The Voice - Match preview #27: Bradford City vs Morecambe Tuesday 28th January 2025 7:45pm

EFL League Two Fixture #27
Tuesday 28th January 2025 19:45
Bradford City (7th) vs Morecambe (24th)
University of Bradford Stadium (AKA Valley Parade)

Record:
Games Won: 10
Games Drawn: 6
Games Lost: 7

Last 5:
08 May 2021: Morecambe 2 – 0 Bradford City
19 Aug 2023: Morecambe 3 – 0 Bradford City
26 Dec 2023: Bradford City 2 – 2 Morecambe
01 Oct 2024: Morecambe 1 – 1 Bradford City
30 Nov 2024: Morecambe 1 – 0 Bradford City

Morecambe:
Despite the recent boon of a money-spinning FA Cup third round tie at Stamford Bridge in front of nearly 40,000 fans, as well as pivotal wins over relegation rivals Carlisle United and Tranmere Rovers, the fact is the Shrimpers are in an increasingly large amount of trouble this season. Sat rock bottom having been leapfrogged by Carlisle following an unexpected 2-1 away win at Fleetwood Town, things are not looking good for Derek Adams men on the pitch.

Off the pitch, it’s looking even worse. Morecambe FC Director James Wakefield recently reacted to a statement from the board of directors that stated: ‘’Morecambe Football Club is currently prevented from making further signings in the January transfer window, despite recent cup successes and capital injections, because written assurances from Bond Group that the club will be funded to the end of the season have not been supported by sufficient proof of source and sufficiency of funding.”

I’m sure no Bradford City fan, having lived through two administrations following the club’s dramatic plummet from the Premier League to the fourth tier, would wish Morecambe anything but the best in terms of sourcing further investment, but ultimately it looks like an influx of new faces in the January transfer window is well off the agenda.

But manager Derek Adams is a character that expects nothing but hard graft from his players regardless of whether he’s managing a larger, wealthier outfit like Bradford City, or a club like Morecambe on the brink of non-league football and, potentially, a financial catastrophe. Expecting Morecambe to roll over in spite of the many, many factors working against them – including, frankly, a lack of talent within the squad – is naïve. If anyone can instil an ‘us against the world’-type mentality, the dour Scotsman, who had few fans on the Valley Parade terraces, is one of them.

Lee Angol’s red card in a recent 1-0 defeat to midtable Colchester United obviously hasn’t helped, but far from collapsing, Morecambe almost matched Colchester’s shot output in a narrow 1-0 defeat. The game before, against promotion-chasing Crewe Alexandra, Morecambe actually had the vast majority of chances but again fell to a 1-0 defeat. Getting battered week in, week out they are not.

With the added motivation of playing one of their manager’s former clubs, and a Bradford City side Morecambe have had a lot of success against recently, this match could defy the odds, could defy expectations, and could defy form once more. If Bradford City cannot match Morecambe’s work ethic and ‘by any means necessary’ attitude, this could be another highly uncomfortable evening for Graham Alexander’s Bradford City.

Don’t write Morecambe off in this game, and don’t write them off in their increasingly desperate fight against relegation, either. They might end up losing at Valley Parade on Tuesday night, and they might ending up going down when all is said and done, but that’s not something that should be of any concern in the lead up to this game. Hard work, blood and thunder, and tactical sophistication will be needed against a side who might struggle to score but are very rarely blown away by anyone not named Chelsea.

Look out for midfielder Ben Tollitt, the only Shrimper with more than 3 goals this season. Jamie Stott, a defender with 3 league goals to his account, might be the next biggest threat in a side that will try to make the most of any opportunities they can force through at a fortress like Valley Parade.

Morecambe 0 – 1 Crewe Alexandra


Colchester United 1 – 0 Morecambe


Bradford City:
One of the most maddening points of the 24/25 campaign to date was undoubtedly the 5 points dropped on the road in consecutive games at Harrogate Town and then Morecambe back in late September/early October, with Sulphurites fans rubbing it in with a rousing chorus of “Bradford City, it’s happening again”. Such results were a hammer blow to the confidence of the Bradford City faithful amid an otherwise reasonable run of results. Fast forward to late November, and the Bantams were at it again, losing a morale-destroying FA Cup tie at Morecambe and thus denying a jaded fan base an eventual third round tie against Premier League giants Chelsea.

Perhaps Morecambe needed that game more, but football is a game of results, not sentiment, and regardless of how things go in the second half of the season, results like that will continue to count against Graham Alexander and his side.

That said, things are looking much, much rosier now, with a comprehensive 3-0 rout of runaway leaders Walsall extending their unbeaten league run to 6 games, with 5 of those coming via victory. Valley Parade has become a veritable fortress, having threatened for most of the season to become one of the most imposing away days in League Two, and credit must go to Graham Alexander for that. With 6 goals rattled in in their last 2 games at the University of Bradford Stadium, few will relish this encounter – but one that might is Derek Adams. The prospect of getting yet another one over on his former employers and reinvigorating his side’s survival hopes will be tantalising – but also, far easier said than done.

With the Carlisle United away day hoodoo dispensed with, perhaps Graham Alexander’s on form Bantams side are set to banish another miserable recent record to the shadows. If the Walsall performance was anything to go by, Bradford City must be huge favourites – but they also must not approach this game with any naivety or any expectations of a walkover. Most likely it won’t be. Much like City had to settle for a 1-0 win over struggler Carlisle United, this fixture is about one thing and one thing only: 3 points, by hook or by crook.

With the on form attacking midfield trio of Antoni Sarcevic, Alex Pattison and Bobby Pointon looking increasingly threatening, former Bantams Yan Songo’o, Callum Cooke and Luke Hendrie will have their work cut out for them. Trying to stop a marauding attack that has reshaped itself in Andy Cook’s absence won’t be easy, but equally, obstinance is undoubtedly a virtue of any Derek Adams side, particularly one threatened with relegation. Morecambe have spoiled the party twice already this campaign – but can they do it at Valley Parade?

Bradford City 3 – 0 Walsall


Carlisle United 0 – 1 Bradford City


Prediction:
With games like this, the question often boils down to two distinct options: do you go the superstitious route and assume one club can continue to overachieve against the other, or do you take a more pragmatic approach, looking at data, form, and recent results? Perhaps Derek Adams really does have a style that works well against Graham Alexander’s. Perhaps Derek Adams is simply a better motivator on an individual match day level, or perhaps certain players are naturally more inclined to put in a greater shift against a former employer. But then the trend is wider than that. We have seen numerous iterations under numerous managers struggle against ex-players at clubs like Carlisle United and now Morecambe, but generally when those clubs are actually doing quite well themselves.

That’s not the case here. Morecambe are in the doldrums, no question, and the future is bleak. Unable to bring in new players despite agreements already being in place (per Derek Adams), the Shrimpers find themselves with their hands tied despite recent cup successes, and they are in dire need of reinforcements. An odds-defying win at Valley Parade might ultimately count for nothing, given Morecambe are a full 6 points from safety, but one thing is for sure: Bradford City will get no favours here.

Morecambe have made life difficult for sides like 2nd place Crewe Alexandra and on-form Salford City recently, so it’s unlikely it will be any different for Bradford City. The fact is, given the trend in Morecambe’s matches of late, the first team to score might just be the winner. Indeed in Morecambe’s last 10 games across both league and cup, only one team has scored. Get in front, and there has been no coming back, whether that is Morecambe or their opposition.

On that score, Bradford City must feel confident. They are scoring regularly, and they are scoring in both halves. They are scoring whether they have the majority of possession or not. In other words, this Graham Alexander-assembled side is both effective and adaptable, something that could not easily be levelled at his predecessor, Mark Hughes. Perhaps it is the pragmatism of the current manager that is to credit for that. Alexander’s men might prefer a long diagonal ball to the wing back, but they are far from limited to that, especially since Pattison and Sarcevic returned from injury to add some real pace and creative flair to the middle of the park.

Expecting Morecambe to deal with all of that seems at least a little bit naïve – but they will certainly bust a gut in their attempts to frustrate Bradford City one more time. The pick is a 2-0 win for the Bantams in a crucial game in terms of gathering further momentum ahead of a very tough-looking tie away at AFC Wimbledon this weekend.

Best wishes to Morecambe, however, in their fight against financial ruin.

Final Score:
Bradford City 2 – 0 Morecambe