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Frazer Toms
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What can you say about Frazer's greatness?
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By:
Frankie Shank
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05/08/2009
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More On Frazer TOMS
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Signed on a free transfer on 1st August 1999 after being released by Charlton, the 20-year-old left footed wing wizard was an exciting prospect. One of John Still's "starlets" and Premiership bound if the great bald windmill's early season comments were to be taken seriously.
Things started well for 'The Lazer' as he scored a stunning volley in the home demolition of York City at the end of August, cementing his place as a permanent fixture on the left wing as we stormed to the top of the table following a fantastic 11 game unbeaten run from the start of the season. This run included a club record seven successive wins including six league wins on the bounce. His pace and gangly running style made him an immediate fans favourite but there was little evidence of what was to come as he made a decent contribution to a successful first half season.
As the season wore on though, his performances dipped and the first signs of this great comical talent came to the fore. He was in and out of the starting lineup for the second half of the season but made a creditable 21 starts and 14 subs appearances as we topped the table for much of the campaign. Blessed with great pace and an ability to run only in a straight line, Frazer's performances had started to earn him a bit of a cult following. His inability to stay on his feet lead to him being nicknamed 'Bambi', in light of his canny resemblance to the little deer trying to wa lk on ice in Walt Disney's classic animation.
Running down blind alleys, tripping over his own feet and running the ball straight out of play were all traits that the Bees faithful had become used to. The pièce de résistance was his trademark turn. Like fellow footballing genius Joahn Cruyff, Frazer had developed his very own, unique skill. The 'no-look shuffle' involved a lightening twist of the hips whilst looking completely the opposite direction resulting in either the ball or Frazer ending up out of play in the gravel surrounding the pitch. This sensational new skill sent shockwaves reverberating around the footballing world and the shuffle quickly became mainstream in park football. Thrown in amongst all of that was the occasional flash of genius as he would steam passed two defenders as if they weren't there before whipping over a devilish cross. Sadly for Frazer, these flashes became rarer as the weeks passed.
And then there was his voice. What can only be described as a cross between a woman screaming and Joe Pasquale. On helium. On a freezing cold Tuesday night in January, Frazer's shrieks would warm the cockles of even the most miserable Bees fan.
A disastrous February ended any title and automatic promotion hopes but a playoff place was clinched after a 2-2 draw with Leyton Orient with Frazer coming off the bench for half an hour, a role he had by now become accustomed to.
1-0 down after an early Peterborough goal in the 1st leg of the Play Off semi-final at Underhill and Frazer comes on to replace the injured Rob Sawyers. Within 2 minutes the Bees were level! Such was the aura and inspiration of the man. Despite going on to lose the first leg 2-1, hopes were high that the defecit could be overturned at London Road, scene of one of the finest away wins in our Football League history six months earlier. Despite Frazer being recalled to the starting lineup, Posh overran us with Dave Farrell scoring an outstanding hat trick to end our season in heartache.
The following season was a disaster and culminated in our relegation back to the Conference after 10 years of League football. Frazer made most of his appearances coming off the bench but didn't add to his tally of 2 goals from the previous campaign.
League Football had proved a step too far for the young whippet and along with scoring more goals, Frazer's more legendary appearances were to come in the Conference. Maybe it was due to the disappointment of relegation and being back in the Conference or maybe it was down to the lower crowds and quieter atmosphere's but Frazer's voice, already the subject of much humour, quickly became the focal point of many games. Before John Still was finally ousted, attendances had fallen below a thousand for the first time in over a decade and a half and following a dreadful run of form, a second successive relegation was a real possib ility. This meant that most games were just miserable, depressing affairs with little or no atmosphere so the high-pitched wails of Frazer, pinned to the left wing, directly in front of the East Terrace for 45 minutes, calling for a cross-field pass turned into the highlight of many a weekend.
Farnboroughs 3-0 demolition of the Bees at Underhill on 19th February 2002 attracted a crowd of just 787 and signalled the end of John Still's reign as manager. While the result was bad and the attendance embarrassing, it was clearly the fact that Frazer couldn't even make the bench that signalled the end for Still. Peter Shreeves was appointed manager with Martin Allen his assistant and they instantly recalled Frazer to the starting lineup for the short trip to Hayes.
Frazer returned to the glory days of August 1999 and scored the second goal as a miserable run of 7 winless league games came to an end. Frazer's return to the starting lineup and improved form sparked a great run of 10 wins and 2 draws from the remaining 15 games that would end with us finishing in a very respectable 5th place. Frazer fired 4 goals in 13 appearances during that spell, clearly the sole catalyst for the improvement. The highlight of that run was the 4-0 thumping of promotion chasing Dagenham, ending their previously unbeaten away record. Frazer scored the first goal that night and the feel good factor was back!
The following season marked the pinnacle of Frazer's time at Barnet. Despite the optimism generated by the end of the previous campaign, the 2002/3 campaign proved to be a disappointing mid-table affair. This meant there were a series of meaningless games played at Underhill from the New Year onwards. With no hope of going up and little chance of going down, the highlight of each game seemed to turn to Frazer. His voice illuminating the pitch and bringing grown men to their knees in tears of laughter as he yelped for someone to pass it to him. One game that stands out was at Underhill just before Peter Shreeves stepped aside. I can't remember who it was against but playing down the slope, Frazer was at his finest and a torrent of high-pitched wails encapsulated the East Terrace. The crowd were in fits of delerium as eventually someone sprayed a pass out to the left flank. The atmosphere was electric as Frazer skuttled down the touchline, no-look shuffling at will, running the ball into the advertising hoardings in front of the old West Bank. This was repeated three or four times and with each shuffle, the noise level increased. In a season of woe, moments like that are absolutely priceless!
Unfortunately for Frazer, his season was to end in disaster as the by then legendary flying winger suffered a shocking double compound fracture of his leg in a game at Gravesend. While Frazer had been the subject of much ridicule, the injury was horrific and everyone wished Frazer a speedy=2 0recovery and hoped that he would one day be back to grace the Underhill slope once again. He did eventually make a brief comeback but by then, we were gearing up for a promotion push and while we all enjoyed Frazers cameo performances and operatic tones, we all had to accept the inevitable. He really wasn't very good at all.
Frazer's comeback from injury and last ever appearance for Barnet came in an emotional Herts Senior Cup game at Underhill against Ware on 2nd December 2003, just one day before my birthday. What a present that was for me!
Coming on as a 60th minute substitute, his every touch was met with a huge roar of appreciation from the bumper crowd of 431 and he bamboozled Ware defenders and himself as if he had never been away. Barnet won 4-1 that night and Steve Percy came off the bench much to the bemusement of the Ware players who didn't really see the funny side of the mulleted moaner taking the field. Percy became involved in a fracas after a dreadful late challenge on the 'silver horse' and the ensuing melee briefly took the attention away from Frazer's return. At the end of the game, the David Bowie classic Space Oddity pumped out of the tannoy system. To a man, the entire crowd of 431 plus tens of thousands of bystanders who had come in to the stadium for the final half hour, stood in appreciation and sang 'Ground Control To Frazer Toms' as Bambi left the field to rapturous applause. While this may not have actually happened in reality, it was certainly a scene that I have imagined many times over since that fateful night.
Frazer left Barnet for St Albans just a few weeks after that dramatic comeback thus ending a Barnet career that spanned 4 years and saw the great man make a total of 88 starts with another 41 appearances coming from the bench. He fired 8 goals in total but left all Barnet fans with a series of wonderful, everlasting memories.
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