Well here we are. 26th April 2007. 10 whole years have passed since Paul Wilkinson and Clint Marcelle fired the goals that beat Bradford City in front of a massive 18,605 at Oakwell which saw Danny Wilson's Barnsley reach the Premiership for the first and so far only time in the club's history.
Even though it was to be only a one year flirt with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, the 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 seasons will never be forgotten by Reds fans that witnessed them and one day, Saturday 26th April 1997 will be a day NOBODY inside Oakwell that day will ever stop thinking about.
Heres to the next 10 years and with survival almost secure, let's hope there's another Premiership promotion to celebrate soon!
Barnsley's record over the last 10 seasons:
1997-1998: 19th (Premiership) P:38 W:10 D:5 L:23 F:37 A:82 Points:35
Highlights:
Premiership football, knocking Manchester United out of FA Cup, beating Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield, beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1
Lowlights:
Losing 3-2 to Liverpool with 8 men, Relegation.
1998-1999: 13th (Division One/Championship) P:46 W:14 D:17 L:15 F:65 A:56 Points: 59
Highlights:
Beating Huddersfield 7-1 live on SKY. Reaching FA Cup Quarter-Finals for second successive season. Only team to defeat Sunderland at the Stadium of Light that season (the first team to beat them there). Signing of Craig Hignett
Lowlights:
Failure to bounce back to the Premiership. Losing 2-1 at Bradford after conceding two goals in the final 3 minutes. Sale of Ashley Ward
1999-2000: 4th (Division One/Championship) P:46 W:24 D:10 L:12 F:88 A:67 Points:82
Highlights: Reaching Play-Off Final, the last one at the old Wembley. Beating Portsmouth 6-0 at the opening of new North Stand. Beating Birmingham 4-0 away in first leg of Play-Off Semi. Beating Blackburn 5-1 with Ashley Ward looking glum-faced in the Executive Box
Lowlights:
Losing Play-Off Final. Losing 6-1 to Ipswich 2 days after beating Portsmouth 6-0. Drawing 2-2 at Port Vale after leading 2-1until the final minute. Drawing 3-3 at Sheffield United after leading 3-2 until the final minute. Sale of Craig Hignett at the end of the season.
2000-2001: 16th (Division One/Championship) P:46 W:15 D:9 L:22 F:49 A:62 Points:54
Highlights:
Beating Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 to halt of four straight defeats. Finishing above Wednesday.
Lowlights: Poor 16th place finish after the Play-Off Final. Losing 5-1 at Fulham.
2001-2002: 23rd (Division One/Championship) P:46 W:11 D:15 L:20 F:59 A:86 Points:48
Highlights:
Beating Sheffield Wednesday 3-0. Drawing 4-4 at Portsmouth with 2 goals in final 6 minutes.
Lowlights: Relegation to Division Two. Losing 4-0 at Bradford on the opening day. Losing 5-1 at Manchester City live on sky. Losing 2-0 at home to Norwich that confirmed relegation to the third tier of English Football for the first time in 21 years.
2002-2003: 19th (Division Two/ League One) P:46 W:13 D:13 L:20 F:51 A:64 Points:52
Highlights:
Beating Brentford 1-0 with a last minute Isaiah Rankin goal to ensure survival.
Lowlights:
Nearly going straight down to Division Three. Losing 4-1 at Macclesfield in the League Cup. Losing 4-1 to Blackpool in the FA Cup
2003-2004: 12th (Division Two/ League One) P:46 W:15 D:17 L:14 F:54 A:58 Points:62
Highlights:
Highest points total and first top half finish since 2000. Daniel Nardiello scoring two on his debut as won Blackpool 3-0. Topping the league after 4 games. Unbeaten for the first 6. Antony Kay's last minute winner at Luton. Ending Hartlepool's 15 month unbeaten record 6 days later. Dean Gorre.
Lowlights:
Going 11 games without a win from 27th January to 3rd April which saw The Reds drop from 4th to 11th and out of the promotion frame. Sacking Gudjon Thordarson. Drawing 3-3 with QPR after taking a 3-2 lead in the 89th minute. Losing 6-1 at Grimsby who were to be relegated. Losing 1-0 at home to Chesterfield who hadn't won away and The Reds hadn't lost at home, which came after the wins at Luton and Hartlepool.
2004-2005: 13th (League One) P:46 W:14 D:19 L:13 F:69 A:64 Points:61
Highlights:
4 match winning run without conceding a goal. Michael Chopra bagging 18 goals including 2 hat-tricks. Beating Huddersfield 4-2.
Lowlights:
High expectations quashed as Paul Hart's newly revamped side failed to win promotion as much hyped new arrivals Nick Colgan and Stephen McPhail failed to deliver. Losing twice to newly promoted Doncaster Rovers including a 4-0 battering at Belle Vue. Drawing 3-3 to eventually relegated Stockport after being 3-0 up and drawing 2-2 at Edgeley Park after leading 2-1 until the final minute. Losing 5-0 at Port Vale. Losing 7-1 at Manchester City in League Cup. Sheffield Wednesday winning the Play-Offs.
2005-2006: 5th (League One) P:46 W:18D:18 L:10 F:62 A:44 Points:72
Highlights:
Promotion back to the Championship via the Play-Offs. 1-0 win at Rotherham that propelled The Reds from 14th to 7th 1-1 draw with Rotherham at Oakwell in the last minute. Drawing 2-2 with Blackpool with 2 goals in the final 9 minutes. Beating Oldham 4-0 and 3-0. Defeating Scunthorpe 5-2 and then Bradford 5-3. Winning 2-1 at Walsall to secure a Play-Off Spot. Defeating Huddersfield 3-1 in the Play-Off Semi Final Second Leg.
Lowlights: 3 defeats to Doncaster including a 5-2 LDV home drubbing. Drawing 2-2 with Huddersfield after leading 2-1 until the 94th minute.
2006-2007 (so far) 20th (Championship) P:44 W:15 D:5 L:24 F:53 A: 77 Points:50
Highlights:
Defeating Leeds 3-2. Defeating Plymouth 4-2 away and Southend 3-1 away. Winning 1-0 at Stoke live on Sky. Beating Birmingham 1-0. Beating Hull 3-0. 1 Win away from Championship survival.
Lowlights:
Sacking Andy Ritchie. Double defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. Hammerings at Ipswich and Norwich. 3-0 home to defeat Colchester. Most goals conceded in the league.
The Official Website has some great interviews with the heroes of that fateful day in 1997. The links are below