| Full name | Barnsley Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Tykes, The Reds | ||
| Founded | 1887 (as Barnsley St. Peter's) | ||
| Ground | Oakwell, Barnsley (Capacity: 23,002[1]) |
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| Owner | Patrick Cryne | ||
| Manager | Keith Hill | ||
| League | The Championship | ||
| 2010–11 | The Championship, 17th | ||
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| Current season | |||
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's. The club colours are red and white, and their home ground since 1888 has been Oakwell.
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Barnsley have spent more seasons in the second tier of English football than any other club in history[2] and have produced some notable talents over the years who have gone on to be successful at other clubs. One example 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.[3]
Barnsley FC was established in 1887 by a clergyman, Tiverton Preedy, and played 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.
When the league re-started after the First World War, the 1919–20 season brought some significant changes to the league. The principal difference was that the First Division would be increased from 20 teams to 22. The bottom team from the previous season was Tottenham Hotspur and they were duly relegated. The first extra place in the First Division went to Chelsea, who retained their place despite finishing 2nd bottom and therefore in the relegation places. Derby and Preston were rightly promoted from the Second Division which left one place to be filled. Having finished the previous season's Second Division in 3rd place (1914–15), Barnsley were full of expectancy at gaining First Division status for the first time, but the Football League instead chose to call a ballot of the clubs. Henry Norris, the then Arsenal Chairman, had recently moved Woolwich Arsenal north of the River Thames to Highbury, and needed First Division Football to attract fans to their new home. He was later to admit some underhand dealings, allegedly including the bribing of some member clubs to vote for Arsenal's inclusion. They duly won the vote and Barnsley were consigned to the second tier of English Football for another 8 decades.
The club did however come close to reaching the top division in the early years, 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.
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. They are one of few clubs to have completed only one season overall in the top flight (the others are Glossop, Leyton Orient, Northampton Town and Carlisle United in the old First Division era and Swindon Town in the Premier League era).
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 then 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 last play-off final at Wembley before the stadium was closed for redevelopment,[4] 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 Premier League 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.
Barnsley narrowly avoided relegation from the Championship that season, and after a disappointing start to the 2009/10 season Simon Davey was sacked in favour of former Rotherham United boss Mark Robins.
In May 2011, after a difficult 2010/11 season, Mark Robins resigned as manager. He was replaced by Rochdale manager Keith Hill and his assistant David Flitcroft.[5]
Barnsley have spent more seasons at the second level of English football than any other team and on 3 January 2011 Barnsley FC became the first club to achieve 1,000 wins in the second level of English football.
Oakwell is a multi-purpose sports development in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England used primarily by Barnsley Football Club for playing their home fixtures, and their reserves. While the name 'Oakwell' generally refers to the main stadium, it also includes several neighbouring venues which form the facilities of the Barnsley F.C. academy – an indoor training pitch, a smaller stadium with seating on the south and west sides for around 2,200 spectators, and several training pitches used by the different Barnsley FC squads. Until 2003 the stadium and the vast amount of land that surrounds it was owned by Barnsley Football Club themselves, however after falling into administration in 2002 the council purchased the main Oakwell Stadium to allow the club to pay its creditors and remain participants in The Football League.
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.[6]
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.[7] 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.[8]
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.
For 2010/11 the kit was the traditional red, with white trim. It featured a shield style club badge to the left, with kit sponsors Lotto's logo on the opposite side. The main design was the Barnsley Building Society eagle logo, a return to the design from 06/07
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 2001–02 “Its just like watching Brazil” kit, where the team wore the colours of the 5-time World Cup winners Brazil for their away games.
The current strip is manufactured by Nike and the main sponsor is CK Beckett with a rear shirt sponsor of Perrys. The home shirt is the traditional red. The shorts are white with red trim at the bottom. The socks are red with a thick white trim at the top.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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A list of players that made over 100 appearances for Barnsley or were capped internationally during their time at Oakwell.
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