Preview: Can Barnet win the National League title? – Opinion

I’ll be taking an in-depth look at each side’s previous season, their summer recruitment, a standout player to watch and where I think they should be aiming this season.

Next up is Dean Brennan’s Barnet…

How did Barnet do last season?

The Bees went toe-to-toe with league champions Chesterfield for most of the 2023/24 campaign but fell short towards the end and suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat at home to Solihull Moors in the play-off semi-finals of the leaving their hard-earned efforts in pieces.

Backed by the attacking talent of Nicke Kabamba, Zak Brunt and Callum Stead, the Bees scored 91 goals in the league, winning 26 of their 46 matches and had one of the best defenses in the entire division.

Unfortunately for Barnet, the club suffered a mixture of consistency issues in November 2023, winning just one of their eight games in all competitions, before suffering a shorter but similar spell in February 2024.

Of his 91 league goals, 33 of them involved Nicke Kabamba, which could be an area he continues to exploit next season.

In terms of results, Barnet had the second-best home record in the National League last season, but were seventh in the away table.

Summer transfer activity so far:

After the heavy defeat against Solihull Moors, Barnet wasted no time in starting preparations for the 2024/25 campaign, saying goodbye to Courtney Senior and Gary Hooper, while loanees such as Gatlin O’Donkor and Anthony Hartigan ( more about him soon) have returned to their parent clubs.

Midfielder Dale Gorman also turned down a new contract to leave the club, but Jerome Okimo and Ben Coker secured new deals as their initial preparations continued.

Popular defender Dan Collinge is also still in the building, much to my surprise, given that I would have expected an EFL side to have landed the defender by now.

However, the Bees have been extremely active at the other end of proceedings, using the revenue generated from the sales of former players Ronnie Edwards and Ephron Mason-Clark to continue their push for the National League title.

Picking just a few of their signings, Ebbsfleet duo Billy Clifford and Myles Kenlock, Dagenham’s Nik Tavares, Solihull loanee Nick Hayes and popular loanee Anthony Hartigan were among those to make permanent moves to the club, with Hartigan rejecting offers from the EFL – which in itself is a major statement of intent in my opinion.

The remaining signatures are; Rhys Brown (Woking), Jermaine Francis (Chelmsford City), Joe Greenwood (Braintree), Finley Wilkinson (Hitchin Town), Joe Kizzi (Sutton United), Joe Rye (Worthing) and Mark Shelton (Oldham Athletic).

The verdict so far: Barnet have undoubtedly made some truly outstanding signings this summer, from talented bottom six players to proven EFL players such as Hartigan himself.

Their current squad has improved in quality, which is a scary prospect for the rest of the division when you consider that their previous team finished second in the division.

The only risk I see is that a few of their signings are unproven at the National League level and while they could excel, they could struggle and adjust. Similarly, some of the signings (i.e. Browne) have a poor injury record, which is also a risk.

However, there’s no denying that every single signing – coupled with the rest of last season’s squad makes Barnet the strongest side in the league on paper.

Pre-season 2024:

Dean Brennan’s side have had three pre-season games so far, including one against EFL opposition, and have managed to maintain a 100% record so far, scoring seven goals and keeping a clean sheet.

Barnet opened with a 3-1 win against Hitchin Town and beat Chesham United 2-0, but their standout result so far saw them beat League Two side MK Dons 2-1.

The Bees have four pre-season games remaining, with only one of them coming against EFL opposition.

Their remaining fixings are as follows; Hemel Hempstead (July 20), Chelmsford City (July 22), Hornchurch (July 27) and AFC Wimbledon (August 3).

Verdict: As we know, pre-season results mean nothing, but there are certainly plenty of positives for the Bees to take from their first three pre-season games – especially the win against MK Dons.

Finley Wilkinson has been a standout for me so far this month and it certainly increases the likelihood that he will start straight away in the Bees’ season opener next month.

The Bees look full of confidence, showing they have already put the defeat against Solihull behind them.

Star Player:

To be honest, it’s difficult to pick just one star player from Barnet’s side for the new season, but the name I’ve picked is midfielder Zak Brunt.

The 22-year-old joined the Bees following his departure from Sheffield United last summer in a move I was delighted to see. So you can imagine how good it is to see the midfielder prove himself in the National League last season.

Brunt contributed 15 goals in 45 league outings last season, or one in three games. He also averaged 1.1 key passes, 1.6 successful dribbles and 4.5 face-offs per 90 minutes for Barnet last season.

Even though I have some exciting new arrivals and a host of talented individuals, I think Zak Brunt will be at the heart of almost everything Barnet do next season and is certainly one to keep a close eye on.

What do Barnet fans think of their teams chances this season?

While I may be full of praise for the Bees heading into the new season, I decided to speak to Barnet fan and fellow The Sports Deck writer Chris Rutt, who spoke about how he thinks his team will fare in this season and stated…

“I think we’ve got a really good squad, keeping a lot of core players as well as some great additions like Reece Browne and Finlay Wilkinson who look like really good signings.

“With us finishing second last season, I feel this year with a better team we will go all the way and become the first team to win four conference league titles.”

Where do I think Barnet will finish?

It’s no secret that I feel Barnet will be one of the teams to beat in the National League this season, evident by their strong squad, new arrivals and newfound income streams thanks to sell-on clauses on their former players. .

Despite their new additions, there are factors Dean Brennan’s team will need to address/learn from in the coming months. For example, their away record needs to improve on last season if they are to have a chance of winning the league title, while the more experienced members of the squad need to step up and support the younger talent.

However, I think Dean Brennan’s side will be aiming for the league title this season without a doubt in my mind.

The Bees have a very strong squad, a good manager and the finances to try and take the division by storm this season.

Over the past two seasons, the National League has been dominated by ‘big spenders’ such as Wrexham, Notts County and Chesterfield – but there is a gap for a current fifth-placed team to do that this season and I certainly think Barnet will be. That part.

Barnet fans, where do you think you will finish this season?