Barnet started off the 1925-26 season in a dynamic way, trouncing Hertford Town 11-0 in the semi final of the Herts Charity Cup with George Sparrow scoring five; Les Sutton and new winger C Toby signed from Polytechnic both scoring twice. Sparrow was the subject of a number of offers from professional clubs but he chose to remain at Barnet.
Sparrow scored twice in the opening Athenian League match of the season as Barnet won 6-3 against Summerstown. The Barnet line up was; B Laker, Hughes, Fletcher, Young, G Hart, Meadows, Deeks, Sutton, Sparrow, Rogers, Toby. Hart, a summer signing from TufnellPark, scored on his debut and there was a first performance from Laker, signed from Bostall Heath. Taffy O’Callaghan had returned to Tottenham after his spell at Underhill on loan and the task of scoring goals was left with Sparrow and A Rogers.
Unusually for the period, Barnet started the season with a number of Athenian League games, but Barnet fared poorly in the next three matches, taking just one point. However, a 5-1 home win over Hampstead, revenge for a 2-0 defeat a couple of weeks earlier, gave them a lift and took the club up to 5th in the table. Sparrow scored another two goals. A narrow 3-2 defeat at Kingstonian followed before two successive wins, a 5-1 defeat of Sutton United with 2 goals each for George Meadows and W E Harris, a new signing from Hampstead Town, and a 2-0 away win at Summerstown, completing a league double with goals from Rogers and Sparrow. The wins took Barnet up to 3rd in the table with 9 points from 8 matches, only behind Barking and Hampstead.
Meanwhile, Barnet progressed in the Middlesex Charity Cup winning 3-2 at close rivals, Enfield with goals from Sparrow, Toby and Arthur Snaith who was making his first appearance for Barnet but who was to prove a Barnet stalwart in years to come. It was an eventful debut for Snaith who not only scored but had a perfectly good goal not given when his shot broke the netting on entering the net, but Enfield players convinced the referee that the ball had gone through the side of the net and so the goal was not allowed.
Barnet entered the FA Cup at the 4th qualifying stage and were drawn to play away at fellow Athenian League club, Redhill, the game ending in a 2-2 draw, Toby and Sparrow scoring. In the replay at Underhill, Barnet won through to the 1st round proper, winning 3-2 with two more goals for Sparrow and one from Les Sutton.
Before the FA Cup match, Barnet beat Redhill at Underhill again, this time in the Athenian League, winning 2-0 with Sparrow and Snaith scoing. The win confirmed Barnet in 3rd place with 11 points from 9 matches behind new leaders, Hampstead and Kingstonian.
In the FA Cup 1st round, Barnet were drawn away at Brentford who played in the 3rd Division south of the Football League. It was always unlikely that Barnet would win through to the next round and Brentford ran out 3-1 winners with Barnet’s goal coming through a Donnelly own goal. The Daily Mail said of Barnet’s performance, “Barnet played a splendid game and though beaten in the manner of goals they more than held their own in midfield……Barnet finished poorly, and this failing and good goalkeeping by Thomson (Brentford’s goalkeeper) lost them the match. The outstanding Barnet players were Burr, Sparrow and Sutton.” The Barnet side was; Burr, Fletcher, Garrett, Sutton, Hughes, Meadows, Deeks, Snaith, Sparrow, Rogers, Toby.
Barnet finished off 1925 with four Athenian League matches, taking just three points and winning just once, a 6-1 home win over Cheshunt, Rogers and Sparrow scoring twice. Barnet threw away a point in their game with Uxbridge which ended 4-4 after Barnet had lead 4-0. Following a 3-2 defeat at Redhill, Barnet ended 1925 in 6th place in the league with 14 points from 13 matches.
1926 started off in disappointing fashion with Barnet going out of the FA Amateur Cup in the 1st round, losing 5-3 to HampsteadTown at Underhill. George Deeks scored twice and Sparrow one, while Fletcher missed a penalty.
However, things soon brightened up for Barnet as they turned their attentions to the London Senior Cup. Faced with what seemed a very difficult draw away in the 1st round at Isthmian League, Wimbledon, Barnet gained a very fine 3-3 draw with Harris scoring twice and Deeks once and then won the replay, at Underhill, 3-1 with goals from Deeks, Rogers and Sparrow.
The same players were on target again in the 2nd round match at home to another Isthmian league club, Dulwich Hamlet as Barnet won 3-2.
Barnet also progressed in the Middlesex Senior Cup, thrashing London league side, STD 7-0 at Underhill in the 1st round, Sparrow grabbing a hat trick and Harris scoring twice. In the 2nd round, Barnet were drawn at home against Hampstead and gained some revenge for the Amateur Cup defeat, winning 4-3 at Underhill, Toby scoring twice.
In between their cup exploits, Barnet’s form improved in the league with a 4-0 away win at struggling, Sutton, new winger, Bryett scoring twice. Making his debut was another youngster on loan from Tottenham, half back, R Casey. Barnet also won 3-1 at West Norwood, Sparrow scoring twice before winning 3-2 away at league leaders, Kingstonian, Sparrow scoring twice. Sparrow also scored twice at home to Barking the following Saturday, but Barnet lost 4-2 leaving them in 4th place with 20 points from 17 games. However, Barnet had played more games than most of the teams challenging for the title.
Kingstonian gained their revenge with a 2-1 win over Barnet in the semi final of the London senior Cup played at Plough Lane, Wimbledon’s ground. Sparrow scored for Barnet and Toby missed an open goal late in the match which cost Barnet the chance of reaching the final.
A fortnight later, Barnet reached the final of the Middlesex Senior Cup, defeating Isthmian League, TufnellPark 3-1 with Sparrow scoring twice but missing a penalty which would have given him a hat trick. Barnet were to play Botwell Mission who had beaten Enfield in their semi final.
Barnet completed a league double over West Norwood, winning 1-0 but then lost surprisingly at Cheshunt, going down 4-1 and then drew 2-2 at home to Enfield, Sparrow scoring twice, before the club embarked on an Easter tour in Holland.
Eight teams were invited to play in the knock out tournament, g from the Netherlands, one from Belgium and Barnet. In the 1st round, Barnet defeated Feijenoord of the Dutch league, considered to be the best team in Holland, 5-2 with two goals from Sparrow and one apiece from Deeks, Sutton and J Purrett, a recent signing. Sparrow scored the only goal of the game in the semi final against UVV Utrecht and, in the final, Barnet met another Dutch club, ODS. Barnet won convincingly, running out 6-0 winners with two goals from Snaith and one each for Purrott, Sparrow, Deeks and Freddie Garrett. The Barnet team in the final was; C Hemmings, Fletcher, Garrett, casey, Hughes, Meadows, Deeks, Snaith, Sparrow, Sutton, Purrett. This was also the team that played in the two other games as well.
Barnet returned to England for league action but lost 4-2 at Windsor & Eton away before a much improved performance saw them defeat the same side 5-1 at Underhill, Sparrow grabbing a hat trick. Barnet won just one of their last four Athenian League matches, wining 8-3 at home to Bromley as they finished the season in 6th place again. The poor finish to the season cost them the chance of finishing as high as fourth.
Disappointment was also to come in the two cup competitions in which they had reached the final. First, they went down 1-0 at HampsteadTown in the final of the Middlesex Charity Cup and then lost 2-1 at GriffinPark to Botwell Mission in the final of the Middlesex Senior Cup. George Sparrow scored Barnet’s goal and the team was; Burr, Fletcher, Garrett, Casey, Hughes, Meadows, Deeks, Snaith, Sparrow, Rogers, Sutton.
Barnet had come close to winning the two area senior cups and should have finished higher than 6th in the league, but they did, at least, have the consolation of winning the tournament at Easter in Holland.
George Sparrow was once again Barnet’s leading scorer for the season with 48 goals, a new club record beating his own record set two seasons previously of 46 goals. A Rogers weighed in with 19 goals and W Harris scored 10.