Barnet entertain Macclesfield Town tomorrow afternoon knowing that they desperately need to start winning in order to climb away from the bottom of the table. The Bees remain still badly hit by injuries with centre backs, Grant Basey, Dominic Leach and Darren Dennehy all still injured and strikers, Charlie Taylor, Danny Kelly, Steve Kabba and Izale McLeod all missing tomorrow’s game as well.
There is some good news on the injuries front. Anwar Uddin, who earlier this week lost the captaincy to Glen Southam, is fit after suffering a thigh strain at Stockport and midfield players, Glenn Poole and Rossi Jarvis are back in contention for places.
It very much looked like Stimson would have to choose from a much depleted choice of strikers, as was the case at Stockport, until the surprise news of today’s loan signing of the much travelled and highly experienced Luton Town striker, Kevin Gallen. (See article on Gallen’s arrival on Barnet Mad website.)
The arrival of Gallen gives the Bees a boost in the absence of four strikers including Steve Kabba and Izale McLeod and should enable Stimson to go for a much more balanced side tomorrow. Hopefully, Stimson will continue with a stronger midfield, as at Stockport. Norwich loanee, George Francomb could move back to right back with Joe Devera either dropping to the bench, or more preferably, partnering Clovis Kamdjo in the centre of the defence.
Stimson is likely to keep the three central midfield players in midfield with Mark Hughes (or possibly Jarvis), joining regulars Mark Byrne and new captain, Southam with Mark Marshall playing wide. However, as it is a home match he may opt to go for just Byrne and Southam in the middle and play Marshall and the fit again, Glenn Poole out wide with a front two of Gallen and either Ricky Holmes or Mauro Vilhete.
Tomorrow’s line could look something like this:
Cole
Francomb Uddin Kamdjo Parkes
Hughes Byrne Southam Marshall
Gallen Vilhete
Visitors Macclesfield are 13th in the table, 6 points above Barnet in the table after their fan comeback last Saturday where they won 3-2 over Oxford United after being 2-0 down at half time. Barnet have lost both of the last two meetings with the Silkmen at Underhill and have not beaten Macclesfield since January 2007 when Adam Birchall scored the only goal of the match at Underhill.
It is imperative that the Bees get some sort of result tomorrow and they will need o be less naïve than they were in the last home game against Bradford City and to start converting some of the many chances that come their way. It’s not as if the football has been that bad; some of the play has been very entreating, certainly much more so than last season, but mistakes at both ends have been costing the Bees in recent weeks and if that doesn’t stop the club faces a return to non-league football next May.
This is a great shame as it’s not as if the club doesn’t have the players but so many of them are in the treatment room. Dennehy, Leach and Basey are all very capable centre backs and the prospect of Kabba and McLeod up front is an exciting one and now there is Gallen too arriving to give experience to the side. Stimson has been very, very unlucky with injuries but things have to go on and the club and the fans need to see a win tomorrow. Anything less will be worrying.