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Breaking Point?
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By:
Max Bygraves
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02/02/2022
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This article has been viewed 1666 times.
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This is not going to be an article with any attempt at exploring the story that broke in the Daily Mirror yesterday evening. It’s not our place to comment until facts have been established. It goes without saying that any form of racism is completely unacceptable and anyone making a stand against such discrimination in their work place deserves full backing.
What’s certainly evident is that this is a PR disaster for the football club, highlighted by several high-profile figures on social media.
After Saturday’s game, I had considered penning something along the lines of asking what is the breaking point for those who have remarkably stayed so loyal through the tumultuous time at The Hive, in particular during the last few years. A second 0-5 at home this season, relentless mockery of the home support online by a club we used to compete with and another season staring into lower Conference murkiness. Then, this.
It was interesting listening to the Beespod Twitter Space last night ‘WTF is going on at Barnet?’ and hearing the views of a wide range of supporters. The feeling was fairly consistent and it made me wonder if this one will finally be the straw that breaks the collective camel’s back.
It would have been nice to have accepted the offer of contributing to the discussion, but I was listening on my AirPods in a pitch black room, walking up and down whilst trying to rock my 4 week old son to sleep - so a listening role was all I was able to do! Appreciated the invite, though. Thought the format worked very well.
One contributor gave an impassioned rant about how the club is dying, feels all but finished and alluded to how much better the times were at Underhill. Not long after the move in 2013, this was someone (amongst a few, I was an angry young man at the time!) who I exchanged some heated words with via social media, due to our opposing views on the move. We have long since buried the hatchet and I hold no animosity - but it’s interesting to hear a previous big proponent of the move and direction the club chose now speaking in this way. And he is one of many. So what now?
Lots of us have voted with our feet and continue to do so. As we discussed on the final podcast however, we’ve come to appreciate that for some this has never felt like an option - and respect to those of you for that. But for how much longer will those of you still attending regularly sit in apathy and allow the club to continue to be run in this way? When does it all get too much?
Will the next home game see some sort of protest? Will fans in attendance make their views clear? How tenable the chairman’s current position is feels rather aligned to the current issues in Downing Street. It’s time for Barnet fans to show a full vote of no confidence and make it clear that enough is enough. His and the club’s reputation is in tatters and it simply isn’t realistic that we can move forward under his stewardship in any credible way. Bridges are burned and worn out.
Those who’ve stuck with the club in Harrow have in some instances perhaps felt resentment towards those of us who’ve vocalised our displeasure at it all. On the flip side, those of us who called this all out as a bad idea nearly a decade ago have in some cases been made to feel ostracised and been heavily criticised by the ‘other side’ at points, too. The point now is that perhaps in the most miserable of circumstances, it’s finally time for the fan base to come together, put that aside and make feelings clear about what we want the future of the football club to be. Indeed, that we still want a Barnet Football Club.
The current version of what Barnet Football Club is really is a sorry state. Whatever proves true or not of this media story, the place is rotten to the core either way. The culture that’s been allowed to develop over the past few years is perhaps no better highlighted than in some of our fans’ reactions on social media week to week. Seemingly a lot of the most reasonable types go from, “Love this team! Brennan is the man,” to “he’s got no idea and they’re not trying,” in a matter of weeks. He gave an interview to Beespod last week saying how he wants to build something long term. He may not be doing well at the moment, but what do people think will come from yet another change at the helm? This stems from the way the club is run. Fans are becoming used to this awful disposable, instant culture and it’s yet another stain on the bleak new identity that post 2013 Barnet has.
It’s time for a huge change at the club. The heart and soul went long ago but the limp corpse of Barnet FC may yet be salvageable. If he wants to keep The Hive, it’s gym and wedding suite, what does the club really lose, in terms of what’s truly important? What do you get from those things as a supporter?
The promise was that the additional revenue would mean more investment in the team. Despite these facilities, we’re seemingly accepting of being now one of the smaller fish in the Conference pond. What is there to feel optimistic about in either the short or medium term?
Of course, a mythical wealthy backer (what’s Steve Pankhurst up to these days?) would be the quick way out of it, but that’s about as likely as the Hive move ever being temporary was. More realistically, the chairman should hand the club over to the supporters (keep The Hive) and then we do whatever it takes to get us playing as close to home again, in the Borough of Barnet.
There’s been talk before of a phoenix club of some sort, but that would only divide a dwindling support even further. It shouldn’t have to come to that. One man shouldn’t be the reason for having to take such a drastic measure. We don’t want to replicate the scenario our former neighbours Enfield have been through.
Barnet, potentially a little further down the non league pyramid, temporarily sharing at Wingate & Finchley, Hadley or Cockfosters would all feel a lot more ‘our’ club than the current mess and incarnation. It would be a chance to start over, bring everyone back together and erase the horrors of Harrow as much as possible. The buzz would be back.
Surely a united Barnet fan base, back in the Borough, albeit perhaps not at such a good level (but maybe winning a few games at least) would be a lot more enjoyable than what you’ve got to look forward to when currently visiting The Hive and probably what you would for the next few years, too. With a vision to get back home, no longer spearheaded by the same problematic leader with no interest in the heart or spirit of Barnet FC.
Please don’t let yourselves get fobbed off with another drinks offer in The Hive bar and a load of #LetsBeeTogether nonsense from the club after a flukey win against a better side in the next few weeks. Simply, it’s too late. It’s high time the apathy stopped and genuine effort is made to get the club back to those it belongs to. Make it clear how you feel. Enough is enough.
It’s time for a total reset. Together.
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