Holker Street Newsletter 24 - 12th December 1997

Another mid-week Newsletter, goodness me it must be Christmas. I thought about hanging on until Monday, but the results in the mid-week games, or at least one of them, have gone against us, and Bishop Auckland have almost caught us up. Put simply we have to win on Saturday, otherwise if Bishop Auckland win away at Gainsborough Trinity, and their form dictates they will, we will only be three points ahead.


BARROW’S GAMES FOR THE REST OF DECEMBER
13/12 Winsford (H), 20/12 Gainsborough Trinity (H), 27/12 Lancaster City (A).


UNIBOND LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION, 9 - 10 DECEMBER 1997
9 December: Alfreton Town 0 Hyde United 0, Frickley Athletic 3 Winsford United 0, Marine 3 Accrington Stanley 1, Runcorn 3 Lancaster City 0.
10 December: Bishop Auckland 5 Altrincham 2.

P W D L F:A Pts
BARROW......................22 14 4 4 34:13 46
Bishop Auckland.............22 11 7 4 46:31 40
Runcorn.....................21 11 3 7 41:28 36
Boston United...............20 9 8 3 26:18 35
Altrincham..................22 10 3 9 38:26 33
Guiseley....................21 8 9 4 31:26 33
Emley.......................18 8 4 6 31:26 28
Colwyn Bay..................19 8 4 7 27:29 28
Winsford United.............16 8 3 5 19:14 27
Spennymoor United...........18 7 6 5 24:24 27
Hyde United.................20 6 8 6 32:27 26
Marine......................17 7 5 5 25:21 26
Frickley Athletic...........21 7 5 9 24:29 26
Lancaster City..............23 7 5 11 33:43 26
Gainsborough Trinity........17 7 4 6 22:18 25
Accrington Stanley..........24 5 9 10 27:34 24
Chorley.....................22 7 3 12 27:44 24
Leigh RMI...................14 6 5 3 20:12 23
Bamber Bridge...............19 5 4 10 24:36 19
Blyth Spartans..............19 4 6 9 19:27 18
Radcliffe Borough...........20 4 4 12 23:41 16
Alfreton Town...............19 2 3 14 12:38 9

Thanks to Stephen Mulrine and his UniBond League Premier Division results, tables, club information and archive: www.scotnet.co.uk/skm/footy/northern.html


FROM THE WINSFORD AND MIDDLEWICH GUARDIAN

Winsford United fans' favourite Jock Russell has switched clubs to UniBond rivals Radcliffe in a move that Blues' boss Dalton Steele admits could backfire on him. Russell, who returned to Barton Stadium for a second spell after an unsuccessful attempt to break into the professional game, was considered United's prize asset before Steele took over this year, but the introduction of Winnie Steele and Steve Shaughnessey has seen Russell pushed into the shadows and the striker has consistently failed to make his mark when selected. His transfer to Radcliffe forms part of a deal that has seen experienced duo Joe Connor and Kevin Booth make the opposite journey. The pair will join loan signing Eddie Hussin and now target man Kevin O'Connell who has further added strength to Steele's squad after joining from Glossop. And the United manager who will be hoping his new players help the Blues return to form, said the decision to let Russell leave the club was not one he took lightly. He said: "I've been waiting for Jock to come into form but it just hasn't happened for him this year and you reach a point where you have to do something about it and I felt it was time for a change. "We've got to play Barrow and other big teams over the next few weeks and we don't want to give anything away. "It was a very tough decision for me to have to make. He's a player who has scored a lot of goals in the past and is a favourite with not only the fans but the directors as well. "But it came to a point where I had to make a decision because he just hasn't been scoring. "Steve Shaughnessey is a good foil for Winnie Steele but we've always needed at least one more striker this season. "I've brought in four new players now and I rate them very highly. Kevin O'Connell is a big lad and should give us another option as the pitches get more and more sticky in the winter. "I needed a utility player so we've brought in Kevin Booth. Together with Connor and Hussin it all adds strength to the squad." And after watching his side take a point at Spennymoor last Saturday following an exciting FA Trophy penalty shootout win over Matlock the previous Wednesday, Steele has told concerned fans "the bubble has not burst." He added: "The bubble certainly hasn't burst for us like a few people have been saying. I was really pleased with our performance at Spennymoor. "The problem was again that we were relying on Winnie to score the goals and he has just had too much expected of him this season and he was also suffering from flu. "We should have won the game and we missed far too many chances, but the important thing was that the spark was back there and the team worked hard." This Saturday the Blues are embroiled in what many will look at as a clash of the title contenders when they travel to top side Barrow. Before last night's trip to Frickley the Blues lay 19 points behind the Cumbrians and still in a position to overtake their rivals with seven extra games to play. And manager Steele believes Saturday's game could be the start of Barrow's downfall if the Blues turn on the style.

Thanks to Richard Postlethwaite for sending this through.


MOTTO

David Ingham thinks Barrow’s motto translates as “Going Forward to Progress”. Any more offers? As an aside, you will be aware the motto of Barrow (the town) is Sempur Sersum (sp?), imagine my surprise when I found out this is also the motto for the local Girls’ High School (senior), here in Palmerston North, New Zealand. It’s a small world, but I wouldn’t like to paint it.


ALLIANCE PREMIER LEAGUE 1980-81

Pl W D L F A Pts
1 Altrincham . . . . 38 23 8 7 72 41 54
2 Kettering Town . . . 38 21 9 8 66 37 51
3 Scarborough . . . . 38 17 13 8 49 29 47
4 Northwich Victoria. . 38 17 11 10 53 40 45
5 Weymouth . . . . . 38 19 6 13 54 40 44
6 Bath City. . . . . 38 16 10 12 51 32 42
7 Maidstone United . . 38 16 9 13 64 53 41
8 Boston United . . . 38 16 9 13 63 58 41
9 BARROW. . . . . . 38 15 8 15 50 49 38
10 Frickley Athletic . . 38 15 8 15 61 62 38
11 Stafford Rangers . . 38 11 15 12 56 56 37
12 Worcester City . . . 38 14 7 17 47 54 35
13 Telford United . . . 38 13 9 16 47 59 35
14 Yeovil Town . . . . 38 14 6 18 60 64 34
15 Gravesend & Northfleet 38 13 8 17 48 55 34
16 AP Leamington . . . 38 10 11 17 47 66 31
17 Barnet. . . . . . 38 12 7 19 39 64 31
18 Nuneaton Borough . . 38 10 9 19 49 65 29 Relegated to SL
19 Wealdstone . . . . 38 9 11 18 37 56 29 Relegated to SL
20 Bangor City . . . . 38 6 12 20 35 68 24 Relegated to NPL

New entries for 1981-82:

Dagenham, promoted from Isthmian League Premier Division
Enfield, promoted from Isthmian League Premier Division
Trowbridge Town, promoted from Southern League Midland Division
Dartford, promoted from Southern League Southern Division
Runcorn, promoted from Northern Premier League

[2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw]
Copyright (C) Russell Gerrard and the RSSSF

Copyright (C) Russell Gerrard and the RSSSF
Source: Rothmans Football Yearbook 1979-80