David Kuzio - Barnsley Match of My Life: Oakwell Legends Relive Their Greatest Games

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2018

Pitch Publishing

A2 Yeoman Gate

Yeoman Way

Durrington

BN13 3QZ

www.pitchpublishing.co.uk

David Kuzio, 2018

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A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library

Print ISBN 978-1-78531-426-1

eBook ISBN 978-1-78531-464-3

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v. Liverpool
Premier League, November 1997

v. Huddersfield Town
Football League First Division, November 1998

v. Chesterfield
League Cup first round second leg, August 1977

v. Huddersfield Town
League 1 play-off semi-final second leg, May 2006

v. Bradford City
Football League First Division, April 1997

v. Swansea City
League 1 Play-Off Final, May 2006

v. Charlton Athletic Championship, April 2008

v. Plymouth Argyle
Championship, May 2009

v. Blackpool
League 1, December 2015

v. Nottingham Forest
Championship, March 2014

v. Liverpool
FA Cup fifth round, February 2008

v. Bradford City
Football League First Division, April 1997

v. Fulham
Football League Second Division, April 1983

v. Ipswich Town
First Division Play-Off Final, May 2000

v. Bradford City
Football League First Division, April 1997

v. Luton Town
League 1, March 2005

v. Bristol City
League 1, August 2004

v. Sheffield Wednesday
Football League First Division, October 2001

v. MK Dons
League 1, August 2004

v. Preston North End
Carling Cup first round, August 2005

This book is dedicated to my wife Chris, sons Ryan Adam and Jack Freeman and my late daughter Kate I love you with all my heart and the reason I keep taking on crazy projects like this.

Why do you support Barnsley?
WHY NOT!

FIRST OF all, I would like to thank Paul and Jane Camillin at Pitch Publishing for having the confidence in me to produce this book because, in all honesty, Barnsley are not the biggest club in the world so for them to take a risk with this publication, Ill be forever grateful.

You can never take on a project like this and complete it without the support of your family. My wife, Chris, always has my back in situations like this even when I am stressed out and in one of my why does no one ever reply moods. My son Ryan and mother-in-law Margaret for always shouting at me for just lying in my office instead of writing. My mum and dad, Kath and Adam, and older sister Karen are always there with support and guidance and every single one of my family form my support group in times like this.

I have to take time to thank every single player who contributed to this book, whether it was via me phoning them, e-mailing them or interviewing them in person. You all made this book possible and it has been nothing short of an honour listening to your tales about my club. Fran Manning at Ipswich Town deserves special praise as she worked wonders for me ever since my first e-mail. She went out of her way to get Mick McCarthy and Andy Liddell for me and that meant a lot.

I would like to thank Andy, Nicola and Matt at Barnsley FC, Fulham FC and Chesterfield FC respectively after coming to my aid in the final hours to provide some much needed line-ups to complete the book, while two gentlemen on the Tykes Talk Facebook group managed to find me the goalscorers from McCarthys debut game.

Id also like to thank actor Shaun Dooley for agreeing to write the foreword for this book. Many of you will probably see his name and say, Have I seen him in anything? Google his name and as soon as you see his face, trust me, you will say, Oh my god. Ive seen him in this and that. Hes really good.

Shaun is a massive Barnsley fan and a really private person, so I was made up he agreed to write a few thoughts about life as a Barnsley fan. Put it this way, I dont think anyone else in the world spent their first wage at Coronation Street on a Barnsley season ticket. Thanks Shaun.

My final thanks goes to my oldest friend Mark Hayes after he came up trumps for me when deadline was fast approaching. Mark is the chairman of Ashton Town and every year he organises a charity match for Josephs Goal involving Wigan Athletic. This year it was the Latics against Manchester City as an anniversary reminder of Wigan winning the FA Cup. Quite a few Barnsley players have played for both clubs, and Mark said hed get whoever I needed. Unfortunately, not everyone turned up but I managed to grab a couple of interviews and for that Mark thank you.

Everyone who contributed to this book being published, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. It means a lot. And to my youngest boy Jack, you havent a clue that every time I disappeared it was to write this book. Thanks for making me smile.

Dave Kuzio
May 2018

RIGHT, LETS get this out of the way early on. I am not from Barnsley and I am not even a Yorkshireman, but my love and affection for this club is just as strong as if I was born in Grove Street or Thirlmere Road. I am from Wigan.

So, how does a lad from Wigan, a die-hard rugby league fan, end up becoming a Barnsley Football Club supporter and allowing that team to take over his life? In August 1997, I moved to Barnsley as a student to study journalism. This was the year Barnsley played their first and so far only year in the Premier League I know what you are thinking, but I didnt start following them that year. I attended a few games as part of my course but I waited until they got relegated to get really involved.

My first live game as a fan was an FA Cup tie at Oakwell on 19 January 1999 against Swindon Town. We won the game 3-1 with goals from Sean McClare, Martin Bullock and Craig Hignett and thats when my real love affair with the club started.

Many people thought, when I passed my course in the June that year, that I would move back to Wigan and forget all about my silly little phase and the Tykes would never be mentioned again. How wrong they were and despite living exactly 79.5 miles away I continued to make regular trips to Oakwell to watch my team. I even dragged my rugby league-obsessed girlfriend (now wife) to games to try and get her involved although she did almost get me beaten up at Huddersfield. It didnt work, but our eldest son is just as fanatical about the Reds as I am, so I do have company on the long drive home.

Barnsley FC means the world to me and I was honoured to write this book. In my opinion every football or rugby club should have a book like this. It brings back some awesome memories, not just for me writing and the fans reading, but it brings joy to the players because they talk with passion about the club and it brings back great memories for them.

As most of you know, Barnsley are not the biggest club in the world and they havent been to countless finals or played in the big games around Europe, but the matches some of these players have picked are memorable for different reasons. They all have a personal aspect to them. A few of the players have chosen the same game (no prizes for guessing which one) and at first I didnt want to have any duplicates, but who am I to mess with someones fondest memory? So I kept them in and they are not identical chapters because everyone sees things differently anyway.