Over in 'Great Away Days' you can read about the protest over Barrow's exclusion from the UniBond made by four brave Barrow supporters at the Championship Shield game at Altrincham. Here's the continuing story of how they took the protest into darkest Central Lancashire by venturing into the Magpie's den...
CHORLEY 3 OSSETT TOWN 3 UniBond League Division One 14 August 1999 by MC Messenger
After the surprising way we'd been welcomed at Altrincham and with pressure growing on both sides for a final resolution, one way or another, of the 'Barrow Affair', we decided to get to as many UniBond grounds as we could on the opening day of the season to put the case forward for Barrow's inclusion in the UniBond. Lancaster, Bamber Bridge and Accrington all had away games so the first half of Radcliffe Borough v Belper Town and most of the second of Chorley v Ossett Town were the obvious choices. With a quick exit and a clear motorway it could be done. Since we hadn't made the arrangements until the night before, only two from the original four were able to go, but armed with photocopies of the liquidator's statement and the placards 'BARROW AREN'T A NEW CLUB - LET US PLAY IN THE UNIBOND' and 'JUSTICE FOR BARROW', we set off south down the M6. Unfortunately just past Forton services we met a huge traffic hold up. Five cars had got a little too close to one another and the resulting wreckage was blocking the whole motorway. Quarter to two soon became half past two and we had moved about forty yards. Getting to Radcliffe on time was now less likely than Barrow getting reinstated into the Conference. A Preston fan in the car in front was getting visibly more uptight as he realised he was going to miss his kick-off. At least he had one to support, unlike Barrow fans, whose team didn't have a league to play in because of the UniBond's intransigence. We passed the pile-up at ten past three and decided to head straight to Chorley. But not before we'd had a quick drink to bolster our confidence. Victory Park is no place for Barrow fans with faint hearts! Anyhow, getting to the game after the kick-off gave us an insight into how the Ed feels for just about every game he goes to! (Watch it. I don't have to come here to be insulted. Ed.). It was eerily quiet as we walked through the open gate. The ground hadn't changed in the two years since our last visit. Even the small crowd seemed not to have moved since Barrow last played there. We moved towards the snack bar in the corner, holding our placards aloft. The general response was laughter, but those who asked what we were doing turned out to be quite supportive, after we'd explained the situation and given them a copy of the liquidator's statement. Many people asked why Barrow were trying to stop other teams from playing football, a reference to the FA's threat to suspend all UniBond teams if they didn't agree to accept Barrow. We replied that we weren't, that we'd rather their team was playing alongside Barrow in the UniBond, and we'd rather be watching Barrow, not their hopeless bunch. It was impossible to get in front of the stand to speak to the chairman of Chorley. We were stopped by a group of officials, all female, who immediately went off at the deep end, threatening to have us arrested and telling us we shouldn't even be there. Then they asked how we got in. "Through the gate!" we answered. "Then that'll be £5. Each!" they demanded. Imagine that! £5 for HALF of a UniDump Division One game! We couldn't believe it! They took our money and waved us away with the warning that we weren't to cause any trouble. Moving around the rest of the ground, several people shouted abuse at us, telling us Barrow shouldn't be allowed to play football ever again and accusing us of still owing Chorley the transfer fee for Karl Marginson. We tried to explain the situation, but were met with even more anger and abuse. It was worst at the far end of the ground. As soon as we turned the corner the chants of 'Barrow scum' and 'ƒ*¢# off' Barrow started. As we passed behind the goal we were spat on and coins were thrown at us, so we beat a hasty retreat back to the relative safety of the other end amongst the Ossett Town fans. We got chatting to a few of them, although a couple must have been the relatives of Frickley's inbred village idiot. As UniBond new boys the Ossett fans were completely amazed that The Barrow Affair had been allowed to happen. They promised to ask their chairman to vote for us at the UniBond EGM at Flixton the following week. Chorley's fans were now directing their coins at the Ossett goalie. The PA announced that unless the coin throwing stopped the match would be abandoned and the police called. A few quieter Chorley fans listened to our story, but as the game ended in a 3-3 draw and the ground emptied around us, we were subjected to the same insulting, if somewhat unimaginative, invective. Most Chorley fans had been brainwashed by their chairman and local media and were ignorant of the facts. They didn't want to listen, let alone make up their own minds. I guess they have an axe to grind. When they nearly went under, the man who rescued them had to pay a deposit of £150,000 and pay off all of their debts by the end of the season to stay in the UniBond. The owner clearly isn't living up to his promises as he said the ground would be upgraded to Conference standards inside five years. Four and a bit have passed and nothing has been done. I used to enjoy our early September Tuesday night wins at Victory Park. The pub near the ground was cheap and a good place to celebrate both before and after the match. Not any more. Thank Cowps Chorley got relegated last season. Hopefully we'll not meet in the near future if this is the way they are going to treat us. We'd planned to take our protest to Lancaster the following Tuesday, but after the reception we got at Chorley we thought better of it. And it was raining anyway. Issue 042 - November 1999