Holker Street Newsletter 322 - 20th March 1999

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WE'LL BEAT THE DROP, JOHNSTON
By Phil Pearson, Evening Mail, 19 March 1999

Barrow AFC’s veteran defender Eddie Johnston is certain the Bluebirds will not be relegated from the Nationwide Conference this season. After a string of improved results which has seen AFC go four games unbeaten, 40-year-old Johnston believes Barrow’s battling spirit under new manager Shane Westley will see them avoid the drop. Tomorrow Barrow travel to Hereford looking for the win to drag themselves away from the relegation zone and Johnston, who scored his first goal of the season at Farnborough last week, is confident of getting a result. He said: "The lads are enjoying the results and we are going there full of confidence. The gaffer has got us very organised and we feel we have got a chance in every game after the way the results have been going. We are difficult to play against now and difficult to beat. I feel like we can go anywhere and get something after the likes of the Yeovil and Cheltenham games. I wouldn’t like to predict the result at Hereford, but I will say I won’t score again, even though I’ve set myself a target of three before the end of the season!" With nine games to go. Barrow still have a great chance of dragging themselves out of the relegation mire. When asked about AFC’s League position and chances of remaining in the Conference, Johnston was in no doubt about Barrow’s chances.

He said: "I don’t think we will go down. The lads are pulling together and there are worse sides down there than us. I think Farnborough and Welling are getting cut adrift and then I think it’s between five teams for the remaining one drop place. It’ll only take a couple of wins for us and the pressure will then be on the others to catch us up." Manager Westley said of tomorrow’s game: "It’s going to be another tough one for us, but we are on a nice little run which has given the lads some confidence. We’ve got to get back to basics and keep working very, very hard."

Barrow: Davis, Kennedy, Jones, Challender, Johnston, Higgins. Hayward, Haddow, Dawson, O’Keeffe, Hill, Lewis, Foster, Hatton, Prior.

PRIOR RETURNS TO AFC
Midfielder Lee Prior has returned for his second spell with Barrow AFC and has been named in boss Shane Westley’s squad for tomorrow’s trip to Hereford. The one-time Liverpool youth team ace, who played alongside Michael Owen at Anfield, picked up a UniBond Premier winners’ medal with AFC last season, before becoming one of former boss Owen Brown’s summer casualties. Prior, 21, has been playing for Rhyl in the League of Wales this season.

FIFTEEEN GAMES WITHOUT A WIN FOR HEREFORD
Hereford United are a side in free-fall having not won in their last fifteen League and Cup outings. The club, who replaced Barrow in the Football League in 1972, are currently in fourteenth place in the Conference, five places and six points ahead of fourth-bottom Barrow and only seven points above the drop zone, and encouraging news for travelling AFC fans tomorrow is that Graham Turner’s side haven’t won at Edgar Street since victory over Doncaster on November 28. Since that date Hereford have sunk from potential title challengers to the precipice of the relegation dogfight. Victory for Barrow would move them to within three points of United and with a game in hand. Their mid-season demise has coincided with a continuing financial crisis which has forced Turner to sell four of his best players to help pay off debts for a club, which, not so long ago, were UKP1.4 million in the red. Centre half Richard Walker was sold to Cheltenham, midfielder Gavin Mahon to Brentford, and strikers Richard Leadbeater to Stevenage, and Mark Druce to Kidderminster, for a combined total of over UKP100,000. Mahon’s sale alone has raked in UKP80,000 far with another UKP10,000 instalment on its way to Edgar Street when the 22-year-old completes 30 games in Brentford colours, but still Turner has been told that no money is available to re-strengthen his squad, and, like Shane Westley at Barrow, the former Aston Villa boss is being restricted to picking players up on free transfers. First choice centre backs Ian Wright and Stuart Evans both missed the defeat at Yeovil last Saturday with calf strains, but Turner is hopeful that Wright, at least, will be okay for tomorrow.

CONFERENCE NEWS

Rovers grab Watson
Doncaster Rovers have invested UKP25,000 in the signing of Garforth Town winger Andy Watson. The 20-year-old joins Rovers in the face of strong competition from Premiership side Middlesbrough, plus Bolton Wanderers and Huddersfield Town where he recently trained and featured in the Pontins League. Watson, whose late father John played for Doncaster, has signed a contract which will keep him at the Belle Vue through to the summer of 2001. Described by regional game observers as ‘the next Ryan Giggs’, Watson has struck 18 goals in the Northern Counties East Premier Division this term. A promising rugby league player whose stand-off talents courted a trial invitation from Castleford RLFC; Watson is the one of the top five signings in the Nationwide Conference this season.

Wright for the City
League leaders Kettering Town have sold teenage striker Ben Wright to first division Bristol City for an initial payment of UKP30,000. The 19-year-old, whose fee could rise to a six-figure sum subject to appearances, leaves Rockingham Road with five Conference games to his credit. Discovered playing for local-football side Deeping Rangers earlier this season, the Poppies’ much prized forward has been the subject of keen interest since his arrival at Kettering Town. In-form Premiership side Leeds United, plus Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End have all extended trials to the youngster who played for the German schoolboys prior to him joining the Nationwide Conference club.

Ks on the record
Kingstonian have been setting new records at the Kingsmeadow Stadium in their debut campaign in the national game, and this week sees another record on the Ks hit-list when Geoff Chapple’s squad start rehearsals to record a song marking their progress to the country’s fifth Division. The song has been written by ardent Ks fan and musician Natali Hurley who owns the Grey Horse Public House in Richmond Road, Kingston. Described by Chapple as a 'lively' number, the side visited the Grey Horse yesterday after training to start rehearsals with a band assembled by Natali. The song is expected to be recorded by the Kingstonian players at the Chiswick recording studios later this season.

Robins tipped for title
Cheltenham Town remain the strong favourites for the title according to leading bookmakers Ladbrokes whose latest odds place Steve Cotterill’s side at 4/7 to win promotion to the Nationwide League. Ladbrokes’ leading prices on the Nationwide Conference championship race are as follows: 4/7 Cheltenham Town, 7/4 Rushden & Diamonds, 7/1 Kettering Town, 66/1 Hayes, Kingstonian, Yeovil Town, 100/1 Stevenage Borough.

Bignan’s Ducks move
Kidderminster Harriers have sold striker Mike Bignall to Conference hopefuls Aylesbury United for a UKP5000 fee. The 22-year-old former Morecambe and Stevenage Borough player ends a 15 month spell at the Aggborough Stadium. During his Harriers term, Bignall scored twelve goals in 33 appearances.

Mahon makes more coin
The form of Brentford midfielder Gavin Mahon has earned Hereford United a UKP15,000 windfall. The 22-year-old has hit the 20 game mark for the third division promotion hunters, raising his transfer fee to UKP80,000 since his London-bound move from Edgar Street last November. Hereford stand to earn a further UKP10,000 instalment on the transfer when Mahon makes his thirtieth appearance for the Bees

Port end home win wait
A splendid week for Southport ended in celebration as the Sandgrounders now look forward to their FA Trophy Quarter-Final tie at Forest Green Rovers as well as the end of their win-less sequence at Haig Avenue. A 3-0 win over Dover Athletic last Saturday gave the Sandgrounders a three point haul at home for the first time since September 15, a run of eleven games showing seven draws and four defeats. Earlier in the week a Dave Gamble penalty had helped Southport progress in their Fifth Round Trophy Replay at the expense of Woking. Southport’s return to winning ways at Haig Avenue in the Conference leaves Welling United claiming the longest spell without a victory on home soil. Saturday’s 3-1 defeat against Kingstonian at Park View Road leaves Kevin Hales’ team winless in Kent since September 19, 11 matches in which they have drawn three and lost eight games.

Moving West
Former Glasgow Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland striker Colin West has been made available for transfer by promotion chasers Rushden & Diamonds. Head coach Brian Talbot has placed the 36-year-old Euro Cup campaigner on the Diamonds’ list following talks last week. West, who has scored twelve goals in 34 appearances since his arrival at Nene Park in 1997, is one of three players placed on the Rushden & Diamonds transfer list. Former Northampton, Cambridge and Scunthorpe full-back Paul Wilson and ex-Crewe Alexandra goalkeeper Mark Gayle have also been made available.

Vics sign Drill Field trio
One of the Nationwide Conference’s most highly rated midfielders at present, Mark Devlin of Northwich Victoria, has signed a new contract at the Drill Field Stadium. The 25-year-old former Stoke City player, who has caught the attention of a number of Nationwide League scouts this year, has made a commitment that will keep him at the Vics until the summer of 2000. It has been an important week for manager Mark Gardiner whose plans for the future are beginning to take shape. The Vics boss has also secured the extended services of centre forward Ian Cooke and left winger Darren Vicary, both signing new contracts covering the next two years.

Boothe’s back at Boro
New Farnborough Town manager Dean Coney has brought former Cherrywood Road favourite Chris Boothe back to the Nationwide Conference club. The 31-year-old striker, who made 215 appearances for the Hampshire club between August 1993 and October 1997 scoring 111 goals, signed on a free transfer from Hayes and played in the 2-2 home draw with Barrow last Saturday. Boothe is contracted to the club until the end of the season

Greens run on
Forest Green Rovers recorded their most impressive back-to-back results since making the step up to the Nationwide Conference, winning 3-0 at Hayes last Tuesday followed by the 5-0 home win over Kidderminster Harriers last weekend. The brace keeps Rovers’ unbeaten record for 1999 intact and means they have not tasted defeat in any competition since losing at Barrow on December 19. Since then Frank Gregan’s side have won six games and drawn two in the Conference, rising to twelfth in the table, as well as reaching the FA Trophy Quarter-Finals for the first time in their history.

Gates hit top ten list
With a quarter of the season still remaining, Nationwide Conference attendances have already hit the top ten listings in the competition’s 20 year history. Saturday’s crowds raised this campaign’s aggregate figure to 564,303, the seventh best of all time. Nationwide Conference crowds should enter the top five crowd charts by the weekend, with the Conference still on course to pass the all-time record of 681,800 which was set last season. At present, 17 of the 22 clubs enjoy four figure averages with no fewer than thirteen sides attracting increased crowds compared to last season.


CHANGE OF EMAIL ADDRESS
If your are trying to email Richard Postlethwaite at the Barrow web site, don’t send it to , his new email address is .