Holker Street Newsletter 284 - 10th February 1999

A HEARTFELT PLEA

This is a copy of what I have sent to a number of non-League and Conference mailing lists asking for their support in convincing the powers that be that Barrow should be allowed to remain in the Conference. Tomorrow I will be asking for you all to play your part in the scheme of things, at present there are a group of people in the UK and here in NZ preparing a list of fax numbers for all the Conference clubs so we can contact them to lobby for Barrow to stay in the Conference, and details of a web site which allows you to send faxes around the world without charge! So tonight, I want you to think about what will happen on February 18 at the Conference meeting and consider the repercussions of Barrow being refused permission to carry on in the Conference. As I say, full details tomorrow.


Barrow AFC's future lies in the balance and is dependent upon a meeting on 18 February between the Conference and the owners/chairman of the respective clubs. The Conference have decided that the final decision as to whether Barrow AFC should be able to continue in the Conference should be made by the clubs involved and as such I would like to make the following plea to supporters of Conference teams.

Please can you consider contacting your club and ask them to support Barrow’s request to stay in the League, the last few weeks have been very difficult for all those involved with the club, and now we are faced with last season’s UniBond Premier League squad breaking up and going there own way through the club being wound up. Those who are now at the reins of the club are trying their hardest to keep the club going, bringing in a collection of players from the reserves, local teams and those out of contract with other clubs.

In 1972 Barrow lost their League status in favour of Hereford, and the club weren’t even bottom of the Fourth Division when we fell off the pools coupon, conspiracy theories abound, but it’s worth pointing out that at the time transport links to this remote corner of north-west England were somewhat limited, and in a space of a few years through the re-election system, the League lost Barrow, Southport and Workington.

It’s fair to say the club have experienced considerable financial problems over the last few months, but the club have responded by a clean sweep of the board of directors and hopefully new brooms sweep clean. This is a heartfelt plea from everyone connected with the club for support in our hour of need, whatever support you give will be much appreciated, as would three points next time we play you!

Can you also consider distributing this message through any of your club’s mailing lists it hasn’t already appeared on?


COME AND BACK US
Date and venue set for meeting to decide soccer club’s future
By Phil Pearson, Evening Mail, Tuesday 9 February 1999

A public meeting that could go a long way to deciding the future of under-threat Barrow AFC will be held at the town’s Forum 28 on Thursday, 7.30pm start. The consortium of six local businessmen, who are desperately trying to ensure the survival of Conference football in Barrow, have called the meeting and are hoping for a huge show of support from the club's fans and the community at large. The aim of the meeting is for the consortium members to make public their plans on forming a new club, which they propose to do to rid Barrow of its troubled past and secure a stable future.

Solicitor Alan Dunn, a member of the consortium, said in a press release this morning: "The consortium has now reserved the main hall in Forum 28 for a meeting, to which all supporters of Barrow AFC are invited. The intention is far the members of the consortium to introduce themselves; and to explain to the fans just what they are proposing to do, how they propose to do it and what their hopes for the future are. The future of the club should be put into the public arena, and with public support we hope that it can survive and, most importantly, that any package that we can put to the Nationwide Conference when they meet on February 18 will have the full backing of the fans. I think that what has happened at Barrow and at other struggling League clubs is indicative of the problems which face managements across the country. Very few clubs are going to be fortunate enough to find a sugar daddy and they must therefore, rely upon the local community to keep the game alive. This is likely to mean more and more clubs turning to their local supporters, and asking them to give them both the spiritual and financial boost that they will need to survive. We look forward to seeing a good turn out at Forum 28."

Following a request from the Evening Mail, Barrow Council have agreed to waive the charge for the hiring of Forum 28 for Thursday night’s meeting.

LIQUIDATOR WELCOMES CONSORTIUM CLUB LAUNCH

Barrow AFC’s liquidator has welcomed the news that a consortium of local businessmen is going to launch a new club. Jim Duckworth, a partner at insolvency practitioners Freeman Rich, said he would do whatever he could to help the consortium continue football at Holker Street. "I think it’s very good news that the consortium has decided to proceed with plans to float a new company to take over the remaining fixtures of Barrow AFC," he said. Duckworth said last week that Barrow AFC was almost certainly finished, and that a new company was the only hope of saving Conference football in Barrow. That’s because Barrow AFC has debts that are expected to reach around £500,000, and anyone who wanted to save the club would have to settle those debts. The consortium is holding a public meeting on Thursday at Forum 28 to outline their plans to Barrow supporters, and on February 18 there is a full meeting of Conference clubs, at which a decision on whether the new company will be able to take AFC’s place is expected. Any conditions that the new company will have to fulfil are also expected to be set at the meeting. Conditions could include requiring the new company to pay off some of AFC’s debts.

MORTON AND BAURESS QUIT BARROW

Barrow AFC captain Gary Bauress and talented striker Neil Morton have become the latest players to join the exodus out of Holker Street. The pair’s decision to quit takes the total of players leaving the Bluebirds to a staggering NINE since the arrival of new manager Shane Westley in January. Midfielder Bauress telephoned the AFC boss last night and said he had accepted a player/coaching job with UniBond Premier Division club Stalybridge, who have also snapped up ex-AFC man Karl Marginson. As for Morton, Barrow’s record signing at £11,000, Westley said the striker asked for his release after becoming disillusioned with events at Holker Street in the past couple of months. Speaking this morning Westley refused to be down-hearted about losing another two key players and pragmatically said he was looking to the future and not the past. He said: "I’m disappointed of course, but I’ve come accustomed to it now, haven’t I? We’ve just got to get on with and look to the future and not the past. Neil said it’s a result of what has gone on at the club. He wasn’t paid in November and now the club’s been wound-up. He might have done a good job for us, but it's not to be and we’ve got to get on with it. Gary (Bauress) has taken up a. coaching role with Stalybridge. He phoned me last night and I’ve no problem with Gary and the way he has handled things. He did very well for us and was my skipper, but it would have remained to be seen what role he would have played in the future." Bauress, 28, joined Barrow in August 1997 from Leek Town and last season skippered Barrow to the UniBond Premier Division title, and in doing so, became the first, player to win three title medals with different clubs. The tricky skills of Morton, 30, made him a crowd favourite at Holker Street following his big money move from Altrincham in August 1995. The former Wigan striker won three player of the year awards while at Holker Street and was also named in both the UniBond and FA representative squads while at Barrow. Both Bauress and Morton were unavailable for comment this morning.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

I would refer to the statement in the Evening Mail, (No meeting but one welcome) by Barrow Council chief executive Tom Campbell in which he states that the Town Council could and is willing to play a limited role in the resurrection of the town’s football club. Please don’t be offended Mr Campbell but I have to say, what took you so long? There is a lot you can do and it won’t cost a pretty penny. First, contact those who are trying to save our club to see if there is any common ground. Then get in touch with the official liquidator, the FA, the Football League and the Conference secretary and tell them that, within your terms of reference as a Town Council that you are fully behind all connected with the need for the town to be represented in the football arena. If I an ordinary supporter, can do some of those things whey can’t you, I can only research, put pen to paper and talk with a persuasive voice. It takes time and time is not on our side, you have fax machines, computers and staff. Please do what you can, but do it now.

Vic Brownbill, Rydal Avenue, Barrow


Reading the letter in Evening Mail (Wednesday February 2), we have to agree wholeheartedly with what was said except the statement about fundraising efforts competing against one another. There are, at present, two fund-raising committees, one being the long-established 'Raise the Roof Fund'. The second is the Barrow AFC Survival Fund which was set up more recently to co-ordinate all other efforts ie: raffles, golden goal, blanket collections, quiz sheets and also to hold special events such as the Race Night held on Saturday, January 30. This raised over £600.

At present the approximate total in the Survival Fund Bank account is £2200. For a detailed breakdown of this figure, refer to the match day programme. These two funds are by no means rival factions in the bid for supporters’ money, but instead are co-operating for the good of Barrow AFC. Indeed representatives from 'Raise the Roof' were in attendance at the last Survival Fund meeting. Anybody wishing to know more about, or become involved in the Survival Fund, please contact Mike on 473086. Anyone wishing to donate money into the account, it is held at Furness Building Society, account number 119535709.

Mike Clarke and Caroline Shepherd (On behalf of the Barrow AFC Survival Fund) 75 Shearwater Crescent, Barrow.

BARROW AFC SURVIVAL MEETING
Press Release number 6, 9 February 1999, from Alan Dunn, via Ron Duxbury

The consortium has now reserved the main hall in Forum 28 for a meeting, to which all supporters of Barrow AFC are invited. Details appear below. The intention is for the members of the consortium to introduce themselves, and to explain to the fans just what they are proposing to do, how they propose to do it, and what their hopes for the future are.

At this stage all that I can say is that the future of the club should be put into the public arena, and with public support we hope that it can survive and, most importantly, that any package that we can put to the Nationwide Conference on the 18 February next will have the full backing of the fans. I think that what has happened at Barrow and at other struggling League clubs is indicative of the problems which face managements across the country. Very few clubs are going to be fortunate enough to find a sugar daddy and they must therefore, rely upon the local community to keep the game alive. This is likely to mean more and more clubs turning to their local supporters, and asking them to give them both the spiritual and financial boost that they will need to survive. We look forward to seeing a good turn out at Forum 28. The details are as follows:

Forum 28, Thursday 11 February 1999, at 7.30 p.m.


NATIONWIDE CONFERENCE, 9 FEBRUARY 1999

Dover Athletic - Farnborough Town......................2:1

P W D L F:A Pts
Kettering Town..............29 16 6 7 42:21 54
Cheltenham Town.............26 15 8 3 47:20 53
Dover Athletic..............28 12 8 8 40:32 44
Rushden & Diamonds..........24 12 7 5 43:22 43
Yeovil Town.................25 11 9 5 40:32 42
Stevenage Borough...........25 11 9 5 31:23 42
Hayes.......................26 13 3 10 37:36 42
Hednesford Town.............26 10 11 5 33:27 41
Kingstonian.................25 10 10 5 34:32 40
Northwich Victoria..........27 11 7 9 31:29 40
Morecambe...................29 10 6 13 46:57 36
Hereford United.............27 9 6 12 29:32 33
Kidderminster Harriers......26 9 5 12 35:30 32
Forest Green Rovers.........24 8 7 9 34:31 31
Leek Town...................26 8 5 13 37:39 29
Woking......................24 8 5 11 26:29 29
Doncaster Rovers............27 7 8 12 32:38 29
Telford United..............27 6 10 11 29:45 28
Barrow......................28 7 6 15 27:44 27
Southport...................24 5 9 10 29:39 24
Welling United..............28 5 9 14 25:43 24
Farnborough Town............27 6 7 14 30:56 24


FA TROPHY FOURTH ROUND REPLAY
Rushden & Diamonds 1 Woking 2

ENDSLEIGH CHALLENGE TROPHY QUARTER-FINAL
Cheltenham 2 Hayes 1