Within days of the appointment of a new Head Coach Barnet FC have secured the signature of 19-year-old Sam Cowler. Sam, a Goalkeeper, joins from West Ham United and will be in competition for a first team place in the coming season. He is familiar to with the set-up at the club having performed well during his loan spell in the successful Barnet FC Youth Team last season, and follows former Youth Team players Elliot Johnson and Luke Gambin in being promoted to the Senior side this summer.

Mark Robson has said of the signing, "I’m very pleased to welcome Sam as part of the First Team Squad. He may be young, but he’s a tall kid at over 6ft and what I like about him, along with his ability, is his attitude. It’s fantastic, and I can see that he will be pushing whoever is in front of him for a First Team place. That’s the kind of competition for places I want to see in my team. It’s important we begin adding to the squad, and I’m pleased to see that that’s started with Sam."

Paul Fairclough, the Director of Football says of Sam, "He initially came here on trial and did very well, which was why it was important that the club signed him on a long term deal. The Academy has produced some promising players recently and I think the First Team will be seeing the benefits of this into next season and beyond."

I feel good. Really pleased. I’m happy to be part of Barnet FC. I’m grateful for the opportunity and it feels good to sign for a professional club."Sam was pleased to sign on the dotted line for the Bees, "

As for the benefits of knowing some of his team mates already, "It definitely makes it easier to be playing in a team with boys I know. It will help out a lot. Obviously Elliott (Johnson) and Luke (Gambin) did really well last season when I played with them in the Academy team, and they deserved to make that step up. I am looking forward to training and playing with them."

As for that place in the starting line-up? "Well I can tell you now that I am here to play. I know I am still young and not the most experienced, which obviously means I won’t be starting straight away, but I want to improve every season. Hopefully I will do well this year and use that as a foundation to push for a Number 1 spot the following season. I want to impress the new Head Coach," concludes a positive sounding Sam.