Football featuring Barnet FC is scarce at the moment so I take this oppertunity to focus on our opponents in the FA Cup at the Hive this coming Sunday afternoon.
STADIUM
Pirelli Stadium, Burton Upon Trent, Staffs, DE13 0AR
NICKNAME
The Brewers
COLOURS
Yellow and Black
35-year-old Jake Buxton is the current player-manager at the Pirelli taking over the reins from Nigel Clough in May of this year. His early playing career as a defender was with Mansfield Town but he spent seven seasons with Derby County and one with Wigan Athletic.
IMPRESS THE LOCAL
It is a well-known statistic that............the 11,000 Brewer’s fans at Old Trafford in January 2006 for an FA Cup replay is the highest away contingent ever recorded at the stadium. Burton lost 5-0 but it was a nice day out!
GROUND DESCRIPTION
The club left their Eton Park home in 2005 to reside in the £6.5 million Pirelli Stadium. The main stand which holds around 2,000 is the focal point of the ground and a fairly typical 21st century construction on a modest scale but it offers all the usual corporate hospitality and more than copes with the demands of League football attendances. Happily, the remainder of the ground is terraced, fully covered and offering a reasonable sight line as the rake is quite steep - very comforting. The normal away terrace will be the Coors East Stand Terrace. Plenty of room, hopefully three gorgeous Irish singing sisters, and good acoustics await us. Normal capacity is 7,000 with around 2,100 seats.
PREVIOUS
MEETINGS AND MEMORIES
Our first meetings, back in the old Southern League days, were always entertaining with Barnet normally coming out on top with their goalscoring machine of a team during the 1960s’ (4-0, 3-0, 6-0 4-2) with Les Eason normally taking the goalscoring plaudits, However it doesn’t get much better than Barnet 10 Burton Albion 0 in the Southern League Premier 1970, with Les Eason and Billy Meadows scoring 4 goals each. ‘Those Were the Days’ by Mary Hopkin was riding high in the charts at the time, I thought they’d never end!
A tough 2-2 draw was fought out in the FA Cup in October 1989, Gary Bull and Geoff Cooper with the goals, but the day will be remembered for poor old Micky Bodley who scored two own goals that afternoon. He says he still has nightmares over the game. Another Bull goal in the replay saw us through to the 1st Round proper.
In April 2011 was when we were afforded a wonderful virtuoso performance by Steve Kabba who grabbed all four goals in a 4-1 win. Bank Holiday Monday 25th August 2003 saw a two goal Giuliano Grazioli in fine form as Barnet ran out 3-2 winners.
The game that could have relegated us back into the Conference in May 2012 was nail biting, but goals from Mark Byrne and Mark Hughes saw us through 2-1 to survive in League 2 and I don't really remember getting home that night! Although very vivid was at the final whistle when all the lads were celebrating in front of the boisterous Bees fans (about 1,000 turned up) was Scott McGleish coming up behind Hughes and pulling his shorts down and now we know why he was good in the tackle!
But it was the food and not just the football inside the old Park that attracted the crowds as the club were very proud of the fact that their refreshment bars served only quality ‘brand name’ food and won awards year after year – at Underhill the crusty cheese rolls were extraordinary but had nothing on Burton. Thankfully, they have continued the tradition in the new stadium. The meat and potato pies are simply spectacular, as are the chip butties. I was fascinated to find out that for one visit ‘faggots in gravy with peas’ was also available, and if you have never experienced a ‘faggot’ then you haven’t lived!
CONNECTIONS
A few Barnet faces have appeared for both clubs including, Greg Heald, Steve Kabba, Mark Byrne, Alex Nichols, Patrick Ada, Callam Butcher, Josh Clarke, Keiron Cadogan and Richard Huxford.
OVERNIGHT STAY FACTOR
The area is a paradise for beer drinkers, as the famous Bass Brewing Museum is a beer map fling away from the ground although Burton ale is now allegedly brewed in Leeds! So, do not forget your stylish ‘Geography Teacher' jacket the ones with the patches on the elbows, and a warm home knitted sweater. For you kiddies Alton Towers and white-knuckle extravaganza is also close by. OSF 5/10.
Our first meetings, back in the old Southern League days, were always entertaining with Barnet normally coming out on top with their goalscoring machine of a team during the 1960s’ (4-0, 3-0, 6-0 4-2) with Les Eason normally taking the goalscoring plaudits, However it doesn’t get much better than Barnet 10 Burton Albion 0 in the Southern League Premier 1970, with Les Eason and Billy Meadows scoring 4 goals each. ‘Those Were the Days’ by Mary Hopkin was riding high in the charts at the time, I thought they’d never end!
 |
| Bill Meadows |
 |
| Les Eason |
A tough 2-2 draw was fought out in the FA Cup in October 1989, Gary Bull and Geoff Cooper with the goals, but the day will be remembered for poor old Micky Bodley who scored two own goals that afternoon. He says he still has nightmares over the game. Another Bull goal in the replay saw us through to the 1st Round proper.
 |
| Ohh Arrh Geoffrey Cooper |
 |
| Micky Bodly and a Disciple consoling him after all these years |
In April 2011 was when we were afforded a wonderful virtuoso performance by Steve Kabba who grabbed all four goals in a 4-1 win. Bank Holiday Monday 25th August 2003 saw a two goal Giuliano Grazioli in fine form as Barnet ran out 3-2 winners.
The game that could have relegated us back into the Conference in May 2012 was nail biting, but goals from Mark Byrne and Mark Hughes saw us through 2-1 to survive in League 2 and I don't really remember getting home that night! Although very vivid was at the final whistle when all the lads were celebrating in front of the boisterous Bees fans (about 1,000 turned up) was Scott McGleish coming up behind Hughes and pulling his shorts down and now we know why he was good in the tackle!
But it was the food and not just the football inside the old Park that attracted the crowds as the club were very proud of the fact that their refreshment bars served only quality ‘brand name’ food and won awards year after year – at Underhill the crusty cheese rolls were extraordinary but had nothing on Burton. Thankfully, they have continued the tradition in the new stadium. The meat and potato pies are simply spectacular, as are the chip butties. I was fascinated to find out that for one visit ‘faggots in gravy with peas’ was also available, and if you have never experienced a ‘faggot’ then you haven’t lived!
CONNECTIONS
A few Barnet faces have appeared for both clubs including, Greg Heald, Steve Kabba, Mark Byrne, Alex Nichols, Patrick Ada, Callam Butcher, Josh Clarke, Keiron Cadogan and Richard Huxford.
OVERNIGHT STAY FACTOR
The area is a paradise for beer drinkers, as the famous Bass Brewing Museum is a beer map fling away from the ground although Burton ale is now allegedly brewed in Leeds! So, do not forget your stylish ‘Geography Teacher' jacket the ones with the patches on the elbows, and a warm home knitted sweater. For you kiddies Alton Towers and white-knuckle extravaganza is also close by. OSF 5/10.
OH YEAH BY THE WAY
CELEBRITY WATCH
It is with regret that I inform you that if you are looking for famous residents and historical characters or hoping to add to your autograph book Burton is a place to avoid. It appears that very few figures in history hail from these parts. All I can offer is that 1970’s Chelsea FC hero Ian ‘I can throw the ball into the penalty area from the half way line and impersonate a windmill’ Hutchinson started his career at Burton, or the infamous Sir Oswald Mosley, who inspired the design of our home kit in 2005/6. If you feel that this information is incorrect, please let me know - thank you.
Without the town of Burton, we would never have sampled the delights of Branston Pickle (essential with mature Cheddar cheese in a sandwich) or Marmite on toast. Crosse and Blackwell had a factory in the Branston area of the town where they invented the wonderful sweet pickle and the Marmite Food Company was formed in 1902 and used the surplus brewery yeast extract to manufacture a very salty paste - I love it! Sunday evenings after a hot bath, lightly toasted real bread (you know the stuff you cut yourself?), lashings of slightly salted butter and a good dollop of the old black stuff - nice work. Crumpets are even better, and Bovril is also as good – discuss!
 |
| Half and Half perhaps? |
CELEBRITY WATCH
It is with regret that I inform you that if you are looking for famous residents and historical characters or hoping to add to your autograph book Burton is a place to avoid. It appears that very few figures in history hail from these parts. All I can offer is that 1970’s Chelsea FC hero Ian ‘I can throw the ball into the penalty area from the half way line and impersonate a windmill’ Hutchinson started his career at Burton, or the infamous Sir Oswald Mosley, who inspired the design of our home kit in 2005/6. If you feel that this information is incorrect, please let me know - thank you.
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