Barnet Fair

[wearebees]

Such a shame the club has no presence at the Barnet Christmas fair anymore (at least not today). Used to love seeing the players as a youngster and getting the squad poster. Fond memories of talking to Dean Sinclair a few months after Old Trafford.

Noticed a Hadley FC stal selling merchandise. We definitely missed a trick to keep connection to "home town".

Maybe something for the SA next year, or does anyone know the reason we don't bother?

[ricardobee]

“ . . . or does anyone know the reason we don’t bother?”

Ask the owner, the fans were not given the choice to move to another borough!

[Reckless]

No point being present there, no point in attempting to attract new fans from Barnet area to a club based in Harrow.
Its something that is lost now. Was always going to be.

[EastBarnetFan]

I remember this well, and got loads of pictures and autographs from the players. I think it was the 01/02 squad (or thereabouts).

Agree with Reckless, it's almost pointless doing it there now as we're not there. The question is, are we doing the equivalent in the Harrow area now?

[John Hunt]

Such a shame the club has no presence at the Barnet Christmas fair anymore (at least not today). Used to love seeing the players as a youngster and getting the squad poster. Fond memories of talking to Dean Sinclair a few months after Old Trafford.

Noticed a Hadley FC stal selling merchandise. We definitely missed a trick to keep connection to "home town".

Maybe something for the SA next year, or does anyone know the reason we don't bother?

With two of our former supporters Ollie and Tom in exactly the same spot our stall used to be.
They also have a wreath laid at the war memorial.

I find it very sad.

I do not think we should lose touch with our roots.

Our name is still Barnet not Harrow and even if we are no longer there the roots of the club and most of our supporters will surely still be Barnet.

[wearebees]

No point being present there, no point in attempting to attract new fans from Barnet area to a club based in Harrow.
Its something that is lost now. Was always going to be.

Sometimes it's about doing nice things for current fans (or in their own right) not all about new fans. We must have plenty of young fans who live in Barnet who would love to go along and meet their heros. These memories last a lifetime. Not even just younger fans, you need things to show longer term fans they have not been forgotten. Would have loved to bump into Deano there and I'm sure he'd have loved it too.

Besides, I know quite a few separate groups of people who live in the Barnet area and went to Underhill when young. They are just this season getting into it again. The fact that the ground isn't in Barnet has not stopped them going. There will be others. But that's a whole other debate.

[hoppy]

There’s nothing like a good cup run to bring fans, old and new, through the Hive turnstiles.
Newport…win.
Eastleigh…win
4th Round…who knows?….WIN!!!!

[Bee_Forever]

I think it's great to see Hadley keeping a presence on the high street for a local football team.

If the club is not willing to do the same maybe something for the supporters association to look at running on behalf of the club. We retain a lot of affection in barnet even if the club has pulled up sticks

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[thebeekeeper]

Such a shame the club has no presence at the Barnet Christmas fair anymore (at least not today). Used to love seeing the players as a youngster and getting the squad poster. Fond memories of talking to Dean Sinclair a few months after Old Trafford.

Noticed a Hadley FC stal selling merchandise. We definitely missed a trick to keep connection to "home town".

Maybe something for the SA next year, or does anyone know the reason we don't bother?

With two of our former supporters Ollie and Tom in exactly the same spot our stall used to be.
They also have a wreath laid at the war memorial.

I find it very sad.

I do not think we should lose touch with our roots.

Our name is still Barnet not Harrow and even if we are no longer there the roots of the club and most of our supporters will surely still be Barnet.

I think it's more than sad, I think it's a disgrace how we've essentially abandoned Barnet. We're Barnet Football Club for god's sake, our entire raison d'être is meant to be to represent Barnet at football!

It feels like by this point we're really only Barnet in name and nothing else. A bit like Trigger's broom, are we actually the same club as pre-2013, or just masquerading as one?

[b4life]

All is not quite lost in regard to links with Barnet, although I can understand why supporters might think so. I understand that there is occasional contact with Barnet Council and an open offer to consider any suitable sites that the council identify. They haven't done so far! Also, since Covid, the club have finally started a proper engagement with local communities through schools. Barnet schools are in the plan too but it would really help if we were back in league 2 with a lot more resources available to the club.

[dawat]

No point being present there, no point in attempting to attract new fans from Barnet area to a club based in Harrow.
Its something that is lost now. Was always going to be.

By just accepting that the Barnet area is lost to the club aren't we essentially accepting those dark forces so anti the club have won? Being successful and showing Fair attendees that we are able to thrive as a club despite moving grounds is surely one in the eye for those dark forces and may potentially spark new interest from football enthusiasts not able to afford the high prices charged at our Premier League relatively near neighbours.

[Sam_BFC]

It feels like by this point we're really only Barnet in name and nothing else. A bit like Trigger's broom, are we actually the same club as pre-2013, or just masquerading as one?

Poor that effort was not made to be present at the fair.


Yes despite valid concerns all is not lost.I would add that we are not Barnet in name only whilst familiar faces remain in the stands.

[thebeekeeper]

It feels like by this point we're really only Barnet in name and nothing else. A bit like Trigger's broom, are we actually the same club as pre-2013, or just masquerading as one?

Poor that effort was not made to be present at the fair.


Yes despite valid concerns all is not lost.I would add that we are not Barnet in name only whilst familiar faces remain in the stands.

Yes, I agree that there are some things that remain – as you say plenty of people attending also watched at Underhill, the badge and colours are the same, obviously the club's history straddles both sites etc. And Mark's comments above suggest that not every connection to Barnet has been severed just yet.

But I think the lack of presence at the fair, while a very minor thing, is perhaps symbolic of the continued drift away from Barnet being a club that represents Barnet.

That doesn't feel right to me – the reason I started supporting the Bees (beyond family ties) was that they were the team representing where I was from. The club felt like it existed for the benefit of High Barnet and the surrounding areas. That's what differentiated Barnet from Arsenal, Spurs etc, it was the hyper-local element. Surely that must be the reason plenty of other fans started watching as well?

I really think we need to correct course on this front, but there doesn't seem any real desire from TK to maintain that connection, let alone push for a site within Barnet.

[ricardobee]

Your last paragraph says it all, thebeekeeper, it’s one man’s say.
As for “dark forces” who are so anti the club, I’ve never read anybody on here anti the club. Maybe anti some individuals, not the club itself. Whoever could he mean?

[markobee]

As for “dark forces” who are so anti the club, I’ve never read anybody on here anti the club. Maybe anti some individuals, not the club itself. Whoever could he mean?

I would presume that the dark forces are (or were) those Barnet Councillors who made it clear that they didn't want to help Barnet FC to remain at Underhill, quite the opposite. There was one Councillor who was particularly anti the Club (and, indeed, anti football). I have a vague recollection of his name, but I won't mention it as I don't want to sully this thread.