Stephen Foster was another of our young players to have emerged through the Club's renowned Academy. His rapid progress saw him make his first-team debut against Bury in 1998 as a 17-year-old and he made a further appearance as an emergency striker against Bristol City in the Worthington Cup that same season.

The Warrington-born defender soon became a first-team regular and went on to make 242 appearances in various positions for the club. He also scored a few from set-plays too during his time at Gresty Road.

After overcoming a cruciate ligament injury and a year out of the game, everyone was delighted to see 'Foz' recovery superbly and become one of our most consistent defenders before his departure to Burnley in the summer of 2006 on a Bosman free transfer.

Later moved to Championship rivals Barnsley for £100,000 and helped the club reach the FA Semi-Final at Wembley where they eventually lost 1-0 to Cardiff. En route to the last four, Foz earned rave reviews for the his performances against Premier League opponents Chelsea and Liverpool, even scoring a quite memorable goal at Anfield in the Tykes 2-1 win.

Has gone to make 86 appearances for the Tykes, helping them to avoid relegation in 2008/09 and captained the club following the departure of Brian Howard to Sheffield United.

Things from there have just got better and better for our former defender, as he continues to put in impressive performances in the Championship. His 2009/10 season saw him continue to be a fans favourite up at Oakwell, keepin the defence strong and helping them to a mid-table finish. The following season would be much of the same as Foster made 35 appearences, scored one goal and Barnsley finished with a comfortable mid-table place.