A rather suspicious sponsor for Sunderland there in the eyes of anyone that knows their way round the colourful jargon for drugs in the North East... Nevertheless, Barry started his professional career with Sunderland and set a record when he became the youngest captain at a Wembley cup final when aged 20 years and 220 days in the 1985 League Cup final against Norwich. Almost 200 games for the red and whites saw Liverpool come knocking and the County Durham lad jumped ship for around £200,000 in 1986. Over 100 games later and the two-time England international undid all the good work that saw him adored by those on Wearside by joining Kevin Keegan's revolution at Newcastle. Although, looking at the meteoritic rise that happened at St James' after Venison signed, who can blame him? Any doubt that may have crept into the full back's mind will have been eradicated almost immediately as Barry and his mullet enjoyed a tremendous beginning to his Newcastle career, winning his first eleven league games in a row. A move into midfield and being stripped of the club captaincy after being spotted in a wine bar after hours saw Barry Venison's career at Newcastle come to an end after three years. Despite crossing the divide, he is looked back on with great fondness by both sets of North East supporters.
