Graham Barrow (born 13 June 1954) 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 ...
who has since become a professional
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 ...
in the English game. He is currently working for
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
as a Tactical Insights Coach for former
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
manager
Gary Caldwell
Gary Caldwell (born 12 April 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer and coach who is the current manager of Exeter City. Caldwell played for Newcastle United, Darlington, Coventry City, Derby County, Hibernian, Celtic, Wigan Ath ...
.
Playing career
Having previously played for
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
and
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Irish ...
, Barrow first entered the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
at the relatively late age of 27 in August 1981 when he signed for
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
from
Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
for £10,000. He became a vital part of manager
Larry Lloyd
Laurence Valentine Lloyd (born 6 October 1948) is an English retired association football central defender and manager. He won domestic and European honours for both Bill Shankly's Liverpool and Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in the 1970s.
...
's promotion winning side, playing as a hard man in midfield, and further endeared himself to Wigan fans by putting in a hard working performance in the
Associate Members' Cup
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
final at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in 1985 despite playing in the unfamiliar position of forward. He left the club for
Chester City in 1986 for £6,000,
[Sumner (1997), p.103] after 212 appearances in all competitions for the Latics (179 games, 36 goals in the League).
Barrow had a difficult start at Chester, suffering five bookings in his first seven games,
and in November 1986 he considered a move to
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
.
But he opted to stay with the Blues and went on to make 298 first team appearances over the next eight years, mainly as captain. He combined his playing role with an assistant manager position to
Harry McNally
Harold McNally (7 July 1936 – 12 December 2004) was an English football player, coach and manager, noted for his spells as manager of Wigan Athletic and Chester City.
The Non-League Background
Unusually for a Football League manager, McNall ...
from
1988–89 onwards. On the final day of the
1991–92 season, Barrow scored a late winner in Chester's final home game at
Moss Rose
Moss Rose, known as The Leasing.com Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, which is the home ground of Macclesfield F.C., and the former home of Macclesfield Town F.C., Macclesfield Town, a clu ...
against
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...
to seal
Division Three
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the fo ...
survival for the club.
Management & coaching
Chester, Wigan and Rochdale
Barrow began his managerial career with Chester City in 1992 (as player–manager), after collecting seven points from four games in caretaker charge. Although the team was relegated to the
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...
in
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, Barrow inspired the Blues to bounce back the next season and gain promotion, but he resigned in the summer of 1994 amid frustration at key players leaving and a lack of financial backing from the board.
[Sumner (1997), p.118] He retired from playing following his departure, with his final appearance being in Chester's win 3–2 win over
Preston North End on 2 April 1994, just two months before his 40th birthday.
He returned to Wigan as manager early in
1994–95 and rescued the Latics from relegation to the
Football Conference
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
. He was in charge of
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
from 1996 to 1999, although the club failed to gain any success and he left after a third successive bottom-half placing. A spell as assistant–manager at
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...
followed before returning to Chester as manager on 31 May 2000, shortly after their relegation to the Conference. Although Chester finished well out of the promotion race in eighth position, Barrow managed to guide the club to an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
third round tie with
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
after eliminating Football League sides
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...
and
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
. He also led them to 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 ...
semi–finals and victory in the final of the
Nationwide Variety Club Trophy, with the players saying he had "single-handedly put Chester back on the football map". Despite his cup successes, Barrow was sacked in June 2001, a move largely unpopular with supporters.
Bury
He was manager of
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
, from January 2004 after a spell as assistant-manager to
Andy Preece
Andrew Preece (born 27 March 1967) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is currently the manager of Chorley.[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 ...]
at the end of the season, becoming assistant to manager
Mark Wright. They were sacked together on 29 April 2007.
He returned to working in football the following January, when he continued his trend of going back to former clubs in north-west England by becoming assistant–manager to
Graham Heathcote at
Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
.
Return to Wigan
In July 2009, Barrow returned to Wigan as first–team coach under new manager
Roberto Martínez
Roberto Martínez Montoliu (born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player, currently as head coach of the Portugal national team.
Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Real Zaragoza ...
.
Due to
Owen Coyle
Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Scottish Championship club Queen's Park. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one ...
's sacking on 2 December 2013, Barrow took charge of the team for their game against
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
two days later, which they lost 2–0. On 7 December,
Uwe Rösler
Uwe Rösler (; born 15 November 1968) is a German football manager and former professional footballer.
As a player he was a centre forward, notably playing in the Premier League for Manchester City, where he was the leading goalscorer for thr ...
was named full-time manager.
Following the sacking of
Gary Caldwell
Gary Caldwell (born 12 April 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer and coach who is the current manager of Exeter City. Caldwell played for Newcastle United, Darlington, Coventry City, Derby County, Hibernian, Celtic, Wigan Ath ...
in October 2016 Barrow again took charge on a caretaker basis, overseeing a 1–0 victory over
Cardiff City on 29 October. In March 2017, Wigan appointed Barrow as caretaker manager for the remainder of the
2016–17 season after the sacking of
Warren Joyce
Warren Garton Joyce (born 20 January 1965) is an English football manager and former player, who is currently the lead coach of Nottingham Forest F.C.'s U18 Squad.
As a player, he played in The Football League for Bolton Wanderers, Preston ...
but he was unable to prevent relegation to League One.
Wrexham
On 3 July 2018, Barrow was appointed as assistant manager to new
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 ...
manager
Sam Ricketts
Samuel Derek Ricketts (born 11 October 1981) is a professional football coach and former player.
As a player, his favoured position was at full back, where he was able to play either side as well as being able to operate at the centre of defe ...
in the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
. Amidst speculation that Ricketts was about to take the job at
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
, Barrow took caretaker charge alongside goalkeeper coach
Jussi Jääskeläinen
Jussi Albert Jääskeläinen (; born 19 April 1975) is a Finnish football coach and retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
During his career, Jääskeläinen most notably represented Bolton Wanderers from 1997 until 2012, making 530 app ...
and coach Carl Darlington for Wrexham's FA Cup second round match with
Newport County on 1 December 2018, which ended in a 0–0 draw. When Ricketts' departure to Shrewsbury was confirmed two days later, Barrow was placed in interim charge.
Shrewsbury Town
In June 2019 he joined
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
as assistant manager to Sam Ricketts.
Managerial statistics
Honours
Player
* Football League Division Four (League Two) promotion as third-placed team,
1981–82 (
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
).
* Associate Members' Cup winners,
1984–85 (
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
).
* Alliance Premier League champions,
1979–80 &
1980–81 (
Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
).
Manager
* Football League Division Three (League Two) runners-up,
1993–94 (
Chester City – player/manager).
* Nationwide Variety Club Trophy winners,
2000–01 (
Chester City).
Bibliography
*
References
External links
Graham Barrow League Managers Association Profile(see third player down)
BBC feature on Barrow (2008)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrow, Graham
1954 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Chorley
English footballers
Association football midfielders
Chorley F.C. players
Southport F.C. players
Altrincham F.C. players
Wigan Athletic F.C. players
Chester City F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
English football managers
Chester City F.C. managers
Wigan Athletic F.C. managers
Rochdale A.F.C. managers
Bury F.C. managers
English Football League managers
National League (English football) managers
Wigan Athletic F.C. non-playing staff
Wrexham A.F.C. non-playing staff
Wrexham A.F.C. managers
Shrewsbury Town F.C. non-playing staff