Peter Simon Barnes, born Manchester, England, June 10, 1957. Peter Barnes joined Manchester City as an apprentice in 1972 and entered the professional game two years later. Following his First Division debut for City in a 2-1 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor on the 12th of October 1974, he hit his first top-flight goal for the club in a 2-1 loss at the hands of Carlisle United at Maine Road on the 19th of March 1975.
A talented flanker, Peter Barnes was voted Young Player of the Year after winning the Football League Cup with Manchester City in February 1976. At Wembley Stadium, the Maine Road outfit went into the lead when a well-taken free-kick from Scottish midfielder Asa Hartford found captain Mike Doyle who headed the ball across the Newcastle goalmouth to give Barnes an easy tap in to make the score 1-0 in favour of The Citizens after eleven minutes of opening action. The Magpies equalised when former Manchester United and Huddersfield Town frontman Alan Gowling steered home a low cross ball from his striking partner Malcolm Macdonald in the 35th minute of the encounter, only for England international Dennis Tueart to hit the winner with an astonishing overhead-kick which bounced past bewildered St James’ Park shot stopper Mike Mahoney and into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal on 46 minutes.
After contributing 15 First Division goals during 115 appearances for Manchester City, Barnes joined West Bromwich Albion for a club record transfer fee of £750,000 at the beginning of the 1979-80 term, and he was handed his competitive debut for the Black Country side by larger than life manager Ron Atkinson in a goalless draw with Derby County at The Hawthorns on the 18th of august 1979, and he hit his first goal for The Throstles in a 3-1 defeat against reigning Football League champions Liverpool at Anfield a week later. As the season went on, he continued to score goals and he registered a hat-trick in a 4-4 League Division One draw against Bolton Wanderers at The Hawthorns on the 18th of March 1980, finishing the campaign as the club´s leading scorer with a respectable 15 top-flight goals in 38 matches. Following a total of 23 hits in 77 Division One outings for Albion, the rocket-heeled wing forward went on to appear for Leeds United for whom he debuted in a surprise 5-1 defeat against First Division newcomers Swansea at Vetch Field on the 29th of August 1981, and he would make 30 First Division appearances for The Whites during the 1981-82 season. Then, in an attempt to accelerate his playing career, he decided to make a move to Spanish La Liga outfit Real Betis in 1983, the year which Watford Chairman Reginald Dwight ruled the charts with I´m Still Standing.
Peter Barnes returned to Leeds United the following year, though, and appeared in 27 First Division matches for the West Yorkshire outfit during his second spell at Elland Road. While with Leeds, Barnes was shipped out on loan to Ron Atkinson´s Manchester United in 1984, but he returned without having made any first-team appearances. Then followed a move to Coventry City where he stayed for one year until joining Manchester United at the start of the 1985-86 campaign, and this time on a permanent basis. A flankman with a nose for the net, he scored on his United debut in a 3-1 First Division triumph over Nottingham Forest at City Ground on the 31st of August 1985, and followed up by netting one of the goals in a 3-0 top-flight win against Oxford United at Old Trafford on the 7th of the following month. His Manchester United days were numbered with the arrival of new manager Alex Ferguson from Aberdeen in the autumn of 1986, however, and he was sent back to his former club Manchester City partly into the 1986-87 season after having accumulated 20 First Division appearances for The Reds of Manchester.
Following loan spells with Bolton Wanderers, Port Vale, and Wimbledon, the notorious wanderer signed with Hull City where he made 11 Second Division appearances for The Tigers before teaming up with Portuguese side Farense in the summer of 1988. The likeable character later played for a number of teams, including Sunderland, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Northwich Victoria, and Hamrun Spartans. An international for England, Peter Barnes was given his senior debut by recently appointed head coach Ron Greenwood in a 2–0 World Cup Qualifier victory against Italy at Wembley on the 16th of November 1977, and would accumulate a fine total of 22 full caps for The Three Lions.