Disinterested, Despondent and Disillusioned

[The Tomahawk Kid]

Like so many – I have become disinterested, despondent, and disillusioned. Like so many - I have stopped attending games. Like so many - I have stopped visiting this site. Like so many - I have NO FAITH in the people who ‘Direct’ - I use the word ‘sparingly’ – Barrow AFC.

The last occasion I spoke out against the board on here, some imbecile asked the moderators to ban me! ( I could dig out the quote - if I could muster the effort). That was the moment when I lost all interest in this site - realising it wasn’t worth it, any more, to make an ‘opinion’ regarding Barrow AFC - or pass any comments on the Halos that reside upon the Keens’ heads.

However, the commotion that has arisen - regarding Dave Bayliss - has coerced me back. Just a fleeting visit - to provide a personal opinion (hope they’re still allowed?)

Don’t castigate Dave Bayliss – the guy’s done a good job over the last five seasons. Barrow AFC is in the position it is - because of one factor: ‘Lack of Vision’. And it’s also become blatantly obvious over the last few seasons, a ‘Lack of Direction’.





Vision hasn’t been with us since the day we were promoted! We all listened to the tales of how we were punching above our weight…season in - season out. It all became so boring, really - having to listen to it all... EVERYONE knew we were…BUT what was done about it!

At the beginning of each new campaign we all prayed to the Footballing Gods - begging them to allow us one more season in Non-League’s Nirvana.

The BOD sought to appease the Gods with ‘Human Sacrifice’:
This saw the introduction of banning orders and the Holker Street End being handed over to opposing fans.

Other methods were used to ‘curry favour’ with the Deities:
CCTV Cameras were installed on the terraces, tarmac was laid for extra car parking and a flashy entrance built to promote the worthiness of Barrow AFC as a ‘Family Club’.

But still disaster loomed…the dogs of doom were beginning to howl…bills weren’t been paid…or the wages of the players…playing kits (continually) failed to arrive on time…etc etc etc.

Meanwhile, clubs such as Morecambe, Fleetwood, Newport County, and Chester were putting their faith in Modernist doctrines & practices and were coming up with:…

IDEAS!…
Marketing Strategies!…
Innovative Ticketing Policies!…

And guess what? They prospered…

Then Tony Keane unleashed his own personal ‘Vision’: We’d be better off playing in a league below!

Well…YOUR VISION was fulfilled, Tony. Our own died…bleeding… in the ashes of your Apathy and Negativity!

Instead of bestowing such uplifting anecdotes upon us – and driving both existing and potential supporters further away - wouldn’t it have been better to simply make a statement saying you didn’t consider yourself, or the other members of the board, competent enough to steer Barrow AFC… FORWARD?

You and your family would have received immense gratitude for saving the club in 1999, for propelling us into the BSP and for allowing us to celebrate two fantastic FA Cup runs and an FA Trophy success at Wembley. But more importantly – for being honest and forthright - and for admitting that all of you had taken the club as far as it could go. You could all have stepped down so gracefully!

NOW?…You’ve all become So Sad & So Embarassing…


Like so many…I’ve lost all my passion, enthusiasm, commitment, resolve, faith, belief and LOVE for Barrow AFC. I’ve supported the Club and attended home games regularly - and away games - occasionally; since the age of 9.

I haven’t attended ANY games this season - and won’t be doing so - until this Club has ‘New Ownership’.

And I know of at least 10 fans - who are of the same mind - and who are deploying the same action as myself. And I guarantee - at least one of those 10 - will know 10 others – who will, have in their number, someone who knows another 10 – who have the same mind-set and who will also be staying away from Holker Street - whilst this current regime exists.

Some may say that’s not the way to go. Many would disagree. Like so many more…

[K_BFC]

I haven’t attended ANY games this season - and won’t be doing so - until this Club has ‘New Ownership’.

Are you a member? You've got to remember that if the members don't remove the BOD then the club will continue on it's present course only changing when the membership leans on them enough to make a change. Something I think is beginning slowly to happen as they are inviting fans in to help more than ever. Are you asking for the dissolution of the membership scheme so someone else can own the club or are you wanting it to financially starve till it dies? It is up to you if you stay away but it doesn't get anything done, it doesn't tell the board how dissatisfied you are, it doesn't change the ownership, it only hurts the club by removing income and any input you may have.

And I know of at least 10 fans - who are of the same mind - and who are deploying the same action as myself.

Some I know have stayed away that long they will not come back even if a change is made, out of sight out of mind. They do other things on a weekend now. I know more that have lost jobs and can not afford to come including others that have new jobs that don't allow them to attend or rarely. I myself have to work many week ends, and if it clashes with a game which it does then so be it, I miss the match. All this not turning up is going to do is drive the club to oblivion.

[Spanner]

I haven’t attended ANY games this season - and won’t be doing so - until this Club has ‘New Ownership’.

Are you a member? You've got to remember that if the members don't remove the BOD then the club will continue on it's present course only changing when the membership leans on them enough to make a change. Something I think is beginning slowly to happen as they are inviting fans in to help more than ever. Are you asking for the dissolution of the membership scheme so someone else can own the club or are you wanting it to financially starve till it dies? It is up to you if you stay away but it doesn't get anything done, it doesn't tell the board how dissatisfied you are, it doesn't change the ownership, it only hurts the club by removing income and any input you may have.

And I know of at least 10 fans - who are of the same mind - and who are deploying the same action as myself.

Some I know have stayed away that long they will not come back even if a change is made, out of sight out of mind. They do other things on a weekend now. I know more that have lost jobs and can not afford to come including others that have new jobs that don't allow them to attend or rarely. I myself have to work many week ends, and if it clashes with a game which it does then so be it, I miss the match. All this not turning up is going to do is drive the club to oblivion.

The root cause of the impending oblivion is not people staying away, it's the actions (or more often inactions) of the Board making them (us) want to stay away.

Turning up week in week out out of blind loyalty is just keeping the comatose corpse of the club on life support in the hope of some miracle cure that will never come.

[spirit of 1990]

All this not turning up is going to do is drive the club to oblivion.

Absolutely correct.

People can have whatever reason/excuse they want (& that is obviously their right) but as PJDaly put on one of the earlier threads "if you don't look after the today, there'll be no tomorrow" (sorry PJ if that's not entirely correct, but it's close enough)

So that's the bottom line, have your stay away protest, refuse to come back while DB is there, don't come back till the Keens have gone, stay away because the BoD's don't treat us with respect.........in the end it WILL be the club who suffer, no two way's about it - and when there is no club to follow, the stay aways will have played their part as much as any other person, incident or fall out.

[Reg]

and when there is no club to follow, the stay aways will have played their part as much as any other person, incident or fall out.

That's a bit extreme Ian.

[Kieran]

I won't be staying away, but I absolutely understand why some people are choosing that course of action and I find it difficult to criticise them for it.

In my view, those in charge are being given far too much of an easy ride at present. They are basically able to do with the club as they please, and that is exactly what they are doing. The club is being run into the ground, I've never known anything like it and we are just allowing them to do it at the moment. In my view, we should be doing more as supporters and members to put pressure on the board. If we knew there was someone else willing to come in and run the club straight away then I'd suggest a vote of no confidence in the current board without hesitation.

At the moment it just feels like we aren't doing enough to stop our club being ripped apart, which is what is happening to it at the moment. I'm not sure what it is we should be doing, but I'd like to see us get more organised as a support for starters completely independent of the club. If things carry on as they are we'll be extremely lucky to have a club to moan about in the not too distant future, and we need to do something about that now.

[The Real Slim Azza]

Buy a ticket.

Don't watch the game.

Everyones a winner ( Except our 11 players )

[phud]

- and when there is no club to follow, the stay aways will have played their part as much as any other person, incident or fall out.

So the fans who stay away because they are utterly brassed off if not broken hearted at the demise of their beloved club caused by the abject shambles on and off the pitch are as much to blame as the hard nosed self interested self preserving BOD and "manager" who have caused the abject shambles in the first place?

How obtuse!

[spirit of 1990]

and when there is no club to follow, the stay aways will have played their part as much as any other person, incident or fall out.

That's a bit extreme Ian.

I don't think so Paul, not at all, that's my view & I'll stick by it.

If fans don't turn up & the CLUB (not DB's club, not the Keens club, not the other directors club) cease to be because of an unpaid bill or whatever that's OUR club gone to the wall & people can blame whoever & whatever they want - that's the stark reality of it, it'll be gone.
Kieran has probably got it somewhere near the mark by suggesting members do something other than destroying the club by not turning up, if people are that bothered (& I know some on here are all mouth & won't do anything other than type a moan) organise yourselves to do something other than putting the club into further debt.

- and when there is no club to follow, the stay aways will have played their part as much as any other person, incident or fall out.

So the fans who stay away because they are utterly brassed off if not broken hearted at the demise of their beloved club caused by the abject shambles on and off the pitch are as much to blame as the hard nosed self interested self preserving BOD and "manager" who have caused the abject shambles in the first place?

How obtuse!

Your a knob!

Some people deserve a sensible reply........you don't & never have done.

[Jonty]

Three years ago today- Sept 18th Barrow 3-0 Forest Green Rovers 0

attendance 1246.

You know the rule- 80% of It's all down to results. 20% The rest

[phud]

So the fans who stay away because they are utterly brassed off if not broken hearted at the demise of their beloved club caused by the abject shambles on and off the pitch are as much to blame as the hard nosed self interested self preserving BOD and "manager" who have caused the abject shambles in the first place?

How obtuse!

Your a knob!

Some people deserve a sensible reply........you don't & never have done.

Where in this obtuse scheme of sharing out the blame would you put the sycophants and St David's inner circle who would not hear a bad word said by those knobs (as you put it) who tried to point out the glaringly obvious failures and causes and inevitable outcomes, in a vain attempt to open people's eyes before it was too late, despite being dismissed with petulant abuse as witnessed?

[John Very Little]

In my view, those in charge are being given far too much of an easy ride at present. They are basically able to do with the club as they please, and that is exactly what they are doing. The club is being run into the ground, I've never known anything like it and we are just allowing them to do it at the moment. In my view, we should be doing more as supporters and members to put pressure on the board. If we knew there was someone else willing to come in and run the club straight away then I'd suggest a vote of no confidence in the current board without hesitation.

At the moment it just feels like we aren't doing enough to stop our club being ripped apart, which is what is happening to it at the moment. I'm not sure what it is we should be doing, but I'd like to see us get more organised as a support for starters completely independent of the club. If things carry on as they are we'll be extremely lucky to have a club to moan about in the not too distant future, and we need to do something about that now.

+1
Other than getting some of us elected to the board to try and change the way things are being run I can't really think of what else there is at present we could do?

[Reg]

In my view, those in charge are being given far too much of an easy ride at present. They are basically able to do with the club as they please, and that is exactly what they are doing. The club is being run into the ground, I've never known anything like it and we are just allowing them to do it at the moment. In my view, we should be doing more as supporters and members to put pressure on the board. If we knew there was someone else willing to come in and run the club straight away then I'd suggest a vote of no confidence in the current board without hesitation.

At the moment it just feels like we aren't doing enough to stop our club being ripped apart, which is what is happening to it at the moment. I'm not sure what it is we should be doing, but I'd like to see us get more organised as a support for starters completely independent of the club. If things carry on as they are we'll be extremely lucky to have a club to moan about in the not too distant future, and we need to do something about that now.

+1
Other than getting some of us elected to the board to try and change the way things are being run I can't really think of what else there is at present we could do?

Kieran is absolutely right but as fans, there is very little we can do because we don't have the wherewithal to follow a vote of no confidence up with an action plan for what to do if it were successful.

What I would like to see happen is this potential investor to ignore any non disclosure agreement and make himself known to us. I would then like to hear what his thoughts are on the current situation and what his aspirations were.

I remember when the Progress Group hired the Lisdoonie and held an open meeting. I'd like this new fellow (if he is serious) to do the same.

Right now, we're all massively in the dark and only have snippets of information to try and make sense of it all with. It's frustrating to the point where it is actually making people just give up on the club out of sheer despair.

I think the club is dangerously close to going under. Then, nobody gets what they want. There is a way out of this where everyone gets out of it with minimal damage but the longer we're all left in the dark, the more damage is being done.

If this situation is allowed to fester on until December, or even later, we might end up with no club to support, or rescue.

[blue nige]

could we call an extraordinary general meeting on the subject of the takeover and tell the board our feelings and force the issue into the open?

this is a members club and it`s about time these draconian sanctions (non disclosore agreement)are put to bed, the person/persons should be letting us (the members)know theirplans/ intentions if they do not want to do this i am worried, apart from personal financial situations what is there not to disclose!?

[spirit of 1990]

Firstly, I'll apologise for calling you what I did, there was no need even though I can never seem to take to your post's (I won't go into all the reasons) but that is no excuse.

Where in this obtuse scheme of sharing out the blame would you put the sycophants and St David's inner circle who would not hear a bad word said by those knobs (as you put it) who tried to point out the glaringly obvious failures and causes and inevitable outcomes, in a vain attempt to open people's eyes before it was too late, despite being dismissed with petulant abuse as witnessed?

Most must shoulder some of the blame. People like me who thought the BoD's were doing right, not blindly as I could see faults & I have mentioned these to directors in the past - have you? (& I don't mean on here) people who just moan about something & not do anything about it except gloat when proven correct & roll out the old "I told you so" type line, & now (IMO) the people who are deciding to vote with their non attendance because this course of action will help no one - especially our club. That is their right & I understand that but it's no good saying (in a hypothetical world) in five year's time I got rid of the Keen's, DB or the rest of the directors when Holker St is an overgrown wasteland or an extension to the housing estate over the road.

I'll then take a leaf out of others books & be able to say....I told you! (for all the good that'll do an extinct BAFC)

You mention "inevitable outcomes" & as far as I can see there is a certain inevitability to the present course of action being taken of not putting money into an already stuggling club.....no matter whose fault.

As I've said, Kierans & Reg's post/plan's are more useful & have a more sound back-up than just not being there - that's the easy & lazy way out (my opinion again)