GEOFF BARNSLEY

Full Name: Geoffrey Robert Barnsley

Born: 09 December 1935

Came from: West Bromwich Albion   Went to: Norwich City

First game: 16 November 1957   Last game: 18 March 1961

Appearances: 145 (145/0)   Goals: 0

Born in Bilston, a market town near Wolverhampton, then in Staffordshire, Barnsley was a young goalkeeper when signed from West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 1957. He had begun his career as a junior at the Hawthorns, turning professional in December 1952. His boyhood hero was the Wolves and England goalkeeper Bert Williams. Barnsley was not the biggest of men, but was fearless and agile.

Advantageously for Argyle when they signed him, he had already served his National Service by the time he headed to Devon. He served in the Royal Artillery for two years after completing his basic training in Oswestry, in Shropshire, being posted to Woolwich Arsenal as part of Ordnance QF 25-pounder gun team. He was conscripted on the Thursday but travelled home on a Friday to be part of the Albion party travelling to the 1954 FA Cup Final.

Albion were a strong side in the fifties and he made just one appearance for them, in the 1954-55 season, a 3-1 defeat in January 1955 against a Preston North End side at Deepdale that included the great Tom Finney

Allowed to leave by Baggies' manager Vic Buckingham, Barnsley arrived at Home Park in June 1957 as a Jack Rowley signing, a few days after his West Brom team mate, Wilf Carter had made the same move. He replaced the injured Harry Brown in November 1957, and created a very favourable impression, conceding 17 times in 20 games, including a run of five clean sheets. Having started 1958-59 as first choice, he was left out after a surprise 4-2 home defeat at the hands of struggling Accrington Stanley, in favour of Bob Wylie, but was recalled five matches later for the promotion run-in. He played 41 league games as Argyle claimed the Division Three championship and played 28 times the following season, in Division Two, in what was a transitional season for the club. Wylie had failed to settle at the club, meaning Barnsley had started the season as number one, with John Leiper his deputy. Rowley also bought in Dave MacLaren from Leicester City, with the two becoming firm friends rather than natural rivals. With the side struggling post-promotion, and eventually finishing 19th, Rowley was relieved of his duties in March 1960, meaning he played out the final third of his Argyle career under the joint-management duo of Neil Dougall & George Taylor.

Former West Brom manager Vic Buckingham, who had just left Ajax and would later go on to manage Barcelona, was then lined up to take-over at Home Park and was at the club long enough at the end of the 1960-61 to prepare the Retained and Released Lists. Barnsley was on the latter, and even later joked "Vic, who had sold me to Argyle from the Albion, came to Argyle for just about long enough to sell me again!".

Leading into that summer of 1961 he had indeed become unsettled and coupled with Buickingham's arrival, at least as manager-elect, he moved to Norwich City for £2,000 in May 1961.

Buckingham never did take full charge, becoming Argyle's manager-that-never-was, as he accepted an offer from Sheffield Wednesday. Argyle Secretary Jess Lowe was then officially appointed "acting manager" (whilst continuing as Secretary) that summer, and never took charge of a game. The tumultuous managerial changes then completed with Dougall solely taking on the role, and Taylor (who'd briefly, solely been caretaker-manager himself, after Jimmy Rae was dismissed and ahead of Rowley being appointed) stepping back into his previous role of Chief Trainer.

Meanwhile, Barnsley's move to Norfolk was not a success, though two of his just eight first team appearances for the Canaries were against Argyle over Christmas 1961. From Norwich he returned to Devon with Torquay United, but fared little better as he played just six times.

In the summer of 1964, he elected to return to his native Midlands and took a job outside football, playing a season for Dudley Town and two more for Bilston Town, before he called time on playing altogether.

In a happy full-circle moment, his boyhood hero Bert Williams was running a sports shop in Bilston when Barnsley returned to the area and asked Geoff to assist, along with getting to work alongside him at his locally-run goalkeeping schools.

After football, for over 25 years, he worked assisting the disabled with their holidays and sports, firstly in residential home and day centre settings and latterly through treatment and assessment centres.

In September 2008 as part of an 50th anniversary reunion of the 1958-59 Third Division championship team, the surviving members of the squad came together at Home Park for a home game. Argyle author Steve Rhodes who wrote "Thanks for the Memory," a book on that season, took many photos on the day. On the pitch, with his camera, he asked Geoff if he'd pose in the goal, for posterity. Geoff duly obliged and said he'd 'adopt a typical pose' and duly mimicked picking the ball out of the back of the net, for a wonderful photo which made it into the book. Still the team joker (as his team-mates always remembered him) all those years on!

In December 2025, Geoff reached the grand old age of 90 and remains living in Sedgley in Wolverhampton.