Where are they now? – Part two

This week’s where are they now is focused upon the team that won promotion from the Conference to the Football League in the 2004/05 season. There were two ways I could have gone about this – in the end I decided upon going for the starting XI with the most starts in the League campaign.

Scott Tynan

Scotty, most likely to remembered for his obscure haircuts than his saves – although, I’ll always remember him as the man that bought my dad a drink before a game back when the bar was inside the ground – only lasted one and a half seasons at Underhill before moving on. Despite winning a Conference winners medal, he only made 35 appearances from the years of 2004-06, before leaving for Rushden and Diamonds. From there he went on to play for Ebbsfleet United, Northwich Victoria, Salford City and now turns out for Vauxhall Motors – back near his hometown.

Simon King

Kingy, another long serving defender joined the club in 2003 and notched up over 150 appearances as well as winning Player of the Year in 2006/07. Unfortunately he left that season (although for a ripe sum of £200,000) and joined Gillingham where he’s currently playing – although an ankle injury kept him out for an entire season in 2009.

Ian Hendon

Hendon joined the club in 2003 after a spell on-loan from Sheffield Wednesday. He was made captain in his second season with the club and epitomised everything a skipper should be – playing a key role in the back four for four years. After retiring from playing at the end of the 2008/09 season, he decided to concentrate on management – following a role in the team’s management alongside Paul Fairclough. He became manager after Fairclough stepped down, and although was on a two-year contract, was sacked in April 2010 – joining Dover Athletic. He left that post after 18 days and is now assisting Andy Hessenthaler at Gillingham.

Ismail Yakubu

Yakubu was once the longest serving member of the squad – joining at the age of 11 and signing a professional contract at 16. He made his debut at 17 at the same time he was taking his A Levels and was integral part of the squad – falling just short of 300 appearances, despite being plagued by injuries. After being released in 2010, he joined AFC Wimbledon, coming off the bench and scoring a penalty in their play-off final against Luton Town. He now plays for Blue Square Premier outfit, Newport County.

Damien Batt

Damien Batt was another player to receive a Conference winners medal, despite a short stay and few appearances. After leaving the club, he went on to play for many non-league outfits including St Albans City, Woking and Fisher Athletic. He is, however, playing in the Football League at current with Oxford United, where he features regularly. The last time he came back to Underhill, he went off injured.

Richard Graham

‘Tricky’ was one of the players most popular with fans during his time with the club, and I think it’s safe to say when he was released at the end of the 2006/07, many were sad to see him go. After leaving the Bees, he spent two seasons at Dagenham and Redbridge before joining fellow Essex outfit Grays Athletic. He played for non-league club Eastleigh last season, and is now a free agent.

Dean Sinclair

Deano was a popular face amongst the squad throughout his three years with the club, and many were sad to see him go in 2007, despite the £125,000 we managed to get for him as he headed off to Charlton. Despite never playing, he also played on loan in numerous spells with Cheltenham and Grimsby; as well re-joining us for 3 matches. In 2010 he joined Grimsby Town, where he was loaned to Cambridge United. Released by the Mariners at the end of the season, he’s now a free agent.

Nicky Bailey

Nicky was another popular player amongst fans, particularly with the partnership he had in the centre of midfield with Deano – also leaving in 2007 for a fee. He joined Southend where he lasted a season (winning the Player of the Year award) and moved to Charlton for a large sum of £750,000. He now plays for Middlesbrough.

Simon Clist

Clisty was another popular face amongst the squad during his three seasons with the Bees – like Tricky, many were sad to see him released at the end of the 2005/06 season. After leaving the Bees, Simon joined Forest Green Rovers, where he made over 100 appearances for the club. He left there for a fee and moved to Oxford United in 2009 where he continues to feature.

Giuliano Grazioli

Graz is a real Barnet man who lives and breathes the club. After his countless goals won us promotion to the Football League (and won golden boot for 2004/05), he joined Braintree Town and Dover Athletic before a horrific injury caused him to retire. After playing though, Graz joined Barnet again in April 2010 working in a behind-the-scene role as community development officer. He was then made assistant manager to Martin Allen last season, and after his shock departure, was made caretaker manager – managing the great escape! He is now assistant manager to Lawrie Sanchez. One word sums him up: legend!

Ben Strevens

‘Super, super Ben’ was, at one point, the longest serving Bees player – racking up just under 200 appearances in his eight years with the club (minus several seasons of his early career on loan!). As well as this, he was the only to have been relegated to the Conference in 2000/01 and promoted back to the Football League in 2004/05 with Barnet. After leaving the club he joined Crawley, before playing for Dagenham and Redbridge and Brentford. He’s been playing for Wycombe Wanderers since 2010, and I think I speak for most Bees fans when I say how pleased I am for him that he managed to gain promotion to League 1 with the club.

Next week’s entry will be on my All-Time Barnet XI; you can check the previous feature out here.

If there are any squads from yesteryear you would like to see included in this feature - whether it be from a season, or particular match – don’t hesitate to let me know.

Send suggestions / comments to my Facebook or Twitter.

My All-Time greatest Barnet team

Last season I was asked to contribute to the programme by offering the Barnet 11 (plus five subs) I thought were the best I’d seen play. Obviously with my first game being in the 93/94 season, I missed out on previous ‘legends’; as well as being too young to remember or understand many players others will suggest.

My All-Time greatest team is as follows:

Starting:

                             Harrison

Hendon          Primus          Yakubu          King

Adomah          Bailey          Sinclair          Puncheon

       Grazioli          Freedman

Subs:

Taylor

Heald

McGleish

Currie

Stockley



Harrison: over 300 appearances



Goalkeeper

Lee Harrison

1996-2003 and 2006-2010

Lee managed to reach the feat of 300 appearances for the club in two spells. Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons and countless match-saving performances who else could it have been? – Although Maik Taylor comes a close second.

Right back

                                               Ian Hendon

                                               2003-2009

His buccaneering runs up the wing still come to mind. Also a good man to take a penalty – except when he missed! Left in somewhat sad circumstances, where he now assists Gillingham manager, Andy Hessenthaler.

Left-back

Simon King

2003-2007

Kingy was like two players in one. Focused, committed and commanding at the back – and a massive loss when he left. Now regarded as a god at League Two rivals Gillingham despite his terrible injuries.

Centre backs

Linvoy Primus

1994-1997

A Barnet legend and another player who eventually got the opportunity to ply his trade in the Premiership with Portsmouth. Committed, inspirational, an all-round outstanding centre-back.

Ismail Yakubu

2001-2010

Yaks joined as a youth and always gave his all. Despite his somewhat dodgy distribution no-one could really believe it when he finally left the club. He gets my sentimental vote, though Greg Heald was probably a better player.

Right midfield

Albert Adomah

2008-2010

His performances were the highlight of a dreadful season!  The tricks he pulled off were mesmerising, causing him to be double marked in every game – and even then, defenders got caught out! Fantastically unpredictable and always played with a smile on his face.

Left midfield

Jason Puncheon

2006-2008

A wayward talent, Punch always gave the impression of being someone who could play at a much higher level – if only he could put his mind to it! He got that opportunity last season playing on loan for Blackpool – netting three times, for the relegated side.

Central midfield

Nicky Bailey

2004-2007

 “If there’s anybody else out there, who scores goals and got ginger hair…” Another player clearly capable of making the step-up. Bags of energy and terrific strike to match – has proved his worth at Charlton and now Middlesbrough.

Dean Sinclair

2004-2007

Deano always looked like class on the ball. Weighed in with a fair few goals too and seemed to take the game in his stride. Moved on to better things at Charlton – although his short-lived return on loan in 2009/2010 was a bit of a damp squib. But he did score that famous goal at Old Trafford in 2005. What a night!

Strikers

Giuliano Grazioli

2003-2008

Another club legend – as a player and now as assistant manager to Lawrie Sanchez. Graz’s goals propelled us out of the Conference in 2005 and he remains an inspiration for all strikers joining the club.

Dougie Freedman

1994-1995

What can I say?  Once voted ‘’The Greatest Barnet Player of all Time’ after just one year at the club. Dougie currently manages Crystal Palace and last season continued to big us up on Late Kick Off – even at our lowest points!  Those 27 goals in his debut season at Underhill speak for themselves.

Subs

Maik Taylor

1995-1997

Maik – who later played in the Premier League with Southampton, Fulham and Birmingham - comes close to taking the goalie’s jersey from Harrison in my starting eleven, but Lee probably shades it for longevity. Has also had a highly successful career with the Northern Ireland national side.

Greg Heald

1997-2003

The ever reliable Greg Heald joined Barnet for a club record transfer fee of £130,000 in 1997 and stayed for five seasons, weighing in with 20 goals over the period. A good man to have at the back in a crisis.

McGleish: one of
my favourite players of all time

Scott McGleish

1997-2001

I remember Barnet-born Scotty as much for his spectacular somersault celebrations as his many goals, but I also remember his incredibly committed performances. Although currently a free agent he was still banging them in last season for Leyton Orient, aged 37.

Darren Currie

1998-2001

Also known as ‘The Tattooed Man’, Darren made up in tricks and deftly delivered dead-balls what he clearly lacked in pace. Famous for missing That Penalty v Torquay (though he did have a hand in our first goal on that fateful afternoon).

Sam Stockley

1996-2001

Fans favourite Sam Stockley racked up over 200 appearances over a five-year period from 1996 before moving on to Oxford United for the tidy sum of £150,000.



Where are they now? – Part one

After my previous entry, I spent a lot of time afterwards looking at various match reports as well as the match day programme and the pictures we took from the day. Particularly after much observing of the former, I have decided upon a new weekly feature entitled ‘Where are they now’ – looking at players from time gone by. Obviously this week’s entry will focus on the starting XI that played in the Carling Cup third round tie against Manchester United on Wednesday 26^th October 2005.

Ross Flitney

Forever known as the man who was wrongly sent off in the aforementioned game, as well as holding the record for the quickest red card in League Cup history. Over his two seasons with the club, Flitney was limited to 50 appearances, losing his place to club legend Lee Harrison who returned in his second spell. After leaving the club, Flitney joined non-league outfit Grays Athletic, and has since played for Croydon Athletic and his current club Dover Athletic.

Ian Hendon

Hendon joined the club in 2003 after a spell on-loan from Sheffield Wednesday. He was made captain in his second season with the club and epitomised everything a skipper should be – playing a key role in the back four for four years. After retiring from playing at the end of the 2008/09 season, he decided to concentrate on management – following a role in the team’s management alongside Paul Fairclough. He became manager after Fairclough stepped down, and although was on a two-year contract, was sacked in April 2010 – joining Dover Athletic. He left that post after 18 days and is now assisting Andy Hessenthaler at Gillingham.

Ismail Yakubu

Yakubu was once the longest serving member of the squad – joining at the age of 11 and signing a professional contract at 16. He made his debut at 17 at the same time he was taking his A Levels and was integral part of the squad – falling just short of 300 appearances, despite being plagued by injuries. After being released in 2010, he joined AFC Wimbledon, coming off the bench and scoring a penalty in their play-off final against Luton Town. He now plays for Blue Square Premier outfit, Newport County.

Simon King

Kingy, another long serving defender joined the club in 2003 and notched up over 150 appearances as well as winning Player of the Year in 2006/07. Unfortunately he left that season (although for a ripe sum of £200,000) and joined Gillingham where he’s currently playing – although an ankle injury kept him out for an entire season in 2009.

Adam Gross

Adam Gross joined the club in its first season in the Football League, coming from Charlton. He stayed for 2 seasons but was released in 2007 and joined Non-League outfit Grays Athletic. He has, since, stayed outside of the Football League turning out for Dartford and Thurrock, as well as Weymouth and Welling United on loan.

Ben Strevens

Strevs was a fans’ favourite who notched up under 200 appearances for the club in eight seasons. Before leaving in 2006 he was the longest serving player – as well as being the only to have been relegated to the Conference in 2000/01 and promoted back to the Football League in 2004/05. After leaving the club he joined Crawley, before playing for Dagenham and Redbridge and Brentford. He’s now at League 1 side Wycombe Wanderers.

Louie Soares

Despite starting in that infamous cup tie (when he was also substituted after 90 seconds to make way for substitute keeper, Scott Tynan), Louie only lasted a season at Underhill, before joining then-Conference side Aldershot Town. He now plays for fellow League 2 outfit Southend United.

Dean Sinclair

Deano was a popular face amongst the squad throughout his three years with the club, and many were sad to see him go in 2007, despite the £125,000 we managed to get for him as he headed off to Charlton. Despite never playing, he also played on loan in numerous spells with Cheltenham and Grimsby; as well re-joining us for 3 matches. In 2010 he joined Grimsby Town, where he was loaned to Cambridge United. Released by the Mariners at the end of the season, he’s now a free agent.

Dwane Lee

Joining during the Conference winning season, Dwane was one of those players whose off the field antics spoke louder than his performances on the pitch – and it was with no real surprise when he was allowed to leave halfway through the 2005/06 season – joining Kidderminster Harriers. He has since played for numerous Non-League outfits including Maidenhead United and Bromley. He’s now at Borehamwood.

Nicky Bailey

Nicky was another popular player amongst fans, particularly with the partnership he had in the centre of midfield with Deano – also leaving in 2007 for a fee. He joined Southend where he lasted a season (winning the Player of the Year award) and moved to Charlton for a large sum of £750,000. He now plays for Middlesbrough.

Giuliano Grazioli

Graz is a real Barnet man who lives and breathes the club. After his countless goals won us promotion to the Football League (and won golden boot for 2004/05), he joined Braintree Town and Dover Athletic before a horrific injury caused him to retire. After playing though, Graz joined Barnet again in April 2010 working in a behind-the-scene role as community development officer. He was then made assistant manager to Martin Allen last season, and after his shock departure, was made caretaker manager – managing the great escape! He is now assistant manager to Lawrie Sanchez. One word sums him up: legend!

Next week’s entry will be on the Conference winning squad of 2004/05.

If there are any squads from yesteryear you would like to see included in this feature - whether it be from a season, or particular match – don’t hesitate to let me know.

Send suggestions / comments to my Facebook or Twitter.

Carling Cup: does anyone really care?

So this week looks set to cure my football withdrawal symptoms, at least for a couple of days anyway – Thursday sees the Carling Cup first round draw and Friday, the Football League fixtures for the 2011-12 season. I’m going to concentrate on the former in this entry.

The Carling Cup is often known as the Mickey Mouse trophy, which is something I have never understood. At the end of the day it’s the chance to win a trophy and enter the European stages for the following campaign. It seems to me, however, that the trophy seems worthless when your team is knocked out, or play a weakened side – however, in the opposite case, becomes one of the best things ever when you win, or progress against opposition of a higher league or league position! I mean take last season, for example; nobody expected Birmingham City to win it and the biggest surprise was Ipswich Town (who eventually lost to Arsenal in the second leg of the semi final).

For me, although there isn’t the same kind of ‘underdog’ mentality which is displayed in the FA Cup, the Carling Cup is still a chance for a club in the Football League to cause a shock.

However, as a Barnet fan, I can’t say of late, there have been any real shocks as these results suggest:

2007 – Round 1 – Norwich 5 – 2 Barnet

2008 – Round 1 – Brighton and Hove Albion 4 – 0 Barnet

2009 – Round 1 – Barnet 0 – 2 Watford (after extra time)

2010 – Round 1 – Swansea City 3 – 0 Barnet

My one big stand-out memory though comes from the 2005-06 season, when we managed to get to Round 3, following victories against Bristol City (4 – 2) and Plymouth Argyle (2 – 1) – with a plum tie against Manchester United, at Old Trafford. For us, it was the stuff that dreams are made of. I still remember to this day where I was when the draw was made, and my reaction to the game of my life.

However, those dreams turned to nightmares on the night. If you don’t know (or can remember that far back!) what happened: Ross Flitney, our keeper was sent off within 90 seconds for handling outside the area. Understandably it is a red card offence, but on a big stage where dreams are made, for a poor lowly team like Barnet, he should have been given the benefit of the doubt. From there, Scott Tynan (on the bench) had to replace Louie Soares and United scored from the resulting free kick. We were 3-down before Dean Sinclair scored the goal he’ll probably remember for the rest of his life; however, the final score finished 4 – 1. If you get chance, have a read here.

Just under 5,000 Bees fans went to the game though and the atmosphere throughout was amazing, possibly the best I’ve ever witnessed. Even before the game, it was electric inside the concourse. Even when our dreams were shattered within 2 minutes. Even though we were eventually defeated. That night still remains to be one of the best of my life, and I can honestly say, hand on heart, I’m proud to be a Bee.

So there we are, I’d like a nice easy-ish tie drawn on Thursday please, and the hopeful chance to relive a night like that one – minus the controversy of course!

Oh, and it’s needless to say that THAT official has never taken charge of any games since, and that’s the way I’d like it to remain.



 

The tough life of the football manager

For the majority of this afternoon, my Twitter feed was full of tweets regarding various managerial casualties and appointments. Billy Davies had been sacked as manager of Nottingham Forest (with rumours that Steve McLaren will be the man to replace him) and Alex McLeish had emailed the Chairman of Birmingham City stating his resignation. Meanwhile, Uwe Rosler and Steve Eyre (preceding Keith Hill – now at Barnsley) have joined Brentford and Rochdale, respectively.

I think it’s safe to say nobody saw any of these decisions coming. But then again, nobody thought at the start of the season that Barnet would be known as the ‘managerial circus’ for the coming campaign. Four managers in the last 9 months and a fifth appointment in a year with Lawrie Sanchez taking the helm for the 2011-12 season, it certainly wasn’t a boring time for us Bees.



Stimson: Sacked

At the start of the season, the manager’s job was given to Mark Stimson. I can safely say, the majority of Bees’ fans weren’t happy with the appointment – in his previous season in charge of Gillingham, not only had he got the club relegated, they also had the worst away record in the division with not a single away win all season. Of course, we were hoping this was a minor blip in his managerial career and were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and get behind him. However, there is great cause for concern when you’re watching the scores on the videprinter and your scoreline is depicted by words, rather than numbers – as was the case on August 21^st , his fourth game in charge, when we got smashed at Gresty Road by Crewe SEVEN – nil. After that defeat, I think it’s pretty safe to say, nobody wanted him at the club anymore – out of sheer embarrassment as much as anything. He left before the New Year – again, without an away win under his belt.

Fairclough: Stepped down

Paul Fairclough, former manager took over, as temporary boss – leaving his post behind the scenes of the club. He was what you could call a ‘safe bet’. Fans know his tactics inside out and know what to expect from him. It’d be fair to say he managed to settle the ship – defensively we weren’t as bad and the January loan signings were given a chance to shine, and hopefully push the team up the table. Unfortunately in his tenure results weren’t that much better – we were in dire need of a few elusive wins, as relegation looked imminent. Burton Albion, at one point, had EIGHT games in hand; imagine if they’d got the maximum 24 points. Luckily for us, they continued to slip up and although we shouldn’t have had to rely on others results, it certainly made us feel better.

Then came a crazy 19 days, as Martin Allen was signed by the Chairman to get us out of the predicament we were in. In fact, I just googled ‘Martin Allen Barnet boss’ to double check the dates of his tenure and all I can say is:

Allen: Walked out

·         23 Mar 2011 ... Martin Allen is back in management as the new boss of League Two side Barnet.

·         2 Apr 2011 ... Barnet manager Martin Allen tells BBC London 94.9 that he aims to bring happiness back to Underhill after an impressive 4-1 win at Burton

·         11 Apr 2011 ... Martin Allen has left Barnet and been appointed as the new boss of Notts County.

Two wins and a draw (7 points from 9) in his three games as manager brought a lot of belief and optimism that we could master the Great Escape for a second consecutive season. Obviously, the feeling of disappointment and anger were more predominant but we had to accept what was happening and pick ourselves up for the final few games of the season.

Grazioli: Assistant Manager

The fourth manager of the campaign was former player Giuliano Grazioli. A legend as a player – his countless goals won us promotion to the Football League in 04/05 – and a real genuinely lovely guy (you don’t hear that a lot in football!); everyone was pleased he got the job. Even if we were to go down, we’d in no way blame him – he lives and breathes Barnet. We managed to master the Great Escape again, and Geeg now assists Lawrie for the upcoming season.

To cut a long story short, I guess it’s fair to say that football is so unpredictable and these days managers come and go so often – management is definitely a tough business!

Sanchez: Manager

Why Barnet?

I thought I’d introduce my blog with answers to the question I hear most frequently (amongst the laughter and mocking, of course!) when I introduce myself and tell others who I support.

-       Why do you support Barnet when you live in Essex and there are hundreds of teams out there to follow?

The first thing I often like to point out, is, no matter what my location, at least I go and watch my team play, week in week out. Yes, I may not live around the corner, but I’d never dream of simply just watching my team on TV, or glory hunt a team because my friends like them, or because they win all the time. There’s no fun in that whatsoever; although of late, it’s mainly been downs, pride and passion in the lower leagues is immense. Of course that is with no disrespect to those that do support big teams – however, if you claim to support or follow a team, the very least you can do is attend matches. The fact that it takes me a good three-quarters of an hour to get to games doesn’t bother me (although of course, when we lose, it seems a lot longer and is often depressing!).

To cut to the chase, my dad is an Arsenal fan who used to go to Highbury as often as possible. But as is with the modern age, the feeling that once was enjoyment turned to disappointment as money took over and it became virtually impossible to get a ticket on the day. Thus, he started rooting for a smaller club which struggled to get by and wasn’t part of the whole commercial business – and chose Barnet. The main reason being, he had family from the area.

Ticket stubs from our promotion season



He chose to go to escape the dreaded Saturdays in – the wife and kid(s), usual excuses. I never really thought much of it. Then one day, when I was four years old, my dad dragged me to a game – not that I remember much of it; apparently the highlight for me was chocolate raisins at half time. What was a one-off from time to time (when I was free, and fancied it), became more and more regular.

When I was six, my dad bought both my brother (who has lost interest in the game) and I season tickets and we used to go together every other Saturday. The following season, my brother stopped going but my dad continued to go and I went back to going whenever I fancied and he paid for me on the gate.

Balloons that were released during our final
home game

The first full season I can remember would have to be the year before we went up (2003-04) – in my current surroundings of the Main Stand. I didn’t have a season ticket, but went to every home game. The same happened again the following season – when we finally gained promotion to the Football League. In fact, I found my old ticket stubs the other day, and couldn’t help but think how ‘tin pot’ those days were! After then, I knew I would be hooked for life – and since, have had a season ticket every season for the Main Stand.