TYKES MOURN FORMER OWNER CRYNE
BARNSLEY are mourning the death of former owner Patrick Cryne, who passed away last weekend at the age of 66.
His death came just a month after the sale of the club to a consortium involving Chinese billionaire Chien Lee and Moneyball pioneer Billy Beane. He had been battling cancer since November 2016.
Born and raised in Barnsley, he earned admiration for the way he ran the Tykes for over a decade.
In a statement, the club said: “Club custodian for 14 years and widely regarded amongst the loyal fan base as the ‘saviour’ of the club since taking control in 2003, Mr Cryne has been held in the highest of regards both at Barnsley Football Club and across the footballing world.
“Mr Patrick Cryne will be deeply and sadly missed by everybody connected to the club and we are all sending our deepest condolences to his wife Jean, son James and the rest of his close family.”
Tykes boss Paul Heckingbottom made his own tribute to Cryne.
He said: “My standout memories are after both Wembley wins, really. When the after-party started I was sitting with Patrick on his table.
“Pride was definitely there, Patrick was savouring it and feeling really proud when we spoke about some things, talking about what we had achieved to get to this bit and I was like ‘what’s next?’.
“His message to me was to just enjoy tonight. Most of your conversations are usually about big decisions, so he made me relax and enjoy it. They were good moments.”
There was a minute’s silence observed before yesterday’s match against Fulham at Oakwell, while the players wore black armbands as a mark of respect to Cryne and his family.
A book of condolence was also going to be made available for fans to sign.