Have we learnt from our mistakes in the past ?

[Colin Appleton]

It seems to me that if you look at the club's history there's probably been three occasions when we've looked as if we were going places but in the end it all went horribly wrong.

The first was in the late sixties when we got promoted into the Third Division or League One as it's now known. Yet a few years later we were thrown out of the Football League and playing in front of crowds of a few hundred.

The second was following our FA Trophy success of 1990. Once again a few years later we were in debt and going no where.

The third was following our most recent FA Trophy success of 2010, we really looked as if we were going to kick on the following season but once again it all finished in tears.

Can anyone explain what went wrong on those three occasions and why we didn't go on to bigger and better things ?

[mrsenario]

I think the old board had a graph where we could not break the 6 year cycle....only so much money in the area location etc etc and this has formed a pattern we struggle to break over all the years".......we seem to be starting off now putting the structure in place but interesting to see where we are in 6 years time

[barrow-mike]

lack of funds ...full stop... and poor support unless we were playing the likes of middlesbourgh and sunderland .

[Jo am back]

What is the point of this post ? Its pathetic.

[Roadrunner]

What is the point of this post ? Its pathetic.

I agree

[Colin Appleton]

Jo am Back, and Roadrunner, forgive me I apologise for my pathetic post but the question I was hoping to get answered and maybe I haven't worded it as well as I should was how does a club that's one minute going well in the Third Division a few short years later find itself out of the Football League.

Something must have gone badly wrong behind the scenes. I can't see a similar scenario happening at say a club like Preston or Oldham.

As to the other examples I mentioned I seem to recall we were in serious debt shortly after the 1990 Trophy triumph. Was it a case of us spending too much on that playing squad ? I don't know perhaps you two do. If you do I'd love to know what you think because I was under the impression this is what a forum site is all about, asking trivial questions about the club you support and getting fellow fans thoughts.

As for the third example I got the Impression the board to their credit, tried to go for it after the Trophy success of 2010 but sadly big signings like Nick Chadwick didn't pay off.

[blue nige]

As with your sudenym you should remember the guy got ill, along came Norman bodell, voted out of league when votes were tied ( shouldn't have been revote)
Unfortunately Ray wilkie became ill and you answered the last part yourself!
all this any barrow fan would know so as previously stated why start this thread?

[MIKE N]

I think this is a good and valid post. If a club keeps making mistakes, its right to look at the reasons why and learn the lessons. In the recent history of the club, we spent too much money on players that simply were not good enough and did not care. The likes of Chadwick, Goodfellow, Baker. The problem was Bayliss couldn't spot a good player. He was a poor manager and anybody who didn't spot that dosn't really know football. If you keep doing the same things, you get the same results.

[walney rock]

Too say bayliss couldn't Spot a good player is a bit unfair seeing as he did bring in the likes of Andy burns who for me is one of best fb's ive see at the club in a long long time

[audigex]

I think this is a good and valid post. If a club keeps making mistakes, its right to look at the reasons why and learn the lessons. In the recent history of the club, we spent too much money on players that simply were not good enough and did not care. The likes of Chadwick, Goodfellow, Baker. The problem was Bayliss couldn't spot a good player. He was a poor manager and anybody who didn't spot that dosn't really know football. If you keep doing the same things, you get the same results.

I think that's a bit harsh. Bayliss probably spotted plenty of good players who he simply couldn't afford, who wouldn't even consider Barrow as an option at the time.

[32mile_cul-de-sac]

Thought Bayliss made some good and poor signings as all managers at all levels of football do. Any signing is a gamble as such and im sure Edmo will sign the odd duffer too.

[The Real Slim Azza]

The 2010 downfall was due to bad management at the top.

Huge opportunities for income were just left to gather dust. The club shop shut all the time , the kits coming in late every year which we missed out on thousands annually, having no incentives to get people in the ground.

The old board continually didnt let the fans know anything, called board meetings that got cancelled 15 minutes after they should have started, transfer embargoa, unpaid players.

Easy to blame it on fans not coming through the gates and it not having anything to do with awful signings, a previous tactically inept manager and a board who couldnt really be arsed

[Bluey VIII]

History would suggest that the pattern is likely to repeat itself at some point in the next ten years so I'm not looking to far ahead and just enjoying the moment!!

Hopefully I'll be proved wrong and we'll be in league 2 by then, but will that even be good enough for some of the younger fans who'll probably be expecting us to be the non-league Man Utd and winning every competition we enter!

25 years of supporting Barrow has taught me to accept the rough with the smooth. At the moment PC seems to be handing out the lemons so let's make lemonade!!

[xerxes]

Something must have gone badly wrong behind the scenes. I can't see a similar scenario happening at say a club like Preston or Oldham.

I don't know why you choose Preston and Oldham for your example, but there are plenty of clubs where a similar (or worse) scenario has occurred.