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UCF Bees podcast discusses an exclusive interview with Nicky Kabamba, who is confident about winning the golden boot. The podcast also highlights the defensive issues of Barnet, with lack of communication and poor performances leading to goals being conceded. The pressure is on manager Dean Brennan, who is rumored to be a favorite for the Burton job. Fans are worried about his potential departure and the impact it may have on the team's progress. Despite the current bad form, promotion is still a possibility if Barnet can get back to winning ways. Hello everyone and welcome to the UCF Bees podcast with me Matteo and I'm joined by Kyle, Liam and Najib. First things first, I want to talk to Kyle just briefly about our exclusive interview you did with Nicky Kabamba a couple of weeks back which is now on our website which is ucfbees.wordpress.com. How was he? He was a nice guy. He comes across like a nice guy. Obviously I got into contact with the media guy at Barnet and managed to secure an interview with Nicky. He was a good guy to be fair and I got some good info out of him about the season so far and his career in general. One thing that stuck out was his humility. Although he scored 19 goals this year, he's already looking for more. He knows that he's up against Paul McCallum who's a great striker as well in a race for the golden boot. The title of the article is we'll get promoted and I'll win the golden boot so it's looking like he's on track for that. He's a good guy as well. When I saw him for the first time actually play in real life on Saturday, he's just all about the goals isn't he? He just manages to score from wherever. Anyway, moving on to the other two. Barnet, let's talk about their defence and how dire it is. Well, well, well, well. I don't know about anyone else but I saw the performance kept in Newport a couple of days ago. There was a lot to say. It looks a bit disjointed at the moment, I can't lie. I know Newport are a higher league side but regardless there are some basic key principles. You see lack of communication between the keeper and the centre-backs which has happened a couple of times actually. Especially the first minute of the game and then considering that own goal because Collingwood didn't actually end up flicking to Walker and ended up heading into his own net. So I think that's going to be a big issue. Do you think the lack of communication is because he's changing up the defence pretty much every game and it's hard? Possibly but I feel like as a team you need to be able to chop and change easily. You need to be able to communicate with all your teammates effectively to be able to enable your management. Especially in the National League where you're playing many games a season as well as because you've got the FA Trophy, FA Cup, you've even got the National League itself which is quite filled with pitches. So you need to be able to chop and change your teammates and be able to communicate effectively. I think it's started down the spiral. I feel like they've not been back to their best since. Yeah, I feel like Saturday, was it okay Saturday again? Yeah, Maystone United. I knew it was a high scoring game, I mean it sounds like it doesn't say much. But I do remember seeing it to Bamber at the few and it goes on what Carl said. And what he said in his interview, he thinks he can get the golden boot, he said he's the proof that I'm the lead. Yeah, but I think for the game against Maystone, it's a game they should be winning and they won. But we've seen in the last seven games they've only won one game and they've also conceded 18. So yes, you could blame the players, but no matter who's playing, that is a mistake. So I think you've got to look at the manager and Dean Brennan also because you could change the defence, you could change the shape, you could change the players. But if the same mistakes are keeping on happening no matter who's playing, then there's only one man to look at and that is the manager. For example, against Newport, you see them drew in the first game because I feel like he was more reserved in the first game, especially away from home, he wanted to keep it tight. And he did keep it tight and it ended in a 1-1, but you're at home in front of your fans. And he conceded three goals in transition and I've seen that happen in the last few games. And there's a saying that if you win, it creates a good habit, but also if you lose, it creates a bad habit as well. And I feel like that's what's happening right now with not only the manager, but the players and also the fans. Najeeb, what did you actually think of their defence? I know you went to go and see the Harrows versus the Sarlacc game a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, the World's Fair. A game like that, especially because it's a derby, I would understand why other players... and sometimes conceding goals in a derby, obviously don't get me wrong, I feel like in a derby it's more about the passion and who wants to win it more. And what I saw from the Walsall players was every 50-50 they were jumping in, every tackle the fans would turn. Obviously they were at home, so they're going to have the fans on their side. But sometimes it's just the psychological intention. They don't have the mentality they had earlier on in the season. I just want to allude to something I've mentioned before, which is the fact that he's talked about in his post-match a lot about how his philosophy is man-to-man, like defending, and like I said, sitting back against Newport helped him a lot. But after the Newport replay, he's saying that we need to go back to a direct style of winning football, as he calls it, because the goals they've conceded are so poor, and they all come as a result of counter-attacks. See in the Oldham game, which I went to, they lost 4-1 as well at home. All of the goals were on the transition, just one ball, and the whole defence was split open. Like I think Mateo alluded to, he keeps changing the defence. On Tuesday, he put a Findlay Porter at centre-back. A Findlay Porter's a 19-year-old who's just come from Sheffield United, and he's barely played central centre-back this season. So to put him up against Omar Bogle, who's one of the best strikers in League 2, and a strong physical specimen, he's obviously going to struggle. So I think, like he talked about in his post-match, he needs to just start playing direct football, winning football, and sort of switch away from his philosophy to stop the rot. I mean, just speaking about Dean Brennan, he hasn't been able to cope with his defence recently, but we've heard in the last few weeks that he's favourite for the Burton job. So is there now more pressure on him, and are the fans putting him under more pressure, and do you think he'll leave? I think it's the opposite, actually. Fans are sort of worried that he could leave, because when he took over, he won it at the lower end of the National League last season, and he's took them to a good position, third, they're in the play-offs. So for him to leave, it would just sort of remove all that progress that he'd made in the last year or so, and they'd have to find a new replacement, and maybe a new style of football that could affect them. But potentially that manager bounce could put them on a winning streak, and keep them up there with Chesterfield. Yeah, but I think that before Dean came in, there were so many manager changes before that, and there was no stability at the club, and Dean's brought that stability back. I think that the way to go for Barnier, at the moment and in the near future, is stabilising. Yeah, I completely agree. Obviously you did say about the new manager bounce, but that's not 100%. If the current manager and the players have a very good connection, which from my perspective it feels like they do, if you stack that manager who they trust and who they put their faith into, that question's going to be asked about other people, about the manager, the board, and the players, and it's all disconnected to the club. Right now obviously it is a tough form, and it is tough, especially nationally when you're playing every few days and you don't have a big, bloated squad, it's very hard for you to keep your players fit and keep them fighting. But in the National League, literally anything can happen. You could win three or four games and you could climb up six or seven places. It's just about form, and right now it does seem a bit bleak for them, but you have to trust the manager, especially if he's getting linked to clubs which are outfitted to an IR, then I truly do believe that he's a tough manager and he does deserve the time and the respect from not only the fans but also from the media. I think I can back up what he said as well, to be honest. When you're getting considered next to Gary Rowett, who's also considered that Burton job, who's had the high praise of nearly getting a 0-1 to the Premier League last season and then missed out on the playoffs, unfortunately, in the last game, it's a credit to Dean Bredin because he has lifted up that disbar on his side and as they've said, it'll be a big hit if he goes because I don't think they'll be able to find someone that's good enough to keep Barnett in the playoff position as he's doing, because he can just find a way to get Barnett back running ways, I think. Yeah, and the last thing about Dean and Burton is he's got two years left on his contract so even if Burton won him, they'll have to pay compensation. So I think he'll stay and sort of see how the project ends. You think he'll see how his contract ends for the time being? Yeah, he'll see how his contract ends, but he has notoriously left clubs before like Hamilton and Wildstone to go on to bigger things. Before his contract's run up, yeah. So it's a possibility. I mean, we all know that you can't win every game in football so Barnett are just going through a bad period at the moment, but do we all think promotion's on the table? Or has that lost to Chesterfield a few weeks back? They could have finished first, they could have finished above them, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen anymore. Well, I was going to say, I feel like if they can get back to winning ways then anything can happen, but if you're looking at the current moment in time where they've only managed to get one win out of their last seven, it's just not good enough to get into the playoffs, let alone get promoted. So you'll have to have a look at that, to be honest. And I think they're third at the moment? They're currently third, and they're five points from fourth, so they have a five-point cushion in third. So they've still got a cushion between them and them playoff places, but they're going to make it hard for themselves. They keep losing games like they have been losing in the last couple of weeks. Yeah, I think the problem is the teams that are below them, like I said, an older shot, not really Sully Holmores who are fourth, but Gates is an older shot in great form, and an older shot, Beastock, who I ran the top of League 2, so they're in form and buying it on a downward, even though they won against... I mean, in the League, they've lost four out of five in the League now. Yeah, they haven't played a League game for a week or so, so we're waiting to see how they bounce back against Ebbs Fleet on Saturday. I still do think that promotion is still on the cards. Maybe not coming first and getting that automatic promotion, but obviously through the playoffs they have a chance. I feel like they do have a very strong squad, and they have a game in hand against Bromley, and if they win and they go at the same point. Right now the biggest problem, as we said before, is them conceding goals. Now the question that you have to ask is how do you stop them conceding goals, and whether that's changing the tactical to conceding to E8 managers. I think you just need to go back to how we played against Newport away. He needs to set his team up like that. They're going to find their way down the table then if he doesn't do that. Why was it working a month ago and two months ago to now? Because that's how he's been playing and it's been working. It was working because he had players that were in form first and foremost, and they were firing. For instance, Nicky scored all of his goals in the first period of the season, and now he's only scored in the league one in seven. That was against Wilson a lot. I think he's quite isolated. The one thing I've talked about on Twitter and other socials is that Bonnet don't really have a right side at all. When you watch them, all the play goes down the left to Idris Khamis, and I think that's something that needs to be rectified in the January transfer window. The transfer was just there. The money they would have got for getting through to the next round of the FA Cup would have massively helped them, but now they can't do that. They had a favourable tie in Eastleigh at home if they'd got through, but that was a key win. I think if you were to ask a Bonnet fan going into the game against Newport, I think they more than likely would have thought it would have been a loss anyway. I don't think they'll look at it in terms of money point of view. Mainly the fans will be looking at it and worried about how they played, because Newport, especially the reputation of the last few seasons, they're a hard side to beat. The players are tough. You know what they're going to do. They're going to sit back. They're going to try and hit you on the break. You saw that in the first game. The worrying thing to fans, to the manager, and to the media alone will be how they bounce back, which for me is the biggest question. I've got a question. I feel like, from what we've seen, that Bonnet have been trying to get their cup front on. I feel like that lifts the mood really, especially in the FA Trophy now, because that's one of the only trophies they can go for this season. Do you think that the cup allowed Bonnet to get a hard reset on the league? As Karl said earlier, they've not had a league game in a week, which is quite a long time in the National League. Do you think that may allow them to regroup and hopefully come back stronger? I think that if they would have got a result against Newport, then I think it would have been fine. But now they've lost another game by a big margin. The confidence has been knocked again. And Ev Street is a tough game, even though they're in the relegation zone at the moment. So they need to get a result and that sort of kick on. And now it's the Christmas period. They've got a lot of games coming up. They've got Southend, Twice, they've got Boreham Wood. And these are all games that are... One of them is a derby. And they're going to be tough. So I think that they need to, like I said, go back to basics. Play balls up to Nicky so he can hold it up. Stop conceding goals on the transition. And I think they just need to stabilise. I mean, these games are all must-wins at the moment for Barnett. Because just checking here on the table, between 8th and 3rd place, there's only 9 points in it. So all you have to do is lose a few and the people behind you win a few. And then you're down. And they can't afford to do that at the moment. But just to finish up, boys. What's your predictions for Barnett at the end of the season? Do we think they're going to get promoted or not? I think they will finish 2nd or 3rd and get a home tie in the semi-finals of the play-offs. I think they have to because they need to show progress from last season. And that would be a step further than they got last season. So I think they'll get into the play-offs. For me, I think it's the same thing. I'm just going to repeat what Kyle said, basically. But I think they will get 2nd or 3rd. And I think they will get a play-off home tie. I really do think that they can get promoted. All it takes is a few games to turn your form around. And I do want to be positive for Barnett. So I do think the manager and players can turn it around. And hopefully, the master in France can help them and support them too. I'm going to be a fan of my buddy here. I'm going to say that I don't think they'll get promoted. Especially if they continue the way they're going at the moment. Obviously, I do hope that Barnett get promoted. But I'm looking realistically and I don't think they will get promoted just off of some of the signs you've seen in the last few years. Not even play-offs? They might get play-offs. Just not promoted. It might be a big drop-off. It might be a very big drop-off if they drop out of the play-offs. But I feel like they won't get further than the play-offs. I mean, personally, I think they'll get to the play-offs. But I agree with Liam. I'm not sure right now they have what it takes to be promoted this season. But that's all the time we've got today. So thanks for tuning in. And thanks, Kyle. Thanks, Nigel. And thanks, Liam. And see you again next time.