Barnet Odds

Barnet Odds

As with every football club currently playing professional football in England’s top four divisions, Barnet odds have increased in popularity in betting circles over recent years. Currently playing in League Two, Barnet betting odds can be difficult to judge because of the division’s well deserved reputation for being an unpredictable league. Teams challenging to get promoted one season can be struggling against relegation the next and as such Barnet relegation odds can be just as commonly bet on as odds on Barnet to get promoted.

In huge clashes, like a playoff match or a game against local rivals in a cup competition, Barnet odds can be part of a bookmaker promotion. As an example, odds on Barnet v Leyton Orient can be offered as enhanced odds, increasing the profits a bettor can make. Coral are one such bookmaker who offer enhanced odds on a regular basis.

There are a huge range of odds available on the possible events during the matches Barnet play, but many bookmakers also offer odds on what happens behind the scenes. Barnet manager odds or Barnet transfer odds are particularly popular, increasing the opportunities to make profits when betting on football.

History

Barnet FC are a professional football club located in Edgware in North West London. Having only joined the Football League in 1991, the club have never played in the top two divisions of English football. Barnet Football Club currently play in England’s fourth tier, League Two.

The history of Barnet Football Club begins in 1888. Barnet FC were formed after previously being known as Woodville Football Club and New Barnet Football Club. The club became a founder member of the North London League, before moving to the North Middlesex League. The club earned promotion from the North Middlesex Second Division to the First Division, and a season later won the North Middlesex League Premier Division, where Barnet won the league title.

Barnet were then promoted to the London League Second Division, becoming champions of that division in the 1896/1897. However, this was the last success the club achieved, and Barnet FC disbanded during the 1901/1902 season.

Another incarnation of Barnet FC was formed in 1904. Barnet Avenue FC, who were formed in 1890, renamed the club as Barnet FC and joined the Amateur Football Association. The third incarnation of Barnet FC occurred shortly afterwards. Alston Works AFC, who were later renamed as Barnet Alston FC, were founded in 1901. This club merged with Barnet Avenue in 1912 and this merged side was known as Barnet and Alston FC. In 1919, this side became known as Barnet FC, and is the side we know today.

The club had become founder members of the Athenian League in 1912, and remained in this amateur division until 1965. The 1930/1931 season saw Barnet win their first Athenian League title, which the club followed up with another title in the season after.

The competitive football schedule was suspended for the duration of the Second World War, and when the football calendar resumed, Barnet continued to be successful. Winning the Athenian League title twice more, the club also found success in cup competitions. Barnet Football Club won the FA Amateur Cup with a 3-2 victory over Bishop Auckland, and followed this up with the London Senior Cup.

Barnet won another Athenian League title in the 1958/1959 campaign, and after four top three finishes, the club won the league title twice in consecutive seasons. The 1965/1966 season saw Barnet become a semi-professional side, and the club joined the Southern League at the First Division stage.

The club’s first season in the Southern League First Division was a successful one as the club lifted the title in its first season at this higher level. 

The club finished fifth in its first season in the Southern League Premier Division, but could never launch any kind of title challenge. However, the club did reach the Southern League Cup Final in the 1971/1972 season, beating Hereford on penalties.

1975 saw the club relegated for the first time in Barnet history. Two years later, though, the club won the Southern League First Division South title, regaining their place back in the Southern League Premier Division.

The club were then awarded a spot in the newly created Alliance Premier League for the 1979/1980 season. This campaign also saw Barnet pick up another piece of silverware, winning the Hertfordshire Senior Cup.

The club’s finishes in the Alliance Premier League were not impressive, and Barnet were involved in relegation battles often throughout their time in this division. However, after another Hertfordshire Senior Cup win, the club’s form improved. Two successive runner up spots were earned in the division, now called the Football Conference, and at the turn of the decade Barnet won the Football Conference title. This meant that the club were promoted to the Football League for the first time in Barnet history.

Barnet almost made it successive promotions after reaching the Fourth Division playoffs, but were beaten by Blackpool at the semi final stage. However, the club didn’t have to wait too long for promotion, finishing in the third automatic promotion spot a year later.

In time for the 1992/1993 season, the Premier League was introduced. This new division replaced the First Division, and resulted in the other Football League divisions being renamed. The Second Division became Division One, the Third Division Division Two and the Fourth Division Division Three. As such, Barnet had earned a spot in Division Two.

The club were relegated in their first season in the third tier of English football, and returned to Division Three. Barnet spent the next seven seasons in Division Three, reaching the playoffs twice during this period but losing out on both occasions. The 2001/2002 season, a year after their second playoff loss, the club lost its Football League status after finishing bottom of the Division Three table.

The club remained a Football Conference side for four seasons, finishing in the top five in three of those four campaigns. The 2004/2005 season saw Barnet win the Football Conference title, and the club regained its Football League status.

Back in the fourth tier of English football, now called League Two, Barnet struggled. The club failed to finish in the top half of the League Two table in any of the next eight seasons, and after two consecutive close calls with demotion, the club finally succumbed to the drop in the 2012/2013 campaign. This was despite the appointment of world star Edgar Davids as Barnet manager, who led the club to finish on 51 points which became the highest points total won by a club that were relegated from the fourth tier.

Two seasons later, though, and Barnet were back in League Two. Winning another Football Conference title, the club returned to the Football League. Since the 2015/2016 season, Barnet Football Club have played in League Two.

Crest

The current Barnet football crest was created in the 1950’s. This Barnet football badge features the hill of Barnet with a red rose and a white rose representing the houses of Lancaster and York.

The Barnet crest also features a pair of crossed swords, representing the Battle of Barnet. This battle took place during the War of the Roses, key to the outcome of the War.

Colours

The Barnet colours are predominantly amber and black. These Barnet kit colours reflect the club’s nickname, ‘the Bees’.

The Barnet kit colours of amber and black have been worn since this third incarnation of the club in 1919, though Barnet & Alston also wore these colours for a short time.

Though black is known as a traditional Barnet kit colours, early Barnet strips featured white. From 1919 to 1966, the Barnet players wore white shorts with white socks, though the socks alternated between white and amber and black hoops. The Barnet jerseys were either amber and black striped or amber and black hooped designs.

The club adopted a plain amber shirt in 1968, worn with black shorts and amber socks, before reverting back to amber and black stripes in 1976. Plain amber shirts were then worn consistently between 1986 and 1993.

For the rest of the 1990’s, the Barnet shirts came in a variety of styles. The 1995/1996 Barnet jersey was a half black half amber shirt with alternating stripes. This was replaced by a black shirt featuring a diamond shape of amber, before a shirt made up of black, amber and white was introduced.

Since 2001, the club shirt has alternated between stripes and plain shirts. The 2016/2017 Barnet kit consists of a black shirt with thin horizontal amber stripes with a diagonal amber design, worn with black shorts and amber socks.

Barnet Stadium

The Barnet stadium is the Hive Stadium. The Hive Stadium has been used for Barnet home matches since 2013, and also host the home games of the Barnet ladies side, London Bees.

The current Barnet stadium capacity is 6,418, though this is usually capped to 5,176. This makes the Hive Stadium one of the smallest grounds in League Two.

The Barnet Stadium layout features four main stands. These are the West Stand, which is the largest stand at the ground; the East Stand, which also includes a hospitality section, the South Terrace; and the North Stand, which holds away supporters.

Before the club moved to the Hive Stadium, Barnet played at Underhill. This ground had been home to Barnet Football Club since 1907, as well as hosting Arsenal Reserves, Edgware Town Football Club and the rugby league side London Broncos.

Supporters

The majority of Barnet supporters hail from North West London and its surrounding areas. There are a number of Barnet supporters clubs up and down the country, including the Barnet Football Club Supporters Association, who launched the Keep Barnet Alive campaign.

Barnet supporters enjoy rivalries with a number of other clubs, mostly from around the London area. Leyton Orient and Stevenage are two of these clubs, and the Barnet supporters also have a rivalry with those of Enfield Town Football Club, previously known as Enfield FC.

Ownership

The current Barnet owner is Anthony Kleanthous. Kleanthous bought the club in 1994 and took the chairmanship of the club, in the process becoming the youngest chairman in the Football League.

Kleanthous was instrumental in the move from Underhill to the Hive Stadium. He also formed a new Barnet ladies side, the London Bees.

Other members of the Barnet hierarchy include Andrew Adie, the Barnet Finance Director, and Board Advisors Mel Stein and Graham Slyper.

Stats

The list of Barnet stats begins with the club’s all time leading appearance maker in league football. That honour belongs to Les Eason, who made 648 league appearances for the club across two spells, firstly from 1965 to 1974, and then from 1977 to 1978.

The club’s all time leading goalscorer in league football is Arthur Morris. Morris netted 403 goals for the club over nine seasons from 1927 to 1936.

The club’s all time record transfer signing is Greg Heald. Heald cost Barnet a fee of £130,000 from Peterborough United. The highest transfer fee Barnet have ever received for a player is £800,000, a fee paid by Crystal Palace for Dougie Freedman.

Barnet’s record attendance during their time in League Two is 6,001. This crowd figure was achieved in the 2012/2013 season when Barnet played Wycombe Wanderers. The club’s all time record home attendance is 11,026. This number of spectators watched Barnet play Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Amateur Cup in the 1951/1952 season.

The club’s all time record victory is 7-0. This scoreline was achieved twice, firstly against Wycombe Wanderers in 1987, and then again against Blackpool in Division Three in 2000. Barnet’s record defeat is 9-1, a scoreline Peterborough United beat the club by in Division Three in 1998.

Barnet Players

The current Barnet players list consists of 23 members of the first team squad, supported by the Barnet Development Squad.

Notable ex Barnet players include those who have gone on to play in the Premier League. These players include Marlon King, Dougie Freedman, Linvoy Primus, Andy Clarke, Maik Taylor, Albert Adomah, Yannick Bolasie, Mark Gower and Jason Puncheon.

Other ex Barnet players well known in the world of football are Jimmy Greaves, Edgar Davids, Alan Pardew, Eddie Newton, Mark Lawrenson, David Hillier, Steve Kabba, Paul Warhurst, Lee Cook, Jonathan Fortune and John Oster.

Barnet Manager

The current Barnet manager is Martin Allen. Allen took the Barnet manager job in 2014, becoming the third full time manager of the club that year after the joint manager partnership of Ulrich Landvreugd and Dick Schreuder.

Martin Allen had held the position of Barnet manager on three previous occasions - firstly between 2003 and 2004, then in 2011 and again from 2011 to 2012.

A number of famous faces in English football have managed the club throughout Barnet manager history. These include Ray Clemence, Barry Fry, Tony Cottee and Alan Mullery. Edgar Davids also held the position of Barnet manager, firstly as part of a joint management team with Mark Robson in 2012, and then holding the sole position later that year.

Honours

The Barnet honours list consists of three Football Conference titles (1991, 2005, 2015 - no other club has won this division three times); one Conference League Cup win (1989); one Southern League First Division title (1966); one Southern League First Division South title (1977); one Southern League Cup win (1972); seven Hertfordshire Senior Challenge Cup wins and six Micky Mays Memorial Trophy wins.