Danny Wilson will always be my favourite Barnsley manager. We could go on to win the Champions League and Danny Wilson will always be my favourite Barnsley manager. I have a hell of a lot of respect for Valerien, but Danny got there first and at an age when I was much more impressionable. Early on in the 94-95 season, my brother and I knew we were getting promoted to the Premier League. We didn't think it, we knew it. I was at Uni for the entirety of Danny's tenure. I still owe tens of thousands of pounds in student loans, spent almost entirely on following BFC across the country. On Tuesday 14th January 1997 I drove a friend from Uni to Oakwell to watch Barnsley v Oldham in the FA Cup. The cup still meant something back then, but this had been rearranged, it was a horrible winter night, we had much bigger fish to fry in the league, so this game has kind of gone under the radar. At half time I turned to my friend and asked him what he thought. Nobody in the crowd had spoken during the first half because you couldn't take your eyes away from what was happening in front of us. My friend, an avid football fan, but an armchair football fan, brought up on Premier League, European Football, International Football, the best of the best, looked at me utterly gobsmacked and said, " I didn't know football could be like this, this is like fk*cing magic." It remains the best performance by any team I've ever seen. Danny Wilson was the brand, but what we did, that amazing thing we did, was achieved by three people: Danny, Eric Winstanley and John Dennis. Two of them were Barnsley lads. John was in the same class at infant school as me mam. I've got a photo of him and he looked porky then! I talk to one of Eric's lads at half time (when we could go to games) and we try to outdo each other on being gross and making each other laugh. But Danny was the same. He was from Wigan, same deal. George Orwell wrote most of The Road to Wigan Pier when he was staying in Barnsley. Those three men... I cannot even begin to articulate the influence they've had on my life. 'Deep breath Jay, come on, you can do it, they did it, you can do it.' I'm from a council estate in Barnsley. I have a massive inferiority complex because society has given me one. But I also have those three role models (And Mick McCarthy). We're on the cusp of doing it again. And Eric's just died. It feels like we're owed it. We bloody are, but life doesn't work that way. It doesn't matter what happens tomorrow. We had Danny and Eric and John, and now we've got Valerien and Dane and this amazing team, and fc*k I hope we win, but if we don't, we walk away filled with pride.
Premier league quality post. Anyone who gets the Orwell/Barnsley connection will do for me. You’re on team talk duties tomorrow, mate.
And what you will always have to remember my Fun Boy Three matey.... is that you once said to me ...AND in front of JWLBL.... that you thought I was a Danny Wilson look-a-like. Funnnily enough my nephew Leigh has said the same too. Maybe I should throw my hat in the ring for the next manager if Val moves on....
Great post Jay, I think that period, for those who witnessed it, will always be a massive highlight of our lives. A Barnsley team, Barnsley bred playing staff and management and playing great football.
He'll always be mine too. A great post. Out of curiosity did your uni friend start attending matches?
Great post from Jay. I get his sentiment but for me for different reasons mine was Norman Hunter. I had watched Barnsley for about 10 years seeing the management skills of mcSeveney and Iley and the transformation under Clarke but it was the football played under Hunter that I look back on as the best for me. During the 90’s I wasn’t able to watch us as often so I missed a lot of the Wilson magic which probably colours my view Not to distract from the contribution provided by Eric who along with Norman Rimmington are the 2 stand out Barnsley personnel over my entire Barnsley watching life. Eric was centre half when I first started going in 1971 so he had always been linked I am also desperate for a win today the fact Eric has gone and Norman earlier in the season makes me want it more. And it would be great for Andrew and his family to have a victory or 2 to give them a little joy in this very sad time
