January 5th

Kenny Lowe has added his voice to the growing clamour for the Unibond Cup to be scrapped.   We reckon that someone at the North West Morning Mail must have read and memorised Tony Hesketh's comments in the Rushden & Yeovil Post in their attempt to bring you the latest news.   Now, we reckon many fans have already voiced their own opinion by staying away from Unibond Cup games for quite a while.   We have seen only ever seen one Unibond Cup game, and this was because of our rather worrying desire to visit every Unibond ground before the end of the Millennium.

Much space on the Unibond forum has been given over to discussion about the Cup's future, if it has one at all.   Many fans have voiced the opinion that the Cup needs to be scrapped simply because there is no real interest in it.   But is that true?

Barrow's last home game in this competition - the group stages last season - attracted a crowd of 635.   This was a midweek game sandwiched between two home Saturday games that averaged out at 1409.   Postponements because of waterlogged pitches, frozen pitches, and the fuel protest - and hey, doesn't everyone deserve the right to drive wherever they want as cheaply as possible, regardless of how much pollution they are spewing into the atmosphere - have meant that Barrow have only managed to get one game in this season, and that got 237 people in through the turnstiles.   So that adds weight to the argument that this competition doesn't excite the fans.

BUT that crowd figure of 237 was at Parkside Road, and I reckon that Kendal don't get anywhere near that as their average gate in the league.   So Kendal do benefit from the competition financially.   That's the essence of Cup competitions, the big boys helping the smaller ones out and sometimes that's enough of a raison d'être.   Earlier on this season if we'd got a draw against Orient then a replay down in East London would have been a financial boon for Barrow, whereas probably not all that interesting a night out for most Orient fans.   Barrow's unique position of operating in liquidation means that we can't really afford to subsidise clubs from lower divisions at this moment in time, but it won't always be like that (hopefully).

In more stabler times, this cup competition would offer the opportunity to help others out, try new/youth/fringe players, and the realistic chance of some silverware.   And because of this we don't think that it should be scrapped, but we do think it needs considerable tweaking, so we thought we'd present you with a few ideas that we've seen kicking around the message boards, and even one or two that we thought of ourselves.

Alty's youth team keeper fails to hold  onto this one in the Unibond Cup

For a start make it one cup only.   At the moment we've got the President's Cup, the Chairman's Cup and some other elegantly named competition, and there are rumours that a Administrative Assistant Grade 4 Trophy is to be introduced next season.   If you win the Cup, you wanna do just that, win the cup, not one of three.   Last season Leek finished third in their group and then claimed the cup they qualified for was the most prestigious, seemingly only because it was the one that they fluked their way into.   At least then you'd know what bloody competition you were going to watch if there was only one cup. Secondly, there needs to be an incentive for the winners.   Do fans of other clubs even remember who won it last season, apart from the fact that it was mentioned in last week's Sunday paper.   What about the Unibond league  trying to arrange for the winners to get a lucrative pre-season friendly against some premiership team such as Newcastle, Man City, Leeds or Everton.   Some clubs might get these anyway, but clubs like us with no geographical neighbours are pretty much stuffed as far as this is concerned, and I'm sure it would boost any club's finances, even if they didn't deign to send a first team.   I'm sure the games would be more competitive if there was some kind of pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

A lot of fans have called for a return to a knock-out format.   That may be necessary for this season because of all the postponements, but we're not sure if this is the way forward in the long term.   In fairness to the league, the group system based on local derbies was designed to boost interest.   The problem is that, as we see in international tournaments, many early group games are fairly tame affairs as teams look not to lose rather than to win, that's if you can raise enough interest in the Unibond Cup in the first place.

What about keeping it in the group format and having double headers in the pre-season, - one game after another on an afternoon in August doesn't seem so bad to us.   Especially if the clubs have the nounce to turn it into a fun day.   By our reckoning each club would host two games in a group of five, they should get a bigger than average gate, and fans would be able to mingle in a good atmosphere, and a fun day approach might attract new fans for the forthcoming season.   Tell us we're wrong on this one, we can well believe it.   It's just an idea.   It might not work but as it stands things aren't working anyway.

On an individual level Barrow might think about fielding local players only - or at least mainly - as a way of generating local interest and increasing the club's community presence.   There don't seem to be any rules regarding fielding weakened teams as whenever Alty lose they have played 11 reserves, whilst the opposition have always put their full strength side out and tried much too hard.   Surely, people would turn up to watch a team containing Mike McKechnie, the Doc, Stephen Gill and Lee O'Kee............mmmmmm, maybe not.

If you've got any thoughts on the Unibond Cup then let us know by e-mailing us here.We're just a few individual fans expressing our views.   There is a saying that the customer is always right, but has the league ever asked your opinion as a paying customer about the Unibond Cup?

Now, we at Reclaim The Holker Street maintain that we truly are part of the independent media, so we reckon if we give it out, then we have to take it as well.   Stands to reason really.   After all we're not Gateshead fans, are we?   After our article last week putting Hyde fans at the top of the sore losers league because of comments they made about keeper Stalybridge's keeper Gary Ingham after their defeat against Celtic, Hyde fans were up in arms.   We received this e-mail so we thought it only fair that we give them a platform and let them have their say.

"it's not sour grapes (the 2-1 defeat against Stalybridge) it's just that we only had one shot and he didn't look too comfortable"

Welllllll, we won't comment any further other than to let you the readers decide where that leaves Hyde in the sore losers league.   There is an old saying that when you're in a hole (and no we don't mean that - we think Hyde's town centre is very nice) stop digging, and we reckon spades must be dirt cheap around the greater Manchester area at the moment.

Incidentally, Gary Ingham has kept twelve clean sheets this season.

January 6th

January 7th

Two or three weeks ago there was a posting on the web site that Leigh Jenkinson had signed for Barrow.   We haven't seen Leigh play yet, and we reckoned that in the end, he didn't actually sign.   Leigh is an ex-Coventry player and it seems that there are now growing links between Coventry and Barrow, and we were wondering if this is the prelude to Barrow becoming a nursery club for the Premiership Inbetweenies - neither giants nor a yo yo.   When reading a match report of yesterday's game  we were surprised to see that former sky blue Keith Housham had missed a close range effort for Barrow.   And there are other similarities, both wee Gordon and Kenny are a little difficult to understand at times during interviews, and both teams have an "O" in their name.   (I think it was Keith HOUCHEN who played for Boventry - Ed)

Last week we had a look at Leek as another club in financial difficulties.   We've had a full mail bag this week, probably something to do with us actually putting our correct e-mail address in Issue 5.   In response to our article Mike Cope, a former official at the club, informed us that Leek's debt stands at around £30,000 and the board are saying it is manageable.   They have staved off a winding up order and it appears that they are not in imminent danger of folding.   Well, that's good news.

However, given that Leek took a 4-0 home tonking on Saturday, and are now firmly ensconced in the bottom three, then we wonder just how manageable that £30,000 is if Leek slip down to the Unibond first.   Leek are not one of the best supported clubs in the premier division, and relegation could see them face further difficulties.

Also in response to our article, Richard, the Leek Town forum moderator has agreed to give Barrow a break, and after - hopefully - a pleasant experience whenn Leek come to Holker street in March will be singing Barrow's fans' praises wherever he goes.   And all of that in return for just a pint.   Cheers, Richard.

Some people were a bit upset about our reference to Leek being an ingredient of vegetable soup, well, apparently they've now agreed a sponsorship deal with Batchelors and as part of the deal have signed two new players, - Russell Sprout and former Barrow favourite, Andy P. Green.   And seeing as how Richard's gonna give up having a go at Barrow, that's our last ever reference to Leek and vegetables.   Honest.

January 8th

This week we're talking about the man we love to hate.........no, not Brian Kidd............the referee.   Now, we think that the referee has a great deal of responsibility on his shoulders without us the fans getting on his back as well.   Those of you who know us at Reclaim The Holker Street might think that's a bit strange coming from us as we are quite vocal at games, but after ten to five you can't influence the result so it's time for reflection.

At Stalybridge, the referee did make mistakes, but who doesn't?   Christ, last time we went to Stalybridge we went through Oldham, Ashton and Hyde to get there and that was one helluva big mistake.   On Saturday the conditions were poor and the players made mistakes as well.   Everyone does it and Unibond referees are no different to anyone else.   What we should concentrate on is the football, and on Saturday we saw a close fought contest that had a bit of everything and at £6 was bloody good entertainment.

It was nice to see that we didn't have to alter our sore losers league table with Barrow fans' comments about the referee on the web site forum.   On the day, Stalybridge probably just about deserved it, though Barrow can count themselves a little unlucky not to have got a point.   The Unibond forum was clogged up with comments about poor refereeing and in our opinion, the contributors' opinions aren't worth a whole bag of beans between them.
 

Do some players  come onto the pitch  with the intention of diving?

Players have got to take some responsibility for the standard of refereeing.   Diving, play-acting and time wasting are weekly occurrences.   If players didn't dive, then referees would only have to interpret the rules, and wouldn't have to concern themselves with whether a player is deliberately cheating or not.   Players contest every throw, even when it's bloody obvious it's come off them.   The rule designed to speed play up, of a keeper being able to take a goal kick from either side is now used and seen as a legitimate time-wasting tactic.   If the referee books someone he is card happy, if not cheating goes on.   They can't win. To further illustrate our point, at the Droylsden game recently, a Droylsden player deliberately dived in the area.   The referee played on, but he should have given at least a yellow card, but then he might have been accused of spoiling the game.   Damned if ya do, damned if ya don't.   If the player hadn't dived in the first place, then the referee would have never been put in that position in the first place.   At Stalybridge, an injured defender suddenly got up in an attempt to make a clearance, and then went back down to receive treatment on the pitch - What's that about?  And why don't the managers/coaches do something about it?   Welllllllll, that really is the nub of it.   And we're gonna tell ya why the referees have it so bad.   We're gonna dish the truth.   You might not like it, but it is the truth, and nothing but.

In the Premiership Plc, managers jobs hang on results.   Some of these guys are earning £25,000+ each week, and if a run of defeats goes against them, then they're out of a job and off the gravy train, perhaps forever.   Would you wanna stop that happening?   Of course you would.   So what would you do?   Well, you'd have to blame someone wouldn't you?   You can't blame the players - you picked them for chrissakes.   You can't blame yourself - unless you're Kevin Keegan.  p; You can't blame the chair, after all he pays your wages, - unless you're into public humiliation like John Gregory.   So who's the obvious scapegoat.   Yep, you're ahead of us on this one - the poor old referee.

After all, he's not even a professional.

And what happens in Premiership Plc-land filters down pretty damn quickly into the non-league.   And it isn't long before everyone is having a go at the referee when things don't go their way on the pitch.   The Unibond referees aren't any worse than any others.   All the radio phone ins on Saturday were full of fans who had been to FA Cup games whinging about the referees.   MOTD was full of it too on Saturday night.

The following is from a Sunday match report by someone from Stalybridge - we ain't gonna name him, he insisted on naming and shaming the ref, - he probably got the name wrong anyway - but we ain't gonna go down that path - "Celtic looked to have made the game safe ...when Matthews rounded Bishop, but referee (insert name) inexplicably brought the game back 70 yards following an off-the-ball incident."   Yeah?   Is that right?   Well, we think the referee saw a foul and he gave a foul.   That's what he's supposed to do, isn't it?   Just because he didn't hand Stalybridge the game on a plate doesn't make his actions inexplicable.

The truth is that referees honestly call it how they see it.   They don't have the benefit of action replays and like the players on Saturday, the referee at Stalybridge did a good job in difficult conditions.   There are exceptions that prove every rule, but that's another debate for another day.

The truth is that if your team loses on Saturday, it's probably because they deserve to.   There is a shortage of referees at present, and with all the moaning from fans, it's easy to see why.   So, give 'em a break.

Are we right about referees or are we wrong?   Let us know what you think by e-mailing us here at Reclaim The Holker Street.

January 9th

The adventure that was the Lancashire Cup is over for another season, and by all accounts it was over before the ref got around to blowing up for half-time.   What isn't over though is our performance related sponsorship scheme - Give it a Lash for the Cash.   If you've been reading our previous issues, you'll know this is our quest to get Barrow moving up the table with the incentive of sponsoring them for a quid a goal, payable at the end of each month.

We were disappointed not to fork out any dosh on Saturday down at Bower Fold, but last night it cost us six crisp notes as Housh, Bulli and Pev caused the net to bulge.   Six?   I can already hear you asking the question.   Wellllll, last week we invited any interested readers to join us and before we had logged out after uploading the last issue we were joined in our scheme by another Barrow fan.

He has asked to remain anonymous and we have to respect that, but you might have heard his familiar greeting on the terraces - "Give us a B, give us ann A, give us........".   So now every goal that Barrow that Barrow score earns them a couple of quid.   Double what it did last week.   And if you wanna join us, it needn't be a quid, and it needn't be a goal - it can be goal difference, penalties gained, points won or corners earned on the left hand side of the pitch, though you're gonna have to keep up to your own stats on that one.   And you needn't be a Barrow fan.   If you live across the Bay or just have a grudge against us, then you can sponsor Barrow for each goal they concede, or for each red card, - though I probably should warn ya that'll probably cost ya more.   Anyway, if you wanna get involved with Give It A Lash for the Cash then get in touch with us by clicking here.

We weren't surprised when our anonymous donor got in touch.   We're well aware of his generosity.   At the - fairly - recent  Hucknall away game he was so moved by Barrow's second goal that he went and bought us a cup of tea.   When Pevs or whoever it was banged in the fourth, we had visions of a veggie burger heading our way, and against Whitley Bay we were hunting him out on the terraces to put our order in for a slap-up meal.   So thanks for joining us in Give it a Lash for the Cash  and we're all hoping we're gonna be forking out some more dosh after our trip to the Butchers' arms on Saturday.

If our maths are right, and they usually aren't, then this means that Barrow probably need only a draw against Gretna to go through to the next stage of this competition that now represents Barrow's only chance of silverware this season.   Yeah, we know it's the cup we called meaningless earlier on but winning can become a habit, and let's get this one won and show that we're on our way back quicker than we all expected.

January 10th

Also I think the English game is very competitive.   There are too many nasty tackles.   I intend to stroll around the pitch at walking pace, showing off my ball skills, always giving ball back after injuries, without really caring who wins the game.   The fans at my last club were so excited by this style that they took up a chant of  "It's just like watching Channel 4".

Anyway, when I get fed up with English game I intend to make some really grandiose sporting gesture.   When clean through on goal, I will show concern for opposition, and stop the game myself, - who cares if that is the referee's job?   Then when everyone can't stop talking about me, my agent negotiates big money deal back home to Italy, and then I can afford to buy even bigger kipper tie.

You may recall in Issue 2 of Reclaim The Holker Street we did a feature on Tony Rigby, looking back on his time at Barrow and his career in general.   If you haven't read it yet the article can be found here.   In response to this we had several Bury fans giving us their own reflections on Tigger, as we rate him as one of the best talents to have played for Barrow over the last ten years, and it seems that the Shakers have a similar opinion of Tigger Rigby.   Several of them waxed lyrical about his ability at free kicks with one of his goals against Birmingham described as the best they had ever seen.   And one fan was of the opinion that Tigger Rigby had the potential to be a "really big money sale".   It wasn't to be, and we're facing Tigger this Saturday when he turns out for Droylsden - although he only made the bench yesterday, - and at ten to five, let's hope we're talking about a Bulli special rather than one of Tigger's.

Incidentally no-one responded to our follow-up 'Where are they now?' article on Andy Mutch.   Funny that.

January 11th

A lot of people - well, we're sure someone did - have been asking us about the name, Reclaim The Holker Street, and where it comes from.   Well, here goes.   Later this month there is due to be a court case to decide the ownership of Barrow's ground - Holker Street.   The outcome of this legal battle is the more important to the players, fans and officials of Barrow than any result on the pitch.   As with any other protracted legal case the background of the case is complicated, but as we understand it, the crux of the matter is like this.   And just as a rider here, we aren't saying these are facts, just the situation as we believe it to be.   We stand to be corrected on any matters but we thought it was worth having a go and giving a quick précis for non-Barrow fans.

Basically ownership of the ground is being disputed, with Barrow FC claiming that it was unconstitutional for the ground to be sold several years ago, and therefore claiming that ownership of the ground should revert to the football club.   The old football club  that is - Barrow (1901).   Confused?   You should be.   If this is the outcome of the case, then the new club Barrow (1999) in liquidation may have the opportunity to bid for the ground.   If if if if all that goes through, then Barrow may be able to come out of liquidation and not have to operate under the financial restrictions that have been imposed on them by the league, thus putting the club on a sounder footing.   If you haven't followed all the ins and outs of the saga regarding Barrow's fight for survival over the past few seasons, then you're probably bamboozled by all of the above.   As are some of the brightest legal minds, because this case was so complicated that a judge/magistrate had to refer in to the High Court, and hence the hearing in Leeds sometime later this month.

What your perception of events is really doesn't matter all that much now.   What does matter is what the judge(s) at court decide and Barrow fans can now only hope for a good result.

We - as we're sure all Barrow fans do - hope that the ground's ownership eventually reverts to the club, thus giving us the chance of a future.   Hence, the title Reclaim The Holker Street, together with the link to the direct action group Reclaim The Streets where ordinary people do extraordinary things, in recognition of all the efforts Barrow fans have put into keeping the club going in very difficult times.   We probably don't need to say it again but we'd like to say a big thank-you to all officials at the club for their efforts in keeping the club going.   And also to the fans.

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