Barnet FC | Opposition Report

This season’s first competitive visitors at The Croud Meadow are a challenging Barnet side, where Salop will be looking to remain unbeaten against the Bees for a second successive season.

After some impressive pre-season results, forcing draws against Watford, Luton and MK Dons, Barnet started off the campaign with a narrow 2-1 loss away at Cambridge in the first round of the Carabao Cup, before sticking three past Salford City at The Hive to claim an opening day three points. This was then followed by a 5-1 battering of the Arsenal U21s side in the EFL Trophy.

Shrewsbury capitalised on a big 3-1 win in North West London, thanks to a Danny Collinge own goal and strikes from Bradley Ihionvien and Sam Clucas, in a game where the Barnet head coach was shown the red card. In the return leg, Shrewsbury kept a clean sheet as points were shared in Shropshire.

The Head Coach:

Irish head coach Dean Brennan started his career in the game as a winger in the Sheffield Wednesday academy. With spells at Bohemians and Luton Town, Brennan moved into the non-league game.

In 2010, following the sacking of manager Gary Phillips, Brennan was appointed caretaker manager at 29 years of age, until the end of the season. Two years later, a second spell at The Tudors beckoned, where he helped them climb out of the Southern Football League Premier Division to the Conference South. After over six years at Hemel Hempstead, he moved on to Billericay Town.

A short spell at Kingstonian followed, before moving to Wealdstone F.C., where he led The Stones to the National League South title in his first full season. Despite turning them down initially, Brennan joined Barnet in 2021 as head of football, alongside then-manager Harry Kewell. After the Aussie was sacked, Brennan was appointed caretaker head coach, before taking the role permanently. Two seasons in the play-offs followed, before the Bees won the league in 2025.

His Barnet teams usually play with a back three with high-pressing wing-backs; however, Brennan has been starting with a back four so far this season, favouring a 4-3-3 formation. His teams usually play a high-possession game, playing out from the back to deliver an aggressive counter.

Ones to watch:

Zac Williams

Former Crewe academy prospect Zac Williams spent 16 years at The Alex, breaking into the first team at Gresty Road aged just 17. The Rhyl-born centre-back went on to play 124 times for The Railwaymen, whilst making appearances for various youth teams in the Welsh national setup. After leaving the Cheshire side at the expiration of his contract, Williams still has bags of potential and could be a real asset for the London side.

Idris Kanu

Winger Idris Kanu has been a solid option on the left-hand side of the pitch for Dean Brennan since joining in September of 2022. The former Aldershot and Peterborough man can also play as a wing-back, causing chaos on the wings and stretching opposition defences wide open. He has 34 goal involvements in 166 games across four seasons, as well as receiving two caps for the Sierra Leone national team.

Brandon Comley

Current Montserrat captain Brandon Comley is a new arrival at The Hive, leaving Walsall after four seasons at The Bescot. Starting his career at Queens Park Rangers, the central midfielder made his Premier League debut off the bench against Leicester City in 2015. A successful loan period at Colchester became permanent, making 100 appearances for the Essex-based club. A promotion-winning season with Bolton in League Two followed, before moving to the Midlands. He brings experience and an exceptional work-rate in the midfield area, acting as an anchor in front of the centre-backs and occasionally trying a shot from range.

Kabongo Tshimanga

DR Congo-born Tshimanga made an instant impact in London when he joined in January, scoring 14 times in 23 outings for The Bees. Starting his career at Milton Keynes, Tshimanga became a menace in the non-league game, after scoring impressive tallies at Oxford City, Boreham Wood and Chesterfield. A fruitless move to Peterborough came next, finding purple patches on loan at Swindon. After a half-season at Crawley, the poacher has refound the form that made him such a threat, becoming the sting in Brennan’s attack.