Where is Barry Venison now?
A versatile defender who could play on the right, left or in the middle, Barry Venison was forced to retire due to a back injury in 1997 at the age of 32 after two seasons with Southampton.
Starting his professional career at Sunderland in 1981 (captaining them in the 1985 League Cup final at the age of just 20), he went onto make over 450 first-team appearances for five sides including a brief spell in Turkey with Galatasaray.
He also made two appearances for the England national side in the mid-nineties at the age of 30 between 1994 and 1995.
Upon retiring from playing, Vension started a new career in the media, firstly as a pundit on Sky Sports and then on ITV as Gaby Logan’s co-host on their football show ‘On the Ball‘.
As knowledgeable and articulate as Venison was, he was often ridiculed for his hairstyle and fashion sense in his early television career, eventually toning it down with a sensible haircut and less garish suits.
Alongside his television career, he founded sports memorabilia site Bid4Sport with friend and fellow footballer Brad Freidel, eventually selling the site and relocating to the United States in 2003.
He then went into the property developing business in the Orange County and San Diego areas where he enjoyed huge success before returning to football after a seven year hiatus to join up with friend Oliver Wyss who at the time was a youth coach in California.
When Wyss moved into the professional game with Orange County Blues as head coach in 2014, he appointed Venison to join him as his assistant and the pair ended their first season with the club as Western Conference champions.
In August 2016, Wyss moved upstairs to an executive role with Venison taking over as head-coach but he left the club at the end of the season when new owners took over.
He has since founded a new company called Premier Install Co which is a furniture, fixtures and equipment company that supplies hotels across the US.
Follow on Twitter @BarryVenison
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Barry Venison: Premier League Statistics
| Nationality | English |
| Position | Defender |
| Appearances | 89 |
| Goals Scored | 1 |
| Yellow Cards | 10 |
| Red Cards | 1 |
| Premier League Teams Played for | Newcastle United, Southampton |
Statistics courtesy of www.premierleague.com
Last Updated on 11 November 2022 by Admin