| Full name | Barrow Association Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Bluebirds, The Ziggers (pre-1970s) | ||
| Founded | 1901 | ||
| Ground | Holker Street, Barrow-in-Furness (Capacity: 5,000 (1,000 seated)) |
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| Chairman | Brian Keen | ||
| Manager | David Bayliss and Darren Sheridan | ||
| League | Conference National | ||
| 2010–11 | Conference National, 18th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have since spent their time in the top two levels of non-league football. Barrow have twice won non-league football's most prestigious cup competition, the FA Trophy – in 1990 and 2010, becoming the only club to have won the Trophy at both old and new Wembley Stadium.
The club colours are blue and white, though the combination of these has varied over time, leading to their nickname "The Bluebirds". Attendances at the club's Holker Street ground vary – the home record of 16,874 was set against Swansea City in the FA Cup Third Round in 1954 – but during the 1990s and 2000s the average remained consistently between 800 and 1,500. Average attendance stood at 1,590 during the 2008–09 season.
The club won their second FA Trophy title on 8 May 2010 after beating Stevenage Borough 2–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium.
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Barrow AFC were founded on 16 July 1901 at the old Drill Hall (later the Palais) in The Strand and played at initially at The Strawberry Ground, before moving to Ainslie Street [1] and then on to Little Park, Roose.[2] In 1903 Barrow was elected to Division Two of the Lancashire Combination league [3] and in 1908 the club won promotion to the first division.[2] In 1909, Barrow moved once more to Holker Street, the stadium that they still occupy today. The club remained in the Lancashire Combination for up to and after World War I, winning the league in the 1920–21 season. This victory preceded the formation of the Football League Third Division North in the 1921–1922 season, and Barrow became one of the league's founder members.[1]
In their early years as a league club, Barrow were as notable for their absence of success as any achievements.[1][4] Their highest finish before World War II was 8th in the 1933–34 season. Barrow remained in the lowest tier of the Football League when football resumed after the war, and were founder members of Football League Division Four in 1958–1959.[5] The 1950s saw greater success in the FA Cup, however. The club's record crowd of 16,874 watched Barrow draw 2–2 with Swansea City in the 1953–54 FA Cup.[3] A few years later this was followed by a Third Round tie in the 1958–59 competition against the-then Football League champions Wolverhampton Wanderers at Holker Street. Wolves, captained by Billy Wright, won 4–2.
The late 1960s finally saw Barrow win promotion, after a third placed finish under the management of Don McEvoy in the 1966–67 Fourth Division.[6] McEvoy's successor, Colin Appleton, lead Barrow to their highest ever final league position of eighth in the Football League Third Division the following season. The club topped the Third Division league table for one day during the season, the highest position that they have ever held. During this period defender Brian Arrowsmith became the player to make the most Football League appearances for Barrow AFC.[6] Barrow remained in the third flight of English football for another two seasons before returning to the basement in 1970. Financial difficulties combined with poor performances saw Barrow twice up for re-election in 1971 and 1972. On the second occasion, at the end of the 1971–72 season, they were voted out of the Football League to be replaced by Hereford United.[6] Though the reasons for losing the re-election were many, three features – Barrow's geographic isolation, Hereford United's FA Cup victory against Newcastle United and the decision of the Barrow board to introduce a speedway track around pitch at Holker Street, as a means of off-setting financial difficulties – have all been highlighted as contributing to Barrow's relegation.[7] Barrow joined the Northern Premier League for the start of the 1972–73 season.[8] Barrow spent a total of 51 seasons in the Football League.[6]
To gain access to the Northern Premier League, the club had to promise to remove the infamous speedway track from Holker Street,[9] though it remained until 1974. Barrow subsequently struggled in the Northern Premier with low financial resources.[10] However in 1979 Barrow were invited to join the new Alliance Premier League, the first national division in non-league football. In 1981 the club won the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy, its first success as a non-league club since winning the Lancashire Combination in 1921, but relegation followed in 1983.[11] Under manager Vic Halom Barrow won the Northern Premier League title the following season, but were relegated again by 1986. Just before relegation, the club hired Ray Wilkie as manager, who went on to lead Barrow to their then most successful period in non-league football.[12]
After a number of close misses, Barrow won promotion back to the re-named Vauxhall Conference in 1988–89, finishing champions of the Northern Premier League.[12] Driven by the goals of Colin Cowperthwaite, the club's record appearance holder and record goalscorer,[13] Barrow achieved two respectable finishes in the Conference – 10th in 1989–1990 and 14th the season after. As well as league success, Wilkie had a number of successful cup runs. In 1988, Barrow reached the FA Trophy semi-final, losing to Enfield after a replay. The first leg at Holker Street attracted 6,002 supporters – still a non-league record for the club. The season after, Barrow reached the 1st round of the FA Cup, losing out 3–1 against Rotherham United.
In 1990, Barrow won their first major trophy as a non-league club, the FA Trophy. In the final they beat Leek Town at Wembley. Scoring the first and third goals was Kenny Gordon, a player who was not normally found on the score sheet, and who was playing his final game for his hometown club before emigrating to Australia.[14] Other notable members of the squad included Kenny Lowe, who was sold to Barnet for £40,000 after the final, then a club record fee.[15] The following season, benefiting from direct entry to the first round, Barrow made the third round of the FA Cup for the first time as a non-league club, losing 1–0 away to Third Division high fliers Bolton Wanderers.
Unfortunately Wilkie was forced to step down during the 1991–1992 due to health problems. That season Barrow would be relegated back to the Northern Premier League, and also coincided with Cowperthwaite's retirement, after a fifteen year career with Barrow, finishing with 704 appearances and 282 goals.[13] Wilkie died in December 1992, aged 56,[16] and the road outside Barrow's Holker Street ground was later named 'Wilike Road' in his honour.
Following Wilkie's departure and Barrow's subsequent relegation, the club had three mediocre seasons in the Northern Premier League. In February 1995, Barrow were purchased by Stephen Vaughan, a Scouse-boxing promoter and businessman.[17] Vaughan poured money into the club, building an all-seater stand and allowing the club to sign players of Conference-standard.[18] The Bluebirds achieved promotion to the Conference in 1997–98, under manager Owen Brown.[17][18]
Vaughan, who had connections with Liverpool drug-dealer Curtis Warren,[17] was soon being investigated for money laundering,[17][18][19][20] although no charges were ever brought on the issue.[19][21] Vaughan left the club at the end of 1998, withdrawing his financial support that had been keeping it afloat.[17] It transpired that the club's main asset, its Holker Street ground, had been sold for £410,000 to Northern Improvements, a company Vaughn had an interest in.[18][22] In January 1999, the club were the subject of a compulsory winding up order and a liquidator was appointed to run the club whilst trying to establish who the legal owner of the ground was.[17][18][22] A new members' company was formed with the aim of providing financial support to the club and with the long term intention of taking over the running of the football club.
In the summer of 1999 the club were thrown out of the Football Conference, despite avoiding relegation .[22] After a long dispute, and thanks to the support of the Football Association, Barrow were allowed entrance into the Northern Premier League for the 1999–2000 season, almost a month after it had commenced.[18] This reduced time in which to play their fixtures led to the scheduling of Barrow v Winsford United on 30 December 1999, recognised as the last professional or semi-professional game in the United Kingdom of the millennium. Barrow managed to survive in the Northern Premier League under manager Kenny Lowe, despite having to create an almost entirely new squad. The team improved over the following few years despite remaining in administration. They twice missed out narrowly on promotion back to the Conference, finishing second and third in the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons respectively. The legal disputes over the ownership of Holker Street were finally resolved in August 2002 and the new members company bought the stadium from the liquidator.[18] In 2003, the Football Association finally allowed the 'football membership' to be transferred to the new company.
In April 2004, Barrow defeated local rivals Workington in a two-legged final in the UniBond Presidents (League) Cup. The game finished 6–6 on aggregate, Barrow winning on away goals. Following their failure to gain promotion to the Conference in 2004–05, Barrow became founder members of yet another division, this time the Conference North, which replaced the Northern Premier League at the level below the Conference National.
During the following two seasons Barrow showed poor form in the league, narrowly escaping relegation at the end of 2006–07. Manager Lee Turnbull, who succeeded Lowe when the latter had to give up the job for work commitments, was sacked in 2005 and replaced by Phil Wilson. Compounding this was the jailing of defender James Cotterill for an assault committed on the pitch. In a first round FA Cup game Cotterill punched Bristol Rovers striker Sean Rigg, the incident being missed by the referee but caught by the Match of the Day cameras, resulting in Cotterill being the only English player in recent history to be jailed for an offence on the pitch.[23]
On 12 November 2007, after two years in the job, Phil Wilson was dismissed as manager. Although the sacking came two days after a good 1–1 draw in the FA Cup First Round against AFC Bournemouth, it was the club's continued poor league form which cost the manager his job. Barrow's first team affairs were shifted to players Paul Jones, David Bayliss and Darren Sheridan. Following a decent run of results, Bayliss and Sheridan were appointed as player-managers, whilst Jones became club captain. Bayliss and Sheridan led Barrow from 20th place in the league in December to fifth, ensuring a place in the play offs for promotion to the Conference National. Barrow won the semi-final against Telford United 4–0 on aggregate, before beating Stalybridge Celtic in the playoff final, held at the Pirelli Stadium, Burton upon Trent.[24]
After an initial strong start in the Conference National, which saw Barrow top the table during the first few weeks, the club began to struggle and found themselves just above the relegation zone by January 2009. Barrow had more success in the FA Cup, beating Brentford 2–1 with goals from David Brown and Matt Henney in Round Two, their first victory over Football League opposition since their own elimination from the league in 1972. In the third round they were drawn an away tie against Middlesbrough, a Premier League team, losing 2–1.[25] More than 7,000 Barrow fans travelled to Boro's Riverside Stadium, at the time the highest away attendance at the ground in the 14 years it had been open.[25] The cup run earned the club around £250,000, allowing investment in playing resources to be made.[26] Barrow managed to retain their place in the Conference, finishing twentieth.
Having made several alterations to the squad during the summer, the club started its 2nd season in Blue Square Premier in August 2009. After a tough start, the club put together a good run, losing only once in 16 games, and reaching the FA Cup 3rd round, where they were beaten 3–0 by Premier League side Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on January 2, 2010, watched, again, by 7,500 travelling supporters.[27][28] On March 13, 2010, a Gregg Blundell goal gave Barrow a 1–0 win away at Salisbury City in the 1st Leg of the FA Trophy Semi Final. A week later a Jason Walker double secured a 2–1 victory in the 2nd Leg to send the Bluebirds to Wembley. Having secured their position in the Conference National in the last home match of the season, Barrow went on to win the 2010 FA Trophy Final against Stevenage Borough 2–1 at Wembley Stadium, thanks to a goal by Jason Walker during extra time. This made Barrow the first and only club to win the FA Trophy at both the old and new Wembley stadiums.
The 2010–11 season was less successful for the club, although they finished in 18th place and retained their Blue Square premier place with a 2–0 victory over Hayes and Yeading on the last day of the season.[29] Barrow failed to retain The FA Trophy due to a 2–3 defeat by Blue Square Bet North side Guiseley.[30]
As well as football, Barrow has in recent years began to look towards developing the commercial side of the club. This included the relaunching of the club's website, still using the same domain name.
Barrow AFC's colours, are white and blue. A kit with blue shirts and white shorts was in use by 1912,[31] though Barrow's original colours were black and white stripes, in the style of Newcastle United. From 1939 to 1959, a blue shirt with a white 'v' was a common design.[1] Since then, the style of Barrow's kit has varied, from predominantly blue through to predominantly white, with occasional use of stripes or hoops.[1] For the 2001–2002 season, Barrow played in black and white stripes, to celebrate the club's centenary year.[32] Although the away colours of Barrow have varied over time, the club's 2010 FA Trophy victory came wearing a yellow kit with blue trim. Barrow's second kit now is sky blue.
The club's badge is based on the Barrow-in-Furness coat of arms.[1] The badge features a submarine, representing the town's shipbuilding industry, a red rose symbolising Lancashire and an image of a football. Copied from the town badge [1] is a rebus of a bee and an arrow, representing the club's name ("Bee-arrow").
Holker Street has been Barrow's ground since 1910.[2] Prior to this it had hosted Hindpool Athletic football club, and before that was the site of a rubbish dump [33] The first game at the stadium was a 5–2 win for Barrow against Eccles Borough. The ground was gradually developed so that by the resumption of football after World War Two, it had four fully covered terraced stands [34] The record attendance came in 1954 when 16,784 fans watched an FA Cup match against Swansea City. Floodlights were erected in 1963,[6] and the ground hosted speedway meetings during the 1970s which involved the demolition of the 'Steelworks End', which had been damaged by fire, the re-positioning of the pitch and the removal of the front rows of terracing.[33] Following the removal of the speedway track, the pitch was moved back to its original orientation and a new leisure centre with squash courts was constructed.[33]
Under Stephen Vaughan's ownership, an new all-seater all-seater Main Stand with a capacity of around 1000 was built at the Wilkie Road side,[18] but since then only significant change to the ground has been the removal of an unsafe roof over the Holker Street end terraces. Described as having "a traditional, old fashioned feel",[33] the ground has three sides of terracing. The Main Stand is raised above the central portion of the pitch, with flat standing on either side.[35] The Popular Side now has the only covered terracing, opposite the Main Stand.[36][37]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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As of 1 May 2011. Only league matches are counted.
| Name | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Win % | ||||
| Jacob Fletcher | July 1901 | April 1904 | 78 | 33 | 15 | 30 | 146 | 135 | 42.31% | |
| E. Freeland | April 1904 | ???? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| W. Smith | ???? | ???? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Alec Craig | ???? | May 1907 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Roger Charnley | May 1907 | ???? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Jacob Fletcher | ???? | September 1909 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Jas P. Phillips | September 1909 | July 1913 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| John Parker | July 1913 | July 1920 | 114 | 55 | 16 | 43 | 232 | 197 | 48.25% | |
| William Dickinson | July 1920 | May 1922 | 72 | 37 | 11 | 24 | 121 | 82 | 51.39% | |
| Jimmy Atkinson | August 1922 | March 1923 | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 44 | 43 | 36.67% | |
| J.E. Moralee | April 1923 | January 1926 | 112 | 29 | 18 | 65 | 121 | 217 | 25.89% | |
| Robert Greenhalgh | January 1926 | February 1926 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 0% | |
| William Dickinson | February 1926 | October 1927 | 67 | 12 | 12 | 43 | 61 | 182 | 17.91% | |
| John S. Maconnachie | October 1927 | December 1928 | 52 | 12 | 15 | 25 | 70 | 116 | 23.08% | |
| Andrew Walker | January 1929 | June 1930 | 62 | 16 | 7 | 39 | 74 | 142 | 25.81% | |
| Thomas Miller | June 1930 | November 1930 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 39 | 18.75% | |
| John Commins | November 1930 | May 1932 | 65 | 36 | 5 | 24 | 137 | 96 | 55.38% | |
| Tommy Lowes | May 1932 | April 1937 | 204 | 73 | 47 | 84 | 351 | 378 | 35.78% | |
| James Y. Bissett | April 1937 | December 1937 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 14 | 36 | 21.05% | |
| Fred Pentland | January 1938 | June 1940 | 84 | 29 | 23 | 32 | 146 | 149 | 34.52% | |
| John Commins | August 1945 | March 1947 | 54 | 17 | 10 | 27 | 71 | 104 | 31.48% | |
| Andy Beattie | March 1947 | April 1949 | 95 | 36 | 26 | 33 | 106 | 95 | 37.89% | |
| Jack Hacking | May 1949 | May 1955 | 272 | 96 | 57 | 119 | 363 | 421 | 35.29% | |
| Joe Harvey | July 1955 | June 1957 | 92 | 33 | 18 | 41 | 137 | 145 | 35.87% | |
| Norman Dodgin | July 1957 | May 1958 | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 66 | 74 | 28.26% | |
| Bill Brown | July 1958 | August 1959 | 46 | 9 | 10 | 27 | 51 | 104 | 19.57% | |
| Bill Rogers | August 1959 | October 1959 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 37 | 20% | |
| Ron Staniforth | October 1959 | July 1964 | 213 | 67 | 61 | 85 | 312 | 360 | 31.46% | |
| Don McEvoy | July 1964 | July 1967 | 138 | 52 | 32 | 54 | 207 | 235 | 37.68% | |
| Colin Appleton | August 1967 | January 1969 | 70 | 32 | 13 | 25 | 103 | 90 | 45.71% | |
| Fred Else | January 1969 | February 1969 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 0% | |
| Norman Bodell | March 1969 | February 1970 | 46 | 9 | 11 | 27 | 38 | 82 | 19.57% | |
| Don McEvoy | February 1970 | November 1971 | 78 | 15 | 18 | 45 | 88 | 142 | 19.23% | |
| Bill Rogers | November 1971 | November 1971 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0% | |
| Jack Crompton | December 1971 | June 1972 | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 25 | 40 | 35.71% | |
| Peter Kane | July 1972 | June 1974 | 92 | 25 | 13 | 54 | 98 | 195 | 27.17% | |
| Brian Arrowsmith | July 1974 | November 1975 | 67 | 12 | 18 | 37 | 61 | 115 | 17.91% | |
| Ron Yeats | December 1975 | February 1977 | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 61 | 90 | 32.61% | |
| Alan Coglan and Billy McAdams | February 1977 | July 1977 | 21 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 26 | 38 | 23.81% | |
| David Hughes | July 1977 | July 1977 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | |
| Brian McManus | July 1977 | November 1979 | 103 | 31 | 23 | 49 | 115 | 161 | 30.10% | |
| Micky Taylor | November 1979 | May 1983 | 147 | 52 | 35 | 60 | 192 | 206 | 35.37% | |
| Vic Halom | July 1983 | May 1984 | 42 | 29 | 10 | 3 | 92 | 38 | 69.05% | |
| Peter McDonnell | July 1984 | November 1984 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 27 | 21 | 29.41% | |
| Joe Wojciechowicz | November 1984 | December 1984 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0% | |
| Brian Kidd | December 1984 | April 1985 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 26.32% | |
| John Cooke | April 1985 | April 1985 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 33.33% | |
| Bob Murphy | April 1985 | May 1985 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0% | |
| Maurice Whittle | May 1985 | October 1985 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 29 | 0% | |
| David Johnson | October 1985 | March 1985 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 28 | 31.25% | |
| Glenn Skivington and Neil McDonald | March 1986 | March 1986 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 0% | |
| Ray Wilkie | March 1986 | November 1991 | 236 | 93 | 62 | 81 | 325 | 311 | 39.41% | |
| Neil McDonald | November 1991 | December 1991 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 25% | |
| John King | December 1991 | May 1992 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 24 | 36 | 22.73% | |
| Graham Heathcote | May 1992 | December 1992 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 40 | 31 | 43.48% | |
| Richard Dinnis | December 1992 | October 1993 | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 45 | 40 | 40% | |
| Mick Cloudsdale | October 1993 | June 1994 | 31 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 45 | 35 | 45.16% | |
| Tony Hesketh | June 1994 | March 1996 | 74 | 32 | 16 | 26 | 121 | 101 | 43.24% | |
| Neil McDonald and Franny Ventre | March 1996 | March 1996 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0% | |
| Mike Walsh | March 1996 | October 1996 | 20 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 32 | 20 | 55% | |
| Owen Brown | October 1996 | January 1999 | 100 | 49 | 22 | 29 | 127 | 95 | 49% | |
| Shane Westley | January 1999 | July 1999 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 22 | 25% | |
| Greg Challender | July 1999 | August 1999 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | |
| Kenny Lowe | August 1999 | May 2003 | 176 | 78 | 46 | 52 | 307 | 233 | 44.32% | |
| Lee Turnbull | May 2003 | November 2005 | 102 | 41 | 28 | 33 | 164 | 146 | 40.20% | |
| Darren Edmondson | November 2005 | December 2005 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 33.33% | |
| Phil Wilson | December 2005 | November 2007 | 78 | 20 | 24 | 34 | 85 | 100 | 25.64% | |
| Darren Sheridan and David Bayliss | November 2007 | Present | 168 | 59 | 50 | 59 | 215 | 220 | 35.11% | |
| Position | Name | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| Joint-Manager | Dave Bayliss | |
| Joint-Manager | Darren Sheridan | |
| Director of Football | Barry Postlethwaite | |
| Physiotherapist | Sean Riley[41] |
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