Sorry lads and lasses but this one's a no brainer. Despite loving watching Currie, Aylott, Geddis etc they all did it at a lower level than Ashley Ward who was superb at the top level of the game for us. He wins hands down.
yeah I underestimated how many decent forwards as had. I will run some for other positions and do them in groups of 4
Hard to choose to be honest. Good poll though, at least it cheers us all up and brings back good memories.
Nowt to do with sentiment or seeing him play. He was one of the best forwards to play for England and he also played well for us so he fits the criteria. I was 11 when the disaster happened. but that has nowt to do with the poll.
Never saw him play but if anyone deserves the title of best Barnsley forward it has to be home grown Tommy Taylor. Bought for a record fee at the time by Matt Busby and an England International. Dont think Ward ever played for England or indeed most of the strikers on the list. If its players I've seen, David Hirst was something else when he broke into the team as a 17 year old. Wouldn't say Ward was prolific, I'm sure Redfearn outscored him in the Premier League.
Taylor was undoubtedly a great player and, over his career as a whole the best but based on their time at Barnsley :- Taylor 26 goals in 44 games in the second tier at a time when teams were regularly scoring 4 or 5 goals in a match Ward 20 in 46 at first and second tier. Based on their time at Barnsley I'd still say Ward.
Flouncing from this thread* at the lack of inclusion for Daniel Nardiello. *After voting for Ashley Ward
I might be wrong on this, but pretty sure that Ward was injured at the start of the 98/99 season under Hendrie, then once he'd come back and got fit, he was scoring virtually every game. That game against Huddersfield, he only got 1 of the 7 goals, but he absolutely tormented their defence. Best spell I've seen from a Barnsley striker. Had we been able to keep him, Dyer and Hignett together for the rest of that season, we'd have gone up.
That's who I voted for. I can still feel the excitement thinking about him in on goal or even on the edge of the box. I like strikers that let fly.