The Voice - Match preview #32: AFC Wimbledon vs Bradford City Saturday 21st February 2026 3:00pm

Recent form im on about - Hudds, Lincoln, Luton, Wimbledon - hideous.

even when we beat Blackpool we got a bit lucky but at least we did scrape a win.

 

I get rotation of the likes of Sarc. He can’t play all those games
But wright and pointon are a mystery why not starting
Kelly is a joke…end of

 

He did say it, I can't recall when or after which match. Not sure if it was after a question about Cooky but his response was along the lines of 'what if I have to bring a sub on after 5 minutes if he can only do 45...'.

What's the 'point' in having one of your best and most influential players (Sarc) sat on the bench and not bring him on? Even if he could only do 20 minutes? Might as well have had a youth team player on the bench for the experience...

 

I'm not disagreeing with rotation as I've posted I just don't understand the logic in taking a player all the way down to London sitting him on the bench and not giving him 20/30 minutes or so when were losing 3 - 0 if he's incapable of not being able to do 20/30 minutes IMO he shouldn't be on the bench ?.

 

Alexander explains it himself in his post match interview.
Again… who has he left out today apart from Sarcevic who will be having his minutes managed and Baldwin? Funny the hypocrisy on here as I can find post after post after post of people slagging off Baldwin, Bobby, Neufville and Tilt. Now they are the answer to our average away form.
If you think starting Sarc and Baldwin would have meant the team performance would have been drastically better I give up trying to even have a conversation about it.

 

Are we 'coasting' through away games? That sounds like we should be winning at a canter which we are certainly not. It sounds from what you are saying that you think that we are almost deliberately 'throwing' away games? He should refund the thousands of fans that have been to away games then if that is the case......

 

If you don't think starting our best attacker and our best centre half would've improved the performance and likelihood of a result then I agree, you shouldn't be discussing it.

 

When I thought some of you couldn’t get any more bonkers it’s now being suggested Alexander is throwing away games to win home games.
I can understand a level of disappointment but honestly some of you must understand football as a completely different game to me.

 

You can't debate your point can you because you've no answer so you come back on a completely irrelevant point to your own?

Read the thread properly.....I was responding to Bumblebee....

"I can understand a level of disappointment but honestly some of you must understand football as a completely different game to me."

Yes, show me your FA Coaching Badges and I'll show mine....

 

Alexander said it was because Jackson played 70 minutes against Peterborough but his numbers are what you'd expect from a 90 minute performance.

 

Good to know opinions now require accreditation. Should we submit our comments to the FA for approval before posting?
Bizarre the argument is that it’s all on Alexander because he played Kelly over Baldwin. Fans asking for refunds
Baldwin has missed 13 games this season through injury and Sarc 10 and both missed large chunks last season. Just chuck them in though because you clearly think they can be flogged.

 

“Only saw bits of the game tonight. Baldwin and Byrne are an absolute car crash pair of defenders and we won't get anywhere with both of them in our back line.”

“Daylight robbery how we're level here. Should be three or four down. Absolutely horrendous first half and special mention to Baldwin - he's a bombscare.”

 

Well two main things

Baldwin is capable of playing on the deck and his ariel balls are usually on target, whereas Pennington, Tilt and Kelly are all crap with the ball to feet, so it means whenever they have possession they end up hoofing it back to Wimbledon so possession is constantly lost, which it was. Not trying to make out Aden Baldwin as The league One John Stones but you need at least one ball playing CB in a back 3 and if it isn’t going to be him then put Touray at Lcb and put Ashby at Wing back

As for Sarc, he does the basics right 90% of the time, a very underrated commodity. Keeps possession, gets stuck in tackles, brings some drive in the team. Sibley didn't do anything of the sort. Lost possession countless times, late or ducked out of challenges, never looked like an attacking threat and left a gaping hole between the midfield and forward line, which he was supposed to cover. I remember Morais saying 30 mins in that Sibley hasn't kept the ball once, and then in the next 5 mins he under-hits two passes to Touray that almost lead to Wimbledon breaks

the players that didn't play today aren't world class, but they fit the system we play and play an integral role to it, the options we have do not replace the attributes they bring, hence why our performances drop off a cliff when certain players don't play

 

A really big misconception im seeing in the majority of these comments. We play a back 3. It doesn’t matter who's playing in that 3, but one of them needs to be able to pass a ball and be comfortable with it when its at their feet. If you don't have that then you are buggered and very much look like a league two side, which we have on several occasions

 

Another misconception is this whole “managing minutes” bullshit

theres been several occasions this season where players could've been brought off in games we are in control of, and given a break. Instead they are made to play the full 90 and the following game they get stuck on the bench and the general gist is “they need resting”

So here’s a bright idea, perhaps bring them off in games where we can afford to and that way they can play in a run of games, rather than run them ragged in one game and leave em on the bench for the next

all this talk about the football being more demanding than it was 10 years ago, well it is, but 10 years ago we could only make 3 subs per game and now we can make 5, and our benches post January look a lot bloody stronger than I seem to remember over the last 10 seasons. The availability to mange minutes is there, its just being handled in a complete novice way

 

I’m not arguing that point at all. I’m suggesting that Alexander has explained he is going to have to use the squad over the coming weeks. Especially as Baldwin and Sarcevic have missed games over the last 18 months through injury.
We have 11 games in 44 days I think he said.
The players are letting Alexander down.
Walker, Neurfville, Tilt, Metcalfe and Jackson were all ineffective today yet seemingly undroppable as we darent make changes and can’t trust the squad players to come in and do a job.
Sibley was always going to be rusty. If he doesn’t get minutes then how does he get to the point where we see the best of him?

 

Where the hell was Lapslie yesterday? Has been apart of recent wins, coming on to steady to ship and absolutely nowhere to be seen.

Was GA resting him after his 2 minutes against Stockport?

 

who scouted the players we signed.
no manager gives players away that are worth there salt.

 

You’re making out we are the only team playing back to back games… so is everyone else and they seem to be doing fine.. its just alexander who makes wholesale changes and screws the teams momentum up.

 

Majority of us appreciate the Sarcevic situation. But to rest Bobby and Baldwin but bring them on anyway is always going to be scrutinised.

And Sibley starting was a shocker. Why not Lapslie? He has been around the squad and doing bits. Wasnt even in the 18.

A front 3 of Bobby, Lapslie and Jackson would have been an idea for continuity at least.