Profiling those Saddlers that came and went in the blink of an eye...
AS WE embark upon a year of celebration to mark Walsall FC’s 125th Anniversary, a lot will, quite rightly, be said about the most popular players or those who have made the most appearances for the club over the years.But what about those players that came and went in the blink of an eye? They may have only appeared on a handful of occasions, but nevertheless, have made a contribution to the history of this great club of ours.
We will be highlighting some of the forgotten Saddlers from the Bescot Years, continuing with an experienced head who played his part as we closed in on promotion in 2001...
His on-the-field action may have been limited to just one start and two substitute appearances for The Saddlers, but Barry Horne had an influential role to play behind-the-scenes as we secured promotion via the play-offs in 2000/01.
With 59 caps for Wales and an FA Cup winners’ medal with Everton in 1995, Horne arrived at Bescot Stadium from Kidderminster Harriers in March 2001 with over 700 senior outings to his name.
Utilising that know-how to help those around him, he made his debut in our 5-1 victory over Wycombe Wanderers and appeared in our goalless draw at Stoke before starting our final game of the regular season as we won 3-0 at Northampton Town.
He was released by Walsall in the summer of 2001 and drifted into the non-League game with Belper Town.
Combining media work with teaching at The Kings School in Chester, he is now a Director at his first club, Wrexham.