'Who let the Bees out'

Barnet finding form again with one defeat in eight games

Bees boss Dean Brennan

The last few weeks Barnet seem to have found their feet once again and we’re awash with positive comments, pats on the back and a feel-good feeling once again, not bad considering just a couple of weeks ago Southend had just put us to the sword and the air of discontent wasn’t far away.

Generally speaking, I think we’re beyond pleased how the season has panned out so far ahead of an FA Cup replay at Chelmsford on Monday evening. My prediction of somewhere between 12th – 15th still stands, we’re exceeding that but every now and then we drop a little. Understandable isn’t it given this group of players haven’t been together yet six months and we’re currently running on 14 fit outfield players with one of the youngest squads in the National League?

Expectations do blindside people, fully appreciate that, we’re on 30 points already this season mid-way through November. We as Bees fans would have chopped a limb off the past two seasons to be sitting where we are now, Oldham and Scunthorpe would happily swop places for the same missing arm or leg I’m sure.

And while basking in the wonderous limelight, reflection after the light goes out on a defeat or a draw is always humble. Take yourselves back to the draw at home to Scunthorpe, tough week, seven points gained out of nine with three games in just seven days, momentum after a tough October.

A few days rest and onto Southend, coming to The Hive on a very, very good run and tore straight through us, we didn’t have the answer that night. A side that was primarily put together through the course of last season, added to over the summer and the seeds of their foundations are blossoming, this is the level I expect us to be hitting constantly next season, not now, but then.

Everything was wrong that night, Dean Brennan, the formation, the players, I didn’t see an ounce of credit going the Shrimpers way. We were beaten by the better team that night, a team at the next level of transition, a process we’ve begun but only since the summer. Teams that don’t chop and change their starting line up too often, it breeds consistency and if they do make alterations they bring in a player of same level quality, it’s where we aspire to be and where we can be.

I got accused that night of s***** Dean’s c***, because I didn’t believe any formation was going to have beaten Southend that night, tip your hat, acknowledge some can be better than you, learn from it and move on. Seeing us described as poor, embarrassing, etc. did rankle with me, I’m a writer, I look at words, I analyse a lot. Unfair words I felt, those words resonate with performances last season and the one before, seasons with no foundations and only one or two building blocks, certainly not unfair to label those words with that.

Chelmsford, disappointing maybe. Of course, you expect to beat lower league opposition and at home, but they’re a very good outfit. I watch a lot below the National League, I take notice of clubs and players who stand out, I’m not expecting you all to do the same far from it, but there’s a reason why they sit 4th in the National League South, defensively very sound and able to score at the other end, very simple but quality for that level in there.

Eleven saves from their keeper was the noted point coming out a couple of days after, you ask your team to work the opposition keeper, we did that, Monday night eleven shots might hit the back of the net instead, wishful thinking I know but you get my point!

Manchester. We seem to love it up there, don’t we? Stockport last season, Altrincham and Oldham in the space of five days this time. And here we are today, in 7th place, a play-off spot if the season ended tomorrow and very much we’re seeing the growth of club moving.

Very quickly it can change, this article shows that movement, albeit in a positive direction. We’re evolving again, Dean’s evolving, his post-match interview ‘3 systems we use’, ‘changed the system mid-game’, the team is evolving.

Overload players with too much information too quickly, it doesn’t get absorbed, game plans don’t work. A few more games and months down the line, these players are understanding more of what is required, the results on the pitch are showing that.

Only having the same amount of players to choose from is putting this run together, one defeat in the last eight games, the consistency of team selection is how the successful clubs run, the quality of players to play, imagine if we bought in two more players who add the same level minimum to the squad we have in those 14 outfield players now.

I take you back again to last season towards the end and under Simon Bassey the year prior, limited number of players to pick from produced some of our best football and run of games with good results, that’s not to say we don’t need to add because these boys must be feeling some fatigue at times, but I hope you can see how the model works.

There are better teams than us this year, they’ve evolved over the last 2-3 years, tweaked when needed and we will get to that level, we’re doing better than alright, but we will likely blip again, just we know we can get out of it because we have some tools to make it work.

My last point, the travelling Bees. To hit Manchester once or even twice in five days takes some doing and well played to each and every one of you, if I was able to do them all I would because you get times where a Paul Fairclough, a Martin Allen, a Darren Currie brings the club together as whole and the signs are there we have a Dean Brennan who can add himself to that list, back him and the players when the times are good, back him and the players when clubs do tear us apart, it’s a process and we ain’t doing bad…………