I firmly believe that you don’t choose your football teams. They choose you. Whatever the case, some pretty bad decisions were taken way back when. Realistically Barnet’s natural level is somewhere between the top half of the Conference and the bottom half of League 2. The club’s location means that drawing huge crowds will always be a challenge, and so competing financially is problematic. For the last twenty years the club has depended upon the receipts from cup runs and selling on talented young players, and on the enthusiasm and deep pockets of the long-serving, long-suffering and entirely admirable Chairman.
When Barnet dropped out of the league in 2001 the club’s prospects looked grim, but after a couple of uninspiring seasons the arrival of Paul Fairclough saw the side reach the play-offs in 2003-4, where it was defeated on penalties by Shrewsbury, and then an unexpectedly glorious 2004-5 season which saw the Conference title won in style, with 86 points amassed and 90 goals scored. Fairclough had put together a vibrant young team and watching the Bees was a pleasure again.
Barnet’s fortunes once back in the league have been less than encouraging, however. In 2005-6 they finished 18th, five points above the drop zone; in 2006-7 14th; in 2007-8 12th; in 2008-9 17th; and in 2009-10 21st, just four points clear of relegation. Indeed, last season the wrong results on the last day could have seen Barnet relegated.
This season has seen massive changes at the club with a new manager and an extensively reworked squad, but after 15 games the situation is already serious. Three wins and three draws have provided a paltry 12 points and the club has been anchored in the bottom four for all but three weeks of the season. This is an early stage of the season to panic as there are plenty of games left to ensure survival (historically 50 points has been the survival target in this division, and 38 points from 31 games should be feasible), but it would be pleasant for the supporters at least to see the revival getting into gear sooner rather than later and thus being spared last-day anguish. I hope that the return of some key players who are suffering long-term injuries will provide some solidity at the back and a cutting edge up front… if not, it’s going to be yet another anxious season at Underhill.