He signed for Fourth Division club Cambridge United, and after 18 months was sold for £3,000 to Conference side Barnet, managed by Barry Fry.
[4] Buckley was knocked unconscious in a clash of heads with Poole, required emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from the brain, and remained in a coma on life support for four days.
The next season Poole took over the captaincy after Liam Daish was sold to Coventry City, captaining the side in the League Cup semi-final against Leeds United.
He played 16 games for Charlton that season, but a knee injury sustained in a reserve team match put an end to his first-team career.
Still contracted to the club when they gained promotion to the Premier League the following season, he attempted a comeback in the reserves after more than a year out,[10] but never appeared in the top flight and retired in August 1999.