Jaybee's weekly chat

Barnet's recent matches against Exeter City and Shrewsbury Town bring to mind Barnet's last spell in the Nationwide Conference when the Shrews and the Grecians were rivals in the bid for promotion back to the league. On looking into the recent history of the Conference it was interesting to note that since 2003, none of the teams that have been promoted from the Conference have since lost their place in the league.

In 2003, Yeovil and Doncaster were the teams that came up. Yeovil are now in League One, while Doncaster now play in the Championship. In 2004, Chester and Shrewsbury came up and they are both still in League Two. In 2005, our own Bees and Carlisle were promoted and Carlisle are now a League One side. In 2006, Accrington and Hereford were promoted and Hereford are in league One while the Accies remain in League Two. In 2007, it was the turn of Dagenham & Redbridge and Morecambe who both remain in League Two and last season, Aldershot and Exeter City came up. The last team to be promoted to the Conference and then, subsequently, to lose their league status were Boston United who were promoted in 2002 and relegated in 2007.

The season that Barnet made the play-offs, 2003/04, saw a late scramble for places in the play-off mix. If you look at the final table for that season, you can see that all the clubs that finished in the top seven that season are now playing league football. Accrington, who finished 10^th and Dagenham & Redbridge, who finished 13^th, have since also been promoted. This has meant that the current League Two table has begun to look a little like the Conference table used to look.

On the other hand, the Blue Square Premier is beginning to look a little like a home for old league sides. While, in the past, teams like Exeter, Carlisle, Shrewsbury, Chester and, yes, Barnet have all managed to reclaim their league status following relegation, the last few seasons have seen the relegated sides languishing in the Conference or, in the case of Boston, worse. The last side to be promoted back to the league following relegation were Carlisle United in 2005. The club that came down with them, York City, remain in the Conference as do Kidderminster, Cambridge United, Rushden & Diamonds, Oxford United and Torquay. Boston play in the Unibond League. They are currently 16^th. It remains to be seen as to whether or not the two clubs relegated last season, Wrexham and Mansfield, will be promoted back to the league this season. Wrexham are doing quite well, currently lying 8^th in the table, but Mansfield are 18^th, just 1 point above the drop zone.

On Saturday, we travel to Bradford City. City's recent history is another example of how things change in football. The first time Barnet met the Bantams in a competitive match was in 1993-94 when Barnet played their only season in the third tier of league football. The Bantams then went on to play in the Premiership while Barnet were relegated to the Conference in 2001. That year, Bradford City were relegated from the Premiership. By the time the two clubs met again, last season, they were once again playing for league points, in League Two.