It will soon be time for the player of the season award to be handed out at Oakwell. We have taken a look in our archives at some of the former winners.
Brendan O’Connell 1991: Brendan’s nomadic career found a home at Barnsley where he spent six seasons. The goalscoring midfielder netted 35 in 240 league games for the Reds after having spells at Portsmouth, Exeter, Burnley and Huddersfield. He later moved to Charlton Athletic and Wigan.
Mark Smith 1992: The Sheffielder made his name at Hillsborough as a teenager but enjoyed his twilight years as a player at Oakwell. A consistent performer the defender went past 100 appearances in red. He now coaches and has been a caretaker manager at Notts County, Sheffield Wednesday and Chesterfield.
Arjan de Zeeuw 1996: Affectionally nicknamed Chester by Reds fans due to his surname, joined the club in 1995 from Dutch side Telstar and was named the Player of the Season in his first year in South Yorkshire. He played 174 times for the Reds during his four-year spell, including 26 games in Barnsley’s only ever season in the Premier League. He left Oakwell to sign for Second Division side Wigan Athletic in 1999 before having stints at Portsmouth and Coventry in England. Following his retirement in 2009, De Zeeuw began working as an investigative detective in Alkmaar, specialising in forensics.
John Hendrie 1997: Hendrie is one of a select few to both manage and play for the Reds. He signed from Middlesborough in 1996 after losing his place to Brazilian Juninho. He played 65 times for the Reds, scoring 17 goals during a three-year stint which included a year in the Premier League. He was named Barnsley’s Player of the Season in the promotion year and became the Reds manager after relegation the following year. He was sacked on April 19, 1999 after just one season in charge having failed to achieve a play-off place. But Barnsley fans will forever hold fond memories of Hendrie who was pivotal in the club’s promotion to the top flight.
Gary Fleming 1993: He signed for the Reds in an £85,000 deal from Manchester City in 1989. The defender featured more than 230 times for Barnsley during his seven-year spell at Oakwell, becoming Barnsley’s player of the year in 1992-93. Born in Derry, he played 31 times for Northern Ireland between 1986 and 1994, with his last game coming against Austria. His career ended early at the age of 30 due to an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament whilst at Barnsley.
Clive Baker 1974: Although small for a goalkeeper he was a dependable stopper for the Reds and spent the bulk of his career at Oakwell between 1984 and 1991. Originally from Norfolk he made the switch to play for Ipswich Town at the end of his career after coming through at arch rivals Norwich City.
Stuart Gray 1987: A solid player and now a highly-renowned coach who has been in the hotseat at both Southampton, Northampton Town and Sheffield Wednesday as head coach. He joined Barnsley from Nottingham Forest and left for Aston Villa in 1987.
Steve Agnew 1990: Steve came through the ranks at Barnsley and spent eight years with Barnsley before an unsuccessful spell with Blackburn Rovers. He chipped in with plenty of goals from midfield for Barnsley and has been a trusted coach at several clubs with Steve Bruce.
