A Brief History of Barrow AFC
A Brief Club History by Phil Yelland
Chapter 7: The Wilkie Years
Just before relegation was confirmed, in March 1986, Ray Wilkie was appointed as manager and the next five and a half years saw the club enjoy unparalleled success. The 1987-88 season saw the club reach the F.A. Trophy semi-finals where the club lost to Enfield. However, the following two seasons saw the NPL title captured and with it promotion to the Conference. Then, in May 1990, the club captured the F.A. Trophy with a 3-0 win over Leek Town at Wembley thanks to two goals from Kenny Gordon and one from club appearance and goalscoring record holder Colin Cowperthwaite. Two other members of that side enjoyed further recognition with Glenn Skivington going on to win five England semi-professional caps whilst midfielder Kenny Lowe was to earn a transfer to Barnet for a club record fee.
The club failed to build on that success and the club lost the services of Ray Wilkie as manager in November 1991 when he was taken seriously ill and, six months later the club was relegated.
