Today’s Game

[barrowfan]

Word is that some of their players got off at Crewe and went home, so no way they would have had enough players for a late kick-off.

As for Tuesday next week which was mentioned, apparently they cried off that one as some of their team are on 'international duty'.

[Fazered]

Rumours in the crossbar were that they were offered travel home after the game
[/quote]

Our official asked their supporters coach organiser if thwy would be happy for the players to travel back with them. They said yes as there was only 18 on the bus.

This whole episode from Dover can for me can be summed up in 2 words. Disrespectful and Uprofessional.

Disrespectful to the league, sponsors etc, to Barrow AFC and our fans but especially to their own travelling group who made it in plenty of time. Disrepectful also to the poor soul who took his own life by constantly using it as an excuse for their failure to complete the journey and accept their own responsibility.

Unprofessional by being happy to gamble on the chance of catching the last possible train out of London and chancing their luck on Notwork Fail, Virgin and Northern Rail being able to run a service to time.

Yes I accept an overnight stay and coach are expensive but sometimes you have to BUDGET properly and for perhaps the furthest game you will travel all season where all manner of problems can occur, you need to be responsible, suck up the extra cost and balance your budget by, I don't know, paying your players slightly less?

What is most gutting for me about the whole day is not the money or momentum lost. Once again we have hyped up a Barrow game into a frenzy, encouraged thousands of floating and newbie fans to come along and give the team their hard won support and the opportunity to build the fanbase is snatched away from us. Usually it is our own teams lacklustre performance that does that, but today it is the pennypinching lack of professionalism from a fellow club.
[/quote]

Well said. They obviously did not want to play once the train was delayed because they hoped to gain an advantage

[Radiosyko]

The lad who posted the offensive message to the Dover player is totally remorseful and regrets making those comments and has apologised to the player and club twice and will never do anything as stupid again.

[geobarrovian]

Their website is back up and running so I've had the misfortune of reading that absolutely galling statement, it is an absolute disgrace, thoughts are with the family of someone who was in such a dark place that they chose to take their life, they are not with a tinpot football club from Dover who are using it as an excuse to save face, we will not forget about this Dover Athletic.

[McMark]

Like most things in life these sort of things grow wings. Let’s let both clubs deal with the situation as they will, the league to mediate and what could possibly go wrong

[Richard Ingham]

I wish I had your confidence in the league in sorting this out fairly McMark.

[BoltonBlue]

Rumours in the crossbar were that they were offered travel home after the game

Our official asked their supporters coach organiser if thwy would be happy for the players to travel back with them. They said yes as there was only 18 on the bus.

This whole episode from Dover can for me can be summed up in 2 words. Disrespectful and Uprofessional.

Disrespectful to the league, sponsors etc, to Barrow AFC and our fans but especially to their own travelling group who made it in plenty of time. Disrepectful also to the poor soul who took his own life by constantly using it as an excuse for their failure to complete the journey and accept their own responsibility.

Unprofessional by being happy to gamble on the chance of catching the last possible train out of London and chancing their luck on Notwork Fail, Virgin and Northern Rail being able to run a service to time.

Yes I accept an overnight stay and coach are expensive but sometimes you have to BUDGET properly and for perhaps the furthest game you will travel all season where all manner of problems can occur, you need to be responsible, suck up the extra cost and balance your budget by, I don't know, paying your players slightly less?

What is most gutting for me about the whole day is not the money or momentum lost. Once again we have hyped up a Barrow game into a frenzy, encouraged thousands of floating and newbie fans to come along and give the team their hard won support and the opportunity to build the fanbase is snatched away from us. Usually it is our own teams lacklustre performance that does that, but today it is the pennypinching lack of professionalism from a fellow club.
[/quote]

Well said. They obviously did not want to play once the train was delayed because they hoped to gain an advantage
[/quote]

Good post.

[Barrow Bluebirds]

The only threatening message from anyone associated with Barrow, it seems, came from a young fan. Highlighted by Anthony Jeffery, one of their players on Twitter:

Get him banned, not a true barrow fan, just a hooligan trying to spark trouble for no reason. Report him to officials please.

Stupid young lad educate not ban.

[Jim]

I see some surprise on the Dover fans forum at seeing them at Euston at 9am. Also confirmation (alleged) that players gave up at Crewe.

[McMark]

I wish I had your confidence in the league in sorting this out fairly McMark.

Sorry Rich maybe a winky would of been better suited. It will be what it will be we move on dissatisfying as it may be. We learn and maybe forearmed and wiser for the experience, although I am not sure what else we could do on our side. Hopefully the league will put better safeguards in place to ensure clubs set off in plenty of time.
There is no way I would of set off to an airport with the time restrictions and safety buffer the Dover team had!

[Pedro]

I think their statement is disrespectful to the poor person who took their life.

it was their inept ability to get here ,ironical the supporters can get here but the team cannot, says if all.
Hang your head in shame Dover using someone's misery to cover your amateurish set up.

[Paul]

We're getting slagged off on their fans forum - "horrible northern town etc etc. What more could we do to get there on time blah blah blah"
Horrible club.

[jaycarter]

I have never ever seen such a statement to try to hide their shortcomings, to try to get to a destination that is the longest they will make in the season is beyond belief, trains are never on time and are subject to all sorts of delays, even if you say we dont want a coach journey we could be held up by an accident, that may be true but at least you can get off a motorway and join an "A" road, you cannot on a train, Barrow offered to send a coach to you and pay for the team to go home, its obvious you were not going to complete this fixture maybe because you had players missing, totally unprofessional Dover, even your fans are saying the same.

[Baxterj732]

I have never ever seen such a statement to try to hide their shortcomings, to try to get to a destination that is the longest they will make in the season is beyond belief, trains are never on time and are subject to all sorts of delays, even if you say we dont want a coach journey we could be held up by an accident, that may be true but at least you can get off a motorway and join an "A" road, you cannot on a train, Barrow offered to send a coach to you and pay for the team to go home, its obvious you were not going to complete this fixture maybe because you had players missing, totally unprofessional Dover.

[dinkykt]

Does anyone know if there is anything I could sponsor not to dear that would help club after today they will have lost a fortune. I can't find anything at all.