Reinforce Or Pay The Price

All is not lost but help is required

2024. Ending the year top of the National League and the rest have to follow but why does it seem a little bit hollow?

It’s never dull supporting your team and it’s never been that with Barnet FC. Surely, we should all be happy, shouldn’t we? I mean any one of the bottom four teams supporters would love to swop places, indeed 19 others wouldn’t say no either so what is it then?

Well as we saw on Boxing Day and the Saturday previous at The Hive the Bees need one or two bits extra. But do we? We’re the team everyone chases in 2025 from New Years Day onwards at Eastleigh after all.

So, let’s break it down a little then. Still unbeaten at home, away form swinging it’s way round too but the gap between us and those chasing is small with many having games in hand.

Most of us would agree we should have more goals despite scoring 50 so far, the best in the division. The number of chances we created last season per game was crazy and we didn’t finish them.

We’re creating even more this year and while we’re finding the net it should be way more, can’t disagree with DB over that. We know we will concede goals, we play on the very front foot and not just on the front foot. Granted the other three serious challengers have conceded way less than us, Gateshead only sit two points behind us now having conceded two goals more.

You can argue we need to temper that to be serious title challengers, we know that the way the team plays is never going to change, I prefer watching massively how we play knowing that leaves a vulnerability at the back, call me a DB fanboy if you must.

Our three centre halves are good players, add Danny Collinge into the mix as well there. We saw again on Thursday an error is in them, they would be levels higher if not. Ade Oluwo was great, but overplayed in one phase with three Sutton players around him, Myles Kenlock way undersold Nick Hayes for their third goal, a simple back pass was all that was required.

Those errors however are negated if we finish a better percentage of our chances at the other end, sides chasing a game down from two goals rather than one becomes a different kettle of fish.

Had we at most points this season taken the opportunities in front of goal these aren’t even conversations to be had. Easy to point at Callum Stead on Boxing Day knowing that would have made it 3-1 and of course a very different game.

Callum, I don’t think yet is anywhere close to full speed, what he displayed earlier in the season, those niggles he’s had have come at the wrong time, he still comes good this season.

But the here and now is a proper centre forward needs to come in and for that we’re talking a proper wage to pay if we want the one who buries these chances and not leaves us rueing the opportunities. And it’s not just the very top end the support is needed.

Over the last eight weeks we’ve watched our rivals around us strengthen in various areas on the pitch, keeping moving forward whilst we’ve made do. Bailey Hobson, we all saw what the extra was he brought to the table, it’s those who make the difference.

We made do earlier in the season when Nicke Kabamba was injured, we’re still making do now. Rhys Browne has shown his best work in the 10 role, like Callum he’s filled in as a 9 purely because for the third season running one striker is deemed all we need.

This season represents a really good chance to get back to the Football League, are we really serious about it though? Are we? Do we really want to go up? Us supporters do for sure, the players do, the management do.

If we do, then show the ambition before the end of January. Each of those seriously in the race have added to their squad more than once since the season kicked off, we’re not a million miles away for sure but we’re behind where DB expects us to be despite knocking two points per game.

We have a list for god sakes who we want and targets under that if they become available. Remember that great line when Barnet FC moved to The Hive, that the facility would allow the club to compete in line with rivals on the pitch with financial support, now would be the perfect time to show us all some of that and prove we’re serious we want to be a Football League club again.

I’m far from saying it’s a budget match exercise with York City and Forest Green Rovers, I don’t expect that at all. We’ve seen DB pull rabbits from hats with some of these signings, now add some tools that allow the squad to finish the job.

The weekend proved some from the bench are not providing the answer so find those who do IF Barnet FC want to be a Football League club once again, a great shot to make it happen this year, but that only happens together…….

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