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Matt Ford chats with Dean Barker

27 June 2018

New Northwood manager Dean Barker exuded confidence and enthusiasm as he discussed his arrival at Northwood Park, with preparations stepping up a notch as he gears up to lead the Woods into his maiden campaign in charge.

After shuffling sideways from the Southern League back to the Isthmian League after eight years away, Barker’s arrival from Wingate & Finchley was confirmed last month. He lead the Blues’s hugely successful Under-23 side to the Bostik Isthmian League Development North Division title last term, combining that with a first team coaching role under the guidance of former West Ham United defender Keith Rowland.

Prior to that the 34-year-old spent two seasons as manager at Cockfosters, a club where he enjoyed a cult status as a player. A prolific striker in his heyday, he smashed several club records during his time with the north Londoners.

Barker described his transition to the dugout as something of an inevitability. He simply needed the opportunity and one arrived when Cockfosters, the Spartan South Midlands League outfit, reached out to their club legend in 2015 and broached the subject of a possible return to Chalk Lane. That step into management came after he ruptured his ACL four years ago. By his own admission, he "wasn’t really the same player when he came back”, but not before racking up the goals for a number of sides in north London and Hertfordshire in a stellar playing career.

He said: “I think I scored over 300 semi-professional goals. I enjoy non-League football, I was brought up in non-League football – my Dad used to take me all the time – so it was a natural progression after I played to go into management. I had maybe a year out of the game and Cockfosters approached me and asked me if I would be interested to manage and it’s obviously been a pretty successful few years since then.”

Having made his mark on the pitch, it did not take long for Barker to make an impression off it. Indeed, he has a knack of improving teams and players in a managerial career that, while still in its infancy, has hitherto been fruitful. And the former striker does not appear to be someone who is likely to shy away from a challenge, recognising that Northwood represents an exciting new opportunity at the right time in his career.

Having experienced the coaching side of things in the Bostik Premier Division at Wingate, the lure of becoming a number one again at senior level was too tempting to resist.“I managed step five at Cockfosters and then went to Wingate & Finchley who are step three. Keith and Aron [Sharpe] wanted me to stay at Wingate next year. The easy option would have been to stay at Wingate really.

“But when Ian Barry and Alan Evans got in touch I went down to the club for an interview. I was excited about managing at step four and I know Northwood are a good club with a good non-league history that has struggled in the last few years, so hopefully we can bring a few smiles back to people’s faces this year.”

The Woods will be looking to find stability following a difficult couple of years. The arrival of Simon Lane twelve months ago was set to herald an exciting new era, only for Lane to disappointingly jump ship to league counterparts Egham Town in January in what represented something of a sideways move. Before that, Mark Burgess earned three top ten finishes on one of the smallest budgets in the league, even winning the Middlesex Senior Cup in 2016. So it can be done.

Recruitment is already at the halfway stage as the club continues to cast their collective eye over a few hopefuls following the commencement of pre-season training on 25 June. And with close to a dozen players already committing their immediate futures to The Woods, things look promising. The 34-year-old insists he is not fazed by the challenges ahead and nor is he shying away from the budget constraints he too will face at the club.

However, he is confident that he can deploy his range of contacts, accrued over nearly two decades in the game, to good effect, and even picked out two new signings to keep a close eye on.“We have signed 11 so far and I want to sign 22 so they can push to be in the 16, and then the 16 can get into the 11,” Barker said.

“I’ve got good contacts so I’ve been able to bring in some good players. We’ll be signing 11 players during pre-season as well. Ben Pattie (pictured right) was a professional at QPR and has scored a lot of goals, so he’s one to look out for. Luke Sheldrick (left) was in the Hampton & Richmond squad who lost in the Conference South play-offs and has played for Wealdstone as well.”

The door, though, is firmly ajar for those who plied their trade at the club last season and who wish to return. The new Northwood boss insists they will be given an opportunity to impress and earn a spot in his squad for the upcoming campaign. “I’ve got a few boys from last year who have said they’re coming down, so I’ll offer them an opportunity.

"I know some of the boys who played last year, we’ve got a few boys who have been on holiday who haven’t had an opportunity to pop down to the club yet and there will be a few triallists as well, so we’re hopeful of announcing a few more signings this week and getting our squad ready for all the pre-season games coming up.”

Barker’s background as a striker and subsequent admission that he likes his sides to play good attractive football will surely be music to the ears of some of the club’s exciting attacking players. “I like my teams to score goals, being a striker myself. I like us to play attacking football and to entertain people really. There’s nothing worse than going to a football match and it being 0-0. I know there are certain times when you have got to defend and be a bit more defensive but I like my teams to score goals and play attacking football.”

Barker is a young manager with a good coaching CV and arrives at the club brimming with confidence and with plenty of ideas about how he wants to shape his new side. Ultimately, though, a focus on youth development is central to his management philosophy – partly through necessity but also a willingness to provide a pathway for young players to progress.

“That’s the one thing when you’re at Cockfosters with no money, and at Wingate with a small budget, and at Northwood who haven’t really got any money, you have got to invest in youth,” said Barker. “What we’re looking at is boys that maybe people don’t know too much about and making them non-league players. They’ll show what they can do.

“We’ve got some good young players coming in at the club and hopefully they can learn quickly and develop well during the season.”

Undoubtedly the upcoming marquee friendly against a Chelsea development side on 14 July has helped the excitement and feel good factor return to the club after a challenging couple of seasons. Chelsea return to Chestnut Avenue for the second time in six years having been regulars down at the club in the 1990s, and the game is sure to be an emotional occasion for a multitude of reasons.

This fixture with Chelsea’s Under 23s will be played in memory of Pete Barry, the Northwood chairman’s father and someone with deep connections to both clubs, and comes less than twelve months after former Chelsea youth coach Dermot Drummy took his own life at the age of 56.

Drummy was in charge the last time the Blues visited Northwood Park, in July 2012, when then Woods manager Gary Meakin witnessed his side play out a 0-0 draw in front of a large crowd. That Chelsea side even featured former Watford defender Nathan Ake, and both sides will now compete for the Pete Barry Memorial Trophy next month.

“It’s an amazing friendly for myself, for the players, for the club, and it’s going to be an emotional day for some people as well. Ian’s done really well in getting that friendly. Everyone’s looking forward to it and hopefully we can have a good crowd on the day. We have got a really strong youth set-up at the club and I’m looking forward to working with them throughout the season. I’m hoping we can show off what a good club Northwood is. Hopefully those people [who come] will enjoy themselves and come back and watch some more games throughout the season.”

Barker unsurprisingly will be keen to experiment during a varied pre-season programme that will see Northwood play a total of nine friendlies comprising sides from lower levels, the same standard, and a couple of tougher tests as well. With the FA Cup and FA Trophy draws to come on 6 July, quickly followed by the release of the Isthmian League fixtures, attentions will quickly turn to the beginning of the 2018/19 season and with it Barker’s bow in the Woods dugout.

Inevitably speculation will build about whether Northwood can match their 10th placed finish from the last time they lined up in the Isthmian League – 2009/10. Barker certainly thinks they have a chance but is keen to ensure expectations remain at realistic levels for a side whose resources dwarf some of their rivals.

“Having spoken to people, Hayes & Yeading will be the favourites to win the league,” Barker said. “But there’s some exciting teams. I know Hertford Town quite well, I know Cheshunt quite well, and it’s good that FC Romania have been promoted so that’s another local game and they get good support."

So has the new Northwood manager set any personal targets for the season ahead? “It’s going to be a tough job. Budget wise, we have one of the smallest budgets in the league, so it’s going to be a tough challenge. If we can finish in the top ten this season then I think that would be a fantastic achievement. Most definitely it’s a game at a time. There is no expectation from the board. Like any football manager or any football club, we try and win as many games as possible.

“We understand that the club have struggled in the last few years. It is about establishing ourselves as a management group – it’s our first season at step four as well – so we’re going to learn things along the way, we’ll make mistakes, we’ll do good things, and hopefully we’ll get a successful side that people enjoy coming down to watch.”

Barker, though, reserved his final message to the loyal band of Woods supporters, imploring them to continue to give their backing to the side at what is an exciting time on and off the pitch. He also wants to extend an open invitation to all Northwood fans, past and present, and insists he will be available to have a chat throughout the season should Woods supporters want to get in touch.

“Please come and support us as much as possible. You’re very welcome to have a conversation with me any time you want, I’m free to speak to all of the supporters. I want them to be proud of their team, and hopefully we can produce some performances on the pitch that make them enjoy being a Northwood supporter.”



         
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