Source: FOOTYMAD
Barnet's former Chelmsford City Ricky Holmes on nearly ending up Southend United
When at Chelmsford City winger Ricky Holmes was considered a good option for Southend United but ended up signing for their Boxing Day opponents from North London, Barnet FC. Ricky so easily could have been a ShrimperHolmes told www.echo-news.co.uk: "I used to watch Southend every week when I was younger and I'm still a fan now because I'm a local lad so it will be a little bit strange playing against them. But it's worked out well because it means I can spend Christmas with my parents and then just walk up to the ground for the game because they only live five minutes away from the stadium." Holmes, a former Prittlewell School pupil, was with Southend as a youngster and he was constantly linked to a move back to the club when he started to impress while with Chelmsford. However, the 23-year-old was never close to joining Blues. Holmes continued: "There were a lot of rumours and speculation about it but I don't think it was ever anything more than that. I'm not sure if Steve Tilson thought I could fit in to his side but thankfully Barnet took a chance on me in the end because it was always my boyhood dream to become a professional footballer." Holmes has made 23 appearances for the Bees so far and netted his first goal for the club in their 4-1 win over Northampton Town at Underhill last month. He is keen to add to that tally but is enjoying the challenge of adjusting to life in League Two. "It is a lot faster and the players are more intelligent because they have more experience. It's a good test though and my body is adjusting to training full time. I've gone from training three hours a week to three hours a day but it's helping me to become a better player and I want to keep on improving." Holmes also wants Barnet to give Blues more of a test than in the last meeting between the two teams in October. That night a brace from striker Matt Paterson secured Southend a 3-1 win in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. And Holmes knows his team will have to improve on that showing. Holmes concluded: "Southend bossed that game and Anthony Grant was just unbelievable in it. We can't afford to let them do that again and will need to play better than we did when we played them before."
