Brian Keen, who we sadly lost this week shortly before the fanzine was due to go to press, has a legacy that is nothing short of monumental; in fact it’s more literal than that because there is an actual monument to Brian, and it’s in the shape of a football club. It is no exaggeration to say that without him, and the board of directors he fronted, the Barrow AFC we hold aloft today would be a different beast entirely.
Brian was a Londoner by birth and an engineer by trade. He had working-class roots in the shipyards of the north-east and supported Sunderland AFC. To fans of Barrow AFC he held a loftier status, that of chairman and saviour-in-chief.
It was just over a quarter of a century ago that hundreds of anxious Barrow fans gathered at Forum 28 to hear how Brian and his consortium of volunteers planned to breathe life into the club left ravaged by the liquidation brought on by Stephen Vaughan’s sharp exit the previous year. In the meeting Brian said “If we fight for this, how far are you prepared to back us?” and “all the way!” the room replied, heartily.
Another blow came later in 1999 when we were denied our place in the Conference (now the National League), principally for refusing to be saddled with the debts racked up by the previous owner. We were finally allowed to enter the Unibond League (now the Evostik Premier) when the FA stepped in to resolve a stand-off, but not until weeks after the season started, and not before an application had been made to join the North West Counties league.
The resources at the board’s disposal were pared-back compared to the previous fewseasons. Money was tight-to-non-existent, yet Keen’s board worked miracles so that, even at our lowest ebb and while never really inserting ourselves into promotion races, we remained a team that somehow just won stuff. Kenny Lowe, Lee Turnbull and Phil Wilson were able to assemble sides that picked up two Presidents Cups - most recently and most memorably against Workington over two pulsating legs - and appeared in the FA Cup proper numerous times between them.
The second of those appearances was preceded by the qualifying round victory over
Chester City in October 2001, which was itself drenched in narrative: the old owner Vaughan returning to the ground and club which he had - until days earlier - claimed ownership, in the twin roles of pantomime villain and new owner of the away team, only to be vanquished by a solitary Grant Holt header (and the collective will of almost everyone else present).
Amid the drama, the board continued to piece things together off the field, regaining
ownership of the ground from the liquidator in 2002, under a membership model with no outside investment.
The crowning glory of the Keen era came in the form of a purple patch spanning 2008 to 2010 which featured two FA Cup third round appearances, one unexpected promotion, a joyous return to Wembley and another FA Trophy. Brian was front and centre when the media came calling, doing countless interviews with the press and TV to keep the club in the public consciousness.
The entity which the board handed over in 2014 to Paul Casson was unrecognisable from the one he and the consortium essentially brought into existence - from nothing to the green shoots of the Edmonaissance in just 15 years.
Throughout this unruly period, Brian was a cheerful presence around the club, never less than voluble, belying the heavy weight of responsibility for the thing that unites us all.
Every fan of Barrow during this era was witness to them 'interesting times', we did then and still do owe our gratitude to Brian and all the volunteers who stepped in and stepped up in 1999. Nothing can ever really repay him for what he helped rebirth 25 years ago. Conversations will I’m sure already be happening about a permanent memorial, but for now, thank you Brian
Thanks to Andrew McMenemy for the words and Peter Hawkridge for the photographs.
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