Barnsley F.C.

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Barnsley
Barnsley F.C. logo
Full name Barnsley Football Club
Nickname(s) The Tykes, The Reds
Founded 1887 (as Barnsley St. Peter's)
Ground Oakwell, Barnsley
(Capacity 23,009[1])
Chairman Vacant
Manager Flag of Wales Simon Davey
League The Championship
2007-08 The Championship, 18th
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Home colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Away colours
Current season

Barnsley Football Club is an English football club, based in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and nicknamed the Tykes, with Toby Tyke being their mascot. The club was founded in 1887 as Barnsley St. Peter's. They currently play 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.

Contents

[edit] Brief Facts

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 have spent more seasons in the second tier of English football than any other club in history, and have developed some fine talents over the years who have gone on to be successful 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.

They gained promotion to the Championship after four seasons in League One in 2006 after beating Swansea City in the Playoff final after a 4-3 penalties win after extra time.

In the 2008 FA Cup, they reached the Semi-Final stage at Wembley but unfortunately lost out to Cardiff City having beaten Liverpool and Chelsea in earlier rounds.

[edit] History

[edit] Past times

Barnsley FC was established in 1887, playing in the Sheffield and District League from 1890 and then in the Midland League from 1895. They joined the Football League in 1898, and struggled in Division Two for the first ten years, due in part to ongoing financial difficulties. In 1910 the club reached the FA Cup final, where they lost out to Newcastle in a replay match. However, they would then reach the 1912 FA Cup Final where they would defeat West Brom 1-0 in a replay to win the trophy for the first and only time in their history.

The club were never quite able to reach the top division in the early years, although they came very close on a number of occasions such as in 1922 where they missed promotion on goal difference decided by a single goal. From the thirties up to the fifties the club found themselves sliding between the Second and Third Division, and in the sixties and seventies they hovered around the Third and Fourth Division, not able to break back into the top two levels of English football.

The eighties and early nineties saw the club get back on track, earn promotion and once again establish themselves as a 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.

[edit] Modern times

Over the past decade Barnsley have experienced a number of highs and lows as a football club. At the end of the 1996-97 season Barnsley reached the top tier of English football for the first time in their history. However, they were relegated the following season despite their efforts.

In the following years Barnsley were not as successful, with relegation to Division Two and administration both threatening the existence of the club. Barnsley suffered greatly due to the ITV Digital crisis, resulting in the club going into administration in 2002. A late purchase from Barnsley's Mayor, Peter Doyle, saved the club from folding. Doyle has since left the club, leaving Gordon Shepherd and local businessman Patrick Cryne in control. There has also been a rapid turnover of managers, with no less than ten managers in the same number of years.

Barnsley had the distinction of playing in the play-off final at Wembley before the stadium was closed for redevelopment,[1] and in 2006 won in a play-off final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, where they beat Swansea City 4-3 on penalties (2-2 after extra-time) to earn promotion to the Championship. The manager at this time was Andy Ritchie, who was in his first season in charge after replacing Paul Hart.

The team struggled in their first season back in the Championship. In November 2006, with Barnsley in the relegation zone, Ritchie was sacked in favour of Simon Davey. Davey managed to steer the team away from relegation in the second half of the season, and eventually finishing in 20th. The following season, a much-changed Barnsley side managed an historic FA Cup run, beating Premiership giants Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield and defending champions Chelsea 1-0 in order to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1912, where they narrowly lost out 1-0 to fellow Championship side Cardiff City at Wembley.

[edit] Current season

Barnsley spent much of the 2007-08 season battling against relegation. Their safety was secured in the penultimate game of the season with a 3-0 home win over Charlton Athletic. [2] However, the biggest news of the season was a run to the semi-finals of the FA Cup after shock wins over Premier League giants Chelsea and Liverpool. [3] [4]. Their luck finally ran out in the semi-finals when they lost to Cardiff City at Wembley. Barnsley eventually finished 18th in the Championship with 55 points. [5]

[edit] Timeline

  • 1892-93 - Founder member of Sheffield League, as "Barnsley St. Peter's"
  • 1893-94 - Sheffield League Division Two runner-up
  • 1895-96 - Joined Midland League
  • 1897 - Dropped "St Peter's" to become simply Barnsley
  • 1897-98 - Midland League runner-up. Also played in Yorkshire League
  • 1898 - Elected to the Football League
  • 1909-10 - FA Cup runner-up
  • 1911-12 - FA Cup Winners
  • 1921-22 - Missed promotion on goal average
  • 1932 - Relegated to Division Three North
  • 1933-34 - Football League Division Three North Champions; promoted to Division Two
  • 1938 - Relegated to Division Three North
  • 1938-39 - Football League Division Three North Champions; promoted to Division Two
  • 1939-40 - Football League programme abandoned due to outbreak of war
  • 1953 - Relegated to Division Three North
  • 1953-54 - Football League Division Three North runner-up
  • 1954-55 - Football League Division Three North Champions; promoted to Division Two
  • 1959 - Relegated to Division Three
  • 1965 - Relegated to Division Four
  • 1967-68 - Football League Division Four runner-up; promoted to Division Three
  • 1972 - Relegated to Division Four
  • 1978-79 - Missed runner-up spot on goal difference; promoted to Division Three
  • 1980-81 - Football League Division Three runner-up (on goal difference); promoted to Division Two
  • 1990-91 - Missed play-off spot on goal difference
  • 1992-93 - Division Two re-designated Division One on formation of FA Premiership
  • 1996-97 - Football League runner-up; promoted to FA Premiership
  • 1997-98 - Relegated to Football League Division One
  • 1999-00 - Not promoted after play-offs. Finished 4th in the final table. (Semi-final - Brimingham City 0 Barnsley 4, Barnsley 1 Birmingham City 2, Agg 5-2. Final - Barnsley 2 Ipswich Town 4 at Wembley.)
  • 2002 - Relegated to Division Two
  • 2004-05 - Division Two re-designated Football League One on formation of Football League Championship
  • 2005-06 - Promoted as Football League One play-off winners. Finished 5th in the final table. (Semi-final - Barnsley 0 Huddersfield Town 1, Huddersfield Town 1 Barnsley 3, Agg 3-2. Final - Swansea City 2 Barnsley 2 (AET). Barnsley win 4-3 on penalties at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.)

[edit] Overall

  • Seasons spent at Level 1 of the football league system: 1
  • Seasons spent at Level 2 of the football league system: 66
  • Seasons spent at Level 3 of the football league system: 20
  • Seasons spent at Level 4 of the football league system: 10

Barnsley have spent more seasons at the second level of English football than any other team.

[edit] Stadium

Main article: Oakwell

[edit] Colours and strip

[edit] Home strip

Barnsleys home shirt in the 1997-98 Premiership season.
Barnsleys home shirt in the 1997-98 Premiership season.

Barnsley have played their home games in red shirts for most of their history. The only exception to this is the period 1887-1901, where it is speculated that the team first wore blue shirts with purple/claret arms, then circa 1890 the team wore chocolate and white stripes, before moving on to blue and white stripes around 1898. The team first wore their now traditional red shirts in 1901.[2]

Since this time, the team has worn red shirts often with a white trim. In more recent times a black trim has sometimes been used. As with most football clubs the shirt design varies from season to season. One particular design that stands out is the 1989-90 season shirt which featured white stars on a red background and has been named as one of the worst shirts ever.[3] However, the kit is fondly remembered by some fans. Sponsors names and logos were first worn in the 1980-81 season and the club has had 12 different sponsors on the shirt in total. Since manufacturers logos were added to the shirt in the 1976-77 season, the club has 12 different kit manufacturers.

Traditionally, the team has worn white shorts (sometimes with red and/or black trim) for their home games with the only exceptions coming in the early years of the 20th century. One other notable exception came in the 2000 Division One Playoff Final against Ipswich Town, where the team wore red shorts, thus having an all-red strip.[4]

Apart from the clubs early years and the period 1921-1934 where the team wore black, the team has worn red and/or white socks for its home games. Again, the design changes from season to season.

[edit] Away strip

Barnsley's away shirt in the 1998-99 season.
Barnsley's away shirt in the 1998-99 season.

The club's away strip (used for away or cup fixtures where there is a clash of colours) differs from season to season but usually follows the design of the season's home strip with a variation on the colours. The most common colour for the away shirt has been white but many others have been used, including blue, yellow, black, ecru, dark green and even black and blue stripes. One notable away strip was the 2001-2002 “Its just like watching Brazil” kit, where the team wore the colours of the 5-time World Cup winners Brazil for their away games. However, that season it was not at all like watching Brazil as the team were relegated to Division 1.

[edit] Current strip

The current strip for the 2007-2008 season is manufactured by Surridge Sports and the main sponsor is Wake Smith Solicitors. The home shirt is the traditional red with white stitching from the collar to underneath the arms and around the end of the sleeves. The collar itself is white. The shorts are white with a thick red band down each side with red stitching down the front. The socks are red with a thick white band running down the back getting wider further down.

The away strip is of the same design as the home strip substituting ecru for red and navy blue for white.

For next season, financial backer Patrick Cryne has secured Lotto as the manufacturer, replacing Surridge, who produced a poor effort with the writing peeling off most shirts. Barnsley Building Society will also replace Wake Smith Solicitors as the main club sponsor after the Sheffield firm was emblazoned on the Reds' shirts throughout their 2007-08 FA Cup run.

[edit] Players

As of 30 January 2008.[5]

[edit] Current squad

No. Position Player
2 Flag of England DF Bobby Hassell
4 Flag of England DF Paul Reid (transfer-listed)
5 Flag of England DF Robert Kozluk
6 Flag of Wales MF Andy Johnson (transfer-listed)
7 Flag of England DF Sam Togwell (transfer-listed)
8 Flag of Peru FW Miguel Mostto
9 Flag of Nigeria FW Kayode Odejayi |other=fans want to be transfer-listed}}
10 Flag of England MF Brian Howard (captain)
12 Flag of England DF Robert Atkinson
13 Flag of Hungary FW István Ferenczi (transfer-listed)
14 Flag of Denmark FW Kim Christensen (transfer-listed)
15 Flag of Brazil MF Anderson de Silva
16 Flag of England DF Stephen Foster
18 Flag of Brazil DF Dennis Souza
No. Position Player
19 Flag of England DF Jacob Butterfield
20 Flag of Jamaica MF Jamal Campbell-Ryce
21 Flag of Ireland FW Jon Macken
22 Flag of Germany GK Heinz Müller
23 Flag of the Netherlands DF Marciano van Homoet
24 Flag of England FW Michael Coulson
25 Flag of Ireland MF Martin Devaney
26 Flag of England MF Simon Heslop
29 Flag of Spain MF Diego León
30 Flag of Wales GK Kyle Letheren
31 Flag of England GK Luke Steele
37 Flag of Ireland MF Dwayne Mattis (transfer-listed)
38 Flag of England DF Luke Potter

[edit] Managers

[edit] Club records

[edit] References

  1. ^ Barnsley Football Ground Guide. The Internet Football Ground Guide. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
  2. ^ Barnsley - Historical Football Kits. Historical Kits. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  3. ^ Room 101- The Worst Football Kits Ever. Historical Kits. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  4. ^ Stewart pays tribute to keeper Wright. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
  5. ^ Profiles. Barnsley FC. Retrieved on 2007-10-23.

[edit] External links