Peter Simon Barnes (born 10 June 1957) is an English former international football player, manager and pundit. An attacking left-sided winger, his playing career spanned 19 years and took him to 25 clubs across eight countries. He is the son of Ken Barnes, who won the FA Cup with Manchester City in 1956. An England Youth and under-21 international, Barnes was a member of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship winning team in 1975. He won 22 senior caps for England, scoring four goals. Though he was never selected in a squad for a major tournament, he played in two victorious British Home Championship campaigns.
Barnes began his career as an apprentice at Manchester City in July 1972 and turned professional two years later. He made his Football League debut in October 1974, aged 17. He scored in City's 1976 League Cup final victory and was named as PFA Young Player of the Year. He played in the UEFA Cup and unsuccessful First Division title campaigns, scoring 22 goals in 151 appearances in all competitions. He became West Bromwich Albion's record buy at £748,000 in July 1979 and spent two seasons at the club, scoring 25 goals in 92 matches. Leeds United broke their club record transfer when signing him for £750,000 plus £180,000 "tariffs" in 1981. The move proved to be a poor one. After Leeds were relegated into the Second Division, he was bought by Spanish club Real Betis for £300,000. He made 16 La Liga appearances, scoring one goal, before returning to Leeds United for the 1983–84 season.
Barnes was signed by Coventry City for £65,000 in October 1984 but was dropped by the end of the 1984–85 campaign. Former West Bromwich Albion manager Ron Atkinson then signed him for Manchester United for a fee of £30,000, and a run of good form prompted speculation of a return to the international fold before he suffered a calf injury in November 1985. He was sold to former club Manchester City for £20,000 in January 1987, but he failed to establish himself in the starting eleven. He spent the next five years moving from club to club, never featuring more than eleven times for the same team. After his retirement, he briefly managed Conference club Runcorn. He had numerous jobs, including working as a television and radio pundit.
Club career Manchester City Teenage years: 1972–1977 Born in Manchester, Barnes graduated from Chorlton High School and represented Manchester Boys. He began his playing career at Manchester City after becoming an apprentice at the club in July 1972. He had seven trials with Leeds United, whose manager, Don Revie, was a friend and former teammate to his father. Johnny Hart, a backroom staff member at Manchester City, had been told that Barnes was about to sign with Leeds on schoolboy forms and so intervened to get Barnes a place as a schoolboy with City.
He turned professional at the age of 17 and made his first-team debut in the Manchester derby on 9 October 1974, coming on for Glyn Pardoe in a 1–0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford in the League Cup. Manager Tony Book surmised that: "the handful of things which Peter did were carried out properly and effectively". Barnes made his First Division debut four days later, following an injury to Rodney Marsh, starting in a 2–1 defeat at Burnley. He made his Maine Road debut the following week, standing in for the injured Dennis Tueart in a 1–0 win over Luton Town, and missed an easy chance to score a goal after "spooning a ball from Bell over the top from less than with the entire goal gaping". He scored his first career goal on 19 March 1975, converting a knee-high volley in a 2–1 loss to Carlisle United; this was his only goal from five appearances in the 1974–75 season.
Barnes had to wait until 8 October to make his first appearance of the 1975–76 campaign, filling in for the injured Tueart in a 2–1 home victory over Nottingham Forest in the League Cup. Book then dropped captain Marsh from the first-team and transfer-listed him, which left a space for Barnes in the starting eleven as Asa Hartford was given Marsh's number ten shirt. Barnes scored his first goal of the campaign from what Book described as "virtually very little" in a 2–2 draw at Sheffield United; the draw had been hard-earned after the team coach crashed on the journey to the ground, causing whiplash injuries to some City players. Nottingham Football Post columnist Ron Fenton wrote that: "Peter Barnes and Dennis Tueart have consistently destroyed defences this season with thrilling wing play... [and] have done the game a big service ... to accelerate the re-birth of wingers". Barnes' run of twelve consecutive league starts was ended after he suffered a cracked collarbone following a collision with Frank Gray during a 1–0 home defeat to Leeds United on Boxing Day. Barnes ended the season with five goals in 36 appearances, including 27 league starts.
Of more significance in the 1975–76 season was the club's League Cup campaign which saw them reach the final by eliminating Norwich City (after two replays), Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, Mansfield Town and Middlesbrough (against whom Barnes scored a goal and provided an assist) to reach the final, where they faced Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium. Barnes scored the opening goal of the match on 11 minutes with a half-volley after captain Mike Doyle headed a free kick into his path; it was part of a routine that had been practised on the training ground. Manchester City went on to win the match 2–1, with Tueart scoring the winning goal shortly after half-time. Hugh McIlvanney wrote that Barnes was an "ebullient, highly-skilled newcomer to Wembley" and that for his goal the ball "bounced awkwardly, but he used his left foot to come down on it with killing economy, and it went swiftly inside the goalkeeper's left-hand post". The day after the cup final, Barnes was voted Young Player of the Year by the Professional Footballers' Association. He fluffed his acceptance speech due to his shyness and fear of public speaking as he froze and was unable to speak.
With Bell facing a long-term injury, Book signed veteran forward Brian Kidd and Irish right-sided midfielder Jimmy Conway to add experience to the side. Barnes was left out of the squad for the opening match of the 1976–77 season. An impressive goal against Bristol City helped him to force his way into the side for the opening match of the UEFA Cup campaign against Juventus. He was substituted after being injured by Juventus defender Claudio Gentile, who stamped his studs through Barnes's shoe to damage his foot. The injury caused him to miss the second leg, which Juventus won on their way to the final. Conway picked up an injury during his absence, and Barnes returned to the starting eleven upon his return to fitness.
Barnes aggravated the foot injury against West Ham United, and was left on the bench for much of the rest of the 1976–77 campaign. It was only after the Manchester derby match in March that he had an extended run in the team as City made a push for the league title. He provided the assist for David Watson in a 2–1 win over title rivals Ipswich Town. However, he was dropped for the crucial match with Liverpool, erstwhile stand-in Paul Power taking his place on the wing as Book went with the game plan of stifling Liverpool; Barnes came on as a substitute and provided the assist for Kidd's equaliser, though Liverpool quickly regained the lead and won the match 2–1. Three straight wins revived City's title hopes, but a 4–0 loss at Derby County and a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa saw them end the season in second-place, one point behind Liverpool.
An established first-team presence: 1977–78 Barnes was again relegated to the bench for the opening match of the 1977–78 season after Book signed Mick Channon from Southampton for £300,000. Channon scored his first goals for the club on Barnes's first start of the season, a 4–0 win over Norwich City on 3 September. City were back in the UEFA Cup and both Barnes and Channon scored in a 2–2 draw with Widzew Łódź in the first round. However, City were eliminated on the away goals rule. Despite the disappointment in Europe, City were top of the First Division at the start of October in what was a short-lived title campaign that tailed off into a fourth-place finish. Barnes managed to score impressive goals against Bristol City and Arsenal, beating three players en route to goal against Bristol City and chipping over Pat Jennings against Arsenal. He started 33 league matches that season, playing 45 times in total and scoring 11 goals. Dutch club PSV Eindhoven made a bid for Barnes shortly before their appearance in the 1978 UEFA Cup final, but fell short of Manchester City chairman Peter Swales's £750,000 valuation.
Disappointing final season: 1978–79 Book continued to be reticent in playing Barnes during the 1978–79 season, but he angrily dismissed claims that there was a growing rift between player and club as "the age-old press gimmick of stirring up the waters". Barnes was praised for his performances in the UEFA Cup, with Peter Gardner of the Manchester Evening Guardian commenting that he was "at his brilliant best" by "twisting, turning, tormenting and teasing the harassed Belgians" in a 4–0 win over Standard Liège in the second round first leg. Standard Liège manager Robert Waseige labelled him as a "world-class player" after the match. City overcame Milan in the next round despite Barnes missing the leg at the San Siro and reports being leaked to the press of a £1.5 million transfer bid from Milan's Serie A rivals Juventus. Results in the league were poor for City and Swales acted by assigning Book with an unwanted assistant in former City boss Malcolm Allison. Barnes later reflected that following Allison's arrival "things were different and our mood changed, the mood just wasn't right... I felt my days were numbered".
City were knocked out of the FA Cup by Third Division Shrewsbury Town and exited the UEFA Cup at the quarter-finals following defeat by Borussia Mönchengladbach, all whilst slipping to a 15th-place finish in the First Division – the club's lowest league finish since 1967. Barnes was dropped from the team and transfer-listed in March. Barnes told Book that he wanted to stay at the club but later reflected: "I'm sure he wanted me to stay but I don't think he had the final decision". Liverpool made an offer of £650,000 which, despite being £200,000 more than they paid for club record signing Kenny Dalglish, still fell £100,000 short of City's valuation. Manchester United met the valuation but, as they were local rivals, were told they must pay £1 million or £750,000 plus Steve Coppell.
West Bromwich Albion