Barnsley FC have had a number of great players and moments across the club’s 136-year history.
At present, The Tykes find themselves in the infancy of their second successive campaign in the third tier, but are looking to go one better under new boss Neil Collins, who joined from Florida based Tampa Bay Rowdies in June, replacing now Swansea boss Michael Duff.
Barnsley had an initial slow start to the campaign despite blowing Port Vale away 7-0 on the opening day of the campaign, but form had picked up in recent weeks prior to their narrow 3-2 defeat to league leaders Portsmouth at Oakwell on September 19th.
At present, the club sit in the final play-off place, with 13 points from the first 8 matches. However, FLW have decided to turn the clock back and look at where six ex-Barnsley players are currently plying their trade.
Jacob Butterfield
Barnsley are absolutely flying in the Championship right now and under Valerien Ismael, they have genuine play off aspirations.
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The Frenchman has guided the Tykes up the table this season and their fans are dreaming of a return to the Premier League, some 23 years after last being there.
In recent years, Barnsley have been a mid to lower-table Championship outfit, with a few relegations and promotions to and from League One in there as well.
Let’s take a look at some of those players that have played at Oakwell and see where they are now.
After initially joining on an emergency loan, Steele ended up making 209 league appearances for the Tykes, and played a key role in their epic FA Cup run in 2008.
After jet-setting to Panathinaikos in 2014, Steele returned to England and he recently signed for Lincolnshire-based Stamford AFC before football in the lower reaches was shut down again – a big surprise considering he was playing Championship games a few years ago.
A Tykes academy graduate and Barnsley born player, Kay featured regularly between 2003 and 2007, making 174 league outings since signing pro terms, and had played in pretty much every central position – including up-front.
Kay’s career has taken him to the likes of Tranmere and Huddersfield, but last summer he signed for Welsh Premier League side Bala Town after spending a bit of time at Chorley, and has been a regular for them so far this season, playing 14 times in the league.
A player who had many a great moment at Barnsley, Hammill played 164 league games in two separate stints and scored an unbelievable goal in the 2016 play off final against Millwall.
A maverick talent on the pitch, Hammill left the Tykes in 2018 and is now plying his trade over in Ireland at Derry City, where he made 13 appearances at the back end of last season.
Capped internationals are rare for Barnsley, but Wiseman was one of the few who made it for his country, playing 13 times for Gibraltar.
He just about made the 100 club for Barnsley as well in the league, and he now actually plays in Gibraltar for Lincoln Red Imps, where he’s made seven league appearances this season as a 34-year-old.
Butterfield was picked up from the Manchester United academy as a teenager, and he was a real success story for the Tykes.
His career never really took off though after departing Oakwell, and Butterfield now plays all the way across the world in Australia for Melbourne Victory and has fellow Football League luminaries as team-mates like Callum McManaman, Rudy Gestede and Ryan Shotton.
Richards has scored goals wherever he’s played, and in 2005 he joined Barnsley from Northampton Town.
He scored 18 league goals in two seasons for the Tykes and made a play off final appearance, and he went on to become a stalwart for both Port Vale and Northampton once again later in his career.
Richards now finds himself in non-league at the age of 38 with St. Ives Town, although his season has been curtailed due to the wider effects of COVID-19 on the non-professional game.
Jennings was one of the most exciting Football League youngsters during his time at Tranmere Rovers, which led to Bayern Munich snapping him up.
His career didn’t exactly take off though, and he joined Barnsley in 2013, just two years after joining the German giants.
It didn’t work out in Yorkshire for him either – Jennings’ career has pretty-much nosedived and is now playing in the Welsh Premier League for Prestatyn Town, but the season has not yet recommenced in Wales so he’s not made an appearance thus far.
After a spell at Nottingham Forest a few years prior, Pinillos returned to England with Barnsley in 2018, but a lot of his spell in South Yorkshire was blighted by injury.
He was still a bright spark in the 2018/19 promotion season from League One, and after being released last season, the left-back now finds himself in Poland’s second tier with Miedz Legnica.
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