Changing times at Barnstaple Town Football Club

A new era looms at Barnstaple Town Football Club after supporters backed a GoFundMe campaign to raise £20,000 in acquiring the club from outgoing chairman Bill Wilson.

It has been a rollercoaster ride at Mill Road over recent seasons but Wilson has sadly been sidelined by ill health, prompting the move from fellow shareholders and club fans to establish a cohesive succession plan.

The Barum Head of Media, Steve Screech, has set up the appeal with an immediate aim to reach the £20k target, with infrastructure improvements top of the wish list.

“Bill has been struggling with his health and we don’t envisage him being able to attend football in the future, which has been part of the need for Barnstaple Town to think about future options,” said Screech.

“It is down to us at the club to figure out a potential succession plan and the remaining two shareholders, Paul Larter and Martin Smallbridge, are putting together a committee to take things on.

“We have set up a GoFundMe account to raise £20k and if we can reach this amount, Bill has agreed to write off his previous loans to the club and hand over his shares.”

On the pitch, Barum endured a rotten run of defeats in the New Year, which threatened to derail their play-off ambitions, but a solid victory over Saltash United was just what the team needed, although Saturday’s 4-3 defeat Brislington was a frustrating outcome.

Despite that result, Barum remain fifth ahead of a crucial visit from fourth-placed Buckland this weekend, and with ten games to go, the North Devon club still have a great chance of securing a play-off berth.

“The players have been impacted by the recent uncertainty and we have lost a couple of them, but we have implemented an emergency reduction in wages to get through this period, which the players have agreed,” added Screech.

“In that context, the win over Saltash stabilised the ship and there is a path forward for the team on the pitch and that can only help results.

“From the meetings we’ve had, it has been very positive and people are keen to forge a new direction for the football club. We have volunteers returning to the club and making their vital contributions to Barnstaple Town.”

Short-term success on the pitch is always welcome for any football club but the new era at Mill Road, in whatever form it takes, will be focussing on improving the all-round match-day experience.

The first big step in that direction will be enhancements around the ground to re-establish Barnstaple Town as a quality venue at this level of the game.

“For the size of club, size of fanbase and quality of players we have, we all recognise that work needs to be done on improving the infrastructure at Mill Road,” said Screech.

“The previous focus has been on paying significant wages on players but we also need to ensure we have a quality ground for our level of football. We are blessed with a fantastic location close to the centre of town and next door to the Rugby Club.

“There is a huge range of facilities in the Western League and perhaps one example for us to emulate is our next visitors, Buckland Athletic in South Devon. Barnstaple Town is also capable of providing a superb facility for our amazing supporters.

“It is a difficult situation because we all want Bill to look after his health. He has done positive things for Barnstaple Town but a combination of ill health and a need to change the future approach for the football club has prompted this new direction at Mill Road.

“It has been a difficult period for all of us, but we now know there is an agreement in place once the £20k figure is reached and we can move on for the good of Barnstaple Town Football Club.”