BILLY BUNTER

Weblog: The football punter

Back a result that could have Mad Dog foaming at the mouth

You often hear stories in Italy about managers getting the sack and then being offered their old job back six weeks later and some Wolves fans probably wouldn’t have minded if Mick McCarthy had been reappointed pretty sharpish.

Martin Allen and Barnet, who take on Southend tonight, are certainly no fans of the old saying “Never goback”. Mad Dog has returned to Underhill for the tail end of the Bees’ annual relegation battle and he’s replaced Lawrie Sanchez, who in turn replaced Allen at the death last season.

Sanchez hasn’t gone quietly – he seemed to think that guiding Barnet to the brink of relegation merited a job for life and the freedom of the Northern Line – and it’s safe to assume that Allen hasn’t arrived quietly.

It’ll be interesting to see what impact Mad Dog has on his new
charges. He’s not really got time to introduce his usual regime of meditation, Pilates and herbal tea so he may just have to yell abuse in his players’ faces and hope for the best.

Mind you, tonight’s trip to Southend won’t be easy – the Shrimpers look destined for the play-offs but they won’t want to lose any momentum. They’ve won their last two home games 4-0 (against Cheltenham) and 2-0 (against AFC Wimbledon) and I can’t see Barnet holding them up for long.

Back the Southend-Southend double result and start preparing those “Allen Out, Sanchez In!” placards.