From the archives – My Greatest Game

Some of you might know that I have done a bit of Barnsley writing for other sites in my time, in fact it was one of the main reasons behind me starting up Barney’s Left Peg in the first place. It seemed like a shame to write for everyone else, when I could just do it myself.

This piece was for the fantastic Lovely Left Foot – and featured in their ‘Greatest Games’ series. It was a tricky one to choose, as Liverpool away in the Premier League season, and Manchester United at home in the FA Cup ran it close, but growing up in Huddersfield, with all my friends supporting the Terriers, meant that this would always win.

My thanks go to Simon Furnivall, editor of the site, for letting me use it again here. It was a pleasure to write, and I hope it brings back a few memories for you reading it, as it certainly did during writing.

 

 

The very idea of a greatest ever game will always be a particularly subjective one. It is easy to create a scenario in which, what otherwise could have been seen as a drab 1-0 victory from the outside to some would be a promotion-clinching encounter for others, and therefore go down in their memory as an instant classic.

Which is why, outside of fans from the two clubs, many people probably won’t remember this particular match, or very much care.

In the 1997/98 season, Barnsley FC played in the top flight for the first time in their history. Unfortunately for fans of the club, like myself, it remains their only season in England’s highest tier. Despite making a lot of friends along the way, they were relegated, alongside Bolton and Crystal Palace, the two other newly-promoted sides in that year’s competition.

The summer of 1998 was a tough one for the Tykes. Talismanic midfielder Neil Redfearn was the top-scoring midfielder in the Premiership during that campaign, and having had his taste of the top flight, decided that his time at Barnsley was up, and after 272 games, with an impressive 72 goals along the way, he left for pastures new and the bright lights of Charlton Athletic.

The bigger loss, however, was that of a young and talented manager in the form of Danny Wilson.

Having hung up his boots during the Tykes’ promotion season to concentrate on the management side of things, Wilson had put together a team with no real stars, but one which would go to the ends of the earth to play for each other. It’s a cliché, but it really was a case of spirit triumphing over talent, and the hard-working Barnsley duly earned their rewards.

However, despite assuring fans that he was going nowhere following the relegation, Wilson also sought grass which, from his position, looked ever-so-slightly greener, and left the club to take over at South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday. To say that it was an unpopular choice among the Barnsley faithful would be something of an understatement.

So, just to recap, club in apparent turmoil, without anyone steering the ship and ten Premiership goals worse off. Something had to be done, and the club looked within itself for answers. John Hendrie was that answer.

Hendrie had become a fan favourite at the club during the promotion season, forming an exciting little and large partnership with Paul Wilkinson, but the latter had left the club early in the following campaign after finding his opportunities limited thanks to the Ashley Ward joining the Tykes from Derby County. Hendrie, it seemed, would also play less of a part, despite still having ample talent with the ball on the floor. He was the main man behind a number of highlights in the top flight, and you will do well to find a Barnsley fan who doesn’t fondly remember him tapping the ball into Peter Schmeichel’s empty goal after the Dane sliced a backpass in the FA Cup at Old Trafford, nor will Hendrie’s opening goal in the 3-2 replay victory have left anyone’s memory banks just yet.

Although a popular figure at the club, fans had hoped that a more experienced man was going to be given the chance to lead them back into the Premier League, but the board had made their decision.

Unfortunately, things never really worked out for Hendrie in his time in charge of the club that sees him as one of their modern greats, but one night in his tenure will live long in the hearts of anyone connected with Barnsley FC.

November 28^th, 1998 was a particularly cold night in South Yorkshire, but, thanks to a local derby and the presence of Sky TV’s cameras, spirits among fans were anything but chilly. On paper, Barnsley and Huddersfield Town looked like two fairly evenly-matched sides, and while the rivalry between the two pales in insignificance compared to the Tykes’ feelings for either of their Sheffield neighbours, or Town’s for Bradford City, the 13 miles that separates the two towns meant that there were bragging rights galore on offer at Oakwell.

The game itself contained a half of football from the Barnsley players of a quality that certainly hasn’t been seen since, and is unlikely ever to be seen again. After 45 minutes, the men in red were six (SIX) goals to the good, and had registered 16 attempts on the Huddersfield goal, 12 of them being on target.

It was one of those nights where no superlative was good enough. Perhaps the stars aligned, or some other such cosmic mumbo jumbo, but Barnsley were unstoppable.

The first came from ten minutes and a corner. As the Huddersfield defence struggled to clear the ball, Ashley Ward forced a defender to push the ball into Bruce Dyer, and with his back to goal, the big frontman flicked it past the ‘keeper from a couple of yards out. A tidy finish, and a sign of things to come.

Eight minutes later and the Tykes were two to the good. More good work by the afore-mentioned Ashley Ward set up full back Nicky Eaden, and his cross from the right wing was met by a glancing header from debutant Craig Hignett. The diminutive midfield maestro had recently signed from Aberdeen, and this match really set the tone for what was to become a magnificent career in Yorkshire.

The new fan favourite wouldn’t have to wait long to impress further, as the third goal came only seven minutes later. Pretty it was not, but effective nonetheless. After goalkeeper Tony Bullock’s long ball downfield was headed on Ward, Bruce Dyer pulled the ball back to Welsh left-back Darren Barnard, and although his cross was cleared, Hignett was there to hit the ball on the volley at the edge of the box. Now, as you might expect, Huddersfield ‘keeper Nico Vaesen didn’t cover himself in glory during this game, and his mistake for this goal pretty much summed up Huddersfield’s night. Hignett didn’t catch the ball with any real conviction, but his bouncing volley squirmed under the Belgian stopper, and the Tykes were 3-0 up after 25 minutes.

Things just kept on getting better for the men in red, with merely a full minute having passed when the fourth goal flew in.

It is fitting that this piece sits proudly on a site named ‘Lovely Left Foot’, as the cultured left peg of Darren Barnard was the architect of the latest goal. The left-back, signed from Bristol City at the beginning of the previous term, swung in a corner, and South African midfielder Eric Tinkler climbed at the near post to head home unmarked. The Tykes fans were in wonderland, and didn’t really know how to celebrate such a dominant performance. The Huddersfield supporters, however, stood on the uncovered terraces, cold, wet, downbeat and thoroughly miserable.

The misery was compounded on 36 minutes with yet more goalkeeping that Vaesen would do well to forget. A seemingly meaningless through ball was chased by Ashley Ward, and he would have been as surprised as anyone to see the goalkeeper sprinting from his goal. With a small flick, the centre forward waltzed past the onrushing Belgian, and got the goal that his performance merited.

Now, back to that left foot that I mentioned. This game was memorable for a whole host of reasons, but the one that will always shine the brightest was Barnsley’s sixth goal. It is a thing of beauty. With a confidence running through him that he quite probably never had before, Barnard lingered on the corner of the Huddersfield box, and when a high ball came over, volleyed it perfectly into the far top corner of the goal. It was one of those shots that, 99 times out of 100, would end up in the car park. But such was the nature of the night, that it was almost destined to go in.

Half time was a surreal experience, and as Barnsley fans enjoyed a half time beer that had never tasted sweeter, the Huddersfield fans had a different task altogether to deal with. Having asked stewards to open the gates to the stand so that they could go home, and being told no, a number of fans were seen to scale the wall at the back of the stadium in their bid to avoid watching the rest of their team’s performance. It was a sight that I, in 20 years of watching football, am still to see again.

As you may expect, the second half was something of an anti-climax, but the Tykes still had time to compound their visitors’ misery with a seventh goal, Dyer turning sharply in the area before unleashing an unstoppable left foot drive past the hapless Vaesen. Although Delroy Facey pulled one back for Huddersfield, despite looking offside, nothing could take the shine off a performance of this magnitude.

Before being substituted, Craig Hignett found time to balloon a penalty which would have handed him a debut hat-trick, but his guile and energy in midfield had more than compensated for an essentially meaningless penalty when six goals separated the two teams.

It may not have been a crunch European tie, nor did it have the glamour of a World Cup behind it. In fact, its very setting ensured that it didn’t have a great deal of glamour at all, but from within the eyes of a young Barnsley fan, there will only ever be one contender for the greatest game of all time. Barnsley 7, Huddersfield Town 1.

Meeting the man himself – A chat with Darren Barnard: Part two

Hello everyone and welcome along to part two of my interview with Darren Barnard. If you didn’t catch me chatting with Darren about Barnsley’s time in the Premier League, you can read it by clicking here.

Today’s second instalment covers the rest of his time at the club, including ‘the goal’ against Huddersfield, the playoffs and Richard Wright, and his current career in management.

So go grab a cup of tea (or a beer), sit back, and (hopefully) enjoy. Once again, here’s me and Darren.

Dan: You had, in football terms, a relatively long time at Barnsley, with numerous ups and downs. If you had to pick your favourite game for the club, which would it be?
Darren: “There can be only one… Huddersfield Town at home, live on Sky, two days before my 27th birthday. I think every Barnsley fan in the world will know the score… but, in case you have forgotten, it was 7-1.

The atmosphere was electric with it being a local derby and to say we started quick would be an understatement. Every time we attacked we looked like we were going to score. Most people don’t remember, but I hit the post and the bar in the first half and Nico Vaesen pulled off 4 great saves, if we had gone in 11-0 up it would have been a fair reflection.

I can’t remember the exact shot count, but it was something like 27-0 in the first half. To go in 6-0 up at half time was unbelievable, John Hendrie stood there and did not know what to say as he had never led by that many at half time. The second half was always going to be an anti-climax football wise, and will be remembered for Higgy’s miss to complete his hat trick on his debut from the spot. I should have taken it, but let him have it and he blazed it over.

My overall memory of the second half was the crowd, they were buzzing at the scoreline and started to sing my name, this usually goes on for 30 seconds or so, but no, this time they kept singing and singing. The last 20 minutes of the game were very emotional for me and I guess it was the one way they could thank me for not leaving two days earlier to go to Southampton.

I joked with John Hendrie after the game that I don’t think Carlton Palmer would have scored that goal as he was going to be part of the deal if I had left.”

What are your memories about the goal that you scored against Huddersfield? Have you ever scored a better goal?
“It will go down down as the most famous and spectacular goal I have ever scored. It was special and probably doesn’t get the recognition it deserved. Gareth Bale scored one similar against Stoke last season and everyone raved about it saying he was world class. Mine was 10 yards further out on the angle.
I also remember the goal against Tottenham in the Cup which was special as I had been a schoolboy there, and also the right foot 30-yarder against Blackburn (Yes, I did say right foot). I can still see Brad Friedel flying full length to his left and still getting nowhere near it.”

I heard a rumour that someone told you, after the heartbreaking play-off final against Ipswich, that Richard Wright always dives that way to left-footed penalty takers. Is that true?
“That is true. I think it was Mickey Bell who was at Bristol city when I left. He played against Ipswich and Richard Wright and he saved his penalty. With us both being left footed he was supposed to call me before the final, but forgot, the git. Things could have been so different…
I always like to think he saved the penalty rather than I missed it.
I actually think it was his save from Georgi Hristov’s header in the last minute that won the game for them, the score was 3-2 and that would have sent it into extra time, instead they went up the other end and scored a fourth.”

Do you think your BFC career would have lasted longer had we won that match and been promoted?
“Definitely. I was happy and the club was on the up. Dave Bassett was a great man-manager and he had good staff around him. I stayed for another two years after that, but you could see the cracks appearing. Nigel Spackman came in, but struggled, and the less I say about Steve Parkin the better.
Personally, I would have liked to have stayed at Barnsley for the rest of my career, but I signed my new contract in 1999 and it ended in 2002. Steve Parkin released myself, Steve Chettle and Kevin Miller. I wasn’t even offered a new deal, and this was at the time when the Bosman ruling came out. I knew I was on a decent contract, but I was even prepared to take a pay cut to stay in Barnsley, however, the new manager wanted his own players and I moved on… Did the new manager last a year?”

Who was the best player that you played with at the club?
“That’s tough as different players have different attributes. Dave Watson was a good goalkeeper who had his career cut short by injury. Arjan De Zeeuw was the ultimate professional who went on to have a great career at the highest level. Redders was to Barnsley like Bryan Robson was to Manchester United, always popping up with a goal. Craig Hignett oozed class, Ashley Ward was a beast up top and Bruce Dyer, on his day, was unplayable. We had some great players.”

And against?
“Ryan Giggs. We played Manchester United away and Nicky Eaden was told to show Giggsy inside as he had no right foot. We started the game well and it was 0-0 for 20 minutes, then a mistake on the edge on the box gifted them a goal. That opened the floodgates and United ran riot. Giggsy picked up one ball on the half way line and you could see Nicky think ‘right you’re going inside mate’. Giggs jinked outside, then inside, then outside and finally back in, where he hit a 25-yarder into the top corner with his right foot. We all knew what Nicky had been told so we all looked to the bench, Danny stood there, shrugged his shoulders and started clapping. Giggs was a class apart.
I was lucky to play with him for Wales and I will always remember him being the fastest player I have ever seen running with the ball and changing direction, just ask Nicky Eaden…”

Do you still keep in touch with anyone from that era?
“I obviously moved back down South and the majority of the players are up North, but with Twitter you can now speak to quite a few players from the past. Higgy, Nicky Eaden, Andy Liddell, Bruce Dyer and recently Jan Aage Fjortoft are all on there. I have bumped into Mike Sheron a couple of times, and Neil Shipperley lives this way. We recently turned out for the Chelsea Old Boys, so in answer to the question, yes I now speak to a few of the players.”

Have you always wanted to get into management? How are you finding it?
“Football has been my life since I left school. It’s all I know really. I tried working in an office after I retired, but it wasn’t for me personally. I am comfortable on the training ground trying to pass on what I have learned over the years. I’m not sure if it’s coaching or management I am better at, but on the training ground and being part of the match day in the changing rooms is where I am really at home.
I really enjoy it and am currently managing and coaching three teams. I run a footbal club and manage the men’s first team. I also run the Academy side from Monday to Friday, and I also run my eldest son’s Under 11s side. It’s all great fun and keeps me from under the missus’s feet.”

 

I’d like to thank Darren for taking the time to talk to me, and, well, thank him for everything that he did for us at Barnsley FC.

There are more interviews with stars from the past coming soon on Barney’s Left Peg, so be sure to keep an eye on the site, for more chat with players from years gone by.

 

Meeting the man himself – A chat with Darren Barnard: Part One

What better way to kick off activity on Barney’s Left Peg than an interview with a man behind its name, Darren Barnard?

I caught up with Darren to primarily talk about our year in the top flight, but also his time in South Yorkshire in general, and what he’s been doing since leaving the Tykes. Thanks to the quality, and length of the interview, part one is about the Premier League season, while tomorrow’s part two will be about the rest of his Barnsley career, and what he’s been up to since.

So, without further ado, to mark the opening of Barney’s Left Peg, here’s Darren Barnard.

 

 

Dan: Hi Darren, thanks for speaking with me. Barnsley has never enjoyed the greatest reputation as a town, how were you persuaded to sign for the club?

Darren: ” I didn’t sign because of the town, and I wasn’t aware of any repuatation, I saw it as an opportunity to play against the best players in the country, and you always want to test yourself against the best. I met Danny (Wilson) at Ardsley House Hotel on the Monday and we had a chat, he had Neil Thompson playing left back at the time, but wanted competition for places and more depth in the squad. Peter Shirtliff had watched me about six times and, believe it or not, on the last occasion I scored a 35-yard thunderbolt against Swansea in a friendly – that convinced them I was their man. I listened to what they had to say, and I didn’t even see the ground. I went back to Bristol and initially turned down the move, but got to thinking that these opportunites don’t come along too often and eventually joined on the Wednesday, three days before the West Ham game. It really all happened that quickly.”

What was the atmosphere like in the dressing room before the West Ham game, the club’s first ever in the top flight?

“All of the players were nervous, as we were the small-town club playing in the best league in the world for the first time. We knew that we had a sell-out crowd at Oakwell, we knew that they would be going mental for us, and we knew that they would be hoping for us to do well and put Barnsley on the map.

I think the ground was full during our warm-up, which started 45 minutes before kick off, and the atmosphere generated by 19,000 fans was incredible. We went back into the dressing room and Danny just said: ‘This is it. We are a Premier League team now, so the hard works starts now to prove that we deserve to be here. Go out there and show the world who you are, and who Barnsley Football Club are.”

We all jumped around, shouting, shaking hands, pumped up filled with nervousness and pride, wanting the game to start. I know I certainly had a lump in my throat.

Before kick off, I had a look at the opposition. They had players like John Hartson, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard in their squad, while we were all pretty much unknowns.

For me, it was a bit surreal as I’d signed on the Wednesday, only trained on the Friday, and I was playing West Ham on the Saturday. The only player whose name I knew was Neil Redfearn, so I spent most of the game calling players ‘mate’ in order to get the ball.”

Who were the biggest characters in the dressing room?

“Obviously, Redders (Neil Redfearn) was Mr Barnsley, and he had the respect of all of the players. He wasn’t flash, he just worked hard everyday, and he was Barnsley through and through. Darren Sheridan was probably the loudest, and he was definitely the funniest. If you heard him coming around the corner, you would expect him to be 6ft 10′, but then appeared this little Mancunian bloke, short and stubby at 5ft 4′, with so little hair on top that he was nicknamed ‘Guitar string head’ – there were only about six strands on top. He was a great laugh though, and always had a comeback line for anyone that ever tried to give him stick. He was also a great footballer who kept things simple.”

Which game in the Premier League season do you look back on most fondly?

“In terms of league games, it would have to be Liverpool away. Danny took us there a couple of weeks earlier to watch them play – and they were my boyhood team as I adored Kenny Dalglish. We travelled over for the game on the Friday and had our usual dinner at the hotel in the evening. Danny told us to meet in reception at 8.30pm, which was unusual, and he took us for a walk. After seeing Liverpool demolish a team a few weeks beforehand, I think he wanted to just put us at ease, so we walked to the nearest pub. Danny said we had 45 minutes to get ourselves a beer. The foreign lads seemed a bit shocked and stuck to orange juice, while the English lads tucked in and a couple even managed to get four or five pints down their neck (sorry, no names).

The next day, as we lined up, I looked across and saw Michael Owen, Jamie Redknapp, David James, Karl Heinz Riedle, Patrick Berger and Steve McManaman, to name just a few. In Peter Marksteadt we had a centre half who was making his debut and was looking extremely nervous, and I remember thinking, ‘if we’re not careful, we could get a hiding here’.

The match started and we basically defended for our lives, and our back four played the entire game on the edge of our own box. On a rare foray forward, a move brove down in their box, but as they cleared the ball, it fell to Ashley Ward, who managed to scuff the ball in to the corner – 1-0 to us. Liverpool then pinned us back for the rest of the game, Owen and Riedle had countless chances, but Lars Leese had a great game in goal, and Markstedt was having a sensational debut.

We all threw our bodies on the line for the entire 90 minutes and produced on of the club’s greatest ever victories at Anfield. It’s something that I’ll never forget.”

And, on the other side of the coin, what is your worst memory of that season?

“Monday mornings after a heavy defeat were never fun. Eric Winstanley usually took training, and Danny would come out like a bear with a sore head. He would stand there and just watch the training session, and we were working hard to put things right, but if anyone questioned a point that Eric was putting across at any poin, Danny would come straming over and put a player in his place. It happened to me a couple of times, and I learned very quicky to stay on his good side.  To be fair to Danny, by Wednesday, he was bright, breeze and full of enthusiasm again. After the four really heavy defeats that we suffered, we won the next game three times, and drew the other one, so him having his angry head on for two days obviously did work, maybe he should have done that every week?”

It’s probably fair to say that we were on the recieving end of a few ‘interesting’ refereeing decisions during the season. What are your memories of the Liverpool at Oakwell in particular?

“I remember it well, but for all the wrong reasons. The game was evenly poised at 1-1 at half time. After we came out for the second half, a ball was played over the top with me and Michael Owen chasing it and there was a coming together. We both fell, and the referee came across to give Liverpool a free kick. I couldn’t believe it when he then pulled out the red card. I was amazed, and I think everyone else was. I trudged off, and was sitting in the dressing room with my head in my hands when, ten minutes later, Chris Morgan walked in. ‘What the f**k has he taken you off for?’, I asked, ‘he hasn’t’, said Morgs, ‘I’ve been sent off as well’. We both just sat their in disbelief, as he had a clash with Owen too. After we were showered and changed we heard a huge roar and shot down the tunnel to see that Redders had made it 2-2. But, we both also watched from the old tunnel as Liverpool scored in the last minute, before Darren Sheridan got involved in a spat with Paul Ince and Jamie Redknapp. Unfortunately for Shez, the referee only saw him poke Ince in the eye,  and he walked with us down the tunnel after being sent off. At the time, that moment was quite funny, but soon after, we really did feel cheated. The Oakwell fans were really vocal against the the referee, Gary Willard, and I remember Jan Aage Fjortoft having to wrestle one to the ground on the field. The reason they got angry was because all of the decisions on the day went against us, and we had two blatent penalties turned down. It really felt like the big club got all of the decisions that day.”

 

Things get a little heated at Oakwell…

 

You always seemed to play with a smile on your face, and I specifically remember you winding up Stephen Clemence in the cup at Oakwell. Did you enjoy playing for Barnsley?

“I adored my time at Oakwell. I loved the passion and energy that came across, and that Premier League season will always be remembered, by the fans, for us trying to play ‘proper’ football (just like Brazil). How could you not play with a smile on your face?

Stephen Clemence was a silly boy in that game as he had already been booked, then he dived to try and get a penalty. Fair play to the ref’ for seeing it and having the balls to send him off.

We had a great run in the Cup that year, beating Bolton, Sputs and Manchester United before we lost to Newcastle (more dodgy decisions there). I scored a quick free kick against Bolton and a left-foot worldy against Tottenham that sparked me dancing in public for the first, and last, time ever.”

At what point did you start to think that we may be relegated?

“We weren’t naive, we knew that after the first game of the season, it was always going to be tough. We knew that just by looking at the teams in the league. I knew that you had to split the division in to two, win your home games against the bottom-half sides, try and nick a point away against them, and anything that you could get from the top-eight sides, either home or away, was going to be a bonus.

By mid-March, we were in a great position. We had won three games on the bounce against Wimbledon, Southampton and Aston Villa, and were on 31 points with nine games to play. But, then we played Liverpool in that infamous game, and lost.

The next match was a must-win for us, and we got beat 2-1 by Blackburn. That was the point that I knew we were in trouble, as we still had to play Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle, as well as having two huge derbies against Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday.

We only won another four points from those nine games, although we only ever got beat by the odd goal, except for Manchester United and Arsenal, who beat us 2-0. We earned a lot of credit for the way that we applied ourselves though, and there was no shame when we were relegated.”

Obviously, it was a huge shock to the entire town when Danny left to go to Sheffield Wednesday, and it caused a lot of anger. What was your reaction to the news? Did the players know he would be leaving?

“After we were relegated, there were rumours that Danny would be leaving. He did dismiss it in the summer, but it seems that was to stop a mass exodus of players from the club, and to encourage the supporters to renew their season tickets. Of course, it worked, much to everyone’s annoyance when he actually did leave, and it didn’t help that Redders went to Charlton shortly after. Personally, I didn’t have any animosity towards Danny deciding to leave, these things happen in football, and Danny obviously felt that had had to move in order to progress in his own career. He has had a few clubs since, and probably hasn’t achieved what he wanetd to. If he had stayed, I’m sure taht he would probably still be the Barnsley manager today. He will always go down in the club’s history books, and will always be someone that I greatly respect as a person, and he’s the man that gave me the opportunity to play in the Premier League again.”

Do you think that, if Danny had stayed, we could have challenged for promotion again the following season?

“If Danny had stayed, and we had kept the squad together, as well as adding a few quality players, then yes, we could have challenged again. We did it two years later under Dave Bassett, that shows you that we could. However, football is all about ifs and buts… Clubs, managers and players live and die by the decisions that they make on a daily basis, and unfortunately, we can’t go back in time to reverse the ones that we maybe shouldn’t have made.”

Danny’s successor was chosen from within the club, and within the team, with John Hendrie taking the reigns. He was a popular choice with the fans, who were still hurting, but was it a shock for the players, to have one of their own in charge?

“John was the club’s logical choice. He didn’t have to change a great deal, he knew all of the players, and was, at the time, a cheap option compared to trying to bring in a big name boss. Did all of the players agree with the decision? No. But, it wasn’t up to us, and from a personal point of view, you just have to get on with doing your job in the team. John did clash with a few of the players, as he had a big personality, and wasn’t afraid to tell things how he saw them. I’m sure that he would be the first to admit that he made mistakes during his time in charge, but hey, show me a manager that has never made a mistake…”

 

And with that, comes the end of part one of my chat with Darren. Be sure to check back tomorrow for more from our star left-footer, including ‘that goal’ against Huddersfield, play-off heartbreak, and what he’s been up to since leaving the Tykes.

Welcome to Barney’s Left Peg

Hello and welcome to Barney’s Left Peg.

I’ve been hoping to start my own Barnsley fan site for a long time, but thanks to one thing or another, have never had chance to do so. All of that changes, now. No more excuses, just top (hopefully) content on Barnsley FC’s past, and the present.

What I hope to do with the site is find an entertaining balance between the old and the new. I’ll be kicking things off with an interview with a star from days gone by. You might be able to guess who it is, given that the site has been named after him. *note – yes, I did name my site after my all-time favourite Barnsley player.

I also hope to keep as up-to-date as possible with all things Barnsley FC. That will hopefully include previewing the games, opinion pieces after the matches, and reaction to all of the latest news. Which is where you lot come in.

As you might have guessed from my Twitter name – @daninfrance – I currently reside in the south of France, not far away from Toulouse. Lovely though the weather is, it does mean that I don’t get to go to Oakwell anymore, so I’m looking to recruit one or two faces to help me out on the site. People who get to the games on a regular basis, and can fill in the gaps that I am left with by only following the Reds on the radio.

I realise that the site is in its most infant of infant stages, but if I can build a team from the off, then success will be easier to come by. And if you don’t think big from the start, then big you shall never get.

If anyone is interested in writing alongside me, be it opinion pieces, tactical analysis or grabbing interviews with the stars, then my email address is castresmandan@gmail.com, or you can tweet me on the above address.

That’s all from me for the introduction. Check back tomorrow when I’ll be posting my chat with Darren Barnard. And it doesn’t stop there, with more interviews to come in the near future, plus the odd ‘classic match’ feature, and build up to the new season.

Thanks for visiting Barney’s Left Peg, and I hope to see you soon.