The Voice - Match preview #8: Harrogate Town vs Bradford City Saturday 28th September 2024 12:30pm

Always the get out "tongue in cheek" "sense of humour" comment, you know I always try to give value when questioned about my posts, something I've enjoyed in the past with regards your replies I just fond that one to be a little OTT.

 

Thank you. That rather does clarify that prior to the GR years our attendances were dire and before the cheap ST deals they were around 8k.
Our current high attendances are a bit fake but we all knew that.

 

God i hate this club at times.

 

Forget the injury list. There's not one player on the list that was a standout before being injured. Arguably the players that have come in are at least on a par, playing wise. The problem once again seems to be the manager can't seem to get a tune out of the team on a consistent basis. It's always one step forward, two back! Whether it's recruitment, instructions, fitness, formations or whatever the merry go round needs to be stopped and reset.
Today was an embarrassment. Taking nothing away from Harrogate who deservedly won the game but how the hell couldn't we match them on commitment and attitude alone? Too many 'smaller' clubs do well against us as the fixture naturally raises their game. Unfortunately we appear to have the opposite and expect to steamroller these teams.
Forget an apparent hard pre-season in Austria in future. Stay at home and focus on the basics of football!

 

Will get back to you later Loyal, late in the day now!

 

See my post on previous page -- already done the work!

RCB

 

Prior to cheap ST prices , the only times in our history where we averaged 5 figures were in seasons of success when the football was enjoyable.
Other than GR and Rhodes, has there EVER been an owner who’s invested millions ?
Why do we think that Rupp should be any different?
We are what we are, a small club who had their 2 years in the sunshine, expanded the stadium and off the back of that now have expectations way above reality.

 

I have absolutely no comment to make about yesterday (other than what I have just said haha)

 

Something is not right in the changing room for me. The players just don't look invested in what they're being asked to do. GA still hasn't been able to convince anyone what style of play this team is about. The only identity I've heard him speak about being, is a high press team but I must have misunderstood the meaning of that because we only have one or two applying it.
I'm sick and tired of being out muscled by so called lesser teams because they've raised their game. Why can't we have the same mentality and raise our game to match theirs? We were supposed to have recruited winners and although all are injured, their mentality doesn't appear to have had any effect off the pitch.

 

Anyone miss the days when we had a player like Kyle Reid or Mark Marshall running down the wings and getting you up off your seat for a moment of excitement, we’re so dull to watch and have been for years now! GAs football is as dire as Mark Hughes was.

I just don’t see anything positive under the current regime. Iv seen 0 improvement in any area with the addition of Sharpe, who’s just looking like a costly addition. The recruitment continues to be absolutely abysmal taking punts on players with abysmal injury records hoping that miraculously they will play a full season for us, when will we ever learn.

 

I picked this up a bit in his post-match interview.

GA cited the last three away games where he seemed to be saying that the team had completely failed to implement what they had been training. He mentioned that they had focused on switching play, but didn't do that. Ironically, the lead up to Harrogate 's second goal was a great example of switching play between the wings and creating space.

I sensed a degree of frustration from GA that the team aren't doing what they are training for. Whether that frustration is just about the failure to implement or wider frustrations about the players he has in his squad is up for debate. That the team isn't doing what GA expects is concerning.

I don't get the sense, from what I've seen so far this season, is that there is a team in there waiting to burst out with the right tactics/formation. We've got another pretty average squad of players that are going to win a few and lose a few.

 

The only direct runner who showed a glimpse of what you say, is currently back at his old club. No need for wingers when you hit and hope from back to front.

 

Modern football players are a different breed these days, they just won’t run through brick walls for any club / manager.
It’s a privileged, very well paid easy job for them where their income is guaranteed no matter how or when they play.
I’m losing the passion for football not only because of the attitude of players but also the style and tempo of the modern game is absolutely dire to watch from international level (yes England are turgid too) all the way down to grass roots, unless you are Man City of course.
Too many clubs up and down the pyramid thinking they can play like a Pep team.

 

Where are the winners in this squad? Most are scared of their own shadows and only come out when it’s safe to do so. Or could it be we have a squad brought up on modern day tactics, but are being coached by a manager stuck in the past. Like you I couldn’t pick a team that works from this squad. No decent wing backs for 3-5-2 and not enough wingers for 4-4-2. Bits of a system is all we have.

 

With fans now starting to question GA and his tactics (or lack of them) it’s perfectly clear this season is just going to be exactly the same as previous seasons. Rather than aim vitriol at our totally incompetent board, the fans will first turn on GA and sparks will give him the bullet

Why have the independent supporters group practically disappeared following all the good work they previously did? The official supporters board are as much use as Anne Frank’s drum kit so we can’t rely on them to put anyone to the sword

When we lose our next few games and the inevitable happens with the manager being the fall guy, I sincerely hope to see some sort of mass demonstration outside the main office building

And yes, before any clever bastard pipes up, I include sharpe in this as well as sparks, but although sharpe has proved he’s done absolutely nothing in the short time he’s been here, for me sparks is the real problem and has been since his totally unwarranted promotion

 

Lost at Harrogate. Rinse and repeat.

 

He sounded like Stuart to me a man who had taken the club as far as he could and didn't either have the backing or where with all to change things, his stuttering indicated to me the players had just exposed all his weaknesses in 90 odd minutes he had nowhere to hide
Its his job to motivate the players into playing his system if they aren't then it's on his shoulders to motivate them, having said that I do have sympathy for him I feel he's working with his hands tied behind his back for people who literally have no idea how to advance the club wheres David Sharpe these days seems to be impersonating the invisible man I do believe he was employed to take the first bullets fired by Mr Rupp when things turn bad
No I don't think GA is the man to take us forward I doubt even Pep could do this under the present stewardship
Things need to change from the very top downwards if we are to get out of this league, firing GA would simply be papering over the cracks (again)

 

I'm currently sit 50/50 regarding GA. However, if, and I don't believe it will happen any time soon, we dispense with him, what is that going to achieve? Another manager probably who's out of work inheriting a bunch of players that don't suit their style of play. Wait for a couple of transfer windows to change some personnel but the majority stay on. If the results don't change, then what?
As many have said it needs a complete reset from top to bottom.

 

That's a fair summary of our history in the time i've been alive. Parkinson gave us hope where he pretty much single handedly dragged us out of the khazi league, off the back of that amazingly, despite years of utter shite' our crowds are at numbers that defy any logic, even after two price rises.
But, bar BFG, no one has ever come into Valley Parade thinking they can turn a mythical sleeping giant around. Because we never have been a sleeping giant despite what some in the football world might say.
In reality we're the side that newcomers Harrogate have turned over 7 times out of 10.