Biography
Former England international winger Peter Barnes signed a short term contract with Hull City in March 1988 following the termination of his contract with Manchester City. A former England international? – Hull City weren’t signing many of those in the 1980s. While he showed flashes of his past brilliance, Barnes was not the fully fledged flying wingman at Boothferry Park that he had been 10 or 15 years earlier at Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion, and he was not offered a further contract by the club after manager Brian Horton had moved on a month after Barnes was signed.
Peter Barnes was born and raised in the Chorlton area of Manchester, raised by former Manchester City player and coach ken Barnes, and went on to have a remarkable playing career in two distinct halves. The first half commenced when he joined Manchester City as an apprentice and made his first team debut against Chelsea in October 1974 at the age of 17. His first senior goal came in March 1975 against Carlisle United, and by the 1975/76 season he was an important part of the Sky Blues’ first team. He was prominent in the club’s run to the League Cup Final in February 1976, where the 18 year old Barnes scored the opening goal in a 2-1 win over Newcastle United, and in the 1976 close season he was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year. Eighteen months later Barnes was playing for England and was the first name on the Manchester City teamsheet. In July 1979 West Bromwich Albion manager Ron Atkinson paid a £750,000 fee for Barnes – at the time an eyewatering payment and the Baggies’ record fee paid for nearly 20 years – and his stock continued to rise with 15 league goals in his first season at The Hawthorns. After a second successful season with WBA Barnes signed for Leeds United in August 1981 for £930,000, but the West Yorkshire side attempted to convert wide man Barnes into a central striker and his form dipped.
Within nine months of joining Leeds he had ventured to Seville in Spain and joined Real Betis. This commenced the second more nomadic half of Barnes’ career. After a season in Spain Barnes returned to Leeds United, who by now were a Second Division side. After spending the summer of 1984 playing in Australia Barnes joined Coventry City in October 1984, in the 1985 close season he reunited with his former manager Ron Atkinson, who was now manager at Manchester United. After a year and a half on the fringes of the Red Devils first team the arrival of Alex Ferguson at Manchester United prompted Barnes to return to Manchester City in January 1987, but a year later he was released to join the Tigers.
This nomadic career continued at a turbo-charged level when he left Hull City in May 1988. Over the next five years he had short spells at over a dozen clubs in England, Wales, Portugal, Australia, Ireland (Northern and Republic of), USA and Malta. In 1998 he had short spells managing in Gibraltar and in Cheshire (at Runcorn). By then he had commenced his second career in the game, coaching impoverished children in the Far East at the Ken Barnes Soccer School (which was set up by his father). He also undertook media pundit duties (notably for the Astro TV network in Malaysia) and worked for the Manchester City hospitality team on matchdays. He also managed the Manchester City Veterans XI for many years.
Barnes was handed a debut for the England senior team in November 1977 by Ron Greenwood, in a 2-0 win over Italy. He scored all four of his England goals in the 1978 and 1979 calendar years, the first in May 1978 against Wales and the last in June 1979 against Bulgaria. His final cap came in a May 1982 friendly against Netherlands, when he won his 22nd senior cap to add to the 9 England under-21 caps he had previous received.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 10 June 1957, Manchester
Hull City First Game: 5 March 1988, Barnsley H (Division Two), 30 years, 269 days old
Hull City Final Game: 2 May 1988, Millwall H (Division Two), 30 years, 327 days old
Clubs
Manchester City (1974-1979), West Bromwich Albion (1979-1981), Leeds United (1981-1982), Real Betis (1982-1983), Leeds United (1983-1984), Manchester United (1984, loan), Footscray JUST (1984), Coventry City (1984-1985), Manchester United (1985-1987), Ballymena United (1986, loan), Manchester City (1987-1988), Bolton Wanderers (1987, loan), Port Vale (1987-1988, loan), Wimbledon (19888, loan), Hull City (1988), SC Farense (1988), Bolton Wanderers (1988-1989), Sunderland (1989), Stockport County (1989, loan), Footscray JUST (1989), Bury (1989), Drogheda United (1989), Tampa Bay Rowdies (1990), Stafford Rangers (1990), Northwich Victoria (1990), Wrexham (1991), Radcliffe Borough (1991), Mossley (1991), Hamrun Spartans (1992), SC Farense !992), Cliftonville (1992-1993)
Hull City Record
Career: 11 apps, 0 goals
Peter Barnes| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987/88 | 11 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |