League One Lowdown: Barnsley

Last updated : 22 July 2018 By Jim Bonner

Vital Statistics

Founded: 1887

Chairmen: Chien Lee and Paul Conway

Last Season: Championship - 22nd (Relegated)

Nickname: The Tykes

Rivals: Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Rotherham United

Major Honours

FA Cup: 1912

Scheduled Matches

Portsmouth vs Barnsley: Saturday, February 23rd (3pm)

Barnsley vs Portsmouth: Saturday, December 15th (3pm)

Barnsley: A brief history

Established by a clergyman in 1887, Barnsley played in local leagues before they joined the Football League in 1898. They struggled in the second division for years but achieved glory in 1912 by beating West Brom in the F.A. Cup final to win their first and only major honour, having lost the final two years previous to Newcastle.

Having been denied a place in the top tier due to the Football League voting Arsenal in instead, Barnsley would stay in the lower leagues for the next 99 years, experiencing the bottom divisions before eventually reviving their fortunes in the 90's, when Danny Wilson took the Tykes to the Premier League in 1997.

Their top flight status only lasted a season, however, and Barnsley have yo-yo'ed between the second and third tiers of English football ever since. Last year, Barnsley were taken over International Investment Consortium headed by Chien Lee and Grace Hung and they now own 80% of the club and are expected to give Barnsley a financial advantage in League One this upcoming season.

The Manager: Daniel Stendel

The 44-year-old spent all of his playing career in Germany, mainly for Hanover where he became manager in 2016 before being sacked a year later despite a respectable record. This record is what tempted the Barnsley board to appoint him in the summer of 2018 following the Tykes' relegation to League One.

The Ground: Oakwell (Capacity: 23,000 - Away: 4,700)

Editor's note: For some reason my previous review of Oakwell has disappeared and I've lost my photos.

Oakwell is one of the best venues in League One with a large away end to accomodate the Pompey fans. There are plenty of pubs in town but the main away fans' drinking establishment is the nearby leisure centre behind the away end.