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Peter Barnes represents one of the many enigmatic players of England's history. Supremely gifted with pace, finishing coolness and a rarely seen panache down both flanks, Barnes had burst on to the scene in a talented but inconsistent Manchester City team, making his debut in the 1974/75 campaign at just 17 years of age. Unfortunately the emergence of Barnes at international level coincided with England's frustrating barren period when two consecutive World Cups passed the nation by and the obvious ability available to coaches was failing to produce the results on the field. By the time a 20 year old Barnes was called up by Ron Greenwood in November 1977, England's chances of reaching Argentina '78 were as good as dead.
This was the last qualifier, against Italy at Wembley, and only a cricket score against the group's clear winners-in-waiting would enable the FA to book the flights. England did win 2-0 but this wasn't anywhere near enough, yet many headlines glossed over the mess Don Revie had left mid-campaign and concentrated instead on the sparkle suddenly injected into the side again. Down the left flank, Peter provided that sparkle; teasing his full back time and again and whipping in a series of delicious crosses and through balls, especially in the first half, which gave great heart to the future of the English game. For a nation who had won the World Cup with its wingless wonders, suddenly the opposite was happening as Barnes and fellow wide debutant Steve Coppell proceeded to dominate the match, aided by an instruction to midfield general Trevor Booking to feed the two newcomers as much as possible. Peter settled into England's No.11 shirt throughout 1978 as England swept through the Home Internationals and threw aside Hungary 4-1, leaving the crowd and media wondering what might have been had this act been in order 18 months earlier. Amidst all this, Barnes scored two of his five England goals as emphasis on creative and exciting wingplay dominated England's game.
With the awkward but effective Paul Mariner or Bob Latchford in the side, Peter had a real target for his crosses, and often found his man. Sadly, though, the downturn in Barnes' club career had a similar effect on his England hopes. His 1979 move to West Bromwich Albion, which dulled his effectiveness as an out-and-out winger, similarly curtailed his international chances. He scored two goals in 1979 but Greenwood had begun to narrow his midfield and Coppell stayed in while Barnes was eased out. He didn't feature at the 1980 European Championships and even when the left flank became a place for orthodox wingplay again, the young Arsenal player Graham Rix had become the lead figure. Barnes won four caps in 1981 and a last one in 1982 (a 2-0 win against the Dutch), by which time he had joined a Leeds United side destined for relegation, with his performances for that team receiving fierce criticism to the extent that his career never recovered. (Matthew Rudd)
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