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

Can GA honestly believe that Sibley was a better choice than Lapslie. Mmmmmm - not a chance.

 

Now he says that the 'problem' may be that the players have become addicted to playing in front of 20k at VP and maybe this is the reason for poor away performances!!
Couldn't make it up!!!

 

Well that argument may have some weight if it was predominantly the same 11 playing home and away but it isn't! Comparing the performances against Stockport/Peterborough with the Wimbledon display is meaningless, given we had a completely different team out!

 

Really don’t understand why people have turned on Sibley when he’s come in and has a lack of game time and match fitness. The only possible way for him to get to up speed is to get him on the pitch when we can. The lad clearly has talent. Hes played 186 games in league one and the championship at 24. January was probably the wrong time to sign him as we needed players who could come in and make a difference but hes clearly not a poor footballer.

 

I dont blame any players that are thrown into a weak line up .............Lapslie brings in home then throws him out of the squad just mad

 

Or Kelly was a better choice than Joe Wright.

 

Im certainly not turning on the lad. I just think he was completely hung out to dry on Saturday. He's gone from not even being part of the matchday squad to being plunged in to make his first league start since the end of last season apparently. Its no wonder he looked badly lacking and in all honesty that 45 minutes will most likely have set him back confidence wise

 

Yeh not blaming Sibley. Like we can't blame Kelly. Kelly is a decent League 2 defender. Who can do a job in League 1 as long as he has other better centre halves next to him and at least one that can play a decent pass.

I still don't get what Lapslie has done to not deserve even a place on the bench. Never let us down.... and if anything has looked pretty solid when called upon.

We're just stinking the place out away from home. I love that GA has turned VP into a fortress. But the backing the team gets away from home is also worthy of the best team being played regardless.

I think he sometimes overthinks things.

 

I am sorry Graham , the more you speak the less sense you are making
Saturday was down to you and you alone
You changed 50% of the outfield players
Some with hardly any game time recently
Yes the players should have performed better, but they should have been prepared and set up better than what you decided to do
This is not the first time you have had this same brain fart for away games

 

I agree but I think the confusing thing about Sibleys on Saturday is Alexander goes on about seeing players everyday in training and Alexander says training is a big part of his decision making for the next game.
As @Onside87 says Sibley has plenty of experience at a higher level obviously Alexander thought his fitness wasn't a problem so why did we see such a poor performance not merely from Sibley but from the whole starting 11.
For me with 14 games left Alexander has to bite the bullet and pick his strongest starting 11, if that means the likes of Sarcevic, Pointon, Wright have to miss a train session so be it, who knows we may have clinched a play off place by Easter and then he could rest the likes of the above.
Maybe not the best example out there because the game has change but the lad Paul McGrath who Manchester United let go to Aston Villa because he had dodgy knees went on to be a regular member of the Villa team winning the PFAs "Players Player of the Year" and League runners up behind Liverpool one season, his training schedule was different to other players, at times not training at all between games, I'd think even in the modern game clubs who have players who may struggle to do 90 minutes or may be suspect to reoccurring injurys are not put through the vigorous training regime as others, IE they train with the medical staff knowing not to push them as they know doing certain things are more likely to have an adverse effect.

 

Its every away game now and its to the point im simply gonna avoid watching them away from home

 

Playing devils advocate, the piece n the T&A has been taken from the interview he did after the match. I agree it’s on him though. In all the time he’s been here we’ve struggled away from home. He’s fixed the home problem and seems incapable of setting us defensively away, which is what we should be doing first and foremost. To try and replicate how we play at home is, and has been proven to be fruitless. He needs to have a rethink about playing one type of system both home and away, because if we manage to get into the playoffs and the final, we won’t be playing at Valley Parade and we’ll more than likely get mullered.

 

Yeah why can't we just set up the same away from home as we do at VP, at the moment not much to lose.

 

I've asked myself this.

If he's scared of losing, we lose anyway.... may aswell try something else.

 

We have performed miracles this season. Just look at the other promoted teams league positions. That said, GA is paid to win games. HIS away strategy (and it is his alone) needs a serious reboot. We don't compete let alone stand a chance of winning. Midfield is always overrun. We have a squad of circa 14 L1 players (at best) with the rest L2 or worse. Changes should be limited every game. I can see that. Why can't GA?

 

How does anyone ensure players are fit 100% of the time AND manage their minutes . I totally agree with your sentiment but that comment is impossible to sustain . Bobby isn’t undroppable away from home , yet I agree he is at VP.

 

As we have been so poor at getting results away from Valley Parade recently would we fans be happy setting up more defensively with an extra man in midfield ETC and be more a team of "we start with a point now you take it from us" we now have pace up top so we can catch teams on the counter, who would be happy to see us have that mindset, surely it can't be any worse than the present set up.

 

I would! I'd take a point from every away game now until the end of the season knowing we will probably win our home games or at least 90% of them