Before Joe Ackroyd's debut on Saturday, who were the last ten Barnsley men to play for the Reds?
MARC ROBERTS: Although he did not come through the Reds’ academy, the centre-back from Penistone was the last person from the Barnsley borough to play for the club. The Reds signed him aged 25 from non-league Halifax, and he took to professional football very well – helping them to promotion to the Championship then captaining the team before moving to Birmingham City in 2017. His five-year deal with the Blues expires this summer.
GEORGE SMITH: The left-back from Penistone played 44 games for the Reds. He made his debut under Danny Wilson at Preston on Boxing Day 2014 aged 18 and was a regular throughout most of 2015. But, after a loan to Crawley, his opportunities were limited during the 2016 run to promotion and he left the club that summer. He has mainly played non-league football since, for Gateshead, Chesterfield, Dover, Boston, Harrogate and is now at Darlington in the National League North.
JOHN STONES: The Thurlstone lad came through the Oakwell academy, made 28 first team appearances and moved to Everton then Manchester City for £47.5m – with both deals earning the Reds around £10million. He now has 55 England caps and a claim to being one of the best ever sportspeople from Barnsley.
DANNY ROSE: The striker is from the town centre and still lives there. He made his debut as a 17-year-old against Doncaster Rovers in April 2011 then scored twice in January 2013, against Burnley in the FA Cup and Ipswich in the Championship. After making 18 appearances in total, he moved to Bury in 2014 then Mansfield and now plays for Northampton. The 28-year-old is approaching his 350th career appearance and has 73 goals.
JORDAN CLARK: The forward from Hoyland came through the academy in the same youth team as Stones and Rose. He was the first to make his debut, aged 17, in a 1-0 loss at home to QPR in April 2011. But he left in 2014, with the last of his seven appearances coming almost two years earlier. After spells with Shrewsbury – for whom he scored a winner at Oakwell in 2015 – and Accrington Stanley, he returned to the Championship with Luton Town in 2020 and could face the Reds next month.
STEVIE BENNETT: The striker from Grimethorpe made four substitute appearances in the 2010/11 season under Mark Robins. But he was released at the end of that season and moved into non-league football, with the likes of Athersley Rec and Grimethorpe Sports. He was jailed for robbery and affray in 2013 then last year for five years for causing death by dangerous driving.
LUKE POTTER: The defender from Darton made his debut in a 7-0 loss at West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the 2006/07 season. He played 21 games in total for the Reds before retiring in 2012 due to injury. He had a spell as manager of Athersley Rec and has coached part-time in the Barnsley academy.
NEIL AUSTIN: The right-back played 165 times for the Reds from 2002 to 2007, alongside caps for England from under 15s to under 20s. He moved on to Darlington and Hartlepool before helping Shaw Lane AFC rise up the leagues.
PAUL HECKINGBOTTOM: The Royston man had been a professional for more than a decade when he joined the Reds in 2006, helping them to promotion that year before moving on in 2007. He famously took them up as head coach in 2016 and is now in charge of rivals Sheffield United.
ANTONY KAY: The Darfield lad made 197 Barnsley appearances from 2000 to 2007. He went on to play more than 700 games in a professional career than spanned 20 years and included spells at Tranmere Rovers, Huddersfield Town, MK Dons and Bury. Dale Tonge, Ryan Laight and Nathan Joynes also played for their hometown club between 2004 and 2007.
