retired_bcollier2005

Barrow-in-Furness. One of the most isolated towns in England. Fail here and no-one will notice ... or at least they won't hear the screams.

2006/07 Barrow (Conference North)

A reasonably good start sees us occupying a playoff spot for most of the first half of the season, but we hit a bad spot over the festive period losing 4-6 and 4-5 at Harrogate and Workington respectively, and then crashing 3-0 at home to Farsley on New Years Day (a game in which we also loose our leading scorer, and I'm handed a touchline ban after asking the referee which optician he uses)

When we meet Scarborough for the fifth time, we're in trouble, but a battling performance secures our first win in twelve, and turns our season round - a run of eleven games unbeaten and were back in the hunt for a playoff spot.

But it's too little too late, and we wind up eigth, exactly where the pundits said we would :eek:

Final record (8): P42 W16 D11 L15 F65 A68 PTS59

FA Cup: 3QR 1-2 (H) v Scarborough (ECN) (replay after 0-0 draw)

FA Trophy: 3QR 0-1 (A) v Scarborough (ECN) (replay after 1-1 draw)

2007/08 Barrow (Conference North)

Two defeats from our first two games and were bottom of the table, but we soon recover, and again spend most of the first half of the campaign in the top five. A visit to Tranmere in the first round of the Cup swells the coffers, but Santa forgets us again and we slip to twelfth on the back of a run of eight games without a win.

Then it's seven straight wins to get back into contention, and with five games left, we're right in the mix. An awful performance at home to Worcester dents our hopes, but victories in our next three games means that we go into the final game still with a chance of claiming the final playoff place (though we have to win and hope other results go our way).

Our last game's at relegated Gainsborough, and despite playing most of it with ten men, we come away with a win ... but it's not enough, and we get edged out by Worksop on goal difference.

Final Record (6): P42 W20 D9 L13 F62 A46 PTS69

FA Cup: 1R 1-2 (A) Tranmere (L1) (replay after 1-1 draw)

FA Trophy: 3R 0-2 (A) Morecambe (CON)

2008/09 Barrow (Conference North)

Once again, we start with two defeats, and then go on a winning run, but this time it doesn't last, and we're firmly stuck in the bottom half of the table for most of the season, and whilst we're never really in trouble, it's clear that the team needs shaking up, a process that starts with the lopping of a lot of dead wood (after all I need some kindling to keep the fire going)

Final Record (11): P42 W14 D10 L18 F53 A65 PTS52

FA Cup: 3QR 0-1 (A) Merthyr Tydfil (ECS) (replay after 0-0 draw)

FA Trophy: 3QR 0-1 (A) Burscough (-)

I suspect there's going to be very little to spend next season (most of the money from the cup run has gone) so it's off hunting for freebies in the close season ... scouts ho!!

retired_pmetzger1

Well done making sure the wheel didn't fall off.

retired_mujerenforma

Good start to the thread!

:thup:

retired_DinoSaadeh

Good start. :thup:

retired_lapepe

Well done so far. Happy huntin'

retired_bcollier2005

2009/10 Barrow (Conference North)

Our usual poor start goes on longer than normal this year, and it's the fifth game of the season before we register a victory. But once we've won one, we can't stop - six wins on the bounce lifting us up to second. Then it's leaders Scarborough away ... but only after our name comes out opposite their in the draw for the second qualifying round of the Cup. Are our paths destined to keep crossing?

A 2-0 win in the league game means that we head home as the new leaders, and it's victory in the Cup too, albeit after a replay. Scarborough's form suffers, but we're flying, extending our unbeaten run to 15 games before we lose a crazy game at Hyde ... 3-0 up after 19 minutes, we're pegged back to 3-3 at halftime, and go on to lose 5-3. The timing couldn't have been much worse as next up it's Rotherham in the First Round of the Cup, and a 2-0 defeat isn't quite the result I'd been hoping for a couple of weeks earlier. In fact, it could have been a lot worse if it weren't for our young 'keeper, who's been on of the stars of the season so far.

After a third consecutive defeat against Blyth, I'm beginning to wonder if we're on the slide, but we steady the ship with a good win against 'local' rivals Workington, and at the start of the festive program, we're still top of the tree. But once again, we've been left of the present list, and by the time the New Year arrives, we've slipped to sixth. The slide then becomes a slump, as we go eight games without a win and drop to tenth.

With five games to go, we've managed to get oursleves back in the playoff picture, and we seem to be hitting form again at just the right time. Another win against Workington keeps us in the hunt, but a draw against Stafford (after having a last minute goal ruled out for offside) and we're relying on other slipping up. But it's not them stumbling, it's us, and defeat in our penultimate game at relegation threatened Burscough means that the dream's over for another season.

Final Record (6): P42 W19 D9 L14 F69 A51 PTS66

FA Cup: 1R 0-2 (A) Rotherham (L2)

FA Trophy: 2QR 0-3 (H) Lancaster (ECN) (replay after 2-2 draw)

retired_dvrsecuritylab

Unlucky Dave. Damn those Christmas/new year slumps

KUTGW :thup:

retired_bcollier2005

2010/11 Barrow (Conference North)

For once we get off to a good start, and after ten games we’re fifth. Though we haven’t been playing well, the defence looks solid (six clean sheets already) but the worrying thing is that all of our defeats have come against teams above us in the table, and we’re already six points off the pace

Christmas is as crap as ever, a 4-0 Boxing day reverse at Altrincham dropping us into the bottom half of the table for the first time and with a playoff spot looking unlikely, and money tight, I decide it’s time to start handing out the P45s. Eight players depart between Christmas and the New Year, and whether it’s that those left behind still fear the chop, or that we go back to a basic way of playing, I’m not sure, but suddenly our form picks up - seven league games without conceding, and we’re back up to sixth :eek:

We’re still having problems beating the top teams though, and with ten games left we’re slipping back down the table again. A 3-0 defeat against title chasers Scarborough looks to have put the lid on the playoff coffin, but with three wins on the bounce and fifth placed Stafford stuttering, we’re threatening to push it back off again.

Given that we lead twice, a 2-2 draw with Vauxhall in our penultimate game is disappointing, but we’ve still got an outside chance of claiming fifth, provided that we can beat Altrincham in our last game and other results go our way. Half time sees us leading 1-0, but other results aren’t going our way at that stage, and when Altrincham equalise on the hour mark, it looks to be all over. And it is … we can’t find the winner, but in the end it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, as Hucknall beat Vauxhall 1-0 to finish three points ahead of us.

League (8):P42 W19 D9 L14 F48 A43 PTS66

FA Cup: 4QR 1-2 v Southport (CON) (H) (replay after 2-2 draw)

FA Trophy: 2R 1-2 v Weston-super-Mare (ECS) (A) (replay after 2-2 draw)

Looking ahead to next season, the defence looks in reasonable shape (21 clean sheets in the league), but the midfield needs some work - when they get a decent chance, the strikers are putting them away, but we just aren’t making enough bullets for them to fire. Financially things aren’t looking too good and I may need to trim the squad even further in the close season.

Ho hum.

retired_macgators1

Good updates. KUTGalmostgettingintotheplayoffs!

retired_bcollier2005

2011/12 Barrow (Conference North)

Given our lack of goals last season, the last person I want to see injured in our opening game is the club's record goal scorer (104 goals during my time at the club) but he's carried off early doors, and according to the physio, he's going to be out for about four months (give or take a month).

So there's a lot of pressure on his understudies, and initially at least they make a decent job of covering for him ... and even when the goals dry up, the defence stays solid, so that going into the festive period we're sat nicely in fourth. Boxing Day sees us playing host to run-away leaders Southport who've only lost one game out of 20 and have only conceded 8 goals. They go away with that record in tact, but only just as we go down 1-0 to an own goal and have what looks to be a perfectly good equaliser chalked off for offside.

We bounce back to win our next game 3-2, but that's the start of a run that sees us let in 14 goals in our next six games, after only having conceded 13 in our first 21. By the time we win again, we've slipped to eighth, but our form's still patchy, and when we lose 4-1 at home to Billericay, we're 10 points off a playoff spot with only six games left.

The players get the hairdryer treatment, and it's back to basics again on the training ground, but we've left ourselves with far too much ground to make up and for the third time in six years, we end up sixth. There's a bit of optimism about the place though as we end the campaign with an unbeaten run of six games and finish things off with a 5-0 win at champions Southport.

My reward is a new two year contract, but I think if we haven't got in the playoffs by the end of that, it might be time to start looking for some greener grass to play on.

League: (6) P42 W18 D9 L15 F54 A45 PTS63

FA Cup: 2QR 2-3 v Enfield Town (-) (a)

FA Trophy: 1R 0-1 v Woodford United (-) (a)