Holker Street Newsletter 770 - 24th February 2001

First things first, I'm having difficulty getting the Newsletter out every day, so if it doesn't appear as often as it should, now you know why, Barrow's run of reasonable results came to grinding halt on Merseyside where a poor Barrow side came up against a Runcorn side with Liam Watson in form, and well, we lost 3-1.This Tuesday sees Barrow play at home to Stalybridge Celtic in a game that the attendance will have a greater bearing on than the result, well, for Barrow at least. I haven't had the opportunity to put finger to keyboard over the latest problems to befall the club, but I will, it's just a case of time, I know I've been saying this for a while, but it's one of those things at the moment, so, please bear with me. As for this Tuesday's game if you are going tot he game, why drag along a friend, colleague or relative to Holker Street, and see if you can give them the bug as well.

Thanks to Peter Caldwell, Mike Peascod, Jim Whitton, Geoff Northin, Clive Roddie, Phil Yelland, Stephen Mulrine, Old Barrovian, John Little, Aidan Silcocks, Graham Murphy and Terry Kendall for their help with today's edition.

WE OWE THEM ONE
Lowe's battle cry on eve of Runcorn clash
By Neil Lauderdale, Evening Mail, Friday 23 February

Barrow AFC visit Canal Street to face Runcorn tomorrow looking for revenge after two previous defeats. The Bluebirds have come unstuck twice against the Linnets this season and manager Kenny Lowe feels his side owes them one. The Holker Street chief saw his team lose 1-0 at home to the Merseyside outfit in the First Round of the FA Umbro Trophy in November, and last month Runcorn completed a double over Barrow with a 2-1 away win in a UniBond Premier League game that erupted into life after 72 minutes. AFC defender Lee Warren was adjudged to have thrown a punch at Runcorn player-manager Liam Watson in the penalty area. That led to Warren being sent off and Runcorn were awarded a spot-kick which Watson converted to wrap up the three points. It was a difficult defeat to accept for Lowe and his team and the manner in which they were beaten still lingers in the memory. Lowe said last night: "We just want to keep the run going and possibly pay them back for the Trophy and the League game. I think we owe them one. We have got players back. We have got people fit and we seem to be scoring goals, although we seem to be conceding goals as well. As I have said though, we will get better once the pitches start firming up." Barrow extended their unbeaten to five games in the League thanks to a thrilling 4-4 draw at Hyde on Monday night. With 10 minutes to go though Lowe's team looked to be heading for defeat until Nicky Peverell stepped in with a late double to rescue a point. Those goals took the striker's tally to 26 for the season and it's now seven goals in the last five games for the club's leading scorer. Lowe added: "I think the partnership with Darren (Roberts) seems to be working well. I think Nicky is benefiting from having a quality front man alongside him and I think he is benefiting from Darren's movement. Darren is a good player and I have said that from the start. It's the same as Lee Ellison. When he came some people questioned him, but he's proved what a quality player he is." Barrow could be at full strength tomorrow for their League clash, but Lowe, who may name the same starting line-up as at Hyde, added: "We may have one or two missing and I'll have to check on 'Nobby' (Lee Rogers) and Jason Ainsley, who have been ill. Mark Hume comes back in. Maybe we'll move Housh (Steve Housham) out of right-back and bring Humey in, but it will he more or less the same side." Lowe was unable to make the trip to Hyde on Monday night because of a viral infection and he may yet be forced to stay at home tomorrow, but he was given a replay of events by his assistant Lee Turnbull and Lowe said: "We started off well, for the first 20 minutes, then we were poor for the next 40. They're a good team and I think if they win their games in hand they go above us."

Barrow: Bishop, Rogers, Warren, Hume, Hall, Maxfield, Doherty, Bullimore, Anthony, Ainsley, Jenkinson, Peverell, Roberts, Gill, Hill, McKechnie.
Runcorn (probable): Winstanley, Salt, Ness, Ellis, McNally, Ward, Price, Tomlinson, McAllister, Lunt, Watson, Benson, Cowley, Ryder.

KEEN RENEWS APPEAL FOR CASH
Evening Mail, Friday 23 February

Barrow AFC chairman Brian Keen has renewed his appeal for financial help as the club desperately looks to raise UKP15,000. Last week Keen and his fellow directors called upon the generosity of the Bluebirds supporters at a meeting with fans. He told them that a combination of bad weather and financial burdens placed upon the club by the UniBond management committee had left them facing a serious cash flow problem. After that first appeal Keen and everyone else at the club was overwhelmed by the level of response as over UKP1500 was raised in just 24 hours, but things have dried up over the last few days so Keen is again appealing to the kindness of Barrow's supporters. The popular chairman said last night: "On the fundraising front we had a meeting on Wednesday night and we are just a bit worried that the weekend was just a phobia as it's dropped off drastically since then. We can't have complacency. It's urgent that people dig deep. We are relying on them." Last weekend hundreds of pounds were collected by directors at the ground during Barrow's League game with Blyth Spartans. Tomorrow though the team are away to face Runcorn, so Keen is making a special request to fans to turn up in their droves for next Tuesday night's clash with Stalybridge Celtic at Holker Street. The mouth-watering match against the title-chasers from Manchester promises to be one of the games of the season and Keen is hoping the attendance tops the 1000 figure. The last time the club had more than 1000 in for a home game was on New Year's Day when 1159 showed up to see the 2-2 with Lancaster City. Keen added: "That's the big one, against one of the top of the League side and it's a very big game." The Saturday after that the UniBond League Premier Division's top side, Emley, visit Holker Street for the Quarter-Finals of the Chairman's Cup. Again that promises to be an exciting spectacle with the two clubs having faced each other three times already this season. In the first game Barrow lost 3-1 in the League on the opening day of the season, but since then the Bluebirds have dumped the Yorkshire outfit out of the FA Cup and picked up a creditable 0-0 draw. Keen said: "The board is relying on in excess, well in excess, of 1000 through the gate for both games."


THE EVENING CHRONICLE, JOHN LITTLE AND BARROW AFC

With regards to the article in the Evening Chronicle about the tunnel incidents after the Barrow v Blyth match, I was at the game in question and what appeared in the north-east paper seems to me to be a biased view of events with a one-sided view by Blyth officials.

It had been a highly charged game and very physical encounter which had at times seen players lose their cool. When the teams were coming off the field the Blyth manager was seen to have an exchange of views with some Barrow players and match officials. When he and his players left the field via the players' tunnel, there was a disturbance, and whilst I couldn't tell what was going on, there were stewards present. It appeared that a few players had taken matters into their own hands to perhaps get even. Bearing in mind these comments, and what happened on the day, perhaps the Evening Chronicle can explain how a number of Barrow players appeared in the Cross Bar after the game with cuts and bruises to their faces when these marks were not on their faces when they walked off the field of play?


UNIBOND LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION, 24 FEBRUARY
Bishop Auckland 2 Droylsden 1, Burscough 2 Whitby Town 3, Emley 4 Colwyn Bay 1, Gainsborough Trinity 2 Accrington Stanley 0, Hucknall Town 1 Bamber Bridge 0, Lancaster City 1 Hyde United 4, Leek Town 1 Gateshead 2, Marine 1 Frickley Athletic 0, Runcorn 3 Barrow 1, Stalybridge Celtic 1 Altrincham 0.

P W D L F-A Pts
Emley.....................31 22 6 3 62-28 72
Stalybridge Celtic........27 20 6 1 66-20 66
Bishop Auckland...........27 17 4 6 54-32 55
Lancaster City............29 15 7 7 61-48 52
Altrincham................33 14 8 11 59-45 50
Worksop Town..............26 13 7 6 72-43 46
Accrington Stanley........32 13 7 12 52-48 46
Hucknall Town.............26 11 7 8 33-31 40
BARROW....................29 11 7 11 49-48 40
Gainsborough Trinity......31 10 9 12 34-42 39
Whitby Town...............30 11 6 13 44-53 39
Gateshead.................26 11 4 11 48-39 37
Hyde United...............26 10 7 9 52-46 37
Burscough.................26 10 6 10 43-44 36
Runcorn...................27 10 5 12 36-45 35
Droylsden.................29 10 4 15 35-50 34
Bamber Bridge.............28 9 6 13 38-45 33
Marine....................30 8 8 14 39-54 32
Blyth Spartans............28 8 6 14 32-38 30
Leek Town.................28 7 7 14 27-39 28
Colwyn Bay................26 6 7 13 39-60 25
Frickley Athletic.........30 5 9 16 35-64 24
Spennymoor United.........27 2 3 22 22-70 9

UNIBOND DIVISION ONE, 24 FEBRUARY
From Geoff Northin

Ashton United 3 Belper Town 4, Farsley Celtic 1 Congleton Town 0, Gretna 1 Stocksbridge Park Steels 1, Harrogate Town 2 Chorley 0, Matlock Town 1 Bradford Park Avenue 4, North Ferriby United 0 Workington 1, Ossett Town 2 Guiseley 1, Radcliffe Borough 1 Kendal Town 0, Trafford 2 Vauxhall Motors 1, Winsford United 2 Lincoln United 2, Witton Albion 3 Eastwood Town 1.

P W D L F A GD Pts
Bradford PA 28 18 2 8 54 28 26 56
Vauxhall Motors 26 17 4 5 68 32 36 55
Ashton United 27 16 5 6 64 32 32 53
Stocksbridge PS 26 13 9 4 49 33 16 48
Ossett Town 31 13 8 10 56 45 11 47
Chorley 29 11 9 9 47 41 6 42
Witton Albion 25 11 9 5 35 29 6 42
Farsley Celtic 28 12 5 11 40 37 3 41
Trafford 30 12 5 13 38 49 -11 40
Belper Town 26 11 5 10 48 47 1 38
Lincoln United 31 10 7 14 45 59 -14 37
Harrogate Town 27 10 5 12 39 45 -6 35
North Ferriby United 29 9 7 13 41 49 -8 34
Eastwood Town 31 9 6 16 30 46 -16 33
Matlock Town 24 9 5 10 45 42 3 32
Workington 26 7 10 9 32 33 -1 31
Winsford United 29 8 9 12 37 49 -12 30
Guiseley 27 8 6 13 19 33 -14 30
Radcliffe Borough 22 9 2 11 42 43 -1 29
Gretna 27 8 5 14 50 64 -14 29
Kendal Town 29 6 10 13 39 58 -19 27
Congleton Town 24 6 3 15 27 51 -24 21

NATIONWIDE CONFERENCE, 24 FEBRUARY
Boston United 1 Northwich Victoria 1, Hednesford Town 0 Dagenham & Redbridge 2, Nuneaton Borough 1 Hayes 1, Scarborough 2 Dover Athletic 0, Woking 1 Kettering Town 1.

P W D L F-A Pts
Rushden & Diamonds........29 18 6 5 58-27 60
Yeovil Town...............27 19 3 5 50-31 60
Southport.................28 15 6 7 42-30 51
Hereford United...........29 12 10 7 44-26 46
Dagenham & Redbridge......27 13 5 9 44-34 44
Chester City..............26 11 10 5 33-21 43
Stevenage Borough.........27 10 13 4 50-39 43
Scarborough...............29 11 10 8 43-38 43
Doncaster Rovers..........31 11 9 11 30-33 42
Telford United............27 12 5 10 30-32 41
Leigh RMI.................26 10 10 6 35-29 40
Boston United.............30 8 13 9 47-41 37
Dover Athletic............29 10 7 12 43-42 37
Woking....................29 8 11 10 34-42 35
Nuneaton Borough..........28 8 10 10 36-40 34
Morecambe.................23 7 8 8 36-31 29
Northwich Victoria........29 7 8 14 31-48 29
Hayes.....................30 8 5 17 29-54 29
Forest Green Rovers.......29 5 11 13 28-44 26
Kingstonian...............25 6 4 15 31-46 22
Hednesford Town...........30 4 10 16 38-62 22
Kettering Town............28 4 8 16 26-48 20

RYMAN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION, 24 FEBRUARY
Aldershot Town 2 Hampton & Richmond 2, Carshalton Athletic 1 Maidenhead United 0, Dulwich Hamlet 0 Farnborough Town 2, Enfield 1 Basingstoke Town 4, Harrow Borough 0 Gravesend & Northfleet 6, Hendon 1 Purfleet 2, Heybridge Swifts 3 Chesham United 1, Hitchin Town 3 Sutton United 0, St Albans City 1 Slough Town 0.

P W D L F-A Pts
Farnborough Town..........28 22 2 4 58-15 68
Gravesend & Northfleet....26 17 4 5 49-24 55
Canvey Island.............24 16 4 4 49-22 52
Aldershot Town............25 13 7 5 43-24 46
Hampton & Richmond........29 13 7 9 54-47 46
Basingstoke Town..........24 13 6 5 43-25 45
Heybridge Swifts..........25 12 9 4 46-31 45
Chesham United............25 13 2 10 48-36 41
Hitchin Town..............26 12 3 11 40-35 39
St Albans City............27 12 2 13 37-39 38
Billericay Town...........22 10 5 7 31-36 35
Purfleet..................26 8 9 9 40-34 33
Sutton United.............24 9 6 9 33-35 33
Hendon....................20 8 5 7 35-30 29
Enfield...................28 7 7 14 32-51 28
Maidenhead United.........26 8 1 17 30-44 25
Slough Town...............28 7 4 17 24-40 25
Harrow Borough............25 6 7 12 37-58 25
Grays Athletic............25 6 6 13 23-46 24
Carshalton Athletic.......28 6 4 18 26-61 22
Croydon...................24 5 5 14 27-44 20
Dulwich Hamlet............27 2 7 18 24-52 13

DR MARTENS LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION, 24 FEBRUARY
Bath City 4 Clevedon Town 1, Cambridge City 0 Ilkeston Town 0, Fisher Athletic 2 Stafford Rangers 3, Havant & Waterlooville 2 Dorchester Town 1, King's Lynn 2 Halesowen Town 2, Margate 1 Tamworth 0, Merthyr Tydfil 1 Salisbury City 0, Newport County 5 Folkestone Invicta 0.

P W D L F-A Pts
Burton Albion.............29 16 10 3 53-28 58
Margate...................26 18 3 5 49-18 57
Bath City.................28 12 10 6 55-47 43
Worcester City............29 12 7 10 38-36 43
Stafford Rangers..........27 12 6 9 48-41 42
Moor Green................27 12 5 10 30-29 41
Salisbury City............28 12 5 11 47-47 41
Welling United............29 10 11 8 35-35 41
Ilkeston Town.............29 11 8 10 38-46 41
Crawley Town..............26 11 7 8 42-33 40
Newport County............26 11 6 9 51-43 39
Havant & Waterlooville....23 12 2 9 46-33 38
Weymouth..................26 10 7 9 45-38 37
King's Lynn...............28 9 8 11 41-44 35
Tamworth..................30 10 5 15 39-47 35
Cambridge City............27 9 7 11 38-41 34
Merthyr Tydfil............28 7 10 11 38-46 31
Folkestone Invicta........29 8 5 16 31-54 29
Dorchester Town...........25 7 6 12 28-43 27
Fisher Athletic...........25 7 4 14 36-50 25
Halesowen Town............29 5 10 14 34-48 25
Clevedon Town.............28 6 6 16 40-55 24

Bath City: 3 points deducted


WATSON DOES IT AGAIN!
From Graham Murphy

Last time Barrow played Runcorn their player-manager, Liam Watson, virtually won the game single-handedly by conning the ref into sending off the hapless Lee Warren and awarding a penalty for his alleged offence, which Watson duly converted for Runcorn's winning goal.

Well, guess what. He's gone and done it again. This time there was no penalty and no sending off but Watson suckered the ref into booking Hall, half-crippled Hill with a dreadful lunge and proceeded to score goals number two and three for Runcorn in what was an emphatic victory. I wish I had more to complain about than that but I haven't. I wish the ref had been crap so I could moan about him. But he wasn't. I wish the wind hadn't been so cold because I lost all feeling in my extremities after just twenty minutes. But it wasn't. I wish Barrow had played football, given us something to cheer and put up some sort of resistance. But they didn't.

Yes it was that sort of day. Cold, miserable and, well, sad. The kind of day that makes you wonder why on earth you bother; that has you asking why we have a reasonably talented squad who fail time after time to live up to their potential, whose ability to defend against strong running forwards is as non-existent as William Hague's chances of being Prime Minister by the summer.

Kenny Lowe was confined to his home suffering from some sort of virus. Had he been here he might have suspected that some of his players had been infected, so sterile was much of Barrow's play. In the first half the Runcorn goal might as well have had Ministry of Agriculture tape around it forbidding entry due to an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease, so rarely did Barrow enter it. Their goalie, Winstanley, had trouble keeping warm and spent much of the game pacing up and down five yards outside the area. He looked as lost and lonely as Jeffrey Archer on a South African beach as 80% of the play was in Barrow's half of the field.

When we got possession we couldn't create any chances. It wasn't the passing or the movement off the ball so much as the naivety of the approach work. Almost everything from Barrow's midfield went down the left or right channel either side of the centre of the pitch. Runcorn's tall centre backs were able to clear the ball before Barrow's forwards could get a look in. We rarely played it wide. Defensively we played too far forward, leaving huge gaps either side of the back three which Runcorn exploited gleefully to launch attack after attack.

That was the origin of Barrow's problems. We persisted with a 3-5-2 formation which, like the Millennium Dome, just wasn't working. Bishop was in goal, Hall, Hume and Hill in defence, Housham, Warren, Bullimore, Doherty and Maxfield in midfield and Peverell and Roberts in attack. When this line up failed to trouble Winstanley in the first half it should have been changed. If Maxfield had dropped back and we'd reverted to 4-4-2 that would have allowed Doherty the freedom down the left to take the ball wide. On the few occasions that he did this in the second half, it caused the Runcorn defence all sorts of problems. Yet nothing was done to change the line up so he could do this all the time. 4-4-2 would also have prevented Watson and McAllister from getting into the gaps between Housham and Hall on the right and Maxfield and Hill on the left. Yet time after time the ball was played into these wide open spaces leaving our defenders the difficult task of trying to clear the ball on the turn.

Runcorn were one up at the interval, McAllister having scrambled the ball past Bishop after 24 minutes. We were fortunate to be only one down, but we would be playing down the slope in the second half and surely Lee Turnbull would see the need to change the formation. But we started the second half as we'd finished the first. And we just got more ragged as the game wore on. Housham took a couple of knocks and should really have been replaced by Anthony a good fifteen minutes before he was. By then, in the 70th minute, when Turnbull brought on all three subs (the others were Jenkinson for Roberts and McKechnie for Hill) Watson had been up to his old tricks.

It started down Barrow's right when Hall challenged Watson just inside Barrow's half not far from the touchline. Watson leaned into Hall and tried to push him over, their arms tangled and as Hall tried to free himself Watson brought his hands up to his face in a melodramatic gesture more worthy of Kenneth Branagh playing Hamlet than a part time footballer trying to hoodwink the ref. With his back to the ref Watson fell to the ground still clutching his face. No doubt he'd caught a sniff of foot and mouth virus from a passing plume. But the ref reckoned Hall had hit or pushed Watson and took out the inevitable yellow card. The Barrow fans re-doubled their "Watson is a wan***" chant they'd been taunting him with ever since three o'clock. And a minute later after a terrible lunge at Hill for which he needed lengthy treatment, they were ready to string Watson up from the nearest crossbar.

Within two minutes it was that man again, rising unmarked from the ruck of players in the penalty area to head home Runcorn's second goal from a corner. And ten minutes later he also got their third, after which he substituted himself, no doubt satisfied with the afternoon's work.

Bullimore restored a little pride with a superbly taken direct free kick after Ward had fouled Jenkinson just outside the area. Bully lofted the ball over the wall of defenders and it spun out of Winstanley's reach and into the net. Ten minutes later the ref blew for time and the 60 or so Barrow supporters headed for their heated cars, the bus, or the Supporters' Club bar to try to get their circulation going again and to hope for a much better performance on Tuesday when Stalybridge will present us with a far sterner test than Runcorn.


SOME THOUGHTS FROM PHIL YELLAND

Greetings from snowy, frosty, Edinburgh. I suspect that had it been like this at Runcorn, there might nave been excuses for our 3-1 defeat. Sadly, there are no excuses. The first half saw us with a different formation, 3-4-1-2 with Doc tucked in behind Pev and Roberts.

The team was: Bishop; Hall, Hume, Hill; Warren, Housham, Bullimore, Maxfield; Doherty; Peverell, Roberts. Subs: McKechnie for Hill, Anthony for Housham & Jenkinson for Roberts - all 70 mins.

Warren and Hall were booked. Let's hope for a change of fortune against Stalybridge.


WATSON INSPIRATION FOR RUNCORN VICTORY
By Deborah Quaile, The Non-League Paper, Sunday 25 February

Player Manager Liam Watson inspired Runcorn to a great victory against Barrow to record their first double of the season. Watson constantly troubled the Barrow defence with his pace and movement and could have easily opened the scoring after six minutes but his shot was saved by Barrow keeper Simon Bishop. Runcorn continued to press forward in search of the first goal and were rewarded for their endeavours after 16 minutes with a strike from promising youngster John McAllister. Watson was instrumental in the build-up to the goal when he put over a teasing cross which was turned goalwards by Gary Lunt. The ball fell to McAllister whose initial shot was blocked on the line before he forced the rebound into the net.

Barrow began the second half more positively but were powerless to prevent Runcorn scoring again after 66 minutes. The outstanding McNally powered a header into the roof of the net after a corner from Price. Runcorn made the game safe 15 minutes from time. Jamie Chantler headed the ball across the goal and Watson was well placed to lash the ball into the net. Barrow's consolation goal came after 81 minutes and was scored by Wayne Bullimore who floated a delightful free kick over the Runcorn wall high into the net.


FROM JIM WHITTON'S TRUSTY TRANNY
Runcorn 3 Barrow 1, 24 February

A disappointing performance against our 'bogey' team, as we lost for the third time this season to the Linnets. According to Radio Cumbria, Barrow were in a 3-4-1-2 formation, with Doc behind the front two. Whatever the idea, it obviously didn't work as Barrow failed to compete in midfield and allowed the home side to dominate. Bishop had to save from Watson on seven minutes, but Runcorn took the lead on 23, when a cross came into the box and, after one shot was blocked, McAllister scored. A Hill error allowed McAllister in again and Bishop saved, then Hampson volleyed over.

In a slightly better start to the second half, Doherty fired a free kick just over, but then Hall had to clear off the line as Runcorn pressed. In another unpleasant incident, Hall and Watson tangled and the Runcorn player/manager collapsed as if pole-axed. Fortunately, Hall received only a yellow card. McAnally made it 2-0 on 63 minutes, and Runcorn went further ahead when Watson scored form a Chandler cross with 15 minutes to go. A triple substitution, made just before the third goal, saw Hill, Roberts and Housham replaced. Ten minutes from time, Bullimore fired in a 25 yard free kick as Barrow finally woke up, or perhaps Runcorn were coasting. Peverell was just over with an overhead kick and Doherty shot wide, but in the end it was an easy victory for the home side.

Team: Bishop, Warren, Maxfield, Hume, Hall, Hill, Housham, Roberts, Peverell, Bullimore, Doherty. Subs: Jenkinson, Anthony, McKechnie.


NOT INNOCENT, BUT NOT AS GUILTY AS CHARGED
Aidan Silcocks has been in touch with comments I made regarding the home game against Blyth.

I don't know what gave you the impression that Barrow player's adopted an aggressive attitude for the Blyth game last Saturday, Blyth were the aggressive ones as mentioned by Kenny Lowe in the Evening Mail article. Kenny's comment about Barrow being a bit uglier, when read with the benefit of having seen the game, to my view should be in the context of the football being less attractive than usual with a bit more grit than has been shown in some other games, not with regard to any over aggressive play. On Saturday, Blyth were aggressive with some challenges not receiving the deserved punishment. One player, in the first half, having committed a particularly nasty foul feigned a head injury and managed to avoid a yellow card. How he got a head injury while hacking the legs from under a Barrow player I'll never know. In the second half the incident you refer to when Kenny sat on the ball and was subsequently chopped down in a fit of pique by Blyth's number 2, who made no attempt whatsoever to play the ball, this player should have received his second yellow card but avoided it by an apparent case of mistaken identity, perhaps due to the melee that followed the foul. By the way, nobody was trying to tackle Kenny when he sat on the ball, and while this action may have been extracting the urine out of the defenders, it cannot justify the vicious foul that followed. Likewise it's nothing to get on your high horse about. We've all enjoyed seeing great flair players such as George Best, Rodney Marsh and Frank Worthington do similar things. We all love it when our team is winning 2-0, there's only a minute or so to go, the opposition can't get the ball and one of our team is taking the Mick. Obviously it's a different thing when the roles are reversed but it's part of football.

On the subject of spitting fans, I never saw anything or had even heard anything on the subject until reading today's Newsletter, but then I stand on the Popular Side, "The Mindless Few" are conspicuously absent from Holker Street unless there's a big game to latch on to, and a crowd of nine hundred and odd doesn't signify a big game. If it happened, it's deplorable, but then so was the behaviour of certain Blyth players. Barrow have not become a team of nasty bruisers in order to succeed they're just not rolling over in the face of less talented teams of that nature.

Keep the Faith, Ralph, we've still got a footballing team!


ON THE NET
The latest edition of the AFC ezine is available for your perusal at:


TACTICAL ANALYSIS
by Zigger Zagger

Interesting isn't it? Since the away defeat at Stalybridge, which was the 27th game of the season, we've won twice in eight League games and once in four Cup games. In fact, the dreadful run of form, injuries and suspensions that have dogged the team since the Orient Cup tie in November have continued into the second month of the New Year.

Game 28: The Lancashire Cup game against Southport meant a chance to claim a Conference scalp. Bishop remained in goal, Warren wasn't available, so Hill came into the defence with Hall and Rogers. Midfield was as at Stalybridge, except that Doherty lined up on the left with Housham, Anthony, Bullimore and Maxfield. Peverell was injured so Hume partnered Roberts up front. And Southport loved the 3-5-2 line up, going four up by half-time. Although we won the second half 3-1, the dangers of this line up against quick running forwards has been highlighted before. It really is a risk and Doherty in central midfield with Maxfield wide is the wrong way round.

Game 29: Back to the League, Droylsden away, and 3-5-2 again. Rogers came back into defence at the expense of Hill, Warren was preferred in central midfield to Doherty and Peverell returned in attack alongside Peel, who'd had a two month loan spell at Droylsden, because Roberts' loan had ended. We scored first but those wide open spaces in our defence were just too inviting and Droylsden finished us off with two goals in the second half.

Game 30: Runcorn at home. Shouldn't be a problem. Rogers and Anthony both injured and the 3-5-2 is abandoned as Kenny selects a 4-4-2 line up. Bishop in goal, then Warren and Maxfield either side of Hall and Hume in defence, Ainsley replacing Anthony in midfield with Housham, Bullimore and Doherty and Peverell and Peel again partnered in attack. Well, it seems it might work. We're one up at half-time. But then Liam Watson cons the ref into sending Warren off and giving Runcorn a unjustified penalty and our ten men just can't hold on as we lose 2-1.

Game 31: Lancaster away in a League Cup group game. Three changes. Rogers into defence for Warren, Anthony replaces Ainsley in midfield and new signing Jenkinson takes Pev's place in attack. But Lancaster score the goal as our new look attack struggles to get going.

Game 32: After five successive defeats Marine are not the team you want to face next, even though it's at home. Rogers, Doherty and Peverell are all out, so although 4-4-2 is retained, Maxfield moves from defence into the left side of midfield with Housham, Anthony and Bullimore. Following the failed Jenkinson/Peel experiment, the attack is completely re-shaped, Doherty moving from midfield and Hume moving up from defence. So the back four sees Warren and Hill both coming in alongside Rogers and Hall. And despite scoring first, we hang on for all three points, more because of the wastefulness of Marine's attack than any improvement in our defence.

Game 33: Back to the League Cup group, Workington at home. A formality. Well, it was for them as our ex-striker, Brian Dawson, scores twice to give them the victory. Hall can't make it so Hume takes up his regular position in central defence alongside Rogers, Warren and Hill. Bullimore is also absent so Lowe is an early substitute and lines up with Housham, Anthony and Maxfield. Roberts returns and partners Doherty, who leads the attack for the second successive game. But none of it works, we fail to carry the game to them and although we had plenty of possession we failed to make it work for us.

Game 34: Bishop Auckland away. Warren's out again but Hall's back, so defence is Rogers, Hume, Hall, Maxfield. Kenny's knackered after the last game and Bullimore's still injured so Ainsley comes into midfield with Housham, Anthony and Doherty. Peverell returns to the attack, playing alongside Roberts. And the improvement is immediate. Two goals up after 90 mins. Doherty playing wide on the left means we get far more crosses into the box for the front men to run on to. Sadly, we concede two goals in injury time, although we were a shade unlucky on one of them. But a much improved performance.

Game 35: League Cup group, Gretna at home. And an unfamiliar face. Hall is away again so Hill takes his place in the only defensive change. Bullimore's fit to return, but Anthony has a knock, so that's the only swap in midfield. Peverell is in attack alongside Jones. Who? The Dalton United lad who's knocking goals in by the bucket-load in the West Lancashire League. And he does well as we take a two goal lead. But the usual defensive frailties come back to haunt us as they pull both goals back. Fortunately we score again and amazingly, that secures us a place in the Chairman's Cup Quarter-Finals.

Game 36: Blyth away. But the team is decimated by injury and suspension. Rogers and Hume are both out so McKechnie comes in for a rare game, Hill returns and Hall is back. Only Maxfield played against Gretna. Housham and Ainsley are both injured so Gill is the second player making a rare first team appearance. Anthony returns, though he's not really recovered and again only one player appeared in the last game, Bullimore. Attack is the same though, Peverell and Jones. And in the way of these things this unusual and makeshift team puts in a very creditable performance, securing a draw, with Jones impressing once again. But neither Gill nor McKechnie looked in any way inferior to the first team regulars.

Game 37: The return game against Blyth at Holker St. Rogers and Hume still unavailable. Housham returns, but rather strangely plays at right back. Warren is back so replaces Hill and Hall and Maxfield keep their places in defence. Anthony and Bullimore are in midfield with Doherty and Jenkinson, the latter playing wide. Jones is playing for Dalton so Roberts partners Peverell up front. And we secure all three points with a 2-0 victory. But although Hall and Bishop played superbly, defence was fortunate that Blyth's forwards were rather wasteful with their chances.

Game 38: Hyde away. Always difficult. It's the same team as the previous game and we take an early two goal lead, Doc scoring a 40 yard screamer. But our old friend defensive frailty returns and Hyde aren't as hopeless in attack as many other UniBond sides. We're 4-2 down and that's a true reflection of the game. Once again, fast running forwards catch out our rather ponderous defence, especially when the ball is played wide. But in an amazing recovery, we pull back two goals to get the draw. Thank Cowps for Pev!!

Game 39: Runcorn away. Liam Watson time again. And back to 3-5-2, though Cowps only knows what convinced Lee Turnbull (Kenny was off ill) to change from 4-4-2. Of the defence in the last game, three of them moved into midfield for this one - Housham, Warren and Maxfield - with Doherty and Bullimore, the former playing in central midfield leaving Maxfield the wide position on the left. Hume returned after suspension and Hill returned to partner Hall in defence. Attack was Peverell and Roberts again. But with Doc restricted to central midfield we lacked any penetration on the left. We tried to play it down the centre which suited their defenders and then we failed to recognise it wasn't working. Half-time should have seen it re-organised as 4-4-2 with Maxfield dropping into defence and Doc going wide in midfield. Housham needed substituting well before he was, and putting McKechnie there would have given us greater presence. Instead Watson bamboozled our defence and the ref. He scored twice for Runcorn, got Hall booked and more or less beat us on his own, just like he did at Holker St. But we have to recognise that we leave too many gaps at the back and tighten up on the marking.


FROM THE BARROW v BLYTH SPARTANS PROGRAMME
UniBond Review by Phil Yelland.

Emley Take Award, Again: Current Premier Division leaders, Emley have won the 'Team of the Month' award in the Premier Division for January. Ronnie Glavin's team won five of the six games they played, drawing the other match. It is the second time this season that they have won the award. Their nearest challengers were Stalybridge Celtic who lost once in seven games during the month and Lancaster City who were unbeaten over the four-week period but drew three out of eight games. The Yorkshire side also did well against Conference leaders Yeovil Town in the FA Trophy. Although they lost 4-2, the final Glovers goal game in the dying seconds and the attendance of 1754 was the biggest to date at Wakefield under the ground sharing agreement.

Marine Recognised: Marine have had a disappointing season but their FA Trophy success against title chasing Stalybridge Celtic was enough to win them the Premier Division 'Performance of the Month' award for January. Sadly, the Rossett Park outfit were unable to repeat the feat in their Fourth Round tie with Rushden & Diamonds. Last term they lost just 1-0 to the Conference side at Nene Park, this time home advantage was of no help as they were crushed 6-0 although four of the Diamonds goals in the last fourteen minutes.

Tingay Confirmed: Gainsborough Trinity have confirmed that caretaker manager Phil Tingay will remain in charge at the Northolme, at least until the end of the current campaign. Since replacing Greg Fee, Trinity have climbed into the top half of the table and put together a club record sequence of consecutive wins. He was previously assistant to Ernie Moss. Trinity were the first team to win their UniBond Cup group but the gloss has been taken off their perfect record by the deduction of three points for fielding an ineligible player against Guiseley. However, they still qualify for the next stage of the competition as one of the eight best group winners. Trinity's recent home game against Lancaster City was a game that defender Brian Linighan won't forget. He gave the visitors the lead midway through the first half before netting the equaliser in the dying seconds. One recent addition to the Trinity squad is Kevin Martin who has joined the Northolme side from fellow Premier Division side Whitby Town.

Motoring On: The First Division 'Team of the Month' award for January has gone to Vauxhall Motors for the second time this season. The Motormen were unbeaten during the month and won all their games with the exception of a home draw with Eastwood Town. Their nearest challengers were Harrogate Town who would have scooped the award had they defeated Bradford Park Avenue but they ended up on the wrong end of a 4-2 defeat. One new face at Riveracre Park is Matt Haddrell who has been brought in to strengthen the squad form North West Counties outfit Newcastle Town.

Bears Glory: The winners of the 'Performance of the Month' award in Division One were current bottom markers Congleton Town. Whilst the Bears have struggled in the League, they made it through to the Fourth Round of the FA Trophy before bowing out in spectacular fashion at Premier Division Worksop Town. Under the 'Performance of the Month' competition rules, no team can win the award twice in a season which ruled out two other contenders - Ashton United and Matlock Town. The other main contenders were Gretna for their 7-1 home win over Trafford but on this occasion the Bears overall Trophy run, coupled to their shock win at promotion chasing Bradford Park Avenue secured their success.

Runcorn To Share?: It looks as if the saga of Runcorn and the sale of their Canal Street ground may be heading in a new direction. The Linnets have been granted permission to play their Premier Division home game with Bishop Auckland next month at the Autoquest Stadium, home of Northern Ford Premiership Rugby League team Widnes. If the experiment is a success then it could see Runcorn following in the footsteps of Emley who now play all their home games at Belle Vue, home of Wakefield Wildcats of the Super League.

Robins Cash In: After regular stories recently of the financial struggle at Premier Division Altrincham, it seems that they have struck gold. They have sold 21-year-old striker Kevin Ellison to Leicester City for an initial fee reported to be in the region of UKP50,000. If Ellison makes the grade during his stay at Filbert Street, it is reported that the fee could rise significantly. The question is whether highly rated goalkeeper Stuart Coburn will be the next big money departure from Moss Lane.

Graham Returns: Colwyn Bay striker Deniol Graham has returned to the club after a loan spell with League of Wales side Bangor City. He spent two months with our former NPL and Conference colleagues at Farrer Road but form their current form it looks as if they may be relegated back to regional soccer in the principality next season.

Holker Street Review by Phil Yelland
A warm welcome back to Holker Street this afternoon and to our visitors Blyth Spartans. Last year we played out a five-goal thriller with the Croft Park club here at Holker Street and squeezed home 3-2. I am sure we would settle for something similar this afternoon providing the game is not littered with cards as last term's encounter was.

Splashing About: The events leading up to the postponement of last week's home game with Colwyn Bay could have come from a horror story. Club secretary Neil McDonald inspected the pitch early in the morning before Bay set off and the pitch was certainly playable. He checked again as they were on their journey north. However, no one could have anticipated the monsoon that arrived at lunchtime and left the pitch unplayable. The reality is that it was all very unfortunate and I understand from several people who came to the ground that the game could not have been played because of the waterlogging. That, of course, leaves the problem of re-arranging the game and at the time of writing no date has been fixed. Again, the programme printed for the game will be used when the game is eventually played for purely economic reasons. At least the postponement did not descend into the farce of 1st January 1980 when our home APL game against Northwich Victoria was called off due to a frozen pitch. The pitch had been passed fit by a local referee in the morning but when the match referee arrived, he didn't even change into his kit before he called the game off. Our then secretary Gordon Cheetham questioned the referee about why he had called the game off. He got no explanation but collected a yellow card for his troubles.

Fixture Changes: As many of you will hopefully know by now, there are a number of changes to our forthcoming fixtures. We were due to visit Altrincham this coming Tuesday but that game has been moved. Now, on Monday evening, we make the trip to Hyde United to play a game that was originally scheduled for Easter Monday. The trip to Altrincham is now down to take place on Tuesday 27 March. Another fixture change sees the cancellation of our trip to Marine scheduled for 13 March. It will now take place on Easter Monday, 16 April. The kick off time has yet to be confirmed. Everyone knows that it has been a remarkable season for cancellations and League secretary Duncan Bayley, press officer Phil Bradley and various other League officials have burnt the midnight oil trying to sort out all of the outstanding games. They deserve a medal and a bit if luck with the weather over the coming weeks.

Chairman's Cup: By the time you read this, hopefully we will know our Quarter-Final opponents in the Chairman's Cup. We have qualified as a result of finishing third in our UniBond Cup Group and the game is due to take place on Saturday 3 March. The draw was due to take place on the 9 February but had to be held over because a number of UniBond Cup ties had not been completed meaning that there were too many 'either ors'. By my reckoning, at the time of writing, possible opponents may include Chorley, Runcorn, Worksop Town, Emley, Ashton United or Harrogate Town and a couple of others. It looks as if we will have a tough game, whoever we play.

Disciplinary Blues: The latest table published by the League shows that we have dropped to second bottom in the Fair Play table in the Premier Division. By the end of January we had collected 46 cautions and five dismissals in UniBond games, which leaves only Colwyn Bay with a worse record. Anyone who has played competitive soccer at any level will know just how frustrating it can be but given our problems of two years ago we really have to improve over the remainder of the season. For information, only one club in the Premier Division have yet to have a man sent off in a UniBond game, Spennymoor United.

Making The Point: Those of you who made the trip to Blyth on Tuesday evening, might have been surprised when our line up was announced. Everyone knew that Lee Warren and Steve Housham would be missing due to suspension whilst long term injury victims Troy Bennett and Lee Ellison were also ruled out. However, there were four other absentees - Mark Hume and Darren Roberts (both injured), Jason Ainsley and Lee Rogers (both ill). That meant a start for Mike McKechnie (his 50th first team appearance), a UniBond League debut for Gareth Jones and a first start for Steven Gill. By my reckoning there were no fewer than five locally based players in the starting line up and it is a long time since that happened in a League game. Sadly, Steven Gill had to limp off at the interval to be replaced by the ever-willing Kenny Lowe who inched closer to his 200th appearance for the club. Having behind in the first half, the ever-reliable Nicky Peverell popped up with the equaliser - his 22nd goal of the season and his 49th for the club.

Don't Forget: The club shop on the ground and in the town at 60 Buccleuch Street both have plenty of club souvenirs on sale whilst you can also get from the shop in the town, details of the club lottery. All your support is welcome. Thanks to the Survival Fund who ran the proposed quiz last week despite the game being called off. The club really appreciates the efforts of all the fund raising groups who help to keep the club going. If you look in the programme you will find that there are still opportunities to sponsor some or part of some of our remaining home matches whilst there are still opportunities available on the pitch sponsorship page. Contact the shop in Buccleuch Street, call 823061 or speak to a club official if you are interested in any of these opportunities. If you look at the turf sponsorship page, some of our older supporters may recognise the name of Billy Quinn. Billy joined us from Vickers SC in 1973 and was a regular scorer for us in our early non-League days. He is now resident in Canada and, I believe he keeps in touch with club news through Ralph Sheppard's Internet Newsletter.

Next In Town: Don't forget our next home game is on Tuesday week, 2 February when our visitors will be title chasing Stalybridge Celtic. The Bower Fold side have lost just once in the League this season and will overtake Emley at the top of the table if they win their games in hand. We were unlucky to lose at Celtic in January and it would be good to get revenge. Enjoy this afternoon's game and please come along, again on the 27th.

On This Day - 17 February by Phil Yelland. 1996: ULPD. Bishop Auckland 1 Barrow 2

After a disappointing mid-week defeat in the ATS Trophy defeat at the hands of Southport, manager Tony Hesketh was looking for a positive result at Kingsway to spark the club's title challenge that had stumbled dramatically since the turn of the year. Less than one month earlier, Bishops had collected a point in competitive game at Holker Street and it was clear that we were going to be tested. The Barrow starting line up was unchanged which meant that Mark Deegan regained his starting place having been dismissed at Southport and replaced by young American Brad Pittman. The home side included two players who have subsequently featured for us - current goalkeeper Simon Bishop and defender Mickey Waller who recently moved on to Gretna.

The opening stages of the game saw the home side dominate and Mark Deegan had to be at his best to deny both Dobson and Hyde in the early stages but he was powerless to stop a Dobson volley from a Dixon cross on 13 minutes. The defence then lost the services of Darren Oliver who was the victim of an over enthusiastic tackle and was replaced by Tyrone Grimes. With Brown and Green booked and both Harold and McDonald lectured in the opening half hour, we appeared to be in danger of taking a real hammering but, that all changed on the half hour. Peter Smith had a couple of half chances to equalise before on 36 minutes, we scored a superb equaliser. The architect was Billy Kenny who found Andy Green on the edge of the box and he fired a fierce shot across Bishop into the net. It was the big striker's first goal for the club. Within two minutes, Green had doubled his tally when he collected a Jeff Parker flick on and shot home from close range. The home side were stunned and failed to battle back before the interval. The second half saw the home side begin as they had in the first but they might have been 3-1 behind seconds into the second half when a fine Bishop save denied Peter Smith. Most of the remainder of the half saw the home side dominate - Deegan produced a spectacular save from another Dobson effort and Hyde became the third home player to hit the woodwork when his shot beat Deegan but rebounded to safety with just ten minutes left. That seemed to knock the stuffing out of the home side and in the final ten minutes Green almost completed his hat trick before Bishop produced a great save to stop a long-range effort from Kenny.

It was a welcome win which gave real hope for a title charge but just seven days later, the lack of goals we lost 1-0 at home to Gainsborough Trinity to stall our challenge.

Bishop Auckland: Bishop; West, Waller, Foster, McKinlay; Bayles, Carter, Dixon, Hyde; Dobson, Milner. Subs: Jewson, Lobb & Sinclair - unused.
Barrow: Deegan; McDonald, Parker, Harold, Oliver; Todhunter, Brown, Kenny, E. Kennedy; Green, Smith. Subs: Grimes for Oliver - 19 mins; Hoskin for Green - 88 mins; Ventre - unused.
Referee: I. Blanchard (Hull). Gate: 251


THE FURNESS RAILWAY TRUST
If you are interested, the Furness Railway Trust now have a website at .


LOOK BACK AT THE 1975-76 NPL SEASON
By Terry Kendall

September 9 1975, Morecambe 1 Barrow 2 at Christie Park.
Morecambe: McLachlan, Ross, Aspin, Sutton, Street, Kershaw, Done, Webber, Galley, Spavin, Grundy. Sub: Pearson.
Barrow: Jones (missed first 17 minutes), Stevens, Brooks, Large, Arrowsmith, Martin, Hargreaves, B. Sharpe (in goals for 17 minutes), Quinn (McDonald 67), Wilson, McManus. Barrow started with 10 men.
Goals: Paul Wilson 40, Tony Webber 58 (pen), Neil McDonald 86.
Ref: R. Jameson (Liverpool). Half-time: 0-1. Att: 347.