PROUD TO BE RAISINGIBAR

BARTON Rovers’ transformation over the past decade has been nothing short of extraordinary.

- Matthew Luddington

From humble beginnings, this village-based club has expanded to field 21 youth teams, two vets sides, a walking football team, and a women’s team.

Pat Howarth has been at Barton Rovers since 1955 when he first played for the reserves as a 14-year-old, now president, he has witnessed the remarkable progress first-hand.

Reflecting on the club’s journey, Howarth emphasised how the club’s fortunes shifted with the arrival of chairman Darren Whiley.

He said: “When I first started playing they used to have to get a shovel and clear all the fields from the cows’ muck. The numbers really started coming in to the club just over a decade ago. It really started when Darren came in, that was lift-off.

“When we first moved ground, it was just changing rooms, a small clubhouse and that was it and gradually along come floodlights, a bit of an extension here and there.”