In the Farewell to Feethams book written by RS and Andrew Wilkinson way back in 2002, Darlington winger Barry Lyons, who played for the club between 1976 and 1979, gave us his memories.

Barry had played as a winger for and inside right for Nottingham Forest at the highest level,
and admitted he questioned whether he had made the right move before his first game for Darlington at Swansea.

“I went into the bathroom and two players had their heads over the sink. They were putting contact
lenses in. One was skipper Bobby Noble, and the other one was Alan Ogley our goalkeeper. At that point I wondered what I had let myself in for! But my fears were misplaced. Bobby was a leader and Alun an excellent keeper.”

Barry was more cultured than many of those around him, but Darlington had a reasonable team so he settled in, and he was happy to continue a career that seemed to have ended when he was released by York because of a back injury.
“I’d played alongside Peter Madden at Rotherham and I think it was Dennis Wann who told him I was out of a job so Peter signed me, and switched me to central midfield.”
Barry was a regular for three seasons, becoming skipper. He scored the penalty at Feethams that knocked Second Division Fulham out of the League Cup.
"I can't remember that penalty, but I’ll have sent it high to the keeper's left. I always aimed at the post, but with a bit of curl on the ball, so then it swung inside.”

When Madden left, Barry was disappointed. “He was a good manager. He protected players from the problems of the boardoom, and tried to get us a pay rise whenever he could. I know there was a
fair bit of friction between him and the board, but he acted as a barrier so that it didn’t filter down to the players. I was older than the other lads and was aware that things were not running too smoothly, but Peter wanted his players to concentrate on playing.
“By then we should have been in a higher division. We had a good enough side to go up, and in my first season it looked possible. I remember Clive Nattress got up and down the flanks to good effect. Then there were lads I had played with at York, plus Derek Craig and Colin Sinclair, who was a very good striker."
Barry was mild-mannered,  but in one game when he tried to diffuse a situation with a bit of humour, it backfired. He was sent off in just his fourth game for the club, his first ever early bath. In fact he had hardly ever been booked until then.
“We had already had Ron Ferguson sent off. Every decision was going against us, and I let my frustration get the better of me.”
The referee had finally given Darlington a free kick, and the fans cheered sarcastically. Barry not only joined in, but waved his arms to encourage the crowd further. The ref didn’t see the funny side. Stockport won 2-0 as Darlington finished with nine men. Even hardened professionals, who think they have seen it all before, discovered new frustrations at Feethams.
One training session has stuck in Barry's memory. The squad went to the gym at Teesside Airport to try and escape heavy snow. “We had just started training when the Middlesbrough squad arrived and said they had booked the hanger where all the equipment was. They kicked us out. While they did weights and circuits we played five a side in six inches of snow!"
Once Madden had left, Barry helped Len Walker, the caretaker boss, by doubling up as his assistant. Then an offer came in from York to be youth team coach. "I said to Len that as I still lived there and my playing days were just about over, it made sense for me to go. So my final games of a good career were played for Darlington."
Barry later managed York, and owned a small hotel in the city.