OTD: BARRY VENISON DEBUT

On this day in 1981, Barry Venison made his debut for Sunderland. The Consett-born man broke the record for being the youngest captain in a Wembley cup final, wearing the armband aged 20 for Sunderland’s League Cup final against Norwich City.

Venison made his debut at 17 years old in a 2-0 defeat to Notts County. He went on to play 20 games that season, scoring one goal. The following season, he put in extremely consistent performances and only missed one game. He became a fan favourite on Wearside and led the side out at Wembley in the absence of the suspended Shaun Elliot. However, Sunderland were defeated in the final and relegated in the same season. Venison went on to request a transfer.

Liverpool came in for Venison, with Kenny Dalgleish viewing him as a long-term replacement for Mark Lawrenson at right-back. He made his Liverpool debut in a Merseyside derby in the Charity Shield at Wembley. Not a bad stage to make your first start for a new club! In Venison’s first few seasons at Liverpool, a mix of injuries and a change in tactics led to the defender losing his spot in the team. His first goal for the Reds came in a comfortable 4-1 win over Nottingham Forest, in which Venison opened the scoring. The defender then scored his only league goal for the club in a 4-0 win over Notts County.

New manager Graeme Souness signed another right-back, Rob Jones, which spelled the end of Venison’s time on Merseyside. Exactly six years after leaving the North East, Venison returned as he signed for Sunderland’s rivals Newcastle United. They were preparing for a promotion push in the new Division One and won their first 11 games in a row. The Mags ended up as champions of the division, winning 2-0 away at Grimsby Town to secure the trophy. Venison only scored once for Kevin Keegan’s men but it was his best goal, describing it as a “20-yard” screamer.

When he began to enter the twilight of his career, Venison moved to Turkey where his former Liverpool manager Graeme Souness signed him for Galatasaray. However, the right-back only played eight times in five months before returning to England. He went to the south coast to join Southampton, where he eventually retired aged 32 after suffering a back injury.