Legend Status

[Steelworks End]

"Legend" would put him on a par with the likes of Fred Else, Brian Arrowsmith, Colin Cowperthwaite, Ray Wilkie, Paul Jones, and others who have loyally served the club to the end of their careers (I accept that Jonah left the club when we almost folded but that was in difficult circumstances - and he came back!).

Andy Cook was a good player during his spells at Holker Street, and rightly became a crowd favourite. But a legend? No thanks, as far as I'm concerned.

[The Tomahawk Kid]

Well said! I'd put Bobby Knox on the end of that list too!

Apart from being a loyal servant to the club isn't he also a 'Legend' in his own right?
The first ever substitute in footballing history to score a penalty, wasn't he?

[glasgow_blue]

No, did a job while here, that is all. To me a legend stays through thick and thin, good and bad. Some real legends mentioned by previous posters

[SKIPPER]

Well said! I'd put Bobby Knox on the end of that list too!

Apart from being a loyal servant to the club isn't he also a 'Legend' in his own right?
The first ever substitute in footballing history to score a penalty, wasn't he?

Mixed records there. First substitute to score in the Football League AND the first substitute to save a penalty. And yes he was a legend,and local at that.

[Moonwatcher]

Paul Jones - legend.
Brian Arrowsmith - legend.
Andy Cook - decent player who scored a few goals.

The end.

[geobarrovian]

Would be much closer to "cult hero" rather than legend but even then I think there are many other players that would be considered as a cult hero ahead of him, he's not really anything is he.

[paddy71]

Would be much closer to "cult hero" rather than legend but even then I think there are many other players that would be considered as a cult hero ahead of him, he's not really anything is he.

He's neither

[mikemarshhewasgood]

Don't understand why he feels the need to goad the barrow fans, when he scores. Yeah some don't make him welcome but the majority say nothing at all! Probably the same reason he would take pot shots at anyone behind the goal during warm up when he played for us. No legend but a good striker with enough supply of ball to feet

[mikemarshhewasgood]

Plus add to that 'legend status' Alan Cook (hard as nails on a football pitch) and Barry Diamond

[Suffolk Blue]

As commented above there is some confusion between the terms "Hero" and "Legend". There may be a few people (from both Barrow and Tranmere) that recall some heroic actions by Andy Cook whilst wearing the shirt. However, a "Legend" by definition would be someone about whom stories continue to be told after they wore the shirt. Leaving aside his tendency to take whatever best deal he can get and hop backwards and forwards between teams - nothing wrong with that by the way, but not the stuff of Legend - Cook is still playing, so true legendary status would be too soon for him anyway. The same would apply to Danny Livesey who I think is far more likely ultimately to be considered a BAFC legend in years to come.

Legends mature like a good cheese. Their status improves over time. Else and Arrowsmith are both considered in this category but are arguably more appreciated as such now than they were when they played. I personally would put both Kenny Lowe and Neil Dougherty in that class and possibly Kenny Gordon, Kevin Procter and Paul Jones because of the length and type of service they gave to the club. My late father - God bless him - would not let me get away without adding Billy Gordon to that list.

Jason Walker may eventually get in there too - perhaps the only one who's legendary status will be materially influenced by a single event which also gave birth to the term "Barrovian Bedlam". However one clubs legend can sometimes be another's pariah. Jason will certainly not be considered a legend by Luton Town fans for whom he of course missed a crucial playoff final penalty. He too is still putting on his boots however, so the jury remains out on him. I also think Grant Holt would be considered by Norwich City fans as a legend - but that staus was developed after BAFC - he wasn't with us long enough to be a BAFC club legend - though his time with us was marked by some brilliant performances.

Of them all however Cowps stands out - mainly because he is the only player that could reasonably be regarded as a BAFC Legend before he retired. Cowps broke all kinds of records in his time and some of these went well beyond BAFC. I still find many people around the non-league scene of a certain age who not only still remember him but speak of him with true reverence, including my brother-in-law who came up against him whilst playing for both Wukkie and Morescum and still regards him as the most difficult player he played against in his entire career.

Without wishing to be unkind, Andy Cook is unlikely to fall into this category for BAFC - though its quite possible if he is responsible for getting Tranmere promoted that he might become something of a TR legend.

[Si_Nichols]

Would you class ARH as a 'legend'? Reason for saying this is the time he's been here now.

ARH is a legend in the months of March and April every season ...

[Moonwatcher]

I think Danny Livesey is well on the way to achieving "legend" status, and has maybe already done enough to be talked about in reverential terms on this forum, in workplaces and pubs ten years from now.
Cooky's goalscoring and performances certainly warrant a mention in any conversation about the "greats" but he never seemed to forge a relationship with the fans and the club like the others mentioned in this thread. The way he left the club angered a few people and he hasn't exactly endeared himself to us since. For that reason he'll never be a legend for me. Not like Johah for example. Eddie Johnston has arguably more claim to legend status, and he only played here for a few months. Important goals, saves, MOM performances etc, are all big factors, but it's all about the pride, the passion and the love of the club for me.

[walney rock]

Fat = yes, money grabbing = Yes, legend = definitely not

[Ilford Mouse]

. Eddie Johnston has arguably more claim to legend status, and he only played here for a few months. Important goals, saves, MOM performances etc, are all big factors, but it's all about the pride, the passion and the love of the club for me.

Eddie Johnston a hero and a legend.

[pjdaly]

Andy Cook, legend? No, no, no, no, no. He was/is a good player and he scored plenty of goals for us. And to be fair, I have no quibbles about his work-ethic every time he played for us . . . he always gave his utmost. But his attitude towards us as a club was shown to be distasteful not once but twice. On the first occasion he disappeared to Grimsby and rubbed our noses in it with comments to the effect of how much bigger a club he had joined. Then, last summer, he was dishonest in his claim that he would only leave Barrow to join a club in a higher league.

I would probably agree with all the other names put forward on here but I'll add a few speculative additions . . . before my time, but just on his years of service alone, Jack Keen from the 1950's would surely qualify. How about Wilf Livingstone? Okay, he would be considered more for his admin service (and I guess we are sticking to players in this thread) but maybe Wilf can sneak onto the list because he did play for us even if his great contribution was off the pitch. How can anybody omit Jimmy Mulholland? There could be an argument for every member of the 66-67 team to be accorded "legend" status but Jimmy is a special case because he got the goals that fired us into Division Three. In more recent times, what about Andy Burns? This lad was not the greatest player we ever had (nor was Eddie Johnston of course, nor Paul Jones for that matter) but in cases such as these we are taking into account outstanding attitude towards the club . . . anybody watching could see that Burns was very literally, on more than one occasion, prepared to get his head kicked in for the cause with his tendency to head the ball while lying on the ground. As a Barrow fan, I warm to things like that! But Andy Cook? No, not for me, I didn't like the way he treated us at all.