Barnet FC Bid Farewell to Key Players as Pre-Season Preparations Begin

Barnet FC Bid Farewell to Key Players as Pre-Season Preparations Begin

Club confirms departures of Stead and Glover while welcoming new defensive reinforcements ahead of 2026/27 League Two campaign

11 June 2026 | Barnet Football Club Correspondent

Barnet Football Club has begun its summer rebuilding phase in earnest, confirming the departures of two influential players while securing fresh defensive talent as preparations intensify for the 2026/27 League Two season.

On Wednesday, the club announced that striker Callum Stead has completed a permanent transfer to Cambridge United. The move brings an end to a highly successful three-year spell at The Hive, during which Stead became a firm favourite with supporters thanks to his consistent goalscoring and work rate.

Stead played a pivotal role in Barnet’s promotion from the National League and contributed significantly during their first season back in the Football League. His departure marks the end of an era, though fans will undoubtedly wish him well in his next chapter.

Just days earlier, winger Ryan Glover also left the club, joining League One side Stockport County. The 25-year-old, who arrived from Aldershot Town, made a solid impression during his time in north London and leaves with the best wishes of everyone at Barnet FC.

Manager Dean Brennan acknowledged the challenges of retaining key talent but emphasised the club’s forward-looking strategy. “Callum and Ryan have both given excellent service and we thank them for their efforts,” Brennan said. “These are tough but necessary decisions as we look to build a squad capable of competing strongly next season.”

Balancing the outgoing players, Barnet have moved swiftly in the transfer market. The club recently confirmed the signing of defender Zac Williams on a free transfer, followed by the arrival of Craig Farquhar, also on a free. Both players are expected to bolster a backline that showed promising signs during the 2025/26 campaign.

Farquhar’s arrival was announced earlier this week, marking the second defensive addition of the summer. The versatile defender brings experience and physicality, qualities that will be vital as Barnet aim to improve on their mid-table finish from last season.

With the new season approaching, pre-season planning is well underway. Barnet have already announced several friendly fixtures, including home matches against Watford and Luton Town. These high-profile encounters will provide valuable minutes and tough tests against higher-level opposition.

A pre-season ticket bundle has also been released, offering supporters an affordable way to follow the team’s preparations. The club continues to focus on community engagement, recently inducting new members into the Barnet FC in the Community committee.

Off the pitch, discussions regarding the club’s long-term stadium future remain ongoing after the council’s rejection of planning permission for a new ground earlier in the year. Chairman Anthony Kleanthous and the board are exploring next steps while prioritising on-pitch stability.

Barnet finished the 2025/26 season in a respectable position in League Two, demonstrating clear progress since promotion. The squad depth and tactical organisation under Brennan earned praise, though consistency away from home remains an area for development.

As the transfer window continues, further incomings are anticipated. The Bees will look to strengthen their attacking options following Stead’s exit and add midfield creativity to complement the new defensive signings.

Supporters remain optimistic about the direction of the club. With a solid core of players retained and targeted additions arriving, there is quiet confidence that Barnet can challenge for a higher league position in the coming campaign.

The Hive will soon come alive again as pre-season friendlies get underway in July. For Dean Brennan and his squad, the focus is now firmly on building momentum and laying the foundations for a successful 2026/27 season.

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Opened 2013

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History (from Wikipedia)

Barnet F.C. chairman Anthony Kleanthous had sought to move the club from its long term home at Underhill Stadium since the 1990s due to the poor facilities at the ground. Various attempts to move to Barnet Copthall athletics stadium or to the greenbelt site directly to the south of Underhill were both unsuccessful, with then deputy prime minister John Prescott over-ruling a move to Copthall in 2001 after planning permission had initially been granted.[2]

Construction of a stadium at the Harrow council-owned Prince Edward Playing Fields in Canons Park had originally begun in early 2003, specifically intended as a new home for local non-league club Wealdstone F.C. In April 2004, with the building work more than 25% completed, Wealdstone F.C.'s investment partners in the project, a private company called Stadia Investment Group, went into liquidation and this caused the construction work at the site to be brought to a sudden halt due to lack of funds to pay the builders.[3] With Wealdstone F.C. unable to afford the completion of the project on their own, there was no further progress at the site for two years.

Harrow London Borough Council then decided to put the site up for tender in 2006. Barnet F.C. bought the tender, and with it the right to occupy the site which they stated they would use purely as a training centre, and not as a new home stadium. It was a condition of the tender that the stadium must be completed by the new owners for the use of Wealdstone F.C., but this did not happen and Wealdstone F.C. received no recompense for their initial investment into the ground.[4]

Having used the surrounding site as a training centre, Barnet F.C. eventually moved completely to the stadium in summer 2013, ostensibly as a result of a disagreement with Barnet London Borough Council with regards to the lease of the land surrounding their home since 1907, Underhill Stadium,[5] as well as the limited facilities at Underhill restricting the club's income. The awarding of the Barnet Copthall site to Saracens F.C., effectively ended Barnet F.C.'s hopes of ever moving to that site, accelerating the move to the Hive further.[6]

The club originally claimed they intended the use of the stadium at the Hive to be a temporary arrangement, with the long-term aim to build a 10,000-capacity stadium back in the London Borough of Barnet. However that changed in 2015 [7] with the chairman announcing the club would no longer actively search for a home elsewhere.[8] Initially there was a restriction on the lease of the Hive that prevented its use for Football League matches, however Barnet F.C. were granted a 10-year change to this condition which came into effect in June 2015. In 2018 Kleanthous purchased the freehold for the site from the London Borough of Harrow and so this restriction no longer applies.

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