Quality is the word that springs to mind when considering the performances in midfield of Glen Southam. One Barnet supporter, enthusing about the 3-1 win against Cheltenham Town at the weekend, offered the accolade that he is the best passer of the ball at Underhill since the days of Nicky Bailey.
A look at Southam's background quickly reveal where the quality came from. He was at Tottenham Hotspur from the age of eight until he was 17 and pays tribute to the coaching he received at White Hart Lane from Chris Hughton, now the manager of Newcastle United, as he learnt his trade.
On then to Fulham for a year when Kevin Keegan was the manager and the help in his development he received from Alan Smith, the former Crystal Palace manager. "I had the best coaching a young player could have had", he says.
And then there was Jurgen Klinsmann. The German international arrived at Spurs when Southam was there - "it was massive for them for him to come to Tottenham" - and Southam was able to rub shoulders with one of the best players in the world at the time on a daily basis.
Southam recalls: "My Dad was a chauffeur for Spurs and Klinsman came and stayed with us for three months. I had mixed feelings at first because of his reputation as a diver but I certainly looked up to him and admired him.
"In fact, he was one of the nicest people you could meet. The one thing I learned from him is that a footballer in the public eye must take time out for people who look up to them ... the supporters.
"That's gone out of the game a bit now but, for me, it's important".
Southam certainly took time out to remember the fans who had travelled to the game when the Bees lost 7-0 at Crewe Alexandra. "No-one deserves that when they have spent money to travel that distance to support their team", he says." We didn't perform as a team that day.
"So the players got together on the Monday and decided to make a move towards rebuilding relations with the fans by making a goodwill gesture to the Supporters Association. We don't earns fortunes but we all chipped in".
These days Southam, who was 30 on August 27, is benefiting from the coaching of manager Mark Stimson, first team coach Michael Stone and assistant manager Scott Barrett and as ambitious as he was as a youngster at White Hart Lane and Craven Cottage.
"My ambition is as strong as ever to be successful", he says. "Ideally I'd like to play as high as I can ... maybe Barnet will give me that chance".
Footnote: Southam, who made 13 appearances for the England C side, made 200-plus appearances for Dagenham and Redbridge and played in every game of their promotion-winning side in 2007.Earlier he made 124 appearances for Bishop's Stortford and was the club Player of the Year three times between 2001-04.
Dennis Signy
