The thing is I think Barrow seem to be hated because we are seen as a threat to your little M62 empire. Admittedly the club has been run very very poorly over the years but Des Johnston and ALL the staff at the club are trying their damnest to rectify that and reach the standard of Widnes which is the bench mark I think for any Club. It is a long way off but if it isn't right on the field first then why bother with the rest. The Barrow Club has some huge bridges to build locally due to the poor running of the club in the past and getting parents to want their kids to play for Barrow is a daunting task trust me. I played for a very good Academy side in the 90's at Barrow and was promised the Earth only to be sh*t on - common in those dark days.
I don't honestly know what the plans are for Craven Park but as we haven't been established in the Cooperative Championship or had a spell in SL the ground and reserves have always taken a back burner. Naughton park, The Shay and Hilton Park were all dumps and rightly so were upgraded to what are deemed as Class facilities - something we need to aspire to. Your clubs were in the same boat as us a few years back - getting it right on the field, establishing yourselves, a Youth structure and then building your Stadia. If I am honest I do not know whether a nice All Seater Stadium is a pipe dream but the current Bod have delivered on their promises so far !
It does appear (and I may be wrong here) that there are a few fans from other clubs who resent our success because we have a 'Sugar Daddy' but I wonder how many of those follow Chelsea. Our Chairman wears his heart on his sleeve and is very passionate about what he does but I'd rather have that than have a passionless Chairman who didn't put his money where his mouth is. To say the Barrow supporters are wanting to be hated is absolute rubbish but the constant jibes about envelopes, the ground etc etc etc are wearing thin and are pretty much boring now. Your clubs were once where we are now (although we have a Championship Trophy that you don't have
) and have built yourselves from the ground up. All this talk of Stadia and Youth policies etc are the RFL's little way of keeping who they want in SL and is a pretty poor model if you ask me (as you lot at Widnes will know). Last seasons performance has given us the right to be where we are now if not in SL and I'm sure we can be excused for being a little over zealous at times. Please remember that the success we've had is new to us. Not to long ago we had crowds of less than 500 and were loosing week in week out so you can appreciate the enormity of what has happened upto now. I
I hope that this is the start of a grand era in the history of Barrow RLFC and that in 13 or 14 yrs I am watching my son playing in SL at his hometown Club.
Anyway this thread is about the NRC Draw so I'll shut me yap
Can't wait for this game it should be a cracker !
