There were some pretty dark days covering Workington Reds over their final years in the Football League.
Four successive re-election pleas – after two years finishing next to bottom and the last two rock bottom – produced the inevitable farewell in June 1977.
We had players who didn’t care enough; others who weren’t good enough and sadly too few who both cared and were good enough.
There weren’t many worse nights than on April 7, 1976 when mid-table Barnsley came to Borough Park and proceeded to hand out a 7-1 hammering – Workington’s worst home defeat during their 25 years in the Football League.
A crowd of just 894 watched the debacle – only 768 had witnessed a 3-1 home defeat by Torquay four days earlier – and they were among three home crowds under 1,000 that season.
John Honour scored Reds’ only goal as they were taken apart by a Barnsley side that had shared the points with us at Oakwell in a 0-0 draw earlier in the season.
Alan Ashman was the manager at the time and although the side hadn’t won in nine previous outings before Barnsley’s visit, he was clearly shell-shocked by that result.
He was a lovely man – whose triumphs had been with Carlisle United (successive promotions) and at West Brom (FA Cup winners) – but one who had lost confidence in his own ability to put over the message he wanted.
I recall his opening words when we discussed the Barnsley game afterwards – “I never thought it would be as tough as this!”
It was certainly the toughest job Alan took on – which also included Olympiacos in Greece and finally with Walsall after he was eventually sacked by Reds in February 1977.
Another heavy defeat, 6-1 at Halifax, signalled the end for Alan although he did manage Walsall in 27 games at the start of the 1977/78 season when the Sadlers won eight and drew eight of them.
Alan settled in Walsall and was excellent company for several former West Brom players on their weekly round of golf until he died in 2002 aged 74.
