History of Barnsley F.C.

This article is about the history of Barnsley Football Club. For more information on current events see the main Barnsley page.

The early years and FA Cup glory (1887–1912)

The football club 'Barnsley St. Peters' were formed in 1887, named after the church of the Reverend Tiverton Preedy, who founded the club in what had previously been a rugby-focused area. They began playing at their home Oakwell within a year, competing in the Sheffield and District League from 1890 and then in the Midland League from 1895. In 1897 the club was renamed Barnsley FC as the Reverend Preedy had since departed and the fanbase now encompassed a much wider area than the local parish. In the next season they were runners-up in the Midlands League and had also played in the Yorkshire League. Following this success, in 1898 they applied to join the Football League and were eventually voted into the third and final available spot.

Barnsley had a reasonably positive start to the season in 2006 and after eight games found themselves at 13th in the league, following a 1-0 home victory against high-flying Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, things soon started to go wrong for the club at this point and they managed to win only one of their next ten games, a passionate 3-2 derby win versus Leeds United. At the end of October the team slipped into the relegation zone, and following a 2-0 away loss to Crystal Palace in November, Andy Ritchie was sacked as manager and replaced by Simon Davey, who initially took over as interim manager before receiving a permanent contract on New Year's Eve. Four games undefeated with their new manager brought Barnsley temporarily out of relegation, but their form continued to stutter throughout December and January and they found themselves continuing to hover around the relegation spots. In a recurring pattern, an occasional run of good form including wins against fellow relegation candidates Hull City, Luton Town, Queens Park Rangers and Southend United would lift them as high as 19th, but they would soon find themselves dropping again.

The January transfer window saw the arrival of several Hungarian players. Istvan Ferenczi signed with the club, while Peter Rajczi and Peter Simek agreed to join on loan with an option to be signed in the Summer. Goalkeeper David Lucas and midfielders Grant McCann and Dwayne Mattis also signed for Barnsley, and loan spells would be secured for midfielders Kyel Reid and Ritchie Jones, and defensive players Ronnie Wallwork, Adam Eckersley and young Welsh international Lewin Nyatanga. Ferenczi scored his first five goals for the club in four consecutive matches, including two in a 3-0 home victory over Hull City followed by the decisive goal in a surprising 0-1 away victory against Stoke City. He scored his sixth in a memorable 2-4 away win over Plymouth Argyle, a match which also featured an impressive long-range strike from Martin Devaney, struck directly on the volley from a goal kick (coincidentally, Antony Kay had put away a similar 30-yard shot in the home game against Plymouth earlier in the season). The team continued to suffer heavy losses, though, which contributed to a very poor goal difference. The worst of these included a 4-1 away loss to Coventry City and a 5-1 away loss to Ipswich Town, in which three goals were conceded in the final eight minutes of play.

On the Easter Bank Holiday Monday, Barnsley entertained 3rd-place promotion candidates Birmingham City. An important game for both sides saw Daniel Nardiello score the only goal and secure victory. The following weekend, Barnsley travelled to Southend United and won 1-3. This was a crucial victory at a pivotal time of the season, and was followed by a 2-0 home victory over Crystal Palace (the team's third consecutive win, a feat they had failed to achieve all season). Striker Daniel Nardiello, who at the end of March had only scored three goals in the entire season, had taken a spell working on his fitness away from the club and appeared to return in better form than ever. He scored decisive goals in all three victories and quickly became the top scorer for the club with nine goals, just ahead of Brian Howard's eight. Barnsley's Championship survival was secured on April 28th with one game remaining, losing 0-1 at home to Leicester City but staying 20th in the league and four points clear of Yorkshire rivals Leeds United. They ended the season with a humiliating 7-0 away loss at West Bromwich Albion, their worst league result since their 1997 Premier League season.

International Barnsley, FA Cup Success (2007–08)

With the departure of six first team players (Daniel Nardiello, Paul Hayes, Antony Kay, Paul Heckingbottom, Neil Austin and Marc Richards), Simon Davey dipped heavily into the summer transfer market and ultimately brought in fourteen new players, the majority of whom were foreign. The most successful of these signings included goalkeeper Heinz Muller, midfielders Anderson and Jamal Campbell-Ryce, and a new defensive line-up made up of Robert Kozluk, Dennis Souza, Stephen Foster and Lewin Nyatanga (who returned on an extended loan spell after becoming a fan favourite).

Barnsley had a very positive start to the season, surpassing expectations and finding themselves in the top six of the Football League Championship with ten games played. Most of the summer signings found their way into the squad early on, making it quite common for there only to be two or three players in the starting eleven who were with the club in the previous season. Top scorer Brian Howard was rumored to have attracted Premiership interest along with new signings Heinz Muller, Dennis Souza and even manager Simon Davey. The team managed to maintain a decent level of consistency, remaining in the top half of the table throughout the first half of the season. Derby striker Jon Macken arrived on loan in November, and scored his first three goals for the club in his last two matches before being recalled by Derby at the end of December along with Lewin Nyatanga. Barnsley's form finally began to stutter through December and January, when they went for eight league games without a victory and dropped to 16th in the table. They did, however, beat both Blackpool and Southend in the FA Cup to secure passage to the last sixteen.

The first new signing of the January window was Spanish midfielder Diego Leon, followed by a short-term loan signing for Miguel Tininho and a controversial loan deal for ex-reds striker Daniel Nardiello (who had turned down a contract offer to leave the club for QPR the previous summer). Shortly before the transfer window closed, Davey signed previously-loaned players Jon Macken from Derby County and Anderson from Everton (each for an undisclosed six-figure fee), as well as securing yet another loan spell for Lewin Nyatanga, with a fee agreed for a permanent summer switch. Outgoing from the club was reserve goalkeeper Nick Colgan to Championship rivals Ipswich Town, so an injury to first-choice keeper Heinz Muller forced a late loan deal for goalkeeper Tony Warner on a month's loan from Fulham. Anderson also suffered an injury in late February which would keep him out for up to seven months.

Barnsley continued to maintain their lower mid-table position in the Championship, unable to put a winning streak together. On February 16th, the team travelled to Anfield to play Liverpool in the 5th round of the FA Cup and pulled off a surprise 2-1 victory, with a strong defensive display and a 'Man of the Match', 'Player of the Round' performance from loaned keeper Luke Steele (who was brought in at the last minute for cup-tied Tony Warner). After conceding a goal in the first half, it was Stephen Foster who equalised in the second and captain Brian Howard who scored the last-gasp winner which allowed them to progress to the quarter finals for the first time since 1999, where they would face Chelsea at Oakwell. Here, the Tykes put in a 'sensational' performance against the FA Cup holders and Kayode Odejayi's second-half header (only his second goal of the season) was enough to put the Yorkshire side into the semi-final for the first time since they won the cup in 1912. Even Chelsea boss Avram Grant admitted after the game that the Championship side fully deserved their win [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7285730.stm] . With Portsmouth the only Premiership side remaining in the competition, what had begun as a shock result at Anfield had now developed into a genuine chance to reclaim their FA Cup glory, and when they were drawn against Cardiff City in the semi-finals at Wembley, a repeat of the historic final versus West Bromwich Albion was well on the cards. However, Cardiff managed to beat Barnsley with a 9th minute goal from Joe Ledley, meaning their final opponents would be Portsmouth after they themselves, had beaten West Brom to reach the final.

Current Season (2008–09)