Dear Sir, Why is a guy from Limerick writing about a small club in London? Despite the absolute lack of respect that a club such as Barnet enjoy, illustrated by the howl.s of laughter received by an ex Bees star who had come to coach at my secondary school, they have continued to remain close to my heart- all this despite the shame of the events of November 2000 when, in a rush to be home to see the cup game against Burnley, I was stopped for speeding and the ensuing argument with the cop meant that I missed most of the first half. This season has seen the return of the mighty Barnet FC to league football. After Tony Cottee somehow took them from 6th place to relegation during his six-month tenure in 2001, the future looked grim for the Bees. In financial ruin, and with their ground failing to meet Football League requirements, it appeared that Barnet may never play league football again but last year.s runaway success in the Conference will mean that the big guns of Macclesfield and Leyton Orient will once again attempt to combat the slope of Underhill. Barnet Football Club was formed in 1888. It took them 103 years to reach the football league. The 1990-91 season saw Barnet demolishing the likes of Fisher Athletic and Gravesend in the Conference, scoring over 100 goals, led by the mighty striker Gary (cousin of Steve) Bull. In the first league game at Underhill we saw the typical Barnet side under Barry Fry (a man who had four heart attacks during his time at Barnet, one while pushing the team bus) as they scored 4 goals against Crewe, but unfortunately they let in 7 to lose the game. That season they were unsuccessful in the playoffs but went on to gain promotion the following year. In 1993/94 Barnet had their only season in Division 2 so far. Fat Stan Flashman, who was a firm believer in the Peter Ridsdale model of football economics, oversaw a financial crisis that led to most of the players from the promotion season being given a free transfer by the league due to lack of payment from the club. They also narrowly failed to beat Manchester United.s record of consecutive defeats at the start of the season. That season Barnet were managed by goalkeeper Gary (Sumo) Phillips. The moustachioed custodian would regularly be seen in lower league highlight reels punching the ground in frustration after conceding yet another goal.

The Bees put up some glorious cup displays against Manchester City, Chelsea and Norwich during the 1990s. The sight of a bunch of journeymen cloggers competing (temporarily) on a level playing field with infinitely better teams was a joy to behold. The terrace chants about the supposed girth of Ian Wright.s wife also added to the atmosphere at Underhill. The likes of Dougie Freedman and Linvoy Primus have gone on to better things since. Expect Ismail Yakubu to make similar strides. After the Cottee-inspired relegation, John Still oversaw a period of stabilisation at the club but it wasn.t until Martin .Judas. Allen took charge that the Bees threatened promotion. After he did a legger a few months before the end of the 2003/04 season, taking the entire staff (including the physio) with him to Brentford, former Stevenage manager Paul Fairclough stepped in for the ultimately unsuccessful play-off bid where Barnet had no luck in a shoot-out at Gay Meadow. Fairclough kept that side intact and got rid of Joe Gamble (whose career has never recovered) and the goals of Guiliano Grazioli powered them to a runaway win in the Conference last year. Underhill has been granted temporary permission to host league fixtures and since the local council refused charman Tony Kleanthous. plans for a new ground at Copthall Stadium (scene of my heroic 4th place in the long jump in 1993) the future remains uncertain. After a promising start Barnet are currently languishing in the lower region of League Two but as ever, I remain hopeful. C.MON YOU BEES!!! Yours etc.., - PJ Hegarty

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