Barry Horne (footballer)

Barry Horne (born 18 May 1962, St Asaph, Wales) is a Welsh former professional footballer, former chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association and sports television pundit.
As a player he was a midfielder from 1984 until 2002, notably playing in the Premier League for Everton. He also played in the Football League for Wrexham, Portsmouth, Southampton, Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Walsall, before playing Non-league football with Kidderminster Harriers and Belper Town. He was capped 59 times by Wales, scoring twice.

In his career Horne played for Wrexham, Portsmouth, Southampton, Everton, Birmingham, Huddersfield (where he scored once against Bristol City), Sheffield Wednesday, Kidderminster Harriers (where he scored on his debut against Torquay United), Walsall and Belper Town.

While at Wrexham, he was responsible for one of the most memorable moments in the club's history, a vital away goal in a 4–3 defeat against Porto in the first round of the European Cup-Winners' Cup in October 1984. Wrexham had won the first leg 1–0, and Horne's 89th-minute strike ensured that they progressed to the second round of the competition, where they lost to Roma.

He captained the Welsh national team and won the FA Cup in 1995 whilst playing for Everton, the team he supports.

His Welsh senior debut came on 9 September 1987, aged 25, in a 1–0 win over Denmark in a Euro 88 qualifier at Cardiff Arms Park. The last of his 59 caps for Wales came a decade later on 29 March 1997 in a 2–1 home win over Belgium in a World Cup qualifier, also at Cardiff Arms Park.

His most successful spell as a player was at Everton between 1992 and 1996. Horne's most famous goal in an Everton shirt came on the final day of the 1993–94 season against Wimbledon. Everton had to win to survive relegation. Horne's goal, a 30-yard screamer, levelled the scores at 2–2. Graham Stuart would go on to score the winning goal to secure Everton's Premiership status. Soon after he won Everton's Footballer of the Year 1995 award. At the start of the previous season, he had the distinction of scoring Everton's first Premier League goal, a 44th-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

As a player, Horne was known for being a "midfield ball-winner" with a ferocious tackle.

In November 2011, Horne returned to professional football when on a volunteer basis he became a director at Wrexham Football Club – the club that gave him in his first opportunity in professional football – when Wrexham Supporters Trust became the first ever Supporters Trust to take over a professional football club as a going concern. He was Director of Football at the Racecourse for almost five years, until he stepped down in October 2016.

He is on a football related chat show on Merseyside radio station Radio City 96.7. He has also done punditry work on Match of the Day, and sometimes does commentary and punditry work for Sky Sports. Horne also writes a football column in the Liverpool Echo newspaper.

The Welsh supporters' brass band are named The Barry Horns in homage to the footballer.

Horne has a first-class degree in chemistry from the University of Liverpool. As of 2014, he was director of football and teacher of chemistry and physics at The King's School, Chester. He was appointed to the board of directors of Wrexham Football Club after the club was taken over by its Supporters Trust in November 2011.

Southampton

• Full Members Cup finalist: 1992

Everton

• FA Cup winner – 1995
• FA Charity Shield winner – 1995