Ticking along nicely with the final stretch in sight
Does glory beckon on two fronts as we head into the business end of the season
About twelve months ago, Barnet FC were in a hole. Well, it was going on a bit longer than that but you’ll see where I’m going. Thumped 5-0 by Stockport County at The Hive, conceding some soft goals, amidst a racism blow up that engulfed the season from that point onwards and became quickly a very toxic place to be despite winning the Middlesex Senior Cup.
As supporters, for many that was the lowest point of the season, struggling to stay above the relegation zone and it was the manner in which some of the team just appeared to give up that day with three months of the season still left to play the pain didn’t get much easier with some heavy defeats causing a fair few to turn on Dean Brennan which even left him wondering if he was going to one, see out the season and two, be here to start this one.
Yes, that might sound dramatic but that thought went through the mind despite plenty around him agreeing it was never likely to happen, after all if it did then the club was just turning round in a constant circle and never getting off the roundabout.
Since we got to the end of that sorry state of a season last year which coupled with the one previous was as low as the club could get I don’t think anyone can disagree with that assessment.
Tuesday night’s trip to fellow play-off chasers Eastleigh was a shade over the 12 month marker of that Stockport game and in all honesty it’s hard to recognise the same club. Sitting pretty in 5th place, putting together runs that are blowing others out the water from over the last 5-7 years its really quite remarkable and at times I’m still thinking should I be pinching myself at how well it’s going?
The last time I felt this good about the direction of the team and the squad we had just outplayed Woking at their place on a very wet Tuesday night by a scoreline of 3-1 and had a mountain of games in hand, the play-off’s looking very likely but we know how all that panned out and water under the bridge.
Most of us I think had a fair indication of where we saw progress this season, differing spots in the middle but away from the 18th place we saw us end up last year. My own prediction so far is completely blown away and even with a spectacular collapse I think we would still beat that, not that I’m expecting one mind you!
The stats are starting to speak for themselves in how well the Bees are doing. Before we head to Scunthorpe on Friday night we’re sitting on a run of just two defeats in 19 matches in all competitions, that is purely spectacular and if it wasn’t for the top two in the National League we’d be talked about a lot more, in a way that’s great, people might be noticing but we’re still under the radar given the title race going on above us.
Going back to the beginning of November we have kept nine clean sheets in the last 15 matches in all comps, no surprises that comes with consistent team selection at the back, minimal changes and the same personnel pretty much when it happens.
We’re nine games unbeaten currently for the first time since 2015, eight bloody year, that’s just ridiculous but probably a measure of how badly squads and managers have been put together, of course we were on a run of one defeat in 17 at the halt of 2019-20.
Last season we couldn’t buy a clean sheet, again a rapid and remarkable transformation we’ve made. A few months ago we couldn’t stop leaking goals, again another point where Brennan was unsure he would see this section of the season such was the distain of leaking goals for fun, my point to that, was the expectation raised too high topping the table early on when most of these players had only been in the door a few months and team cohesion takes a little longer than that to come together.
Dean hasn’t managed higher than this level with a few months at Wealdstone, John Dreyer spent most of last season working with a different back four every week, it’s not a wonder it’s taken time to gel every aspect needed to produce a winning team and I still don’t think it’s there yet either, the impact Mel Gwinnett had on the goalkeepers and his analytical work can’t be under-estimated either.
We know already from Kirk Rayment earlier in the season how they go about selecting players they believe will fit into the system. Not everyone is going to work and there are some here that weren’t signed exclusively by the current management team as well, players come in and move on, that’s football.
One or two have taken a little longer to come to the boil, others hit the ground running, but they’re a tightknit bunch on the whole who share the highs and the lows. Ben Wynter is one of those coming into his own now at the perfect time, and contributing at the other end of the pitch as well with five goals so far, a very decent return for a right back.
Marvin Armstrong is way in front of where he should be, like Ryan De Havilland scouted at the right time and given months and weeks to settle in and played when ready, two there who will give us value for money when costing us nothing to bring in.
I’ve seen some criticism of David Moyo before the poor lad has had a chance to settle in and get some good game time in, give the boy some slack! He’s not Nicke Kabamba, he’s something different, don’t expect that. I always remember the first interview I did with Marvin Armstrong when he signed for Worthing, he’s great mates with David Ajiboye who left for Sutton Utd prior to Marvin arriving, I asked Marvin ‘are you going to be the new David Ajiboye’ to which he replied ‘no, I’m my own man’, and look how both of them have turned out, Moyo I have no fear will come good, there’s plenty of games for him to do so.
There will be a point where we blip again and the main point is to not lose our heads like we did back in October, even then we were exceeding expectations. Every club will have one, whether it be defeats or a run of draws, it’s a relentless and unforgiving division, the ‘bastard’ league to get out of the right way.
And if we do then I’d rather we do it in February and not April where we’ve got time to claw it back. The gap we’re starting to set up in that play-off zone is a crucial buffer should we drop some points, we’re in great shape with a decent cushion.
Would I be disappointed now if we missed out on the top seven and more Trophy progress? Absolutely, I think we all would, I think the team would, I think the management team would, they’ve worked their nuts off to get there and the support from the stands has been nothing short of what their play has demanded, football’s never an easy gig so strap yourself in and get set for an enjoyable ride over the next 12 weeks, after all it’s Barnet Football Club, when is it ever dull…………
Spot on Trevor, a remarkable turn around from the time when we were 3 point Hive for many on the teams in the NL. Shows the benefit of sticking with your manager but only if you are prepared to support him and his vision for the club. In my 69 years of support I can only compare it to the Martin Allen era in turning things round when we were last promoted to the EFL but this time without any loan players who would not be here next season. Interesting with Shaun Shields leaving and as you have said think it was his lack of ability without the ball certainly not with it. What I like is Dean is saying buy into my way of playing or move on which is a good message, My way or no way. Do you think he is looking for another suitable player to help with the run in as my one fear is a sudden crop of injuries could leave us a bit thin and derail the present momentum.
With the game with Scunny approaching tonight I am not sure what is worse, expecting the Bees to be beaten and see them sliding down the table or the run we are on now and hoping we can stay in the playoffs. Either way is stressful but would we have it any other way, big fat NO.