the Cobblers.