Back To The Old Skool - Footballing (Mis)Education At Barnet

[Dire Wrangle]

Author notey introey type stuff

Many moons ago I started a game on CM00/01, managing Barnet. It'd go on to be one of my all-time favourite and memorable games, lasting a good 20-odd seasons. Bored one evening and fancying a break from FM after a rather poor end to the Brian Clough attempt, CM00/01 was dragged from the cobwebs. The original's long gone, but remixing and recreating that wonderful adventure in North London seemed like a good idea at the time, so I did. Do (try to) enjoy.

[Dire Wrangle]

Author notey introey type stuff

Many moons ago I started a game on CM00/01, managing Barnet. It'd go on to be one of my all-time favourite and memorable games, lasting a good 20-odd seasons. Bored one evening and fancying a break from FM after a rather poor end to the Brian Clough attempt, CM00/01 was dragged from the cobwebs. The original's long gone, but remixing and recreating that wonderful adventure in North London seemed like a good idea at the time, so I did. Do (try to) enjoy.

[Dire Wrangle]

The story picks up in the Summer of 2001, a year after I took charge at Underhill

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>

June 25, 2001 - BarnetFC.com

2000-01 was a season of success. Having been tipped widely for the drop, we ended up a whisker away from the playoffs. The squad has been reformed over the past twelve months, and yesterday our reporter Peter Chapman met with Steve Porter, the new manager hoping to get our Bees buzzing once more

PC Steve, great to have you here. So how do you feel about the recent 8th place finish in Division Three?

SP Obviously to miss out on the playoffs by one place it's a little disappointing, but we enjoyed a strong finish to the season to get that close and I'm sure that the positive progress will continue and make next year even better.

PC So you're looking for a place in the top 7 next term?

SP Naturally, although if I can get the lads settled and performing well from the off in August, I see no reason why we can't make it to the Top 3 and safely get up to Division Two come May.

PC Confidence indeed. When you came in you radically changed personnel at the club, and there was something of a Scandinavian invasion at Underhill. Why was this necessary?

SP Well some of the players simply weren't up to the standards I was looking for in my squad, so I wasn't going to waste any time in trying to clear some deadwood off of the wage bill. And then some others, such as Harrison, Newton and Currie had a decent price tag on their heads so the likes of those would leave to bring in funds for new players. We ended up bringing in over one and a half million from sales by the start of September last year.

PC And of that you spent roughly half, some good wheeling and dealing there.

SP It's what playing at this level is all about. Every so often you find a few gems in the rough world of lower league football, and I like to think I've got a couple among my side now. I sent a couple of scouts off to Sweden and Norway and they didn't disappoint, recommending a number of players who I'd go on to sign up and create a team with them.

PC And a good team at that, based on the season behind us. Who was the star of the season in your eyes?

SP The fans went for our midfielder Geoff Pitcher, who's been something of a silent weapon all season. Never really had a bad day and popped up with the odd important goal. Personally I see good things for Henrik Andreasson, who hit 9 goals in 14 starts early in the season before we unfortunately lost him in November to a long term injury. He'll be back in time for the start next season, though.

PC What moment do you feel will stick longest in your memory from the first season of your reign?

SP There's been so many. The first win of the season, against Kidderminster in our third match was obviously a pleasant experience, as were the last couple of games, in each of which we scored 5 to push so close to the playoffs. But I think the best day of the season was in the FA Cup Third Round clash with Leeds. The atmosphere in our little stadium was simply electric and I was proud to have given the lads an opportunity to play against a team of their quality, and the fans a chance to see them.

PC And I remember you weren't too far from an upset there.

SP That's right, I was ecstatic when we were 0-0 at half time, but I must've done something wrong in the team talk. We conceded a couple of fairly weak goals and lost 2-0 in the end, but it remains a great memory and I hope to take Barnet high enough to play them again sometime.

PC So for next season, any more ins and outs? And what's the target finish?

SP So far we've only secured the signing of veteran keeper Andrew Marriott from Sunderland, but I'll be keeping a look out for a few others during the next couple of months. Outgoing for sure is Austin Berkley, who's heading east to join Southend United. As far as my targets are, I don't think I'll be happy with anything outside of promotion.

PC There we have it. A confident man at the helm of the Bees, and as far as he's concerned the only way is up. Thanks for your time this afternoon Steve, and all the best of luck for the season ahead.

SP Thanks Pete. I'm sure I'll see you again soon.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Some were suprised by my ambitious aims, but to me they were realism itself. I saw no reason why we wouldn't improve and get promotion next year, and continue rising until we finally reach the top. I knew it'd be a tough long journey, but I was ready to start on it.

[Dire Wrangle]

The Squad, 2001-2002

Between The Sticks

1. Hamza BRAJANAC Age 17, Swedish

When Bergwall was injured Hamza stepped forward to take the number one shirt 4 months shy of his 17th birthday. He stayed first choice through the season after performing solidly. Faces new competition from Marriott and Tiago this season, but looks a good bet to keep his place.

2000/01: 31 Appearances, Conceded 47, 1 Assist, 2 MoM, Average Rating 7.29

13. Andrew MARRIOTT Age 30, Welsh (5 Caps)

Former Wrexham number one struggled to break into the first team at Sunderland, but joins as at least a very handy backup. Could well be in at first choice if Brajanac suffers a dip in form.

2000/01 (At Sunderland): No appearance.

22. Niclas BERGWALL Age 19, Swedish

Another Swedish youngster, brought in for £45,000 from Hammarby. Began last term as number one choice, but was replaced by Brajanac after the younger of the pair showed the more consistent form. Probably slips to third choice this season, but will still be hoping to win his place back.

2000/01: 15 Appearances, Conceded 27, 2 MoM, Average Rating 7.07

41. TIAGO Age 21, Portuguese

The Portuguese lad was a target last year, but Liverpool won the race that time. He's been allowed to leave Anfield after just a year there, and now joins us as yet another backup keeper to challenge for the one place on the pitch.

2000/01 (At Liverpool): No Appearance

The Boys at the Back

2. Mike DUFF Age 23, English

The pacy right back missed just a single match last season, and definitely a bargain at £28,000. Consistently average, and never lets the team down.

2000/01: 53 Appearances, 5 Goals, 7 Assists, 1 MoM, Average Rating 6.91

3. Gareth JELLYMAN Age 20, Welsh

Like Duff he enjoys putting his pace to use and making sharp runs down the flank from defence. Good performances for club have made him a regular with the Welsh Under-21 side.

2000/01: 37 Appearances, 2 Assists, Average Rating 6.95

5. Jamie VICTORY Age 25, English

A strong and versatile defender, Jamie mainly covered for injuries last season. Always reliable backup, and I'll expect similar from him in 01-02.

2000/01: 21 Appearances, 1 Goal, 1 Assist, Average Rating 7.05

6. Anders ISAKSSON Age 22, Swedish

Tough tackling centre-back was a reasonable regular last term, performing well without excelling hugely. Terminally involved in a three-way battle for those two central places at the back.

2000/01: 33 Appearances, 2 Goals, 1 Assist, Average Rating 6.82

20. Daniel ARNEFJORD Age 22, Swedish

A similar style of player to Isaksson, so both make handy backups to one another. Again he’s involved in a never-ending battle to cement his first team place.

2000/01: 31 Appearances, 3 Goals, Average Rating 6.74

24. Dave BAYLISS Age 25, English

Excellent strong tackler, and normally starts in central defence alongside one of the above Swedes. Also happy to go forward and nod in the occasional corner. Could be a vital part of what is hopefully a promotion side in May.

2000/01: 38 Appearances, 5 Goals, 2 Assists, Average Rating 7.03

26. Warren GOODHIND Age 23, English

One of a handful of original Bees squad members that’s yet to be sold, although he’s been transfer listed since pretty much the day I walked in. Similar kind of player to Victory – just worse.

2000/01: No Appearance

28. Ross D’ARCY Age 23, Irish

Showed a little potential in training, and stood in as cover in a few games last season, but I can’t see me revoking his current transfer listing.

2000/01: 3 Appearances, Average Rating 5.67

32. Sam STOCKLEY Age 23, English

The third and final defender still holding a place in the full squad. Again, he’s up for sale with no one interested yet.

2000/01: No appearance

The Men in the Middle

7. Scott HUCKERBY Age 25, English

Super quick winger, and played an important role down the left in all but two matches last season. Never let the team down, so we’ll have more of the same this time around, please Scott.

2000/01: 52 Appearances, 11 Goals, 13 Assists, 3 MoM, Average Rating 7.27

8. Geoff PITCHER Age 25, English

Signed for just £20,000 having never really had a chance to fulfil his potential, Pitcher was a useful man both in central midfield and just behind the front two. Always played well and deserving of his victory in the Fans’ Player of the Year poll.

2000/01: 42 Appearances, 12 Goals, 14 Assists, 4 MoM, Average Rating 7.40

12. Stevie SEARLE Age 24, English

One of three surviving midfielders, and made just a singular appearance last term. Tough to gauge whether he’ll be any use on one match. He’s on the list.

2000/01: 1 Appearance, Average Rating 7.00

16. Claus Bech JØRGENSEN Age 25, Danish

Rarely played brilliantly, but his impressive finishing saw a decent return of goals. The arrival of Sanne pushed Pitcher into his position behind the front pair, so he’s a battle on his hands to keep his place.

2000/01: 43 Appearances, 15 Goals, 6 Assists, 1 MoM, Average Rating 6.93

33. John DOOLAN Age 27, English

After 100 or so appearances for the club in his career, Doolan was quickly condemned to those on the transfer list. Like me, many other managers appear uninterested.

2000/01: No Appearance

37. Frazer TOMS Age 21, English

The youngster became a first team regular in 1999-00, but then I came along. Never mind, hey.

2000/01: No Appearance

38. Pär LARSSON Age 18, Swedish

The teenager came in from Varbergs towards the end of last season, and played consistently well down the right for the latter part of the season. Should keep his place during the year ahead.

2000/01: 14 Appearances, 4 Goals, 2 Assists, Average Rating 7.00

40. Terje SANNE Age 17, Norwegian

Another young import who joined midway through the season. Impressed immediately with a brace on his debut, and continued to play a vital part in the side throughout the season. Holds the midfield well together and will certainly be an important part again this year.

2000/01: 24 Appearances, 8 Goals, 3 Assists, 3 MoM, Average Rating 7.29

The Guys Who Get The Goals

9. Tony RICHARDS Age 27, English

A survivor, just about. He’s been listed for a while, hopefully his recent price cut due to his non-promotion clause might see him off down the Kermit.

2000/01: 1 Appearance, Average Rating 7.00

10. Gordon DURIE Age 35, Scottish (43 Caps, 7 Goals

After a decent season at Hearts last year, the veteran extends his career past the 20-year mark to join us. He’ll be a backup and might get the odd appearance if need be.

2000/01 (At Hearts): 18 Appearances, 7 Goals, 3 Assists, 2 MoM, Average Rating 7.11

15. Christian BLIDBERG Age 21, Swedish

A cheap as chips buy from Rosseröd, but didn’t quite find his scoring boots early on. Settled in though and looked more dangerous as the season continued. Will surely be battling for a starting place in attack in the new season.

2000/01: 26 Appearances, 7 Goals, 2 Assists, Average Rating 7.35

17. Lars-Gunnar CARLSTRAND Age 27, Swedish

The scout reports suggested his £40,000 fee would become the bargain of the century, bad sadly he didn’t quite live up to the billing. If he can’t take a few more chances this term I’m afraid he’ll be out the door before he’s too old to be worthy of making a profit.

2000/01: 26 Appearances, 2 Goals, 3 Assists, Average Rating 6.88

19. Henrik ANDREASSON Age 21, Swedish

Now this man could be that bargain buy I thought Lars might be. He hit a superb return of goals, before he was unfortunately injured for 7 months, missing most of the season. He’s back and fit now though, well in time for the next assault on Division Three.

2000/01: 15 Appearances, 9 Goals, 2 Assists, 1 MoM, Average Rating 7.27

30. Mathias FRITZDORF Age 23, Swedish

Like Blidberg he took a while to find his feet, but once he did he was very useful indeed. One of the main reasons for our hot form late in the season.

2000/01: 37 Appearances, 18 Goals, 6 Assists, 4 MoM, Average Rating 7.38

On paper, it’s a good team I’ve got together. But I know as much as anyone that football sure ain’t played on paper… Here goes 9 months of hard work…

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday August 11, 2001

Third Division, Game 1

Hereford United vs Barnet

Edgar Street, Hereford

"Yesss! Get in there!" I'd be shouting just eleven minutes in as Chris Blidberg opened the scoring for the new season, against newly-crowned Conference Champions Hereford. I settled back in the dugout especially chuffed that it was Chris' name on the scoresheet. He'd looked more confident in training and I knew he wanted to improve on his mediocre return of 7 goals last season. As far as I was concerned, this was a must-win to get the season rolling straight away, and help us beat that 8th place finish.

Through the first half we were easily enough the strongest side, but we'd still find ourselves behind come half time. A defensive mix-up led to on-loan Sunderland midfielder Paul Thirlwell levelling the match, before Vance Warner jumped highest to nod in Thirlwell's corner close to the break. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be, and I must say my half time team talk wasn't very cool and calm to say the least.

Either way, it seemed to do the trick, and bringing Andreasson on as sub certainly seemed to work a treat. Henrik's saved shot would find itself dropped onto the toe of Pär Larsson, who duly took the opportunity to level the match once more. It looked like we were rapidly heading towards starting off with just the one point, but I didn't feel this was enough. I was something of an animated character on the side of the pitch near the end, and we were finally rewarded when Terje Sanne's free-kick sailed past Scott Cooksey and wrapped up a nice win to begin the season. Another 45 like that won't go amiss, thank you very much.

Hereford: Cooksey 6, Porter 7 (Lane, on 69, 6), James 8, Wright 7 (Kerr, on 69, 7), Warner 7, Pead 7, Thirlwell 7, Robinson 7, Piearce 7, Moran 7, McIndoe 8

Barnet: Brajanac 7, Duff 7, Jellyman 8, Arnefjord 7, Bayliss 6, Pitcher 8, Larsson 8, Sanne 8, Fritzdorf 7 (ANDREASSON, on 56, 8 - MOM), Blidberg 8, Huckerby 6.

Final Score: Hereford 2 (Thirlwell 28, Warner 38) Barnet 3 (Blidberg 11, Larsson 65, Sanne 88)

Attendance: 3,098

[Peacemaker7]

Good luck, hope you enjoy it. Its always a risk trying to relive a favoured game, as invitablely its never quite the same.

[Lord Crumb]

I like the Lower League stories.

[HD]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Peacemaker7:

Good luck, hope you enjoy it. Its always a risk trying to relive a favoured game, as invitablely its never quite the same. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's true in my experience, but mibbes this will be the exception that proves the rule?

[Dire Wrangle]

Thanks for the comments guys... and I'll try to be the exception

Saturday August 18, 2001

Third Division, Game 2

Barnet vs Macclesfield Town

Underhill, London

Confidence had been high in training through the week after the performance at Hereford seven days ago - and the three points that came of it - so I took my seat in the Underhill dugout for the first time since May with my head held high.

That'd soon change. I'd be headbutting my palms within 3 minutes, as Damien Whitehead found space in the penalty area and put the visitors in front. Whitehead would turn provider soon after to double Macclesfield's lead, crossing in for Lee Glover to volley home the second.

Fortunately I managed to watch it get better before worse, as Larsson beat Leigh Hall to Huckerby's corner, nodding in his second in two games. Macclesfield's penultimate attacking chance of the match - in the 22nd minute - saw the third added. Defender Danny Adams took the game away from us, even despite the fact they mustered one more attack in the next 70 minutes and we would have 13 in the same period.

We would pull another back, through a Mike Duff penalty in first half injury time, but I could do little to inspire this half-interested outfit towards making use of the second half dominance and pushing for a win. There went the good start.

Barnet: Brajanac 6, DUFF (MOM) 9, Jellyman 7, Arnefjord 7, Bayliss 6 (Isaksson on 82, 6), Pitcher 7, Larsson 9, Sanne 7, Fritzdorf 6 (Andreasson on 82, 7), Blidberg 7, Huckerby 7

Macclesfield: Martin 8, Priest 6, Adams 7, Barnard 6 (O'Neill on 69, 6), Came 7, Hall 8, Hill 7, Sneekes 6, Whitehead 9, Glover 7, Owers 7

Final Score: Barnet 2 (Larsson 15, Duff pen 45) Macclesfield 3 (Whitehead 3, Glover 10, Adams 22)

Attendance: 3,143

[Dire Wrangle]

Tuesday August 21, 2001

League Cup First Round, First Leg

Hartlepool United vs Barnet

Victoria Park, Hartlepool

Three days after a disappointing defeat in the league, life wouldn't improve much on the long journey to Hartlepool. Last year in this competition I didn't make it past this round, losing to Wolves after a penalty shoot out. This year it'd look a little more clear-cut after the first leg of the tie.

Once again I'd be staring at a 2 goal deficit before we'd woken up. I know it was a long old trip up north, but by the start we made I thought the lads were jetlagged. Eventually Paul Arnison took advantage and beat Brajanac to open the scoring. We went into half time 2-0 down, with Hartlepool doubling their lead about ten minutes before the interval.

Fortunately the second half was slightly prettier to watch from my place in the visiting dugout, although we did it with ten men following Jellyman's red-card on the stroke of half time. Terje Sanne halved the lead with half hour remaining, but two goals from Adam Boyd would wrap this one up for Hartlepool. Geoff Pitcher scored in the dying minutes, but that one just adds another away goal and makes life a little bit easier in the Second Leg.

Hartlepool: Hollund 7, Knowles 6 (Foster on 72, 6), Squires 8, Collins 8, Lee 6, Murray 7 (Venables on 66, 8), Casey 8, ARNISON (MOM) 9, Dyer 7 (Boyd on 66, 8), Henderson 7, Shilton 9

Barnet: Brajanac 6, Duff 7, Jellyman 6, Arnefjord 6, Bayliss 7 (Isaksson on 29, 7), Pitcher 7, Larsson 6, Sanne 5, Durie 8, Blidberg 6 (Andreasson on 47, 7), Huckerby 7

Final Score: Hartlepool 4 (Arnison 17, Casey 34, Boyd 76, 84) Barnet 2 (Sanne 61, 88)

Attendance: 2,538

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday August 25, 2001

Third Division, Game 3

Kidderminster Harriers vs Barnet

Aggborough, Kidderminster

Andy Marriott made a debut today, in place of the erratic Hamza Brajanac. But he'd fare little better than the young Swede had so far on the trip west. The penultimate match of the month would see a third defeat on the bounce, leaving us with just three from a possible nine to begin the league season.

The first half was even enough, and saw little in the way of chances falling at either end. Blidberg & Andreasson both came close for us, while hosting Kidderminster also threatened the Welshman between the posts.

The opening goal though would come early in the second period, courtesy of Dean Bennett when he beat Marriott from long-range after leaving Arnefjord for dead. Kidderminster lost three of their starting eleven to injury, leaving them with 10 men by the time they added a second through Scott Stamps.

So far I was to say the least a tad disappointed with the progress, but it's early days yet, quite fortunately.

Kidderminster: Woods 9, Lake 8, Kerr 7, Hicks 9 (Gore on 45, 7), Matthews 6, Mendy 7 (Skovbjerg on 73, 7), NAYLOR (MOM) 9, Bennett 8, Corbett 7 (Somerville on 59, 7), Foster 7, Stamps 8

Barnet: Marriott 5, Duff 7, Jellyman 7, Arnefjord 7, Isaksson 6, Pitcher 7, Larsson 6, Sanne 6 (Jørgensen on 66, 6), Andreasson 6 (Fritzdorf on 66, 7), Blidberg 7, Huckerby 7

Final Score: Kidderminster 2 (Bennett 49, Stamps 74) Barnet 0

Attendance: 2,939

[Dire Wrangle]

Monday August 27, 2001

Third Division, Game 4

Barnet vs Rochdale

Underhill, London

A bank holiday home match finished August in spectacular style. I took my seat nervously, hoping to finish the month on a high and pick up three points to get back into some sort of form. I didn't foresee us doing so in quite such emphatic style, though.

Dan Arnefjord put us ahead early on with a tap-in from Huckerby's corner, and the lead doubled within 10 minutes when Sanne found the corner of the net after Duff's superb pass. Rochdale hadn't yet formed an attack, and the match was all but won within five more minutes when Chris Blidberg made it 3-0.

Rochdale would in total muster only 3 attempts on Marriott's goal in the full 90 minutes, none of which troubled the keeper. A second for Blidberg finished them off, and rounded off August in a more than adequate style.

Barnet: Marriott 7, Duff 8, Jellyman 7, Arnefjord 8, Isaksson 8, Pitcher 8, Larsson 8, Sanne 8, Andreasson 8, BLIDBERG (MOM) 9, Huckerby 7

Rochdale: Edwards 6, Todd 7, Brunton 7, Hill 7, Monington 7, Jones 6, Flitcroft 6, Stevens 7, Irvine 6, Rideout 6 (Townson on 55, 6), Broom 6

Final Score: Barnet 4 (Arnefjord 10, Sanne 19, Blidberg 23, 67) Rochdale 0

Attendance: 3,623

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday September 1, 2001

Third Division, Game 5

Barnet vs AFC Bournemouth

Underhill, London

This was almost like picking up where we left off on Monday. But this one kept me and most of the home fans on the edge of our seats until rather late in the day. Adam Oliver, the impressive young midfielder on loan at Bournemouth from West Brom, started proceedings with his well-timed strike 20 minutes in, but after that it became the Henrik Andreasson show for a spell.

The young Swede, looking to recapture the form he had before his injury, equalised within 4 minutes. Then a quickfire double ten minutes after that secured him a hat-trick and gave us a commanding lead at the break.

Oliver pulled one back shortly into the second half, to ignite the nerves a little, before veteran Simon Barker, making his 555th career appearance, equalised soon after. It stayed that way for a good half hour, and the visiting side thought they had safely nabbed a point. In fact I'm sure I saw a handful of fans happily edging out to avoid the M25 traffic. Sadly, Chris Blidberg stepped forward near the end to secure a hard fought victory. And an ever-so-slightly-lucky one.

Barnet: Marriott 7, Duff 8, Victory 8, Arnefjord 7, Bayliss 5, Pitcher 7, Larsson 8, Sanne 7, ANDREASSON (MOM) 10, Blidberg 8, Huckerby 8

Bournemouth: Petterson 7, Asare 6 (Broadhurst on 90, 6), Bentley 6, Ellis 8, Howe 6 (Fletcher on 65, 7), Barker 8, O'Neill 7, Oliver 8, Turner 7, Watson 7, Little 8

Final Score: Barnet 4 (Andreasson 24, 33, 34, Blidberg 86) Bournemouth 3 (Oliver 20, 52, Barker 55)

Attendance: 2,952

[Dire Wrangle]

Tuesday September 4, 2001

League Cup First Round, Second Leg

Barnet vs Hartlepool United

Underhill, London

All we needed here were a couple of goals, and we were through. Having scored 8 in the last two, I was confident we could score here. I wasn't as confident that we'd avoid conceding the away goal(s) that we can't afford to give away here.

At half time, we were through. If I could've ended the match there and put us through to Round Two, Christ I would have. Sadly I couldn't, so we had to go into another 45 minutes of football clinging to a 2-0 lead on the night, and an away goals lead on the 4-4 aggregate scoreline.

We had been, and continued to be, the more attacking side and created more of the chances - as we pleasingly seem to be doing increasingly often at Underhill - but tonight we just couldn't find someone to convert them and put this tie beyond doubt. In the end, Paul Arnison's goal just after half time would prove enough to settle the clash, and the visitors would edge through on aggregate.

Barnet: Brajanac 7, Duff 6, Victory 7, Arnefjord 8, Bayliss 7, Pitcher 8, Larsson 7, Sanne 7, Andreasson 6, Blidberg 7, Huckerby 7

Hartlepool: Hollund 8, Foster 7, Dolby 8, Lee 8, Collins 7 (Knowles on 88, 6), Murray 6 (Venables on 62, 7), ARNISON (MOM) 9, Dyer 7, Lormor 7, Henderson 6, Shilton 8

Final Score: Barnet 2 (Sanne 23, Pitcher 37) Hartlepool 1 (Arnison 48) (4-5 On Aggregate)

Attendance: 2,959

There died the first route to silverware for the season. Hartlepool would face Blackpool in Round 2, losing on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate across the tie.

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday September 8, 2001

Third Division, Game 6

Barnet vs Torquay United

Underhill, London

The biggest attendance so far this season (hardly impressive) turned out for the visit of Torquay, but if that attendance was caused by a surge of away fans, they'll be wishing they never bothered. This match was done, dusted and over at half time. I could've done a Sven and sent the reserves out for a kickaround in the second half, to be honest.

To be fair to the visitors, they pushed us harder than most other teams that travel here, keeping our attempts count under 15 for the first time in a few matches, and managing 9 of their own, which is three times that of some teams that have come here.

But still, a blinding team performance began with Bayliss making amends for being at fault defensively with set pieces a couple of times this season, by heading in Larsson's corner kick. Larsson himself popped up to double the advantage five minutes later, volleying home a cross from Duff. Blidberg then made his name for the day with a 25-yard screamer to burst the Torquay net, and make the score a simple looking 3-0 with just half an hour played.

Before half time there'd be another, as Blidberg was brought down in the box by Mark Tucker. Jamie Victory, filling in for the injured Jellyman, made no mistake in hammering home the penalty to make it four at the whistle.

One more would follow shortly after the break, from the prolific boot of Henrik Andreasson, but the 5th would be the last nail in the coffin for our visitors. Most of the stadium were by now pretty delirious, but I was still intact enough to watch the match slow towards a bit of a dull end. Never mind, eh?

Barnet: Brajanac 9, Duff 9, Victory 8, Arnefjord 8, Bayliss 8, Pitcher 8, Larsson 7, Sanne 7, Andreasson 8, BLIDBERG 9, Huckerby 8

Torquay: Gothard 6, Tully 6, Bimson 6, Doohan 7, Tucker 6, Hill 6, Ashington 6, Flynn 7, Williams 6, Sissoko 7 (Bedeau on 57, 7), Platts 6

Final Score: Barnet 5 (Bayliss 19, Larsson 24, Blidberg 30, Victory pen 45, Andreasson 49) Torquay 0

Attendance: 3,777

[Dire Wrangle]

Wednesday September 12, 2001

Third Division, Game 7

Leyton Orient vs Barnet

Brisbane Road, London

Matches against Orient are about as close as we'll get to a local derby this season, so it was naturally to be taken seriously. That was especially so when I scanned the league tables to see we could reach the Top 3 if we continued our winning run today.

The fans were up for it, but the match itself took a little longer to get going. Neither side really created much in the way of chances throughout the first half, and at half time it was 2 attempts on goal each. So far the telling factor was our better passing, which we used to put together some threatening moves later in the half.

The trend continued into the second, and was eventually rewarded within ten minutes of the interval when Henrik added another to his tally for the season, before Blidberg ensured he stayed on par with his teammate's abilities a few moments later.

Going by the run of play in the second half, we were more than deserving of the win, but Geoff Pitcher still found time to make sure with ten minutes left. Orient had a little wag in their tail late on, and few could argue they deserved a goal. In this case though, it was too little and too late for the O's.

Orient: Barker 5, Trees 6 (Christie on 87, 6), Lockwood 7, McElholm 8, Woolsey 6 (Dorrian on 91, 6), McGhee 8, Spencer 7, Cartwright 8, Brissett 7, Gough 9, Bakalli 7

Barnet: Brajanac 8, Duff 8, Victory 7, Arnefjord 7, Bayliss 7, PITCHER 9, Larsson 7, Sanne 7, Andreasson 8, Blidberg 7, Huckerby 7

Final Score: Orient 1 (Gough 84) Barnet 3 (Andreasson 54, Blidberg 56, Pitcher 80)

Attendance: 7,960

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday September 15, 2001

Third Division, Game 8

Peterborough United vs Barnet

London Road, Peterborough

For the first time in a while, we'd finish a match well and truly beaten. I couldn't produce excuses or arguments though. Peterborough were the better side, and played better football.

Eventually nine goals would be shared, the first coming just 6 minutes in from the formerly-pineapple-headed Jason Lee. It took ten minutes more for the Posh to double the lead through Simon Rusk before we woke up. Fortunately Chris Blidberg chose this point to pull one back, but hopes of coming back would soon be scuppered as goals from Anders Koogi and Andy Clarke extended the lead. Sanne would restore some life just before the break to give us a little hope.

That little hope grew early in the second as Huckerby scored a super goal to pull it back to 4-3, but despite not quite being the Posh goal frenzy of the first, we still couldn't find any way to turn it around, and eventually Rusk and Koogi would add another each to finish off the demolition job. Having climbed to 3rd at the end of the recent winning run, this was a rather loud thud as we crashed back to earth.

Peterborough: Heald 6, Odlum 9, Wicks 8, Kenna 6 (Brewster on 54, 7), Foster 7, Koogi 10, Simpson 8, RUSK 10, Clarke 8 (Green on 66, 7), Lee 8, Farrell 8

Barnet: Brajanac 3, Duff 7, Victory 8, Arnefjord 8, Bayliss 6, Pitcher 7 (Jørgensen on 50, 6), Larsson 6, Sanne 7, Andreasson 6 (Fritzdorf on 62, 6), Blidberg 8, Huckerby 8

Final Score: Peterborough 6 (Lee 6, Rusk 16, 71, Koogi 31, 76, Clarke 43) Barnet 3 (Blidberg 25, Sanne 45, Huckerby 48)

Attendance: 3,121

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday September 22, 2001

Third Division, Game 9

Barnet vs Lincoln City

Underhill, London

After what could only be described as a bit of a disaster at Peterborough a week ago, I was incredibly eager to get back into winning ways, starting now with the visit of Lincoln to Underhill. After dropping back out after Peterborough, I was also rather keen on getting back into that top 3.

Possession-wise this was a very even match, but otherwise we were the better side in all areas of the field - passing better around the middle and producing more chances at goal. As far as I was concerned it was bad enough to be going in goalless at half time.

It'd get worse though, and Lincoln sneaked a couple of goals past young Hamza midway through the second half. They proved to be enough, despite as trying desperately in vain to get back into the match and find a way past Alan Marriott.

Barnet: Brajanac 6, Duff 8, Jellyman 7, Arnefjord 6, Bayliss 6, Pitcher 7, Larsson 5 (Jørgensen on 48, 6), Sanne 8, Andreasson 7, Blidberg 8, Huckerby 7

Lincoln: MARRIOTT 9, Barnett 6, Hogg 6, Henry 8, Welsh 6, Holmes 7, Smith 7, Logan 8, Gordon 7, Thorpe 8, Gain 7 (Miller on 74, 6)

Final Score: Barnet 0 Lincoln 2 (Smith 61, Logan 66)

Attendance: 4,039

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday September 29, 2001

Third Division, Game 10

Darlington vs Barnet

The Feethams Ground, Darlington

After a couple of weeks of disappointment, we'd end September by moving the count in the 'P' column into double figures. Of those 30 points we could have had, today took us to a total of 18 as we fought hard to win comfortably in a very tight match.

Fortunately we were sharp from the off, and Scott Huckerby ended the first meaningful attack by putting us ahead early on. Darlington were probably stronger for the rest of the half, but Brajanac played well to keep them at bay, and their failure to level the match cost dearly as we grew in confidence and stole two more before half time - both courtesy of Fritzdorf, standing in for the injured Blidberg.

The second half was mostly uneventful, although the hosts would get a deserved consolation. It took a penalty though, after Brajanac brought down Mark Angel. Hamza saw the red card, and Marriott's first action would be to pick Angel's penalty out of the back of our net. The Welshman kept out further attempts though, and we clung on to three more lovely points.

Darlington: Williams 5, Butler 7, Kaak 6, Reed 6, White 6, Gray 8, Bassett 5 (Angel on 53, 7), Atkinson 7, Dent 5 (Beavers on 53, 7), Nogan 7, Young 7

Barnet: Brajanac 6, Duff 7, Jellyman 7, Arnefjord 7, Bayliss 7, Pitcher 7 (Marriott on 65, 7), Larsson 7, Sanne 8, ANDREASSON 10, Fritzdorf 8, Huckerby 8

Final Score: Darlington 1 (Angel pen 65) Barnet 3 (Huckerby 5, Fritzdorf 37, 43)

Attendance: 3,764

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday October 6, 2001

Third Division, Game 11

Barnet vs Exeter City

Underhill, London

Despite the dominance - by quite a way - from the visitors, this match was almost over before it started. Even better, it was in my favour. Henrik Andreasson hit his second quickfire hat-trick of the season to put us 3-0 ahead within 10 minutes of kick off, and it looked as though the gates were open for a complete demolition of them.

Sadly, that wouldn't quite happen, and ultimately Henrik's hat-trick would just about be enough to see us through. Exeter had had most of the play since those first 10 minutes where we took the game away, but couldn't beat Brajanac until an hour had passed. Graeme Tomlinson pulled one back, and Geoff Breslan scored a second to ensure a nervous end for those in orange and black, but we just about held on to throw another three points into the collection.

Barnet: Brajanac 7, Duff 7, Victory 7, Arnefjord 7, Bayliss 6, Pitcher 7, Larsson 6, Sanne 7, Andreasson 8, Fritzdorf 7, HUCKERBY 9

Exeter: James 5, Petty 7, Campbell 7, Redmond 7, Basham 8, Breslan 8, Poppleton 9, Holloway 8, Tomlinson 8, Inglethorpe 7, Wilkinson 6

Final Score: Barnet 3 (Andreasson 4, 6, 9) Exeter 2 (Tomlinson 61, Breslan 70)

Attendance: 3,921

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday October 13, 2001

Third Division, Game 12

Scunthorpe United vs Barnet

Glanford Park, Scunthorpe

Like Exeter this was another slightly bizarre match in terms of the fairness of the scoreline, but again I wouldn't have any form of complaints on the matter. In all areas of play the game was evenly match, but we rolled out emphatic winners to claim three more points.

Andreasson was lost to injury in the 3rd minute, which was even quicker than one of his hat-tricks. But no sooner had he disappeared towards the physio's room, did Pitcher put us ahead with a stunning long range effort. Geoff then took his attempt at emulating Henrik by adding another five minutes later, and once more we were looking like wrapping up the win before the fans had finished their pre-match pint.

Hopefully they were present by the time Huckerby added another to make it 3-0, still only halfway through the first half. 3-0 was pleasant enough a scoreline to take into the break, but nothing was safe yet. This became more apparent when Mike Pearce headed in to pull one back for the hosts, but there'd be no scares or nail biting as Huckerby hit his second to finish the scoring on the hour mark. It was a bit flattering, but a win's a win, and 3 more onto the goal difference is better than a kick in the knackers.

Scunthorpe: Thompson 4, Whitehead 6, Boyle 7, Hague 7, Fickling 8, Pepper 7, Stokoe 6 (Larusson on 90, 6), Ipoua 8, Pearce 8, Kartes 5, Jackson 9

Barnet: Marriott 8, Duff 7, Victory 7, Arnefjord 7, Bayliss 7, Pitcher 10, Larsson 8, Sanne 9, Andreasson 6 (Durie on 3, 6), Fritzdorf 8, Huckerby 9

Final Score: Scunthorpe 1 (Pearce 51) Barnet 4 (Pitcher 3, 8, Huckerby 24, 60)

Attendance: 2,231

[Dire Wrangle]

Tuesday September 16, 2001

Third Division, Game 13

Barnet vs Cheltenham Town

Underhill, London

This should've been nice and easy, with the team placed bottom in the Football League coming to visit. We were immensely in control from start to finish, as expected, but by jeez, by jingo, by crikey did we leave it late to settle matters.

The first half was pretty much a non-event, with Cheltenham managing one (or half) of their attempts on Marriott, covering the suspended Hamza Brajanac, and us putting together a small handful of half-baked efforts of our own.

Fortunately, the lads received a collective kick up the arse during the break and we looked a little more alive in the second period. It took until into the last quarter of the match to finally open the scoring, and after 90 minutes had passed it remained 1-0 to us.

Barnet: Marriott 7, Duff 7, Victory 7, Arnefjord 7, Bayliss 7, Pitcher 9, Larsson 7, SANNE 9, Durie 7, Fritzdorf 8, Huckerby 9

Cheltenham: Powell 7, Cole 6, Hodson 6, Walker 7, Ellender 7, Tate 8, Bullard 7, Vink 7 (Atkinson on 77, 6), Sedgemore 5, Alsop 6 (Devaney on 60, 6), Weller 6

Final Score: Barnet 3 (Huckerby 74, Fritzdorf 90, Pitcher 90) Cheltenham 0

Attendance: 3,636

And that victory would catapult us merrily up the table. After a brief flirt with 3rd place earlier in the season, we were now in second - and next was a trip to table-topping Millwall.

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday October 20, 2001

Third Division, Game 14

Millwall vs Barnet

The New Den, London

Top against second at Millwall, with the relegated side seeking a speedy return to Division Two, and us looking to replace them at the top of the tree.

It was always going to be difficult, and the slow start we made wouldn't do us any favours as the hosts took an early lead through Rodney Jack. David Livermore added another before a quarter of an hour had passed, and this was looking all too familiar to the match at Peterborough which destroyed our last good run of form. Fortunately we battled hard and got back into the match, but the home side were too good and should really be playing a division above.

We did well to keep the score at 2-0 as Millwall continued to press the defence for errors and try to bury our hopes beyond all doubt, but eventually collapsed in the final minute to allow a second for Rodney Jack, and a bit more sparkle on the scoreline than they really deserved. Either way, we failed to go top, instead taking the scenic route to glory and deciding to drop to third instead.

Millwall: Guéret 7, Lawrence 8, Trott 8, Flynn 6 (Dobson on 72, 7), Nethercott 6, Livermore 8, Kinet 8, Derry 7, JACK 9, Sadlier 8, Eyre 8

Barnet: Marriott 6, Duff 6, Victory 7, Arnefjord 6, Bayliss 6 (Isaksson on 35, 7), Pitcher 6, Larsson 6, Sanne 7, Durie 7, Fritzdorf 6, Huckerby 7

Final Score: Millwall 3 (Jack 5, 90, Livermore 14) Barnet 0

Attendance: 8,706

[Dire Wrangle]

Tuesday October 23, 2001

Third Division, Game 15

Barnet vs Bury

Underhill, London

Losing to Millwall was a big disappointment, so we were naturally looking to return to form, and sharpish. We had the home advantage today, and against a team stuck nearer the wrong end of the table.

But we couldn't have made a worse start. Forget the late arriving fans, I think the players had barely made it by the time Darren Bullock beat Brajanac and found the net 5 minutes in. Fortunately the offside flag ruled that one out, but unfortunately Baichung Bhutia's effort a few minutes later would count. So would Paul Barnes' strike before half hour had passed.

As half time came we were struggling, and this was beginning to look like some sort of cheap horror movie acted out on a football pitch. Luckily we still had life in us yet, and Huckerby revived hopes of a comeback midway through the second half. Claus Bech Jørgensen was thrown off the bench to help out the attack, and just as we thought we had lost again he did exactly that, neatly slotting the ball past Kevin Poole to share the points in our first draw of the season.

Barnet: Brajanac 6, Duff 7, Jellyman 7, Arnefjord 7, Isaksson 5 (Victory on 60, 7), Pitcher 7, Larsson 7, Sanne 6 (Jørgensen on 69, 8), Carlstrand 8, Fritzdorf 6 (Durie on 60, 7), HUCKERBY 8

Bury: Poole 8, Donelly 7, Barrick 7 (Collins on 17, 7), Staunton 7, Patterson 8, Wilkins 7, Adams 7 (Harvey on 47, 6), Bullock 7, Barnes 8, Bhutia 8, Sheridan 7

Final Score: Barnet 2 (Huckerby 66, Jørgensen 90) Bury 2 (Bhutia 9, Barnes 28)

Attendance: 3,720

[Terk]

enjoyable stuff so far

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday October 27, 2001

Third Division, Game 16

Hartlepool United vs Barnet

Victoria Park, Hartlepool

With Marriott injured and Brajanac erratic, I chose today to call upon Niclas Bergwall for his first start of the season to see if he could prove a more valuable asset than I'd given credit for. He'd barely played since being dropped around this time last year, so he was understandably nervous about having to live up to the expectations I'd just dumped on his shoulders.

He'd go on to play well enough, well beaten by Shaun Murray for Hartlepool's one goal in the first half. But today we were the better side, and fully deserved our equaliser just before the break. Despite controlling most of the match though we looked to be heading for our second draw of the season.

Instead we left it until late to secure our tenth win of the season, with a last gasp strike from Geoff Pitcher. Aside from adding to his hopes of retaining his position as the fans' favourite, his goal lifted us back to second, although Millwall now had a 6-point cushion on us.

Hartlepool: Heaney 8, Foster 9, Simpkins 7, Collins 7 (Squires on 81, 7), Lee 7, Murray 7, Arnison 5, Dyer 6 (Venables on 53, 7), Lormor 7, Henderson 7, Shilton 6

Barnet: Bergwall 8, Duff 9, Jellyman 6, Arnefjord 7, Isaksson 6, Pitcher 9, Larsson 6, Sanne 7, Carlstrand 6, Fritzdorf 9, HUCKERBY 9

Final Score: Hartlepool 1 (Murray 24) Barnet 2 (Huckerby 45, Pitcher 90)

Attendance: 2,742

[Dire Wrangle]

Cheers Simon

Saturday November 3, 2001

Third Division, Game 17

Barnet vs Hull City

Underhill, London

Finally some good news in terms of the squad, as Chris and Henrik returned to action after injury. This should hopefully boot the goal-shy trio of Carlstrand, Durie and Fritzdorf into touch. In other team news, a debut was given to 16 year old Ricky Porter, who looks an interesting prospect in midfield and replaced the unfit Larsson on the right.

Hull hit the post 4 minutes into this one. Diving to cover that attempt proved Bergwall's busiest moment of the match as they failed to produce another chance in the remaining 86 minutes. I'm sure he was chuffed with the clean sheet nonetheless. Porter did wll, making several good runs down the flank and offering a couple of chances to the attack. Blidberg and Andreasson though struggled to rediscover their form today, and couldn't seem to worry Paul Musselwhite too much.

Once more the day was saved late on. Terje Sanne's long range shot cannoned in off the bar to a chorus of over 3,000 sighs of relief, mine included. Another three points in the bag and we continued the chase of leading Millwall.

Barnet: Bergwall 7, Duff 7, Jellyman 8, ARNEFJORD 9, Bayliss 7, Pitcher 7, Porter 7, Sanne 8, Andreasson 6, Blidberg 6, Huckerby 7

Hull: Musselwhite 6, Warner 6, Butler 6, Forsyth 8, Cullip 5, Brightwell 6, Black 7, Mann 7, Eyre 7, Bevan 7, Bullimore 7

Final Score: Barnet 1 (Sanne 87) Hull 0

Attendance: 3,803

To provide a small pain in the arse, I was informed after the match that Henrik had been injured slightly, and will miss another three weeks. To put it sarcastically, great.

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday November 10, 2001

Third Division, Game 18

Brighton and Hove Albion vs Barnet

Falmer, Brighton

A trip to the season beckoned ahead of a short break from league action - next week sees the FA Cup begin for us. Oh we didn't like to be beside the seaside though, or maybe we would have, but we were stuck arsing around on a football pitch racking up our 6th loss of the season.

Brighton threatened more early on producing some fine goalkeeping from Niclas, but received their reward after 20 or so minutes when Richard Carpenter put them ahead. That was enough to give them the edge at half time, but in the second half we were first out of the blocks and struck quickly with Blidberg scoring the leveller. I'd only watch it become meaningless though before the fans had finished celebrating, as Rod Thomas put Albion back in front.

We took the game by the scruff of the neck and pushed hard throughout the second half, but simply couldn't find a way through and ended up rolling towards another sorry scoreline.

Brighton: Roberts 8, O'Callaghan 6 (Hutt on 90, 6), Luckett 7, Aggrey 8, Weir 6, Tuttle 8, Briscoe 8, Carpenter 7, Zamora 7 (Hutchinson on 75, 6), Thomas 8, Cassidy 8

Barnet: BERGWALL 8, Duff 7, Jellyman 7, Arnefjord 7, Bayliss 6, Pitcher 6 (Porter on 46, 7), Larsson 7, Sanne 7, Fritzdorf 7, Blidberg 8, Huckerby 8

Final Score: Brighton 2 (Carpenter 24, Thomas 50) Barnet 1 (Blidberg 49)

Attendance: 5,891

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday November 17, 2001

FA Cup First Round

Barnet vs Burton Albion

Underhill, London

I'd been pleased when I saw the draw a few weeks back. We were handed a home tie, and against a Burton side stuck in the depths of non-league football. Meanwhile we were riding high in Division Three with ever-growing hopes of promotion.

But you can always rely on my defence to allow a dodgy striker a bit of a confidence boost. Dale Anderson, scorer of two goals in his 16 games so far this term, managed to hit his elusive third just 7 minutes in, and another goal disallowed moments later signalled that Underhill could be the setting for a Round One upset. This wasn't supposed to happen... we gave Leeds a run for their money last year.

It was good old reliable Geoff who pitched in and spared a few blushes with the equaliser coming moments after the disallowed strike. Things were looking prettier as we finally began playing the better football as the match went on, and although it remained a close game few could argue when we finally broke through a tough defence to secure our name was linked to a numbered ball at FA HQ tomorrow. Chris Blidberg put us in front on the hour, before Henrik's stand-in Mathias Fritzdorf took the scoreline beyond the visitors. It was a nervous encounter and perhaps the scoreline didn't reflect the match truly, but will I complain?

Barnet: Bergwall 8, Duff 7, Jellyman 9, Arnefjord 8, Bayliss 7, Pitcher 8, Larsson 7, Sanne 6 (Porter on 19, 6), Fritzdorf 8, Blidberg 7, Huckerby 7

Burton Albion: Rose 6, KAVANAGH 9, Lewis 7, Henshaw 8, Smith 6, George 7, Blount 4, Perry 6, Bowyer 6, Anderson 7, Fenwick 5

Final Score: Barnet 3 (Pitcher 13, Blidberg 60, Fritzdorf 71) Burton Albion 1 (Anderson 7)

Attendance: 3,614

The win saw us into the hat for Round Two, where we were handed a home tie against Second Division Northampton. It'd be a good opportunity to prove our worth against a team in the Division we could be in next season, and left us 90 minutes away from mixing with the big teams once more...

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday November 24, 2001

Third Division, Game 19

Southend United vs Barnet

Roots Hall, Southend-on-Sea

Born in sunny Southend, it was a return home for me as we took on the struggling Shrimpers. Injuries to Duff, Larsson and Sanne meant starts for Stockley, Porter and Jørgensen, while Andreasson returned from injury to the first team once more.

Southend never really looked the worse side in this match - their only problem was failing to find a way to beat the in-form Bergwall and get something to cross the line between the posts. Even so, we were doing a similar thing at Andy Barnes' end of the pitch.

This one looked to be heading for a goalless draw, but we salvaged all three points late on as we finally showed our class and eventually found the net when Arnefjord scrambled in after Bayliss had nodded on Porter's cross. It was ugly and a tad lucky, but we stayed 2nd and closed the gap on Millwall back to 5 points as we near the half way point of the season.

Southend: Barnes 7, Miles 6, Searle 7, Bradshaw 7, Newman 5, Marsden 7, Hulbert 7, Walker 6 (Lee on 69, 6) Olofsson 7 (Fowler on 51, 7), Tolson 7, Kerrigan 7

Barnet: Bergwall 8, Stockley 6, Jellyman 7, ARNEFJORD 8, Bayliss 8, Jørgensen 6 (Victory on 81, 6), Porter 7, Pitcher 6, Andreasson 6 (Fritzdorf on 72, 6), Blidberg 7, Huckerby 7

Final Score: Southend 0 Barnet 1 (Arnefjord 85)

Attendance: 5,308

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">************************************************************************************************

English Third Division - Saturday 24th November 2001

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2001/2 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Millwall 19 8 1 1 17 5 5 2 2 18 13 42

2nd Barnet 19 6 1 2 24 12 6 0 4 20 19 37

3rd Plymouth 19 5 3 2 16 11 5 2 2 11 8 35

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4th Rochdale 19 7 0 2 20 14 3 4 3 9 13 34

5th Brighton 19 7 2 1 16 8 1 5 3 11 14 31

6th Hereford 19 5 2 2 13 8 4 2 4 15 16 31

7th Lincoln 19 6 2 1 14 9 3 2 5 8 11 31

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8th Torquay 19 5 1 3 17 14 5 0 5 12 17 31

9th Exeter 19 6 2 1 13 6 3 1 6 12 18 30

10th Kidderminster 19 7 2 1 12 4 1 2 6 10 18 28

11th Blackpool 19 5 2 3 11 7 2 4 3 9 9 27

12th Peterborough 19 6 1 2 20 12 2 1 7 11 18 26

13th Bournemouth 19 7 1 2 17 8 0 3 6 12 21 25

14th Hartlepool 19 4 4 2 15 8 2 2 5 11 15 24

15th Macclesfield 19 5 1 3 20 14 2 2 6 13 20 24

16th Scunthorpe 19 2 3 4 22 25 4 1 5 19 20 22

17th Bury 19 4 2 4 13 14 2 2 5 14 19 22

18th Orient 19 2 3 4 16 18 3 3 4 12 16 21

19th Hull 19 3 3 4 12 12 1 5 3 7 8 20

20th Darlington 19 3 3 3 13 12 2 2 6 14 17 20

21st Shrewsbury 19 2 5 3 13 14 3 0 6 10 12 20

22nd Carlisle 19 4 4 2 14 12 1 1 7 5 16 20

23rd Cheltenham 19 3 2 4 13 15 0 5 5 8 16 16

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

24th Southend 19 3 3 4 9 11 0 2 7 2 16 14

</pre>

[Guest]

Great stuff mate, keep up the excellent work.

[Dire Wrangle]

Cheers j4m13w - christ that's a toughie to write after a few jars

Saturday December 1, 2001

Third Division, Game 20

Barnet vs Shrewsbury Town

Underhill, London

Once more it was a seemingly easy match, against some bunch struggling down near the bottom of league. Unfortunately today's occasion wouldn't be the walkover expected of us.

Three goals in as many minutes set the match alight, as Nigel Jemson put Shrewsbury ahead, before Blidberg fired us level with a superb goal a minute later. Damn and blast though. Jemson would put the Shrews ahead again before ten minutes were on the clock.

The first half continued in rather a quiet fashion, with neither us nor the visitors creating much in the way of chances. Fortunately the second half came to life quickly, and we equalised with our first chance of that second period when Pitcher beat Tony Joyce from close range.

As the match neared it's ending we'd go behind for the third time, thanks to Richard Newton's goal, but Pitcher again equalised moments later with his 10th goal in 23 midfield appearances. Somehow, but not in a way I'll complain about, we won it late, late on when Chris Blidberg notched his 11th in 16 to steal the points in the dying seconds.

Barnet: Bergwall 5, Stockley 7, Jellyman 8, Arnefjord 6, Bayliss 6, Jørgensen 7, Porter 6, PITCHER 10, Andreasson 6 (Fritzdorf on 65, 6) Blidberg 9, Huckerby 8

Shrewsbury: Joyce 6, Whelan 6, Barras 6, Hughes 7 (N. Murray on 77, 7), Wilding 7, Marshall 7, Whittingham 4 (Tolley on 57, 7), Watts 7, Jemson 8, Freestone 5 (Newton on 71, 8), K. Murray 7

Final Score: Barnet 4 (Blidberg 8, 90, Pitcher 49, 78) Shrewsbury 3 (Jemson 7, 10, Newton 76)

Attendance: 3,728

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday December 8, 2001

FA Cup Second Round

Barnet vs Northampton Town

Underhill, London

The next junction on the road to Cardiff was here, and I naturally had the desire to carry straight on and at least equal last year's achievement of Round Three.

Northampton weren't going to be the easiest of opponents though. They found themselves in mid-table a division above us, and reached Round Four of the FA Cup last year before losing to Manchester United. I had a feeling this wouldn't be the easiest tie to negotiate our way past.

That feeling grew all the more evident when Andy Morrow gave the visiting side an early lead. Aside from this early spell of pressure though the game was more in our way, and we just needed a little bit more precision in our attacking to be able to beat the in-form Lee Baxter.

The second half began with more promise, and bringing on Jørgensen gave a few more options to a midfield struggling to control the match. The equaliser would eventually come from Pitcher, about half an hour from the end, and would have to be enough in the end. We'll now face a tough replay for a place in Round Three, where - if successful - we'll be visiting Oxford United.

Barnet: Bergwall 7, Duff 7, Jellyman 6 (Victory on 55, 6), Arnefjord 7, Bayliss 5, PITCHER 8, Porter 6 (Jørgensen on 55, 7), Sanne 8, Andreasson 7, Blidberg 7, Huckerby 7

Northampton: Baxter 8, McGowan 7, Phelan 7, Green 7, Aspin 8, Curtis 7, Dixon 8, Lee 7, Gabbiadini 7 (Morris on 72, 6), Morrow 8, Perpetuini 7 (Durkan on 61, 7)

Final Score: Barnet 1 (Pitcher 61) Northampton 1 (Morrow 11)

Attendance: 4,010

[Dire Wrangle]

Tuesday December 11, 2001

Autoglass Trophy South First Round

Barnet vs Swansea City

Underhill, London

So soon after the FA Cup match this was never going to be easy, and with that replay plus the Christmas period nearing all we needed was a busy schedule at this point of the month. This match, just to rain on my hopes of an easy schedule, would therefore last 120 minutes or so.

We took the lead twice, once in each half and both times through Chris Blidberg, and looked the stronger side at most times. But Prokas struck to equalise in the first half and Matt Bound brought the Division Two side level moments before the end.

In this competition though the match ends on the night, so we went into a period of extra time. It was under the golden goal rule, so one slip up will cost big.

Cusack was the hero of the night, landed Swansea progression in the 119th minute with a well-taken goal. Still got the FA Cup, I guess.

Barnet: Bergwall 8, Duff 8, Jellyman 7, Arnefjord 9, Bayliss 6, Pitcher 7, Porter 7, Sanne 7, Andreasson 7, BLIDBERG 9, Huckerby 7

Swansea: Hitchcock 8, Jones 7, Underwood 9, Bound 8, Dobson 8, Thomas 8, Roberts 8, Prokas 7, Goodwin 6 (Morgan on 56, 7), Mutton 6 (Cusack on 97, 8), Coates 8

Final Score: Barnet 2 (Blidberg 26, 74) Swansea 3 (Prokas 34, Bound 90, Cusack 119)

Attendance: 660

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday December 15, 2001

Third Division, Game 21

Barnet vs Plymouth Argyle

Underhill, London

Today started a run of 5 games in a fortnight leading up to the end of 2001, and with the oppoonents facing a similar task I think both of us simply took things a little easy this afternoon.

It was a perfect bore-draw. None of the attacking players particular stood out or created much resembling opportunitys, and the keepers were the best players in each team simply for keeping out the few chances that did arise.

Barnet: Bergwall 8, Duff 7, Jellyman 6, Arnefjord 8, Bayliss 7, Pitcher 6, Porter 6, Sanne 6, Andreasson 7, Blidberg 6, Huckerby 7

Plymouth: SHEFFIELD 9, Fleming 7, Amankwah 8, Glansk, Taylor, Bastow 8, McGregor 7, Black 6 (Blom on 46, 6), Rose 6 (Gritton on 63, 7), Andersson 6, Phillips 7

Final Score: Barnet 0 Plymouth 0

Attendance: 4,043

[Dire Wrangle]

Wednesday December 19, 2001

FA Cup Second Round Replay

Northampton Town vs Barnet

The Sixfields Stadium, Northampton

We knew what we had to do. Defeat was not an option. A place in the Third Round was at stake, and the match against Oxford gives us realistic hope of going further. The need for money is ever increasing here, so if nothing else a decent Cup run will help on that front.

To be honest though I wasn't riding high on a wave of confidence. We've struggled along to recent results with little passion. On top of that Northampton had the better chances from the start, and ultimately had nearly twice as many as us come the final whistle.

Today though there was only one team taking those chances; Barnet. Blidberg's opener was somewhat overdue as he'd already threatened a couple of times, but was enough to give us the half time lead and looked like being enough to win it.

It would've been, too - Northampton never troubled Niclas enough and couldn't level the tie - but we made damn sure anyway. A goal each for the two Swedes up front put the result beyond any doubt and saw us safely onto the next corner along the road to Cardiff...

Northampton: Baxter 6, McGowan 8, Phelan 6, Aspin 9, Green 7, Lee 6 (Wallace on 63, 6), Dixon 7, Curtis 8, Gabbiadini 6 (Thompson on 57, 7), Morrow 6, Durkan 7

Barnet: Bergwall 8, Duff 7, Jellyman 7, Arnefjord 7, Bayliss 7, Pitcher 8, Porter 7, Sanne 7, Andreasson 7, BLIDBERG 9, Huckerby 7

Final Score: Northampton 0 Barnet 3 (Blidberg 24, 71, Andreasson 76)

Attendance: 4,603

[Dire Wrangle]

Saturday December 22, 2001

Third Division, Game 22

Barnet vs Hereford United

Underhill, London

The final match before Christmas could ensure us of a merry break. Of course few of us had much in the way of plans, having the responsibility of return to work on Boxing Day at Macclesfield.

Early on we created more, but Andreasson struggled to convert anything and hit a couple of efforts harmlessly wide of Scott Cooksey's goal. This allowed Hereford to slowly find their pace, and they took the lead when skipper Phil Robinson struck from close range to end Bergwall's run of about 150 minutes without conceding.

At half time we were behind but somewhat undeservedly, as we had the better of those first 45 minutes. Finally we made the pressure count when Scott Huckerby levelled just short of the hour mark. It could swing either way now and it was looking like one good break would be the decider. It was, and it was ours when Blidberg added another to his superb tally to wrap up our 14th win of the season and send us into the festive season just 5 points shy of Millwall.

Barnet: Bergwall 8, Duff 8, Jellyman 8, Arnefjord 9, Bayliss 6, Pitcher 7, Larsson 7, Sanne 8, Andreasson 7, Blidberg 7, HUCKERBY 9

Hereford: Cooksey 6, Porter 6, James 7, Warner 7, Wright 6 (Bayliss on 62, 6), Robinson 8, Bolder 7, McIndoe 5 (Langley on 50, 6), Moran 7, Piearce 7, Parry 7

Final Score: Barnet 2 (Huckerby 57, Blidberg 64) Hereford 1 (Robinson 29)

Attendance: 3,768

[Dire Wrangle]

Wednesday December 26, 2001

Third Division, Game 23

Macclesfield Town vs Barnet

The Moss Rose Ground, Macclesfield

The busy last few weeks finally began to kick in. That, or we all had a dodgy turkey yesterday. Either way, we never looked on form here and were very lucky to go ahead through Daniel Arnefjord's goal.

It wouldn't last though, as Glover levelled the match midway through the second half. A couple of subs came on but didn't have the time to give us the extra options we craved, and we eventually went down to Darren Armstrong's late winner.

Macclesfield: Almeida 8, Abbey 7, ADAMS 8, Lomax 6, Came 5 (Tierney on 61, 6), Jones 8, Hill 6 (Pepper on 87, 6), Gibson 8, Whitehead 6 (Armstrong on 61, 7), Glover 8, Owers 8

Barnet: Bergwall 7, Duff 7, Jellyman 8, Arnefjord 7, Bayliss 7, Pitcher 7, Larsson 6, Sanne 5 (Porter on 73, 6), Andreasson 7, Blidberg 6 (Fritzdorf on 81, 6), Huckerby 6

Final Score: Macclesfield 2 (Glover 67, Armstrong 81) Barnet 1 (Arnefjord 41)

Attendance: 2,052