Match: v Barrow - Blue Square Premier
Date: Saturday 6 March 2010
Result: Barrow 0 Cambridge United 1
THE JOURNEY
Departure Time: 1.45pm … Friday! Commentating on a match on top of a 550-mile round trip was not, I thought, the sensible thing to do in a day. So I left the day before and was able to 'enjoy' the delights of Friday evening rush hour traffic around Stafford, Stoke and Greater Manchester before arriving at an hotel on the outskirts of Barrow a little before 7.45pm.
Arrival at Ground: The rest of the Travellers' Tales group set off at about 8.30am on the day of the match and, in contrast to my experience, found the M6 very quiet. In fact, Stafford Services so empty that it could have been in a scene from the film "28 days later". The final stretch of the journey into Barrow is an incongruous mix of industrial units, factories belching steam and a set of crossing lights that flash to allow cows to do whatever cows do on the other side of the road.
While the rest of the Travellers' Talers parked behind the away end just as the away travel coach arrived at about 1.45pm, I had made to the ground a little earlier and availed myself of the car park at the ground shortly after midday. Actually, to be more accurate, I parked in Furness Rovers' car park as their ground abuts Barrow's Holker Street Stadium.
U's fans were made welcome in the sports bar and signed in, presumably for fire regulation purposes. As no one had to sign out when they left the exercise did seem a little pointless. The bar was split into home and away areas.
AT THE GROUND
The Ground: From the outside, the ground is very unprepossessing with a 1930s style two storey building on the main road past the ground showing no sign of activity. The main entrance is actually round the side of this building and, after a warm welcome from Barrow directors, club employees and match staff, I made my way through the players' tunnel into the ground itself.
The tunnel emerges about two thirds of the way along that utilitarian building; a building that, in contrast to the pebble-dashed face it shows the outside world, has been painted with broad blue and white horizontal stripes on the side that faces the pitch and is behind a goal. To its right, filling the area between the building and the corner flag, is a shallow area of terrace backed by a fence painted with broad blue and white vertical stripes.
Continuing around the ground, to the right of this end a large covered terrace runs almost the length of the side of the pitch. Again adorned with blue and white stripes, this is the part of the ground occupied by the liveliest and loudest section of the home support. Unusually, it is also where the press box is located. A reasonably new building at the back of the terrace, it is elevated high enough to see above the heads of the supporters on the terrace. Unfortunately, some of the language emanating from them was less avoidable for my effects microphone. The view from the press box was spectacular; beyond the ground an open stretch of water was being enjoyed by wildfowl of many kinds while beyond that the highest range of hills overlooking the town were capped with snow. Oh, and you could see the pitch too, although there were plenty of pillars to get in the way.
At the opposite end of the ground to the main entrance and players' tunnel a large, uncovered terrace curves slightly and is backed by another ubiquitous vertically striped blue and white wall. This end of the ground has been segregated into home and away sections using some massively substantial scaffolding. U's fans were allocated the half nearest the main stand.
The centre of the main stand sits precisely in line with the half way line on the pitch but only extends to an imaginary point not quite midway in each half. Access to this stand is via blue, metal stairways at the front and the first row of its blue seats is raised a good eight to ten feet above pitch level. White seats spelling out the 'Barrow' assuage the otherwise overpowering sea of blue. I'm sure that by now I don't need to tell you the colours or the design of either back wall or the front of the roof of this stand.
Contrasting buildings containing facilities are on either side of this stand; a toilet block on the right is built in the large stone style that would not look out of place in a national park car park, while those on the left were the more predictable scruffy portacabin style you expect at a football ground. On this portacabin side of the main stand, an uneven, uncovered terrace onto which someone had placed a park bench fills the remaining space.
To complete the picture, floodlight pylons stand in each corner of the ground. These are the substantial, old-fashioned style that makes it so much easier to spot the ground from the surrounding approach roads.
United Fans: Many thought they had too much clothing on at the start of the game as, although it seemed extremely cold when getting out of the car, the away terrace was quite a suntrap. One lady in particular seemed to spend much of the first half undressing! Only the impervious youths amongst the travellers were not glad of those layers by the second half as the cloud cover increased. Despite having no roof to aid the acoustics, United fans made good noise throughout.
View from Away End: United were given the opposite end to last season and while there were no pillars to get in the way that segregating scaffolding made it hard to see one corner from behind the goal.
Home Fans: Early arrivals (well, me actually) saw some of the those Barrow fans from the noisier section gaffer taping an assortment of banners to the crush barriers on the side terrace long before the turnstiles opened. This was organised by a very friendly, committed Barrow fan whose attitude was one of 'I'll enjoy the game whatever the result'.
Police/Stewards: Stewards were chatty and friendly. One proceeded to write copious notes into a small book; what he was writing was unclear but he didn't start asking peoples names. There were one or two police about.
Programme: £2.50 for 48 pages. Plenty of adverts, but more than enough excellent articles to read on the journey home … although not the drivers obviously!
Food/Drink: Away areas served from a burger bar called "get stuffed" from which you could get a decent cup of tea. £1.80 hot-dogs were very nice while £2 bacon baps had very generous amounts of bacon in them.
State of Toilets: Small basic portacabin in the away end.
AFTERWARDS
The Journey Home: Despite the many roadworks that seemed to crop up at two or three mile intervals on the M6, we all had a clear run home with just one stop, but not before taking in the bizarre sight of lions roaming in the wildlife park visible from the road near Barrow.
Mileage: 548.7 miles
Total Distance for Season: 4,074.7 miles
Mark Johnson, with additional reporting by David Gray, Paul Johnson, Ryan Johnson and Gordon McMillan
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