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England (League Two) ; Spain (Primera Division) ; Italy (Serie A)
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Barnsley Football Club are an English football league team, based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire and nicknamed the Tykes. The club was founded in 1887 as Barnsley St. Peter's. The height of their success was on April 24 1912, when they beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 at Bramall Lane to win the FA Cup. They also reached the final in 1910 but lost to Newcastle United at Goodison Park. Both results came in replays after draws at Crystal Palace.
Barnsley currently compete in the Championship after promotion was secured at the end of the 2005-06 season by beating Swansea City 4-3 on penalties in the play-off final, after a 2-2 draw.
Although Barnsley have never been one of England's greatest playing sides, they have produced some fine talents over the years who have gone on to achieve great things at other clubs. The most notable of these is Tommy Taylor, who was a prolific goalscorer for Barnsley in the early 1950s and went on to win two league titles with Manchester United (as well as scoring 16 times in 19 England internationals) before losing his life in the Munich air disaster. Taylor's move to Manchester United was for a then world-record fee of £29,999.
Famous fans of Barnsley include Dickie Bird and Darren Gough from the cricket world, as well as television personalities Michael Parkinson and Sam Nixon. Barnsley's mascot is a Bulldog called 'Toby Tyke', and the Club's match day programme is called the 'Oakwell Review'.
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The Long Hard Road to the Top (1960-1995)
Throughout the sixties and seventies Barnsley were only a shadow of the team they had once been, and this is remembered as the most disappointing period in the clubs history. They hovered around the Third and Fourth Division, unable to even break into the top two flights of English football. The club saw a resurgence in the late seventies though, managing to get themselves from Division Four back up to Division Two within two years. Two of the players who contributed to this success were future Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock and future Republic of Ireland international manager Mick McCarthy. Most important, though, was the arrival of player/manager Allan Clarke from the hugely successful Leeds United team of the seventies, who rebuilt and completely turned the team around. He was joined on the squad by his Leeds teammate Norman Hunter, who would also spend a few years as manager.
The eighties and early nineties saw the club once again establish themselves as a very strong Division Two side, as they had been in their early history, eventually reaching a position to once again start challenging for a place in the top tier for the very first time.
Promotion to the Premiership (1996/97)
After the end of the 1995/96 season several regular first team players left the club, including Andy Payton who was the leading goalscorer for the club. Manager Danny Wilson successfully acquired a number of signings in the summer that were to play huge roles, amongst these were the vastly experienced duo Neil Thompson and Paul Wilkinson, as well as youngster Matty Appleby.
Oakwell also gained an international flavour, as Jovo Bosancic and Trinidad and Tobagoan international Clint Marcelle were to sign, with Marcelle's work permit clearing just a couple of days prior to the Red's first game of the season, an away match at West Brom. Fortunately, Marcelle was cleared to play and scored the opening goal of the season in a 2-1 victory. Barnsley went on to equal their best start to a season by winning the next four games. Wilson then further improved the team by bringing in Scottish forward John Hendrie, who had partnered Wilkinson at Middlesbrough.
Bolton looked increasingly likely to win the league as the season progressed, the Reds played both games against the Trotters relatively early on in the season, with the two games both resulting in 2-2 draws. As the season neared its closing stages, it looked as if either Barnsley or Mark McGhee's Wolves would join Bolton.
In Barnsley's final home game of the season, a Yorkshire derby against Bradford, the team knew a win would be enough to secure promotion to the top tier of English football for the first time in the club's history. The side dominated the game, but led only 1-0 at half time thanks to a Paul Wilkinson goal. With only a few minutes remaining, Clint Marcelle, the man who had scored the opening goal of the season scored the Red's final goal at home. As the final whistle blew, the fans swarmed onto the pitch amid jubilant celebrations.
The team would lose their final game of the season 5-1 away at Oxford; however the joy of promotion would remain throughout the summer and the team would later go on to have an open-top bus celebration around the town, culminating at the town hall.
The Premiership Season (1997/98)
The joy of promotion and sense of achievement was mixed with the knowledge that much hard work would have to be done for the club to stay in the top flight. Neil Thompson and Paul Wilkinson left the club, with Wilson bringing in several international calibre players, Slovenian captain Ales Krizan, South African Eric Tinkler, Welshman Darren Barnard and for a club record fee of £1,500,000 Macedonian striker Georgi Hristov. Wilson also brought in a reserve keeper, German Lars Leese from Bayer Leverkusen.
The team got off to a dream start, with Neil Redfearn scoring a seventh minute goal in the Red's first game, a home contest against West Ham. Two second half goals however saw the Reds lose. The first victory of the season came away at Selhurst Park, where another goal from Reds skipper Neil Redfearn secured a 1-0 victory.
This was followed by a bad run of results, including 6-0 and 5-0 home defeats to Chelsea and Arsenal respectively, alongside a 7-0 thrashing against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Despite this fans continued to enjoy every moment, after going 6 down against Chelsea Barnsley supporters could be heard singing, "We're going to win 7-6".
Wilson moved to strengthen the squad and signed attacking duo Ashley Ward from Derby and Jan Age Fjortoft from Sheffield United. Wilson further strengthened the squad by signing central defender Peter Markstedt. One of the highlights of the season was to follow as Barnsley gained a measure of revenge for their 7-0 defeat at Old Trafford. After being drawn against Manchester United in the FA Cup the team played admirably to secure a 1-1 draw. There were also claims for a Barnsley penalty late on after Gary Neville apparently brought down Barnsley striker Andy Liddell in the box. In the replay at Oakwell, two goals by Barnsley youth team graduate Scott Jones and a goal for John Hendrie were able to dump Manchester United out of the cup 3-2. Barnsley would go on to lose 3-1 away at Newcastle.
Another of the highlights of the season was a 1-0 victory at Anfield against Liverpool, with an Ashley Ward goal being the difference between the two sides. It was the return fixture at Oakwell however, which will be remembered for longer. After a good run of results for Barnsley, hopes were emerging that the team could avoid relegation. With the scores at 1-1 referee Gary Wilard sent off Barnsley players Darren Barnard and Chris Morgan. Liverpool then took the lead 2-1; the crowd was in a hostile mood yet were not out of control. Then, for no apparent reason Wilard left the pitch without informing his assistants as to why. After a short break Wilard returned and Barnsley were able to create an equaliser. In the last few seconds of the game Wilard sent off another Barnsley player, Darren Sheridan, and Liverpool were able to score a winner from the resulting free kick.
The results went downhill and Barnsley only won one of their final nine games, a 2-1 victory over local rivals Sheffield Wednesday. Barnsley were relegated after a 1-0 defeat at Leicester and played their final game of the season at home against Manchester United, which they would lose 2-0. In the summer to follow manager Danny Wilson was to depart for Sheffield Wednesday, a bitter blow for the club.
Relegation to Division 2 (2001/02)
The season started with Barnsley making a pre-season trip to Tenerife under boss Nigel Spackman who brought in fresh faces Kevin Donovan, Dean Gorré and Kevin Gallen, with Neil Shipperley and Martin Bullock departing the club. The division was particularly interesting as it contained three other teams from South Yorkshire, meaning the derby games against Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United would play an important part in final standings.
The first game of the season was an away visit to freshly relegated Bradford, with the Reds suffering a humiliating 4-0 defeat, including goals by ex-Barnsley player Ashley Ward and former Sheffield Wednesday player Benito Carbone. This was to set a tone for Barnsley who would not pick up a victory away from home until they played bottom of the table Stockport on Boxing Day. The following game at home against Nottingham Forest was more positive as the Reds would walk away 2-1 winners. After a mediocre start with Barnsley reaching eleventh by mid-September results started to go downhill and the team would find themselves hovering around the relegation zone. Following a 3-1 defeat to Wednesday at Hillsborough Spackman and coach Derek Fazackerley were both sacked. Caretaker manager Glynn Hodges won his first game in charge 3-2 against West Brom, however two 3-0 defeats followed against Manchester City and Watford.
Then Rochdale boss, Steve Parkin, was appointed full time manager on November 9. After a poor start of just one point from the first three games Parkin brought in midfielder Gary Jones who had been captain at Rochdale. The Reds then faced the return fixture against Sheffield Wednesday, just six weeks after the away game had ended the tenure of Nigel Spackman. Barnsley played with new found passion, as they went on to comfortably beat the Owls 3-0. This was the start of a strong December, where Barnsley went undefeated, picking up 4-1 victories against Walsall and Gillingham at home, a 3-1 victory away at Stockport as well as gaining valuable points from away draws against Sheffield United and Rotherham. Barnsley were not to be defeated in the league until February 16th where they were to lose away to Birmingham, an undefeated streak of twelve games, including a 3-3 draw at home to Bradford, where Ashley Ward would again score twice against his former employers late in the game, costing Barnsley two points that would prove vital at the end of the season.
Results went downhill, and Barnsley were dragged back into the mire, with Barnsley's away form being particularly terrible the Reds were reliant upon home victories to get valuable points. Despite a battling effort it came down to the final home game of the season, with Barnsley needing a victory against Norwich to stave off relegation. On April 13th Barnsley lost 2-0, and were relegated outside the top two flights of English football for the first time in over twenty years. Barnsley finished with a victory away at Wimbledon, only their second away win all season.
The Division Two Years (2002-2005)
Barnsley's troubles in fighting administration were matched by their struggles on the field. A poor pre-season campaign saw Barnsley's only victory come against Worksop Town. Barnsley started their second division lives in poor form, losing away at Swindon and conceding a late equaliser at home to Cheltenham. Barnsley's form continued to be poor and after a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Danny Wilson's Bristol City side Parkin was sacked, with Glynn Hodges appointed as caretaker manager. Barnsley's form continued to be mixed, however Barnsley were in a position to secure their position and prevent relegation for a second successive season with their final home game of the season against Brentford. After a goalless 92 minutes Isaiah Rankin scored a dramatic injury time winner, meaning Barnsley could travel to promoted Wigan knowing they were secure.
The following summer was a time of confusion, with Gudjon Thordarson ultimately ending up as manager, the first manager from outside the UK to become Barnsley manager. Barnsley were only given permission to play in the league 24 hours before their first game of the season. Thordarson brought in a number of players, including goalkeeper Sasa Ilic, Tony Gallimore, Peter Handyside and Craig Ireland. Barnsley started the season with a 1-0 victory over Colchester. Barnsley continued to play well and made their best start to a season since their promotion to the Premiership, occupying top spot on occasions. Results continued to go well and Barnsley maintained hopes of an automatic promotion spot, and at the least a play-off position. Barnsley swooped to sign Manchester United player Daniel Nardiello on loan, and he made an immediate impact just hours later in a 3-0 home win against Blackpool, scoring two goals. However, after only one win in January and February Thordarson was sacked after a humiliating 6-1 defeat away at Grimsby. Paul Hart was brought in as manager, however he was unable to push Barnsley into promotion contenders, and Barnsley finished in twelfth position, with only four victories since December.
Hart started a summer clear out, and 12 players left the club. Hart did not hesitate to bring in fresh faces, with Barry Conlon, Tom Williams, Nick Colgan Paul Reid and Stephen McPhail all looking to be key signings. Nardiello was also brought back to the club on a season long loan. A poor start saw Barnsley slip down to 20th in the league at the start of September, and Hart moved to sign Michael Chopra on loan from Newcastle. Barnsley continued to hover around the relegation places until December, where they won four and drew one of their five games, the draw coming after they had led Stockport 3-0 with 50 minutes played, and ending up 3-3. Barnsley's form dipped and after a poor February Hart was sacked, despite his final game in charge being a 4-1 victory over Torquay. Academy coach Andy Ritchie was named temporary manager. He started well, and earned the manager of the month accolade for March, his first month in charge. Barnsley finished strongly, despite a 5-0 loss away to Port Vale and finished in 13th.
Just a quick note - the opening few posts will be in third person, but the majority of the story will be based in first person
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Tommy Callaghan sat with his head in his hands, and a distressed look on his face. He had watched his Histon side win promotion to the Conference National just a few short months ago, and now he sat in his office and watched the ninth player from that campaign make his way out of the club. Financial troubles, coupled with a chairman who lacked ambition had driven many players away, including stalwart striker Neil Kennedy, who had over 300 goals for the club, and Tommy didn't know what to do. He had a job offer himself, and his chairman's attitude was almost forcing him out. He had thought long and hard, and despite the fact he had been at the helm for the four promotions, he felt the change was necessary. He picked up the card with the telephone number on, and dialled as quickly as he could
"Hello Gordon, it's Tommy.."
Just an hour later, and Tommy Callaghan was in his office, filling a box full of his belongings ready for his new job. What a job it was too. A Championship club. A former Premiership club, albeit for one season, but maybe Tommy could make them again.
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He got home that night and looked out the ground on the internet. A capacity of 23,186 was something he had never experienced before, and he couldnt wait to be a part of it. Barnsley was a lovely little place in the heart of Yorkshire, and the challenge Tommy would face to keep them in the Championship would be something that would test his mettle as a football manager. He had enjoyed success at Histon, of that, there could be no doubt. The Championship was a completely different kettle of fish though, a much higher level, with better teams, better players, and more often than not, better opposition. Yes, it is fair to say that Tommy Callaghan has a gigantic challenge awaiting him
The next morning, as he was about to step into his car, Tommy Callaghan turned to take one last look at his home of the last few years. He had enjoyed some great times there, and who knows, maybe one day he would be back here with Histon as a League club. Still, now he had a new challenge to focus on, and as he got ready to travel North a smile crept across his face. This could be fun, and it would certainly be a challenge to savour
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It was nearly half past two that afternoon when Tommy saw Oakwell in the distance. From afar, it looked like a bit of a dump, but inside Tommy knew it would be better. Gordon Shepherd was a lifelong friend of his, and he knew he had invested everything he had into Barnsley. Tommy also knew that the Chairman was taking a major risk by employing him as manager. The simple fact is that he was unknown among the majority of Barnsley followers, and many other clubs, so he would have a lot of work to do to win them round. The only way to do that is by winning football matches and meeting the expectations of the fans
The necessities were all completed that evening, and with the contract signed without hitches, Tommy and Gordon headed to the chairman's office for a very special bottle of Glenfiddich that had been saved for 8 years. The two Scotsman sat talking for hours, before finally departing just after midnight to get a good nights sleep before the next day's activities
I headed into the ground on my first official day on the job to have the club information sheets thrust into my hands. With a media prediction of 23rd, I was obviously not a favourite to keep the Tykes in the Championship, but I was certainly determined to try my best. The stadium was an average size, a full house would contain 23,186 fans, and with an average age of the squad a nice, round 26, I was happy with the way things were shaping up
The reports from the coaches made for surprisingly good reading for me, as they reported that we had several decent players within the ranks at the club. It would be fair to call it a league of nations, with 9 different nationalities occupying the first team squad
At the top of the pitch, it seemed a straight choice to me, with Nick Colgan and Heinz Muller the 'keepers. Colgan had years of experience around the lower leagues, while Muller was a new recruit, but I was sure that both of them had the ability to succeed at this level
The defence was a different matter altogether. The experienced Rob Kozluk was first choice for the right back slot, with Marciano Bruma his back-up. On the opposite side, Dominik Werling looked like he would be the main man, with Denis Souza providing the excellent cover. In the middle was where we looked the strongest, with the club captain Paul Reid and Steve Foster the likely candidates for the starting berths, although I knew that Bobby Hassell and on loan Derby defender Lewin Nyatanga would push them close
In midfield, I was looking to play with two wide men, and the obvious choices to me seemed to be Jamal Campbell-Ryce on the right, and Brian Howard on the left, but the coaches disagreed, with their preferred choices being Martin Devaney and Rohan Ricketss. In the middle of the park, we were quite light on options, with Andy Johnson and the experienced Grant McCann the starters, although only Sam Togwell was a back-up for them
The attacking options for us were possibly the strongest, with four strikers who were all capable of finding the net. My first choices were Miguel Mostto, the Peruvian who looked too good for the Championship, and Hungarian Istvan Ferenczi, but I was sure that Kim Christensen and Kayode Odejayi could provide a healthy competition for the starting spots
The squad, although possessing some talent, could really do with some extra strength in depth, but with the financial situation as it was, it seemed that loans and free transfers were the way to go. I expected to be sending my scouts out straightaway to find some capable targets for the team, but on the whole I was happy with what I had at my disposal
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