RIP Colin Appleton

[boyliegladbach]

http://www.scarboroughathletic.com/news ... assed-away

[Pedro]

Really decent Man and Manager if I remember right he brought Howard Riley a ex team mate from Leicester to Barrow.
RIP

[Holkerbird]

Very sad to hear this news. R.I.P.

[SKIPPER]

Class player and Class manager. Who knows where we would be now if illness hadn't deprived us of his services and unfortunately began the slide which ended in 1972.RIP and condolences to his family.

[MisterPleasant]

Ahh, that is sad news. We played some of the best football ever under him. His tenure was all too short. Thanks for the memories, Colin.

[Newbarnsboy]

Must have been the best manager we ever had. As a 15 year old playing for the under 18s he used to pick me up on A Sunday morning to take me for training at Holker Street. How many managers would do that. He later offered me an apprenticeship at the club which I turned down in order to get one in the shipyard, (oh regrets I have a few)but then given what happened next maybe not.
Thanks for the memories and condolences to his family.

[Falstaff]

https://www.facebook.com/10006372408181 ... 678849001/

[Falstaff]

Sorry. Merge with 'for the older fans'

[pjdaly]

Sad news, very sorry to hear this. Colin Appleton is the Barrow manager more than any other who left us with a whole range of "what if's" hanging over him. What if he had not fallen ill? What if he had been well enough to carry on and where would we have got to? What if Barrow could have arranged for a caretaker and for Appleton to agree to return once he was back to full health?

He only managed us for about 18 months, those being the first 18 months of our time in the old 3rd Division . . . . . or, to put it another way, the greatest 18 months so far in Barrow's 120-year history. In that time he did of course lead us to our highest ever finish in the pyramid, 8th in 1967-68. It would be disingenuous to say that that was all down to Appleton as a lot of credit has to go to the previous manager, Don McEvoy, for building us up into a good squad between 1964 and 1967 and giving the new manager a very good platform to build upon. But in those all too brief 18 months Appleton did show strong indications that he could continue our climb, having us produce the best footballing performances I have ever seen from a Barrow team. He also delivered a master stroke, bringing in left winger David Storf to replace our former England left-winger, Brian Pilkington, who had retired after we won promotion. Storf was, of course, famously sensational in season 1967-68.

But as a player under the title player-manager, Appleton himself was quite simply and quite obviously right up there as a contender for the title of best footballer to ever play for us. He had so many facets to his play, being a strong tackler and an immaculate distributor of the ball. The memory of him picking the ball up in the middle of the field and spraying long balls out to the flanks for our wingers, Storf and Roy McCarthy, is a memory not to be forgotten for those who were fortunate enough to watch him play. By all accounts he was a decent bloke too. Best to leave the final words to Eric Harrison, as quoted from his autobiography "The View From The Dugout":

"A fine man and a seriously under-rated manager. I had played under Colin at Barrow where, on ever-meagre resources, he nearly got the club promoted to the old Division Two. We had some superb experienced professionals – Fred Else, Ron McGarry and Howard Riley – in the team, but it was Colin who held it all together. Not only was he a fine manager but he could kick a football further in a carpet slipper with his left foot than many players could with boots on! . . . I have the greatest respect for Colin and I was delighted when he agreed to do some scouting for me at Manchester United. I am amazed that his managerial ability was never recognised at the top level."

[pjdaly]

Here's an EM photo of Colin Appleton training on Holker Street with the old Steelworks End terrace as a backdrop:

[Suffolk Blue]

Being able to play football at a competent level in the third tier of English football is probably the most that any of currently could aspire to for our club. This man did it. He was simply the greatest Barrow manager of my lifetime.

RIP the truly great Colin Appleton.

[Storf]

Such sad news, will there ever be another Manager that can steer us to those heights in what is now League 1...really hope so, R.I.P Colin