Building for next year

Last updated : 21 May 2007 By Gary Moss

Final Position: 14

Top Goalscorer: Tresor Kandol and Adam Birchall (6 league gaols)

Player of the Season: Jason Puncheon

Puncheon, mainly a wide man can play across the whole of the midfield and is often at the centre of all the Bees creation.

Puncheon...creative force

He picks up the ball and isn't afraid to run at people to make things happen.

Away from home in particular, Barnet like to play on the break and it is through this man they often sweep quickly up field.

The 20-year-old is one of the division's brightest attacking lights and has six goals to his name in all competitions including a wonderful strike against Colchester that led the team to a first ever FA Cup fourth round match.

His pace and power make him difficult to mark. He should get better and better and will one day play at a high level.

Against Notts: County haven't really seen the best of Barnet this season as they took four points from the side that finished just three points below them in the league.

Notts recovered from two down at Underhill to claim a 3-2 win over Fairclough's side.

Ian Hendon converted his spot-kick mid-way through the first half to put Notts behind and just minutes later Puncheon was on hand to double the Bees advantage.

Two minutes later and the comeback was on. Alan White and Andy Parkinson netted in quick succession to leave honours even at the interval.

A second half winner from front man Jason Lee sealed the points for the Magpies as they extended their unbeaten run to three games.

Later in the season at Meadow Lane, it looked as if Lawrie Dudfield's 17th minute penalty would be enough to separate the two sides.

But Barnet's Nicky Bailey struck sixteen minutes from time to claim a share of the spoils.

In a fairly even contest, County would have hoped for more as the draw meant Notts had just one win in their previous six home matches.

Defining Moment: It was Barnet who put an end to Hartlepool's amazing run of twenty-three games without defeat.

Jason Puncheon and Adam Birchall scored the crucial goals to help the Bees to a famous 2-1 win over Danny Wilson's men.

Underhill was also where Stockport's run of nine consecutive clean sheet wins came to an end.

Barnet came from behind to take a 3-1 scalp of the Hatters.

These impressive results put Barnet on the map and showed they were certainly no pushovers.

Highlight: Barnet made club history when they advanced to the fourth round of this year's FA Cup.

Wins over League One's Northampton Town and Championship outfit Colchester United earned them a fourth round tie with Ian Holloway's Plymouth Argyle.

A solo effort from Chelsea's on-loan youngster Scott Sinclair proved the winner as they lost out 2-0 at Underhill.

It was the first time the club has ever made it past the third round and proves what progress is being made by the North Londoners.

Lowlight: Barnet have this year shown they can be quite a force but at the same time they have a tendency to let games slip from their grasp.

The Bees have been comfortably beaten 5-0 by both Lincoln and Grimsby this season and it is these moments that make up Barnet's season lowlights.

In their penultimate away game of the season, teenage Mariner Danny North grabbed a hat-trick at Blundell Park to condemn Barnet to an end of season drubbing.

Earlier in the campaign, Lincoln's Jamie Forrester netted three at Underhill in another humiliating hammering for the Bees.

They were also at the wrong end of a 4-1 scoreline at Walsall as the Saddlers cruised to an easy victory over Fairclough's men.

Such is the youth of the Barnet squad, they tend to go all out for goals as soon as they fall behind in a match leaving themselves exposed at the back.

It has been their downfall on more than one occasion.

The Mad Verdict: Barnet will be disappointed to only finish fourteenth in the table for the talent in their squad.

Despite three drubbings this season they are a fairly tough side to play who set up with two strong banks of four and look to play on the counter attack.

Yakubu... defensive force
Ismail Yakubu has been a rock at centre-back this season. His pace, strength and power in the air as well as his ability to play the ball from the back make him one of the leagues best in the business.

Going forward they have a number of gifted players in the likes of Puncheon, Birchall and Sinclair.

But, on too many occasions it has been their tactics that have let them down.

Fairclough has done a good job at Underhill assembling a neat squad who can play football but they do have the tendency to set up too deep on their travels and commit too much in crucial periods of winnable games.

Other than that, Barnet have really made a name for themselves this season and with a summer to tinker with the squad they could be in line for a top half finish next year.

At home they have lost just six games and are always capable of a result on their own patch.

It is their away form that has stopped them pushing up the pack in this campaign.

Just four wins away all year suggests they are doing something wrong and I'm sure over the close season boss Fairclough will work hard to resolve this.

On a fairly low budget and poor attendances, the club have done well to get them where they are.

What's Next? Fairclough has already said that he expects a lot more from his talented squad next season.

The Bees may be a small club still trying to find their feet in the Football League but the ambitious chief at Underhill reflects that this season was a massive under-achievement.

Barnet have a cluster of very good footballers and on their day have shown that they can be more than a match for any of the top sides in this division but next season

Fairclough expects a mature and consistent level of play from his players.

He has emphasised the need for his side to grind out results rather than attempting a quick fix as soon as they fall behind.

The boss has begun his summer clear out releasing ten senior players. With the squad looking severely thin, Fairclough is expected to bring in a whole host of new players over the coming weeks to prepare for what he hopes will be a much improved campaign next time around.

Most notably, the club has said goodbye to Mango Viera, Barry Cogan and Nicky Nicolau who have scored some vital goals for the Bees this year.