Holker Street Newsletter 19 - 26th November 1997

Greetings from Kiwiland. Well we’ve had a week or so to take in the news about Stephen Vaughan’s resignation and what it means for the club. Things are bound to be very tight financially over the next few months, but due to the luck of the draw, we have been handed a short term lifeline, in that we have five home games to look forward to. Hopefully these will bring in some much needed revenue through the gate, which should guarantee the club stays afloat until February, which gives the club nearly three months to seek out alternative forms of income.

This one goes out to 68 people.


HOW CAN WE HELP THE CLUB?
As I mentioned in the last Newsletter, you can take part in the Turf Sponsorship scheme where you can sponsor part of the Holker Street pitch for £10, and for that you will have your name in the programme for the rest of the season. There is also a Kit Sponsorship scheme run along the same lines. You can also buy souvenirs from the Barrow AFC shop, the current list of offerings are:

Home replica shirts sizes: XL, L, M and 36 inch (chest) £29.99
32 and 38 inch £27.50
Away replica shirts: XL, L, M and 36 £29.99
32 and 38 £27.50

Scarves £3.50 Wallets £3.50
Mugs £1.50 Barrow AFC Footballs £6.99
Ties £8.99 Drill Tops (Sale Price) £20
Green Shirts £20 (Last season’s away shirt) sizes 34 and 36 only

Boot Bags £4.50 Key Ring £0.75
Cloth Badge £0.50 Metal Badge £2.75
Car Wobbler £3.99 Pennants £1.80
Kit Bags £3.00

The contact details for the Soccer Shop and the sponsorship schemes are Barrow AFC, Holker Street Football Ground, Wilkie Road, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria LA14 5UW. Telephone: 01229-820346 (club and office), fax: 01229-820346.

I don’t know how much they charge for postage, but if you are from the UK, perhaps a couple of pound might be a fair amount to add to your cheque, if you’re from further afield, it might be worth faxing them first to ask how much they’d charge for postage and packing. Does anyone know if they accept credit cards?

Other ways you can help include joining the Barrow AFC (National) Supporters’ Club, which you can now do through the Barrow web page, address at the end of the Newsletter, or if you don’t have web access, email Dave Leitch and he’ll send you details. The National Supporters’ Club donate a considerable money to the club each year, money which comes from its membership fees. I’ve been a member for years now, and would heartily recommend it to anyone. You can also subscribe to the Barrow fanzine Give ‘Em Beans, email Graham Murphy on (Graham.Murphy@sukm.sharp-eu.com) for more details, they too donate money to Barrow each year.

If you feel you could help in other ways, perhaps by a loan or offer of another form of assistance, contact Brian Vause direct on (01229) 813610 or mobile 0589 692368. In closing, I’d like to thank those people on this list who have already rallied to Barrow’s cause, including the student who has sent them this week’s beer money, which comes close to the ultimate sacrifice! If I’ve forgotten any other ways, let me know.


BARROW v MARINE (PRESIDENT’S CUP)
Barrow were true to form going down 5-2 in the President's Cup at Holker Street. Owen Brown appealed for a big crowd but only about 400 turned up on a filthy night - perhaps it was just as well. Barrow had Rodden in goal on loan (ex-Tranmere) and McCauley in the back three in place of Humphreys whose leg is apparently broken in three places. Bauress only managed the first half. Marine were two up after 20 minutes and Higgins pulled one back with a header from a corner on 38 minutes. At that stage it looked as if a fight back might be on but Marine went 4-1 up before Morton scored again on 80 minutes, then in injury time a poor clearance from Roddam gave Marine their fifth. (Report from the Barrow AFC Soccerline)

Winsford lost their third game in a row, going down 2-0 at Chorley.

Thanks to Jim Whitton for this.


UNIBOND LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION, 25 NOVEMBER
Accrington Stanley 1 Hyde United 1, Chorley 2 Winsford United 0.


HUMPHREYS BREAKS LEG: AFC DEFENDER OUT FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON
Evening Mail, 24 November

Stuart Humphreys will not play for BAFC again this season after breaking his leg in two places at Frickley Athletic on Saturday. Humphreys broke both fibula and tibia in his left leg and had to undergo a five hour operation at Pontefract General Hospital yesterday to correct the break. It's a devastating blow for both Humphreys and manager Brown, who said this morning "We are all absolutely gutted about Stuart. His season is over now. He went down after a scramble in the area and it was impossible to see how it was caused. He was taken straight to hospital and they operated for five hours yesterday. His family are with him, and we'll be going back to Pontefract to see him later this week."

Humphreys/ appalling injury took the gloss off another away win for Brown’s side. AFC are still unbeaten away from home this season and the victory reinstated their fourteen point lead at the top of the table. The points were a perfect tonic to AFC after the upheavals of the last week when Chairman and backer Stephen Vaughan quit the club. Brown spoke to the players before Saturday’s game about the situation off the field at Holker Street. He said: "We talked to the players before the match and they went out and won three points. They want to stay together as a group and go on and finish the job." Midfielder Lee scored Barrow’s goal in the 23rd minute to secure the win. Frickley came close to equalising, missing a penalty and hitting the woodwork a couple of times. “That’s the most chances a team has created against us recently,” added Brown, “but in the second half we were magnificent.”


AFC MAKE IT EIGHT WINS: ON TARGET FOR SUPER BLUEBIRDS

Barrow put their torrid week off the field firmly behind them, to turn in a committed battling performance and notch up their eighth away victory of the season at a fog bound Westfield Lane on Saturday. This was an excellent hard-fought victory, in which Lady Luck for once lent a hand and handed the angry, physical Yorkshire side only their second home defeat of the season in nine outings. The game turned into a dour affair after a promising opening, and the second half in particular produced few chances. After the week that supporters have had to endure it is hard to imagine a more depressing venue than South Elmsall on a damp, cold November afternoon in thick fog, added to all this, a fanatical hundred or so home fans screaming beyond biassed belief for penalties ever time their side attacked. One wag likened this to a win in Galatasaray. He wasn't far wrong!

The Barrow fans though were superb and kept behind their team throughout despite this not being one of the prettiest performances of the season. The roar which went up from these hundred diehards at the final whistle was spine-tingling, you would have thought they were the home fans. Both sides attacked from the off with Coates heading wide and Armstrong's looping header coming back off the top of the bar. Farrelly then made a fine save from Hatto before Barrow took the lead after 23 minutes. Morton turned and ran midway inside the Frickley half to thread the ball through for Prior who chipped over the advancing keeper. The referee had a very poor afternoon and was extremely inconsistent with his bookings and decisions. However he had little option but to award a spot-kick when Hatto, who spent the whole afternoon on springboard practise, went down from a Humphreys challenge. Hancock blazed the penalty onto the top corner of the bar and over. The woodwork saved Barrow again from a Hatto header and Farrelly and Higgins both made good blocks, but the last 40 minutes were comfortable for Barrow as the fog descended still further, the visitors finish the stronger to claim another three championship points.

MATCH RATING - Average

THE PLAYERS -
FARRELLY 7 - Played despite not being 100% and as usual had an excellent game, making two or three crucial saves.
McCAULEY 7 - Got forward when he could but also defended well. Covered at centre-half for Humphreys capably.
ROBERTSON 6 - Fairly quite game but had a few runs forward. Had to defend more than often. Limped off with a groin strain late on.
JONES 7 - Excellent second half along with the rest of the defence, so his side had a much more controlled time then.
HUMPHREYS 7 - Unfortunately stretchered off early in the second period. Conceded penalty.
BAURESS 6 - Not up to his recent high standard. Was suffering from dizzy spells and went off early in the second half.
PRIOR 7 - His performance typified the whole side, plenty of grit when needed but took his goal superbly.
COATES 7 - Ran tirelessly throughout but enjoyed very little service. Had a couple of headers go wide.
MORTON 7 - Also stopped never trying to beat his men. Wonderful turn and run set up the goal.
O'KEEFFE 7 - Had a good second half as tightened it up from midfield.

THE SUBS: BROWN for BAURESS 49 mins, HENNIGAN for Humphreys 59 mins, MARGINSON for ROBERTSON 78 mins

THE STATS
Goals - 23 mins
Yellow Cards - Humphreys 17, Jones 31, Bauress 37, 45, Brown 75, Hilton 40, Field 72
Off sides - Frickley 1, Barrow 0
Free Kicks - Frickley 11, Barrow 15
Corners - Frickley 4, Barrow 2
Shots
On Target- Frickley 1, Barrow 3
Off Target- Frickley 4, Barrow 9
Attendance 234
Referee W McIntosh (Heighington)


REGARDING THE APPEAL PUT OUT FOR NAMES OF BARROW PLAYERS AGAINST MANCHESTER UNITED IN THE EVENING MAIL
Evening Mail, 24 November

On December 18 1963, the up and coming hopefuls of BAFC experienced something very special. They went through 90 minutes of pure hell against the awesome young stars of Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup, and enjoyed every second of it. The Red Devils on show went on to win the competition that season, and some of them were later to play a part in Old Trafford's glory days of the mid to late 1960s. One of them went by the name of George Best. The Busby Babes era and the Munich disaster were five years previous, and United fever was spreading across the North West of England as fast as Beetlemania. Just two days earlier 4705 had turned up at Holker Street to witness Barrow lose 3-0 in a Lancashire Senior Cup tie a United side, made up of mostly second team players, but which included 20-year-old Nobby Stiles and Irish internationals Ronnie Briggs, Jimmy Nicholson and Sammy McMillan.

Barrow's under-18s were flying high at the time, having hammered Chester City 4-2 in a FA Youth Cup First Round Replay, and boasting many class players on the night, including Emlyn Hughes. One of these players Bobby Knox, now 51, living in Ulverston and working for Drew Scientific remembers the night vividly.


MANCHESTER UNITED 14 BARROW AFC 1
"It couldn't be tougher" were the profound words of manager Ron Staniforth on the eve of Barrow’s under-18's trip to Old Trafford to face the mighty Manchester United. Staniforth, although probably not quite realising the prophetic nature of his pre-match assessment in the Evening Mail, had hit the nail right on the head. Because just twenty-four hours later, in the cold night sky of December 1963, his brave boys were thrown into the lions' den at the mercy of one of the greatest, some would say the greatest, footballers of all time. "The players stand to learn a lot" the wise Staniforth told the Evening Mail, and learn a lot they certainly did. The soccer genius they were to learn a lot about was United's legendary inside-forward George Best. Best, who had joined United just two years earlier at the age of 15, five feet tall, eight stone waif from Belfast, was already a first team regular at Old Trafford when he was unleashed against Bobby Knox and Co. in the FA Youth Cup second round clash. Ninety minutes and fourteen goals later Staniforth, Bobby Knox, a certain Emlyn Hughes, and the rest of the Barrow under-18 team, knew all they needed to know about Best. The rest of the world would soon know too.

Sir Matt Busby, United's, late, great, European Cup winning manager of 1968, once described Best as "gifted, with more individual ability than I have seen in any other player." and that individual ability simply made mincemeat out of Barrow that night, with Best scoring a hat-trick and playing the lead role in a 14-1 massacre. The 5487 Old Trafford diehards present had seen a marvel in the making. There were many other stars of the future on show (not least Barrow's Emlyn Hughes, the one time Liverpool and England captain, who was not a part of the Barrow under-18 set-up but was playing as a guest). United of course boasted talent in abundance with names like Jimmy Rimmer, Bobby Noble, and John Fitzpatrick later to play first team football for the Red Devils, but they were all to be eclipsed by the magic of Best. Barrow captain on the night, and later to become a soccer hero in his own right on a much smaller scale Bobby Knox, takes up the story of December 18 1963. "Best was already a first team player at the time so we all knew a bit about him," said Bobby, who, like Best was 17 years old at the time. "The thing that sticks in my mind the most is how slightly built he was, and thinking that he must have been a fabulous player to achieve so much with nothing on him. Nobody really stood out on the night for United, they were such a good team. It was a marvellous experience for us, an incredible night all round. You don't get that many chances to play at a ground like Old Trafford. There were five or six thousand supporting United, all stood behind our goal, and although they thrashed us 14-1, it could really have been 50 if it wasn't for our goalkeeper, the woodwork and missed chances.

"So who had the job of marking Best?” "Mark him?", laughed Bobby. "Nobody could get near him! Before the match our manager, Staniforth picked me to play outside right and our Mike (Bobby’s brother Mike Knox) to play outside left, but within minutes we were both playing centre half as were the rest of the team!" Despite the humiliating score line, every single one of the Barrow side must have been the envy of thousands, and the game still brings back happy memories for Bobby. One thing he recalls in great detail is the consolation goal, which came from the penalty spot, that Bobby still says he should have taken! "I was the captain that night and I said before the match to the lads that if we get a penalty I'm taking it and nobody disagreed, but when the referee gave us the penalty, when we were seven or eight nil down, our Mike said he was taking it. Jimmy Rimmer, the United keeper, was playing hell that the penalty should not have been given, and then something happened that I have never witnessed in 30 years of being involved in football. Mike took about a 20 yard run up to the ball and blasted it so hard that it came straight back off the stanchion in the back of the goal, over his head and flew out of the penalty box! All the United supporters who were about 110 yards away thought it had hit the cross bar and come back out. Our Mike had hit it so hard no one had seen it!"

So that was that, two years later Best won a Division One Championship winners’ medal with United and the rest is history. The story has been well told, Best dribbled, shimied, jinked and nutmeged his way to soccer heaven during the rest of the 60s before eventually returning to earth with just as big a bang, a fallen idol.

Bobby Knox's story has not been quite so well documented, but his claim to achieving a football first is just as valid as Best. On the opening day of the 1965-66 campaign Bobby became the first substitute to be used in a Football League game. He not only did that, but scored in a 4-2, Division Four victory against Wrexham. Not satisfied with that he came on as a substitute again in a home game against Doncaster Rovers that season and saved a penalty after replacing injured AFC keeper Lionel Duffin. Not even George Best can equal that.

Barrow - Ray McGuire, Roger Lapping, Emlyn Hughes, Adrian Slowey, Billy Russell, Bobby Knox, Billy Pritchard, Frank McKechnie, Mike Knox, Peter Marshall Alan Lapping.
United - Jimmy Rimmer, Alan Duff, David Farrer, Peter McBride, Bobby Noble, Albert Kinsey, George Best, John Fitzpatrick, Willie Anderson, Ken Morton, Frank McEwen.

Goals - United - Best 12, 28, 78, Morton 29, 38, 64, 79, 82, McEwen 39, 40, 44, 69, Kinsey 58, Anderson 75. Barrow - M Knox 52 (pen)

Half Time - 7-0
Attendance - 5487
Referee - Harrison (Rotherham)

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS. Hitting the headlines in December 1963, Barrow AFC progress to the Third Round of the FA Cup following a 2-0 win at Chester City’s Sealand Road.

Thanks to Paul Darragh for these articles.


AN ALTERNATIVE MATCH REPORT FROM THE GUISELEY GAME
So that's what the box in the corner (the computer) of the dining room is for. Up until now my wife says she's using it for doing "the accounts", "a cash flow forecast" or "budgets" but, in fact it's so that I can get news from Holker Street and talk with other Barrovians about "the Soccer" without people sniggering and pointing fingers! Issue 17 of the Newsletter (my first), I have to say, lifted a great weight off my shoulders. Until it was received I was labouring under the impression that the home defeat by Guiseley was my sole responsibility it being the first time I had managed to get over to Holker Street this season, but no, there were obviously others there (G'EB in particular) who also felt they bore some of the blame for what was, to put it politely, a lacklustre performance.

After the two great wins in the preceding week I have to say I did go with high expectations of a relaxed but commanding performance befitting a team striding out at the top - but never mind, maybe next time which with a bit of luck and wind in the right direction, should be the Winsford game. Despite the fact that I live no more than 50 miles from the ground, work and time commitments mean that getting there on anything like a regular basis is nigh on impossible. It is true that the atmosphere at the ground last Saturday was quite disconcerting and feelings turned to positive embarrassment when, as has been previously recorded, the home crowd were comfortably out-shouted by a bunch of school children on a day trip from Yorkshire! It did leave me wondering what was the reason - the Holker Street faithful have never been the easiest to impress but this was ridiculous.

The answer, believe it or not, I think lies with Oasis, what Be Here Now Oasis? Liam and Noel's Oasis. No, no, no, Oasis the Caterer. The players shouldn't be so paranoid when they hear someone shouting " Oh, for Chrissake!" it's got nothing to do with what's happening on the pitch. No, but someone has taken the first sip of what they expected to be a cup of coffee.

In my opinion the reason the Popular Side crowd are so muted is because the Oasis snack bar fails to provide them with anything approaching decent sustenance. A piece of reconstituted rubber and some insipid onions from the 'griddle' sandwiched between two horrible bits of cardboard serves only to glue jaws together. In the days of the old Tea Bar you could get a good Meat and 'Tatie Pie which, with a mug of Bovril, kept you fired up for the full 90 minutes. If the pie was cr*p at least you could jettison the offending crust in the general direction of the pitch. What even remotely threatening act can be performed with the present 'fayre'? Many is the time I can remember Jackie Maddison or Dave Storth screeching down the wing only to stumble over a pie crust - well that was the only explanation I could ever come up with for the complete and utter balls-up that ensued!! In the days when I was able to visit other grounds with reasonable regularity they were graded not on the quality of the bog nor even the viewpoint of the pitch, but solely on the quality of pie on offer and there was one ground where the pies reigned supreme over all others and that was, well, maybe I'll leave that for another time.

Thanks to Nigel Bamford for this.

Ralph’s note: Now we know the real reason we lost. I remember the old tea bar at Holker Street, the one between the Holker Street end and the Popular Side, and the culinary delights one could partake of there. I remember buying a cup of tea there many moons ago, and asking for sugar the portly chap who ran it, who I believe passed away a few years ago, said it was already sugared. It was, but as I got the dregs of the tea urn I received a drink that had more sugar in it than tea. At least my Wagon Wheel was ok.


AFC BOSS BROWN APPEALS TO FANS ON EVE OF CUP TIE
Send in the Crowds, Evening Mail, 25 November

BAFC boss Owen Brown is hoping to see a positive reaction from the supporters for tonight’s President’s Cup match with Marine. This competition is usually one of the worst attended of the season, but in light of recent events, Brown is hoping the fans will turn up en masse to show their support for the 96 year old club. Last week AFC were rocked by the resignation of chairman and director Stephen Vaughan which left the Bluebirds with no financial backer. Brown says it's now down to the fans to show their support by coming through the turnstiles. He said "The simple fact is we need a big crowd at every game we play now. It doesn't matter what the competition is, the fans have got to show they want the club to continue. I thought the article in the Mail on Friday was good. It's a case of we are in this together. I'm genuinely hoping tonight will be the biggest gate of the season and the supporters will show they really want us to continue. We have got a few home games in December, but if we can get massive crowds it will help rake the pressure off the away games as well."

Brown has named a full strength squad for tonight’s first round clash with Marine. The only doubt hangs over keeper Farrelly who has a shoulder injury. However, Brown has now signed former Everton trainee James Speare on a month's loan from Droylsden and he could make his debut this evening. Johnston is expected to replace Humphreys who broke his left leg at Frickley on Saturday.

BARROW: Farrelly, Speare, McCauley, Prior, Robertson, Higgins, Jones, Johnston, Bauress, Brown, Hennigan, Grugel, Morton, O'Keeffe, Cooper.

Thanks to Paul Darragh for this.


NORTH WEST COUNTIES LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Holker Old Boys 2 Maine Road 0


FAMOUS PLAYERS WHO HAVE TURNED OUT AGAINST BARROW
Now we all know George Best once played against Barrow, but who else of the same calibre has done so? Tony Kavanagh has asked if anyone can confirm that Johnny Haynes once turned out for Fulham against Barrow, and if so, when was it? He also remembers Stanley Matthews kicking off a testimonial game for Tommy Cahill. Anyone remember the date, and who played for the opposition?


LANCASHIRE CUP
David Ingham has reminded me that Barrow receive a bye for the first round of the Lancashire Cup, so we’ll have to wait and see who we are paired with for the Second Round (game usually played in early January).


BARROW AFC POSTERS
A couple of years ago Barrow AFC produced a squad photo in the form of a poster, which featured a number of advertisements around the photograph (the 1994 version adorns my office wall at work), does anyone know if the club have produced one for this season? If so, how much is it?


OTHER BITS AND BOBS
I’ve just received the home programme for the game against Guiseley, and there are a few interesting snippets in it. As of early November, Barrow’s Neil Morton was the League’s second equal highest scorer (top scorer is Richie Alderson of Spennymoor with twelve goals [includes one Cup goal], and sharing second place with Neil are Leroy Chambers (Boston United) and Liam Watson (Runcorn).


UNIBOND PREMIER LEAGUE ATTENDANCES
In the programme there was a League table of attendances in the UniBond (as at 11/11/97), and unsurprisingly we are top with 10,270 after nine home games, an average of 1141, up 3% on last season, second are Boston (average 927), Altrincham (700), Hyde (672), Blyth Spartans (518), Accrington (514), Gainsborough (500), Bamber Bridge (415), Guiseley (404), Runcorn (378), Chorley (376), Colwyn Bay (342), Marine (299), Emley (297), Winsford (289), Spennymoor (246), Leigh (235), Radcliffe (234), Lancaster (216), Alfreton (214), Bishop Auckland (179) and Frickley (179).


BARROW RESERVES

4 October Askam United 1 Barrow 3 (Lee 3)
11 October Barrow 2 (Haughin and McKinnon) Millom Reserves 1
18 October Barrow 3 (Crosthwaite, McDonald and Rollinson) Bootle Reserves 1
25 October Barrow 3 (Gay, McDonald and Rollinson) Millom Reserves 1
1 November Barrow 1 (scorer unknown) Furness Cavaliers 2


BARROW’S LATIN MOTTO
Can anyone provide me a translation of the Barrow motto Spatiari ut Progrediaris?


BARROW QUIZ QUESTION
A while ago I asked if anyone knew who the Barrow player was who played against Pele. No-one got it right, and the answer is Eddie Simpson who played for Barrow in the 1960s. He played against Pele in an exhibition game in Hong Kong in the 1970s, Eddie now lives in Melbourne, Australia.


FA VASE THIRD ROUND DRAW
Marske United v Bedlington Terriers; Stockton v Burscough; Mossley or Jarrow Roofing Boldon CA v West Auckland Town; Poulton Victoria v Kidsgrove Athletic or Brodsworth; Tow Law Town v Dunston FB; Chester-le-Street or Billingham Town v Friar Lane OB; Boldmere St Michaels or Arnold Town v North Ferriby United; Clitheroe v Boston Town; Oadby Town v Seaham Red Star; Brigg Town v Hucknall Town; Armthorpe Welfare or Denaby United v Birstall United; Thackley v Stamford AFC; Bloxwich Town v Spalding United; Braintree Town v Banstead Athletic; Hemel Hempstead v Taunton Town; Lymington AFC or Bemerton Heath Harlequins v Woodbridge Town; Bodmin Town v Bowers United; Wimborne Town v Tiverton Town; Basildon United v Herne Bay or Langney Sports; Cowes Sports v Chard Town; Porthleven v Arlesey Town; Bridport v Potters Bar Town; Harwich and Parkeston or Folkestone Invicta v Chipstead; Brook House v Rocester or Histon; Peacehaven and Telscombe v Sudbury Town; Aveley or Burnham v Wroxham; Stotfold v Ashford Town; Thatcham Town v Burgess Hill Town; Deal Town or Great Wakering Rovers v Wealdstone; Brache Sparta or Halstead Town v Ely City; Chippenham Town v Tooting and Mitcham United; Camberley Town v Sudbury Wanderers.