TEAM PREVIEW: Barnet – Giuliano Grazioli has fond memories of his former club

After years of being on the brink of falling out of the football league, Barnet didn’t waste too much time in bouncing back. Under the guidance of the experienced Martin Allen, Barnet will now be hoping to ensure their time back in the league is less turbulent.

 

Last Season: Conference (1st)

Manager: Martin Allen

 

Squad

GKs: Graham Stack
DFs: Andy Yiadom, Elliot Johnson, Bondz N’Gala, Sam Muggleton, Gavin Hoyte, Bira Dembele
MFs: Keanu Marsh-Brown, Curtis Weston, Sam Togwell, Mauro Vilhete, Luke Gambin, Tom Champion
FWs: John Akinde, Jon Nurse, Michael Gash, Kevin Lisbie, Ben Tomlinson

 

Transfers

In: Tom Champion (Cambridge United), Gavin Hoyte (Gillingham), Kevin Lisbie (Leyton Orient), Ben Tomlinson (Lincoln City), Bira Dembele (Stevenage)

Out: Iffy Allen (Released), Lee Cook (Eastleigh), Sam Cowler (Released), Charlie MacDonald (Released), Jack Saville (Aldershot Town), George Sykes (Dartford), Luisma Villa (Released), David Stephens (Released)

 

First Six: Leyton Orient (A), Wycombe Wanderers (H), Northampton Town (H), Bristol Rovers (A), Cambridge United (H), Carlisle United (A)

Likely Lineup: (4-4-2) Stack – Yiadom, N’Gala, Dembele, Johnson – Weston, Togwell, Champion, Vilhete – Lisbie, Akinde

 

A word from…Giuliano Grazioli

On settling so easily at Barnet I’m a Barnet boy through and through so to come back and play for your home town club and be around your friends and family makes life a lot easier, certainly. It also helps if you’ve got a great manager and at the time I did, Martin Allen, he showed a lot of faith in me and come a Saturday afternoon he made me feel a million dollars. Thankfully soon after we got promoted which gave me a huge satisfaction to do that with my club.

On Martin Allen He’s the best manager I ever worked for. Every time I stepped foot on that pitch he made me feel full of confidence, as a centre forward you rely on that, you need that and that’s what he instilled in me right from the beginning.

Training was good, he was very thorough with his organisation, his motivational skills were excellent and I think that shows with the number of promotions he has won in the last few years. Credit to Martin, at the time I was going through a bit of a lull in my career, I’d considered quitting and going back to university but he made me fall back in love with the game, he re-energised me and when we got promotion together it was fantastic.

On his first goals at Barnet, but not for the club… The fans certainly remembered it [Grazioli scored 5 goals for Peterborough at Barnet before joining the club] and I got a bit of stick for it when I first arrived!

Thankfully, I scored the goals for the club and the fans soon forgot about it. The fascinating part of that story is that two days before the game I was due to sign for Barnet, John Still, the manager at the time agreed a deal with Barry Fry, I was ready to sign but Peterborough had injury problems so Barry told me I needed to play for them that weekend. I asked what would happen if I played badly and or got injured but the deal was done and ready to go once the game was over.

Obviously then I scored those five goals and that deal was soon scuppered, I remained a Peterborough player!

On the difficulty of getting out of the Conference The league is getting stronger every year, some big sides are dropping out, who’d have thought Bristol Rovers would be in it last year?! It’s very competitive, players are filtering down to the non-league and making it more competitive. Some teams down there have good budgets, like Rovers and Forest Green and one or two others so it was great for Barnet to be able to come top and achieve automatic promotion.

On injuries and his departure It’s always disappointing to leave a club you love but we changed formation, went to one up front which didn’t suit my game. I never hit the heights I felt I should have done, I struggled with injuries and the change in formation but it was fantastic to get such a reception when I left and I know I’m still held in high regard when I go back there and the fans love me which is fantastic.

On the new signings That’s what Martin is all about, he’s got players in who know the league. Tom Champion had a fantastic season last season with Cambridge United, he’s a great signing. Kevin Lisbie, if he can hit the form he hit at times with Leyton Orient then he’ll be fantastic.

If they get big John Akinde fit he’ll fire for them too if he can stay fit all season like he was last year. He was a real threat to every defender in the Conference.

On the difference between league and non-league football I think they’re better equipped now, the signings they’ve made are great. They’ve got young players coming through like Luke Gambin, Johnson, Vilhete and you’ve got the experience of players like Champion coming in and people like Graham Stack.

Martin’s an experienced coach, he’ll set them up well and they’ll be hard to beat. It’s all about the start, if you start well you give yourself a chance and think they’ll be there or thereabouts. Mid-table or above will be fantastic and I think they can really achieve that.

 

The Offside Rule Podcast Prediction: Under the guidance of Martin Allen, Barnet should do more than ok this season, a season of consolidation might be just what they need.

Key Player: Tom Champion – Whilst all eyes might be on Akinde and Lisbie up front, Champion looks to be an astute signing in the middle, someone with plenty of experience at this level.

One to Watch: Mauro Vilhete – The young Portuguese winger hasn’t always featured prominently for Barnet but he came to the fore at the end of last season with two goals to secure promotion. His stage may finally be set.