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Barnstaple Town


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How Cornwall and Devon clubs do in the Southern League at step 4 will always impact on the composition of our most local step 5 league. 

Parkway have clearly done extremely well. Willand Rovers did okay over the two interrupted seasons but have found it more difficult this season. You get the impression continued “sponsorship” is important at Willand. 

Bideford’s twelfth season in the Southern and it’s been their worst.  Sean Joyce has been there for over twenty years and has worked wonders. There’s always been a  good supply line of players from the Torbay area but maybe there’s now more competition both them and Plymouth players. 

Which leaves Barnstaple. It’s a sizeable town - over 40,000 people within a few miles - so, even allowing for the strength of rugby locally, Southern League football shouldn’t be an unreasonable proposition. 

But “Barum” have done poorly since promotion and have previously survived thanks to the troubles of others. Two or three years ago a big change saw Dean Edwards (ex-Wolves, Exeter and Torquay) appointed manager. Having worked as a football agent, albeit at the lower end of the market, Edwards gathered an unlikely stable of players. It didn’t work for him before the onset of the pandemic; it didn’t work once football resumed. 

Edwards left before Christmas to be followed by the arrival of a new chairman/benefactor. This was Wiliiam Wilson who had owned holiday parks in North Devon since moving from Cumbria twenty-odd years ago. A little bit of research shows he’s been involved at Carlisle United and Workington.

There was quickly talk of a £1 million “investment”. Craig Laird came as manager followed by a number of relatively well-known players; the most noticeable of which was Scott Doe (ex-Dagenham and Redbridge) who left a club in Kent to sign for Barnstaple. Doe’s old manager explained he’d received the proverbial “offer he couldn’t refuse”.

Results had improved but Scott Doe only played twice for Barnstaple and left at the same time as two other players. One made a disparaging remark about the chairman on twitter; the other said he was trying to pretend the previous two months hadn’t happened. The manager told the press the club was moving in “a different direction”; the next two signings were much younger and less well-known. It can’t be all bad because Barnstaple won their last game 4-0.

According to Devon Live earlier this week, the chairman is saying he doesn’t consider the club to have been relegated until the league says so on the basis of possible withdrawals. He also says that Barnstaple are “starting to be a proper football club now as opposed to the embarrassing state that the club was in when I took over.”

If he’s still around next season, and Barnstaple’s relegation is confirmed, they’ll be an interesting one to watch in the Western League.

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With Barnstaple and Falmouth both entering the Western League fray, it certainly adds a couple of well supported "name" clubs to the competition.  Will be very interesting to see if the Barum chairman continues to invest, and if the big names he has brought in on and off the field stick around to try and push them back into the Southern League.

Nothing but admiration for what Sean Joyce continues to achieve at Bideford, but you sense one day that the luck will run out. With Tavi probably playing step 4 football next season, and the likes of Exmouth and Mousehole also having ambitions in this direction, it will get harder and harder for him to uncover and attract players. Was significant that he announced Callum Rose as a signing from Buckland, but lost him to Parkway before he kicked a ball for Bideford, and that Jack Calver moved to Mousehole shortly into the season  after having impressed for Bideford in the previous (aborted)campaign.

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  • 1 month later...

Interesting discussion about River Allen being offered such-and-such amount of money to play for Barnstaple Town. Was that an offer made back in February when there was plenty of money being spent? Or rather more recently? Did the player always say "no" or was the offer 'revised'  before anything was commited to paper and signed?

I'm not shouting for the answers - it doesn't really matter if it's River Allen or another player - but it does make you wonder what's happening at Barnstaple. No news, no talk since the end of rhe season (unless I'm missing something). Lloyd Irish, who was rumoured to have been on extremely favourable terms at Barnstaple, returning to Taunton Town without an absolute guarantee of being first choice 'keeper.

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The whole River Allen drama from last season left a bit of a bad taste. Don't know the exact story as none of the three parties (River, Plymouth Parkway and Barnstaple) commented on the story, but there were certainly plenty of rumours and whispers in wide circulation. I found it sad that a high profile signing for Parkway, and one that was a real statement of intent at the time, ended up being blanked and "abolished" (to use Lee Hobbs' words) less than two years later. River Allen is an excellent player, and I hope he rebuilds his reputation at Blazey (he will be playing well below his ability at step 6 level). Hope also that Barnstaple, as a club that is apparently cash rich all of a sudden, learn lessons about how to behave when trying to recruit players. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

After the arrival of new owner, and new money, in January - followed by a cluster of “high-profile” signings - it appears to have been a quiet summer at Barnstaple Town.

Then this statement from the manager last week. First steps in the “reconstruction” of the club? Investing heavily in “the young talented players”. 

What can this all mean? Especially with Craig Laird - who presumably still lives in Bridgwater - still being there.  

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Pictures on twitter, football and otherwise:   @BartonDowns60    @Happaway56    @PetitorR

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Read on their Twitter feed about concerns from BTFC supporters regarding a lack of a retained list, no news of any additions and no details of the line ups for the pre season games played so far. Doesn't look good.

Notice a couple of their players have moved to Bideford, and will be watching with interest to see where the likes of Billy Tucker and Ryan Turner play next season.

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11 hours ago, Way Of The Park said:

Read on their Twitter feed about concerns from BTFC supporters regarding a lack of a retained list, no news of any additions and no details of the line ups for the pre season games played so far. Doesn't look good.

Notice a couple of their players have moved to Bideford, and will be watching with interest to see where the likes of Billy Tucker and Ryan Turner play next season.

Curious too that, together with the manager staying, Barnstaple will also be fielding a team in the Devon League next season. That's a lot of young talented players required.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 11/07/2022 at 10:18, Way Of The Park said:

Read on their Twitter feed about concerns from BTFC supporters regarding a lack of a retained list, no news of any additions and no details of the line ups for the pre season games played so far. Doesn't look good.

Notice a couple of their players have moved to Bideford, and will be watching with interest to see where the likes of Billy Tucker and Ryan Turner play next season.

All of a sudden, news from Barnstaple. Tucker and Turner retained. Matty Andrew and Stuart Bowker arrive. Several others too.

The manager's pre-season message makes reference to the involvement of Mick Wadsworth who has coached or managed a fair number of professional clubs. He may well know the Barnstaple chair/owner from Carlisle.

Assuming it's the same Mick Wadsworth. He'd be seventy-one now so I expect he's a "consultant".

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Who’s your tips from up that way for the season Easterfield? We know all about our Cornish sides but looks like Barnstaple, Buckland, Bridgwater etc have good competitive squads for 22/23. Keep the posts coming, very enjoyable and informative stuff. 👏🏼👍

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