Barnet's 2-0 defeat last Friday at Dagenham & Redbridge was a very disappointing result for the Bees' fans after the two wins against
Two of the most common threads on the messageboard recently have been a change in manager and the seeming reluctance by Fairclough (and Kleanthous) to spend money on the team. Certainly it is a fact that very little money appears to have been spent on players since the club was promoted back to the league in 2005.
On our return to the league there was not a lot of initial team strengthening by Fairclough. Fans were told that all the available money for players had been spent on new contracts for the players who had won Barnet the Conference the previous season. A money spinning trip to Manchester United in the Carling Cup brought in extra revenue and in the New Year, Tresor Kandol was signed for £50,000 from Dagenham & Redbridge to score goals for the side. Barnet managed at least to stay up though it went to the wire.
The next season, 2006/07, the only money spent in transfer fees was a token fee for Barry Cogan from Millwall but the club cashed in with big money transfers for Kandol (to Leeds), Simon King (to Gillingham), Nicky Bailey (Southend) and Dean Sinclair (Charlton). All in all the club was paid a good £750,000 in transfer fees. The club finished 14th and Paul Fairclough must have seemed, to Kleanthous, to be someone who could unearth a steady supply of players for nothing, or next to nothing, who could be then sold on at a later date for big profits which could keep the club out of the red. Another potential money spinner had been found too in the talented Jason Puncheon.
At the start of last season, Barnet's new look side of players mainly brought in from the lower leagues appeared to many fans as being highly unlikely to succeed. Indeed there were some who thought that the club would drop back to the Conference. Against the odds though, the club improved again on its league position from the previous season, finishing in 12th place. Fairclough had unearthed another star in Albert Adomah signed for next to nothing from Ryman League club, Harrow Borough. Adomah was one of three players who that season who cost a fee, the others being Cliff Akurang, from Histon and Max Porter from Bishops Stortford. However, they were all signed for very low fees, while the club got another £400,000 for the transfers of Liam Hatch, to
Barnet had made a profit of over £1m in 18 months, yet the fans had seen little of this money invested in the team. And yet the club's position was improving. With mainly clubs getting themselves into financial trouble because of big squads and large salaries to players, Kleanthous must have been impressed by Paul Fairclough's seeming ability to build a slow but steady base of success on the cheap. So much so that the club was talking now about the big push for promotion this season.
The large deduction of points suffered by League two rivals, Rotherham, Bournemouth and
This season though has not proved a success with the club only taking 1 point out of their first 7 games and the squad appearing to lack much real quality or substance. Five players are also now out on loan or soon to be leaving a small squad with hardly any defenders.
Kleanthous may now have begun to see that perhaps there was a limit to how far a club could go on the cheap as attendances dwindle and the confidence within the club appears to be low. Many fans would agree with the club making sure that the finances were sound and that the club did not suffer as many of those around them did. And, of course there has been the new stand and the new development at
Kleanthous has said previously how "the lights went out for him" when the club was relegated to the Conference in 2001. If there is not going to be a repeat of this come May 2009 then action needs to be taken now surely. Either he gets in a new manager and supports him by making more money available to spend on the team or he and Fairclough must begin to start investing in the team NOW.