A Nobber's View: Gallagher and Welsh at Barrow
- giveembeansbafc
- 41 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Beans has reached out to our friend at esteemed Preston North End fanzine and former star of Fanzine of the Week, The Nose Bag, as he gives us his thoughts on Paul Gallagher and John Welsh. Take it away TNB...
Firstly, let me say how proud I am to be asked to write for Give 'Em Beans!
Whilst Barrow find themselves stuck in a bit of a rut, your editors are lifting trophies, which makes all the hours of editing, thinking and swearing worthwhile. Well done, and keep supporting.
It's been a tough season down Holker Street, which actually surprises me. You looked a good side against the Nobbers in the cup, and now you've gone and pulled Paul Gallagher and John Welsh in to try and turn fortunes around.
You'll struggle to hear a bad word said about Gally or Walshy from Preston fans. Walshy would literally go through your nana, any nana, to win a ball, whilst Gally is just a proper good lad.
Gally was a starlet for us. We couldn't believe our luck when he signed from Leicester City, it was one of those rare signings where player and club just got each other. He was a key cog in our promotion machine in 2015 and even more important in cementing our place in the Championship. He was the hand that fitted the glove.
As he reached the twilight of his playing career, thoughts naturally turned to what came next. He moved into coaching the kids, progressing through the age groups, became a regular face on the bench, and many of us quietly wondered if we were looking at a future Preston manager.
But North End became a bit of a jumble sale, everything had a price. We lost a chairman whose wallet was looser than his family's, and Ryan Lowe arrived with his own trusted circle. It's fair to say Gally stalled. When ex-PNE boss Alex Neil came calling from Stoke, Gally reunited with him in the Potteries.
Neil never quite took to Stoke, or Stoke to Neil, and Gally has since popped up on Radio Lancs. You expect a thick Scottish twang, but what you get is a northern accent and a cool head. Once a hot-head, he now comes across as measured and thoughtful, shaped by experiences at Blackburn's academy, around Premier League winners at Leicester, and under managers like Simon Grayson and Alex Neil.
At 41, his biggest challenge may be authority, getting his point across without being too "matey". That's where Welshy comes in.
John Welsh is your archetypal Scouser, edgier than Gally, no-nonsense, and very much "av' it". He's been heavily involved in North End's youth set-up for years and has overseen a real transformation despite chronic underinvestment. We interviewed him in an earlier issue of The Nose Bag, and his vision was clear.
This is a gamble by Barrow, but it could be a shrewd one. The key, for me, is the partnership. Gally brings the brains , nutrition, modern methods, tactical detail. Welshy isn't a dinosaur, but he's the enforcer, the standards-setter.
Preston fans see both as heroes. Add to that young keeper Winterbottom, a Preston lad and a North End fan, and this appointment has definitely pricked up interest. Plenty of Nobbers will be keeping a close eye on how this unfolds.
All the luck in the world.