2013 round-up (part two)

April

Players out

·         Ross Jenkins (Watford)

After a month with the Bees, Jenkins returned to his parent club. During his spell at Underhill, the defender featured five times, scoring once.

·         Anthony Edgar

The former West Ham youth player (another Robson signing!) left my mutual consent. Having made 11 appearances early on in the season, he hadn’t actually played since November!

·         Steve Kabba

It was with no real surprise that the striker finally left the club. He hadn’t played all season due to a long-term knee injury – although the club said he was returning to fitness. Everyone will always remember his four goals in the 4-1 demolition of Burton Albion in April 2011.

News

·         Barry Fuller saw his two match ban extended by a further two games. He was sent off following an altercation with the referee after the final whistle in the game against Dagenham & Redbridge. He returned to the bench for the final match versus Northampton.

·         The game with Torquay was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Heavy flooding in Devon meant the Plainmoor pitch was unplayable. The game was eventually played the following Tuesday.

·         We said goodbye to Underhill as April saw the final home game of the campaign – against Wycombe. A single goal from Jake Hyde (and fantastic penalty save by Stacky) meant the threat of relegation would go down to the final game – again! You can read my piece from the commemorative programme, here. And these two links are worth checking out: ‘Barnet prepare to say goodbye to Underhill’ & ‘Farewell to Underhill’.

·         Meanwhile construction at The Hive was well underway. The pitch had already been laid, with an automatic irrigation system installed. The main stand was next on the agenda...

·         Three players made the team of the week: Graham Stack, Jake Hyde and Elliot Johnson. Hydey netted three goals in two games (against Torquay and Wycombe), while Stacky made that save and Johnson proved his worth as a first team regular.

Results

01.04.13 – AFC Wimbledon 0-1 Barnet (League Two)

06.04.13 – Barnet 0-2 Chesterfield (League Two)

16.04.13 – Torquay United 3-2 Barnet (League Two)

20.04.13 – Barnet 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers (League Two)

27.04.13 – Northampton Town 2-0 Barnet (League Two)

Played 5 – won 2 – lost 3 – goals for 4 – goals against 7 – points 6

May

Players in

·         The club released its retained list for 2013//14

Retained                    Contracted

Mark Byrne               Jordan Brown
Andy Yiadom            Jack Saville
Jake Hyde                 Jon Nurse
Edgar Davids            Luke Gambin
Curtis Weston           Elliot Johnson
                                  Graham Stack
                                  David Stephens
                                  Ahmed Abdulla
                                  Freddie Warren
                                  Sam Cowler
                                  George Sykes
                                  Iffy Allen
                                  Jamal Lowe
                                  Mauro Vilhete
                                  Harry Crawford

·         Meanwhile negotiations were still being made with Keanu Marsh-Brown and Ricky Holmes

Players out

The players released were:

Barry Fuller (joined AFC Wimbledon)
John Oster (joined Gateshead)
Craig Beattie (joined Dundee)
Michael Kuipers
Liam O’Brien (joined Brentford)
Clovis Kamdjo (joined Salisbury)
Chiro N’Toko (joined FC Eindhoven)
Ismail Kamara

News

·         After trials and a loan spell at Birminham, Olly Lee finally joined the Championship club on a free transfer.

·         It was also revealed this month that Edgar Davids would retain his position as head coach for the 2013/14 season. Speaking to the Official Site, Kleanthous said he was “thrilled” and believed that “Edgar is the right man to take us forward”.

June

Players in

·         Anthony Acheampong (Welling United)

The central defender joined from the Conference South champions. He was named in the 2012/13 team of the year.

News

·         There was good news ahead of the upcoming campaign, with KMB putting pen to paper on a new contract.

·         Jon Nurse was placed on the transfer list, while Jake Hyde submitted a request. Hydey was Bees’ top scorer for 2012/13, netting 14 goals.

·         Dick Schreuder joined the club as head of coaching. The Dutchman was formerly head coach of SDV Barneveld, while his brother Alfred was interim manager of FC Twente after Steve M^cClaren departed.

2012 round-up – part two

April

The 16^th gave us the news we had all been waiting for, even though it was slightly overdue (!) – Lawrie Sanchez was relieved of his managerial duties. The man to replace him for the remainder of the season (the usual final three games) was of course Martin Allen in his third spell with the club. Having won a measly 15 of a potential 53 games, we knew it was coming eventually. Needless to say, he wasn’t happy about the decision. Meanwhile, with nine points up for grabs, there was a buzz again, one that had been lacking for the majority of the campaign. For anyone else, it would be a difficult task but we had faith in Mad Dog.

Pre-match v AFC Wimbledon. The spirit of Mad Dog.

His first game in charge wasn’t what he was expecting – a trip to Southend culminated in a 3-0 defeat with Bilel Mohsni scoring a hat-trick. With two games remaining and now only six points to play for, the final two games were vital. The penultimate game saw a 4-0 home win against AFC Wimbledon, setting up a potential grandstand finish on the final day. Either the Bees or Hereford would be relegated along with Macclesfield.

Izale McLeod was named in the PFA’s League Two team of the Year. As you’d expect, he was the only Barnet representative, with a number of players from league winners, Swindon.

Results:

League – 03.04.12 – Barnet 0-2 Swindon Town

League – 06.04.12 – Cheltenham Town 2-0 Barnet

League – 09.04.12 – Barnet 1-2 Crawley Town

League – 13.04.12 – Barnet 1-1 Hereford United

League – 20.04.12 – Southend United 3-0 Barnet

League – 27.04.12 – Barnet 4-0 AFC Wimbledon

Points – 4/18 ––– Goals scored – 6 ––– Goals conceded – 10 ––– League position – 22^nd

Lap of honour for the final home game of the season.

May

And to the final game of the season and for the third year running it was going down to the wire. The Bees travelled to Burton Albion, while Hereford (also in the dogfight) were hosting Torquay. A Win for the Bulls and Barnet needed to match that – a draw wouldn’t be enough, with our inferior goal difference. Here’s all you need to know about the 5^th May 2012 and this is my write-up from my day out. Oh, and I was in FourFourTwo.

Final day of the season. Nerves at the Pirelli.

Following that masterstroke, Allen made it clear that he’d like the job permanently. He believed he’d be able to guide the side to the playoffs. As it was, he wasn’t spoken to and the search for a new manager began...

After much speculation and confusion, it was announced that Mark Marshall would be given a two-year ban from football. It was with regards to the failed drugs test after the Boxing Day game at Dagenham & Redbridge. He hadn’t played since mid-January and after an FA hearing, it was revealed his ban from football would be from January 20^th – the time in which he was suspended by the club.

With a number of ins and outs, the futures of three players remained in the balance – Mark Hughes, Sam Deering and Jack Saville.

Players out:

A number of players departed the club; the biggest name being Izale McLeod. As a result of his ban, Mark Marshall left. There were also a couple of surprises in goalkeeper Dean Brill and Sam Cox who was a real credit to the club, outside of the game. Alassane N’Diaye was a fifth departee, but no real loss, with many saying he was one of the worst players to don the black and amber shirt. Jordan Parkes, who rarely played in the campaign and long-term injured Darren Dennehy also left the club.

Players in:

Elliot Johnson – the young defender was offered his first professional contract and became the first summer signing.

Results:

League – 05.05.12 – Burton Albion 1-2 Barnet

Points – 3/3 ––– Goals scored – 2 ––– Goals conceded – 1 ––– League position – 22^nd

June

The search for a manager came to an end, when the club announced Mark Robson to be Martin Allen’s successor. A former player with the likes of West Ham and Charlton, Robson arrived at Underhill leaving his post as Peterborough’s first team coach. He would also be aiding the development of the academy. Paul Fairclough described the appointment as “a new dawn”.

As part of the “new dawn”, all existing coaching staff were sacked. Assistant manager Giuliano Grazioli and coach Michael Stone were shown the door along with remaining medical and backroom staff.

The League Cup draw was announced, with the Bees travelling to Championship side Birmingham City in the first round.

Four days later and the 2012/13 fixtures were released. A trip to Port Vale on the opening day of the season would be followed by two home games – against Bristol Rovers and newly-promoted York City. The final match would mean a trip to Sixfields, with Northampton the hosts.

Players out:

With the change in management, Mark Hughes and Sam Deering were the next players to be released. Skipper Hughesy was said to “not fit in the new manager’s plans”, while the club couldn’t agree with Deering’s agent. Just like the fans, Captain Fantastic was disappointed to leave, saying: “I have given my all for this football club since I joined. I think the fans have seen that and fully appreciate not only the level of commitment I gave shown in every game as captain but also what I have done”.

Players in:

Robson raided his old club by landing 19-year-old goalkeeper Sam Cowler and then Jordan Brown (left back). Both players he described as “promising”.

 

Part one can be found here.

2011 round-up (part two)

After compiling the round-up for months January-March, here is the second part including months April-June.

April

Goal machine, Izale McLeod

The biggest news of the month was that of Martin Allen’s departure – after only 18 days as manager, despite being contracted until the end of the season. Never mind his claim: “call me Mart”, most Bees’ fans were calling him every name under the sun, as this wasn’t the first time he’d left us in the lurch at a crucial part of the campaign – this time, joining League1 strugglers, Notts County. The man to take over, club legend Giuliano Grazioli; saying of the post “it’s an honour”. Lawrie Sanchez came in to act as assistant manager to Graz for the rest of the season. The club did, however, report Notts County to the Football League and Football Association for their illegal approach of Allen.

A bit of silverware came Barnet’s way, albeit in the form of the Herts Senior Cup. After beating Stevenage (2–1) at Underhill, Barnet were the pride of Hertfordshire. A goal in each half from Charlie Stimson ensured the victory, meaning we had won the trophy for the first time in four years.

With the end of the season almost at a close there were of course more injuries scuppering our fight for survival. John Dunleavy who had previously signed a loan deal until the end of the season was the victim of a freak accident at the training ground; Steve Kabba was the other casualty with his re-occurring knee injury.

02/04              Burton v Barnet                                (W)      4–1
09/04              Barnet v Crewe                                (W)      2–1
16/04              Bury v Barnet                                    (L)       0–2
23/04              Gillingham v Barnet                         (W)      4–2
25/04              Barnet v Oxford                                (D)       2–2
30/04              Accrington Stanley v Barnet           (L)        1–3

            10 points from 18
Goals For: 13            Goals Against: 11

Pitch invasion - great escape part two

May

The highlight of a long, tough season, without a doubt, was preserving League status for the second year running on the final day of the season. A victory against Port Vale was boosted massively with the news that Lincoln City had lost at home to Aldershot (3–0). The celebrations at the end of the game will probably never be forgotten with players and fans on the pitch together – Grazioli had mastered the great escape!

The usual end of season players’ party and awards took place the following day. Joe Devera won the Player of the Year award, as well as Most Improved Player; Sam Deering, too, won two awards – Young Player of the Season and Goal of the Season, for one his strikes against champions elect, Chesterfield.

Lawrie Sanchez agreed a deal with the club to be manager for the 2011/12 campaign, with announced ‘dream team’ to be complete with Grazioli as his assistant.  Michael Stone also decided to continue his role as first team coach.

With the close season now in full-swing, the first players were shipped out as the new management team drew up its retained list. The players to go were: Glen Southam, Jake Cole, Rossi Jarvis, Charlie Stimson, Danny Kelly and Reece Yorke. The first players to sign new deals were also announced: Sam Deering and Mark Hughes, much to the delight of the Bees’ faithful.

07/05              Barnet v Port Vale                            (W)      1–0

            3 points from 3
Goals for: 1                Goals Against: 0      



Players and fans celebrating - and a steward casually in my way!

June

A reasonably quiet month was boosted by the fact that goal hero (with 14 goals in 25 starts), Izale McLeod was set to sign a year’s deal as a thank you to the club for giving him the opportunity to shine again. In his words: “taking [him] on when [he] was a forgotten man” concluding “I owe Barnet a lot”. The good news kept on coming with midfielder Mark Byrne also signing on, following his two successful loan spells.

After his two awards and a commanding season, albeit in a bad back four, Joe Devera left the club for Swindon Town – one of the four clubs to be relegated. He became the club’s first signing after they had previously made headlines for appointing Paulo Di Canio manager.

Further bad news was announced that the traditional money-making pre-season friendly with Arsenal was to be cancelled. The only reason given – because Underhill only plays venue to four of Arsenal’s reserve games in the coming season. Instead, the Gunners toured Asia.

The squad also reported back to the Hive this month for the first time for pre-season training; only one goalkeeper made up the squad, with a further 15 outfield players.

Part three of the 2011 round-up will include months July-September and should feature in a couple of days time.