William Joseph Barr (born 21 January 1969) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

who was appointed First Team Coach of Carlisle United in February 2024. Barr was previously the assistant manager of

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland Scotland (, ...

side

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

. He took up the post of caretaker manager at

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

after the departure of Andy Morrell as manager, but failed to secure the position permanently. He also served as assistant manager at Salford City.

Playing career

Barr started his career with Halifax Town in July 1987, after coming through the club's youth team. He joined Crewe Alexandra in June 1994. He then moved to

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

in August 1997.

Coaching career

He was caretaker manager of

from April to August 2002.He later took up a new coaching role with the first team squad at

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

, holding the position of first team coach from the summer of 2006. He left the club in January 2010 following the appointment of Darren Ferguson as manager. He then joined Alan Irvine at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

assuming the role of first team coach.

Wrexham

In September 2011, Barr joined

following the appointment of player/manager Andy Morrell. A management team of Morrell, Barr and

Michael Oakes Michael Christian Oakes (born 30 October 1973) is an English football coach and former professional Association football, footballer. As a player he was a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper from 1991 until 2008. He notably played in ...

took Wrexham to second in the league in the 2011–12 season, finishing on a record 98 points for a second place team. They went on to lose in the play-offs to Luton Town. The following year they took Wrexham to Wembley for the first time in their history, winning the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

, beating Grimsby Town on penalties. A month and a half later they returned to Wembley, but lost 2–0 to Newport County in the play-off Final. The following season was a disappointment as Wrexham lost numerous games at the beginning of the season, including 2–0 at home to local rivals

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. This led the fans to have a lack of belief in manager Andy Morrell, and after a 1–0 home loss to

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

he resigned, leaving Barr as caretaker manager. Barr confirmed he had applied for the job although lost his first game 5–0 to Luton. Barr left Wrexham with immediate effect on 19 March 2014 after failing to get the managerial job on a permanent basis

Blackburn Rovers

In August 2019 Barr was appointed head coach for Blackburn Rovers under 23s.

Salford City

In August 2021 he left Blackburn, joining Salford City as Assistant Manager. On the 17 May 2022, Barr was sacked along with

Gary Bowyer Gary David Bowyer (born 22 June 1971) is an English professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Scottish club Dundee. As a player, he made 52 league appearances for Hereford United, Nottingham Forest and Rotherham United ...

by Salford City.

Dundee

On 8 June 2022, Bowyer and Barr joined

side

, with Barr in the role of assistant manager to Bowyer. On 10 May 2023, both Barr and Bowyer departed from the club after securing promotion.

Carlisle

On 9 February 2024 Barr was appointed First Team Coach of Carlisle United. Manager Paul Simpson commented: "I wanted somebody new to come in. I'm looking forward to working with him and I'm hoping he can have a real positive influence on the group." .

References

Billy Barr's managerial career

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Billy 1969 births Living people Men's association football fullbacks Blackburn Rovers F.C. non-playing staff Carlisle United F.C. managers Carlisle United F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players English Football League managers English Football League players English football managers English men's footballers Footballers from Halifax, West Yorkshire Gretna F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Preston North End F.C. non-playing staff Salford City F.C. non-playing staff Scottish Football League players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. non-playing staff Workington A.F.C. players Dundee F.C. non-playing staff