Losing a bit of love

[bigmac95]

I am not a regular contributor to the forum but read it on a daily basis.

I find myself losing a little bit of love for my team, I find myself lost in the frustrations and disappointments that always seem to emanate from the club. I always felt we lost something when Cass took over (metaphorically) and whilst I will be forever grateful for the intervention - and I admit at the time I fully supported a regime change - I find myself being constantly pushed away.

Is it just me or has the shambles with playerlayer, January signings, lack of ground improvement, little progression off the field, issue with money from the trust "going missing" completely dampened what should be one of the most exciting and interesting times to be a supporter.

I live away from the town, and maybe that has a lot to do with this, but I wanted to ask - is this just me? Or has something magical been lost in following our team?

[boyliegladbach]

I am not a regular contributor to the forum but read it on a daily basis.

I find myself losing a little bit of love for my team, I find myself lost in the frustrations and disappointments that always seem to emanate from the club. I always felt we lost something when Cass took over (metaphorically) and whilst I will be forever grateful for the intervention - and I admit at the time I fully supported a regime change - I find myself being constantly pushed away.

Is it just me or has the shambles with playerlayer, January signings, lack of ground improvement, little progression of the field, issue with money from the trust "going missing" completely dampened what should be one of the most exciting and interesting times to be a supporter.

I live away from the town, and maybe that has a lot to do with this, but I wanted to ask - is this just me? Or has something magical been lost in following our team?

Player layer, not the best
January signings, could have done with some
Lack of ground improvement, pitch, stand work, crossbar, work, floodlights,
Little progression on the pitch, WE FINISHED 7TH!!!
Money missing, nowt to do with club

Cheer up.

[bigmac95]

I am not a regular contributor to the forum but read it on a daily basis.

I find myself losing a little bit of love for my team, I find myself lost in the frustrations and disappointments that always seem to emanate from the club. I always felt we lost something when Cass took over (metaphorically) and whilst I will be forever grateful for the intervention - and I admit at the time I fully supported a regime change - I find myself being constantly pushed away.

Is it just me or has the shambles with playerlayer, January signings, lack of ground improvement, little progression of the field, issue with money from the trust "going missing" completely dampened what should be one of the most exciting and interesting times to be a supporter.

I live away from the town, and maybe that has a lot to do with this, but I wanted to ask - is this just me? Or has something magical been lost in following our team?

Player layer, not the best
January signings, could have done with some
Lack of ground improvement, pitch, stand work, crossbar, work, floodlights,
Little progression on the pitch, WE FINISHED 7TH!!!
Money missing, nowt to do with club

Cheer up.

The ground developments habe hardly been the "lid" on the HSE and the one side every year.

Have the floodlights been erected yet?

Off the pitch, not on the pitch.

I agree the missing money was nowt to do with the club, but it did affect the general mood!

Maybe you are right!

[boyliegladbach]

Player layer, not the best
January signings, could have done with some
Lack of ground improvement, pitch, stand work, crossbar, work, floodlights,
Little progression on the pitch, WE FINISHED 7TH!!!
Money missing, nowt to do with club

Cheer up.

The ground developments habe hardly been the "lid" on the HSE and the one side every year.

Have the floodlights been erected yet?

Off the pitch, not on the pitch.

I agree the missing money was nowt to do with the club, but it did affect the general mood!

Maybe you are right!

I'm always right, cheer up , next season will be great.

[Fazered]

People round here are not happy unless they are moaning. If they have nothing to really moan about they have to invent something. I thoroughly enjoyed following the team last season and I expect to enjoy next season as well

[The Real Slim Azza]

Ive certainly lost a lot of love for the club. Its simply not the same as it was back when I was 13. We were shit then, but we knew we were. We knew not to expect much more.

Its odd because I always slated mates for watching Liverpool and Man UTD from the comfort of their own home on sky , fully equipped with this seasons third shirt with gold lettering on , rather than them watching a game live in the wind and rain. I always used to say they were blinded by the flashing lights and the money. A common question always cropped up :

What would you do if Barrow got taken over by a millionaire? -

I never really knew how to answer that. Id just laugh it off saying it would never happen.Then one day it did. I buzzed when rumours echoed around town that this big American businessman was supposedly coming in to buy the club out and take it to extraordinary heights. Finally years of following a side from Flixton to Farsley we had a chance of a second life, all the wrongs would be made right and Barrow could be a new force in non league football.

Promises of new ground developments that would cost " closer to £10m than £5m " and a 5 year plan have fallen through. It never really hit the ground running. Essential work aside the club is entering its 4th season under Rich Uncle Texas and it would appear the club are hoping the fans would forget the promise of a stand being refurbished every season along with a " lid on the HS end".

The mood at the club has slowly died off. The clubs quieter than it was with fans before, at least the Keens showed up to every game and you could talk to them. Now it seems a new breed of fans are floating around. Ones that wants to tell people at work on Monday that theyve had a drink with Paul Casson at the game over the weekend. A breed of fan that now simply expects success instantly. Nothing can be questioned because Casson saved the club then put off the pitch dealings in neutral by employing friends and family to do a job theyve little to no experience in doing. The important matters really are ignored and frustrations heighten when you see other clubs with worse resources over taking the club.

Im not sure what lies ahead for the future of the clubs. Higher wages on the same crowds seems a recipe for disaster. I don't think the owners pockets can continue to fund the short fall forever more. If the club is so far away from its own fan base at the moment how are they supposed to get close enough to potential new fans in order to get them through the gates? With next to nothing being put in place to counter balance the spending things are a concern to those who aren't as easily distracted as others by cowboy boots and tea towel replicas.

One thing is for sure, the club need to employ the right people in the right places behind the scenes, if the football league is the ambition then get people in who have been there , done it and bought a decent Nike shirt with full embroidery. No use employing offspring and mates where every day is a "learning curve". It seems the club is only active when they've been prompted by reading a post on here or have been contacted by the fans rep.

Fylde have Neil Joy who was Chief exec and a secretary at Oldham Athletic for four years , they have a head of media who spent 10 years at Blackburn in the press office who runs all social media (the future of everything). They have a finance director who is a chartered accountant. They have a commercial manager who worked in similar roles at Huddersfield Town , Tranmere Rovers and was head of partnerships at Oldham Athletic

I won't be putting any money into the club this year. Ill be following the results from afar but I won't be contributing to a club that has a mindset of " do you think we need the money?".

[HenneysKnee]

The attendance figures after our best ever non league season say a lot
a former member of this forum gets slated on here (rightfully so at times) but he makes some excellent points above especially about getting the right people in place behind the scenes

[finbar17]

he is definatly right! delivery is the issue sometimes.. i'm actually quite shocked to see that amount of experience at flyde though. wowzers they will eclipse us this season. sad but true. they were laughing on their forum when we suggested they might "steal" livesey off us their sights are set much higher.

[Pedro]

Ive certainly lost a lot of love for the club. Its simply not the same as it was back when I was 13. We were shit then, but we knew we were. We knew not to expect much more.

Its odd because I always slated mates for watching Liverpool and Man UTD from the comfort of their own home on sky , fully equipped with this seasons third shirt with gold lettering on , rather than them watching a game live in the wind and rain. I always used to say they were blinded by the flashing lights and the money. A common question always cropped up :

What would you do if Barrow got taken over by a millionaire? -

I never really knew how to answer that. Id just laugh it off saying it would never happen.Then one day it did. I buzzed when rumours echoed around town that this big American businessman was supposedly coming in to buy the club out and take it to extraordinary heights. Finally years of following a side from Flixton to Farsley we had a chance of a second life, all the wrongs would be made right and Barrow could be a new force in non league football.

Promises of new ground developments that would cost " closer to £10m than £5m " and a 5 year plan have fallen through. It never really hit the ground running. Essential work aside the club is entering its 4th season under Rich Uncle Texas and it would appear the club are hoping the fans would forget the promise of a stand being refurbished every season along with a " lid on the HS end".

The mood at the club has slowly died off. The clubs quieter than it was with fans before, at least the Keens showed up to every game and you could talk to them. Now it seems a new breed of fans are floating around. Ones that wants to tell people at work on Monday that theyve had a drink with Paul Casson at the game over the weekend. A breed of fan that now simply expects success instantly. Nothing can be questioned because Casson saved the club then put off the pitch dealings in neutral by employing friends and family to do a job theyve little to no experience in doing. The important matters really are ignored and frustrations heighten when you see other clubs with worse resources over taking the club.

Im not sure what lies ahead for the future of the clubs. Higher wages on the same crowds seems a recipe for disaster. I don't think the owners pockets can continue to fund the short fall forever more. If the club is so far away from its own fan base at the moment how are they supposed to get close enough to potential new fans in order to get them through the gates? With next to nothing being put in place to counter balance the spending things are a concern to those who aren't as easily distracted as others by cowboy boots and tea towel replicas.

One thing is for sure, the club need to employ the right people in the right places behind the scenes, if the football league is the ambition then get people in who have been there , done it and bought a decent Nike shirt with full embroidery. No use employing offspring and mates where every day is a "learning curve". It seems the club is only active when they've been prompted by reading a post on here or have been contacted by the fans rep.

Fylde have Neil Joy who was Chief exec and a secretary at Oldham Athletic for four years , they have a head of media who spent 10 years at Blackburn in the press office who runs all social media (the future of everything). They have a finance director who is a chartered accountant. They have a commercial manager who worked in similar roles at Huddersfield Town , Tranmere Rovers and was head of partnerships at Oldham Athletic

I won't be putting any money into the club this year. Ill be following the results from afar but I won't be contributing to a club that has a mindset of " do you think we need the money?".

The problem is people were glad for him to take over without challenging what and when he was going to achieve.

The Keens did alot of good when we got into trouble , their image got a little tarnished near the end but that was to be expected.

When Casson took over I thought well if you have been a fan what did you do to help the Keens to keep the club going or is it now just a ego project.

Paul Casson has not published a programme of when things would be done, he could be a politicians, yes you have asked a question now I am going to give you a answer to another question.
The only thing I am envious of Fylde is they are proffesional.Its took a couple of seasons to get into our league but they made sure the Commercial/Communications side was in place.
Infrastructure wise have we moved forward ,I fear its going the way of Costa Concordia!

[Fazered]

You all seem to forget that the club could easily have gone out of existence when Paul took over. Costa Concordia indeed

[The Real Slim Azza]

You all seem to forget that the club could easily have gone out of existence when Paul took over. Costa Concordia indeed

Not forgotten at all.

At the time it was one of two roads to take, Accept the bid for guaranteed safety and a brighter future or take a risk on a very slippery slope . No one is saying Casson SHOULDN'T have taken over or that they aren't grateful for what was done , people are saying he should live up to the promises made and sort the club structure out so.

Barrow AFC was given a much needed second chance, surely its worth doing it properly though. Its a bit " Well we are seeing how things go before we do anything". Stuck in neutral whilst clubs like Fylde and Salford take over the world.

[Fazered]

You all seem to forget that the club could easily have gone out of existence when Paul took over. Costa Concordia indeed

Not forgotten at all.

At the time it was one of two roads to take, Accept the bid for guaranteed safety and a brighter future or take a risk on a very slippery slope . No one is saying Casson SHOULDN'T have taken over or that they aren't grateful for what was done , people are saying he should live up to the promises made and sort the club structure out so.

Barrow AFC was given a much needed second chance, surely its worth doing it properly though. Its a bit " Well we are seeing how things go before we do anything". Stuck in neutral whilst clubs like Fylde and Salford take over the world.

Those promises were made before reality set in. He has clearly stated since there will be no roof on Holker St in the forseeable future. It is his money and he can spend it how he likes. If I was him and I read some of the negative comments on here I would be tempted to walk away. I am sure he realises that this forum does however have good ideas at times as well as negative attitudes. As for Fylde and Salford or any other football club I don't care how well or how badly the are doing, I don't support them. As far as the backroom staff are concerned I doubt that even if they were the best in the world the Barrow public would not exactly flood in to support the club. Winning and winning well is the only thing that would entice them to the terraces.
You obviously care about the club but have just stated you can't be bothered turning up next season!

I also don't think that turning up and paying £14 quid at the gate gives me the right to demand that the owner runs the club my way

[The Real Slim Azza]

Winning and winning well is the only thing that would entice them to the terraces.

You obviously care about the club but have just stated you can't be bothered turning up next season!

I also don't think that turning up and paying £14 quid at the gate gives me the right to demand that the owner runs the club my way

I don't think I said I "Couldn't be bothered". I also don't believe Ive demanded anything either. I just won't be going to games this season and Id rather spend my money and weekends off somewhere else. To me this isn't the club I used to buy a season ticket, merchandise , a programme and raffle ticket every game from.

The moment you say " Its his money , he can do what he wants with it", youve lost all interest and control of your club. Im sure fans had the same mindest in the mid 90's**** and that turned out well. The fans are the only defence for the heritage and welfare of any football club if and when things go wrong. Have a look at Blackpool , don't see many of their fans saying " Well I suppose he did what he wanted and after all it was his money".

Winning well? Didn't the club go on a long unbeaten run and the crowds remained the same? There are many ways to improve attendances but they have to be researched and tried. If the club simply expects them to go up without any real effort or reason then they are destined to stay the same.


**** To those that will assume. Im not comparing previous owners to the current one. Just the mindset of fans in both periods.

[Fazered]

I don't think I said I "Couldn't be bothered". I also don't believe Ive demanded anything either. I just won't be going to games this season and Id rather spend my money and weekends off somewhere else. To me this isn't the club I used to buy a season ticket, merchandise , a programme and raffle ticket every game from.

The moment you say " Its his money , he can do what he wants with it", youve lost all interest and control of your club. Im sure fans had the same mindest in the mid 90's**** and that turned out well. The fans are the only defence for the heritage and welfare of any football club if and when things go wrong. Have a look at Blackpool , don't see many of their fans saying " Well I suppose he did what he wanted and after all it was his money".

Winning well? Didn't the club go on a long unbeaten run and the crowds remained the same? There are many ways to improve attendances but they have to be researched and tried. If the club simply expects them to go up without any real effort or reason then they are destined to stay the same.


**** To those that will assume. Im not comparing previous owners to the current one. Just the mindset of fans in both periods.

"you've lost all interest and control of your club" more the club I have chosen to support. The club belongs to the owner.

The Blackpool fans may not like Oyston but he was on the news last night saying he can't leave as he has no buyer for the club.

The unbeaten run consisted of a lot of draws and 1-0 victories, this is not winning well. I took part in the research for ways to improve attendences and gave up my time to do so.

[The Real Slim Azza]

"you've lost all interest and control of your club" more the club I have chosen to support. The club belongs to the owner.

The Blackpool fans may not like Oyston but he was on the news last night saying he can't leave as he has no buyer for the club.

The unbeaten run consisted of a lot of draws and 1-0 victories, this is not winning well. I took part in the research for ways to improve attendences and gave up my time to do so.

The club is nothing without its fans though is it? Simple as that. I think the owner doesn't realise that, thats why fans feel like they are shut out most of the time.

. 3 points are 3 points. Do you really believe that fans will come if its all 4-0 wins and draws rather than it just being wins in general? How does that work then? How do fans know the team is "winning well" if they aren't in the ground to see it? Does it start by someone saying " Hey Geoff!, The soccer have won 3-0 twice on the bounce, ROUND UP THE LADS, WE ARE GOING! None of this 1-0 win shite! The evening mail said the third goal was a free kick from 30 yards" Where is the line youve drawn of which more fans will come into the ground on matchdays?


Well done on giving up your time to research ways to improve attendances. May I ask what research you did? What answers you came up with and what has been put in place? If you think "winning well" is the ONLY way to get fans into the ground then I can't see there being much of a discussion being held.