The Voice - Match preview #33: Bromley vs Bradford City Tuesday 25th February 2025 7:45pm

It was a joy to watch that clip and I will admit it tears rolled down my face. You are absolutely spot on, I can announce that we are officially a team, and will return to VP. I haven’t been well as I would have returned earlier.
For me this was a pivotal match a big red flag on the map to promotion. These are the type of games we normally cave in on but we were having none of it. The team were determined to have all three.

 

Well that’s a pen, then - because you’ve introduced the ‘deliberate’ aspect, which is what Law 12 is supposed to punish.

Adaramola’s case perfectly fits the description in the guidance I’ve quoted for it being ‘not handball’. Plays the ball in from Bromley with his foot and it goes straight up and hits hand.

I’m struggling with how that could be interpreted as anything else. I’m sure there could be certain scenarios which might test that guidance in terms
of its application, possibly involving length of time between first play of the ball and when it hits hand, but last night’s incident wasn’t one of them.

 

We never allowed them to, the pace at which we played the game was just too much for them. If our passing radar in the final third had been turned on we could have been heading toward double figures.

 

I hate this subs running on garbage. When Leeds scored the other night the subs were running in the penalty area . Send the bloody lot off as was their boss the week before. They won’t do it again!

 

Agree that’s why this part of the guidance exists. The part of Law 12 relating to handball is for it to be deemed deliberate and then they try and dictate the scenarios where it applies - that’s where ‘hands in an unnatural position’ (plus other aspects) came from.

The Adaramola incident perfectly fits the guidance I quoted, though. Plays ball with foot, straight up onto hand. IFAB’s guidance clearly states that should not be given as handball.

 

That whybi think while the going is good we have to cause significant damage over the next 5 games to give is some kind of gap before we hit the later stages .............we pull in say 12 points out of the next 5 matches ...........i think then it gives us a bit of room for error ............saying that in this form we shouldnt be scared of anyone

 

Seems to have been this myth built up that Cooky doesn't do his fair share of work or hold the ball up. Granted he ain't the most technically gifted but some of the shite I've read on here makes me laugh, before his injury the lad was putting in a shift every week and was involved in build up play.

 

And if the folk going on about Cook and he was the problem then they should in reality be having a go at the management team ?????
Honestly i believe that in this team with the same tactics Cook would still have got goals.
How many times over at least the last few games have we seen decent balls being whipped where a forward should be ala Cook.

Like i said if we do go up then a huge part goes to Cook for keeping us in there ............folk can alude to other stepping up pre Xmas if he had have been dropped but who ?????Forwards who didnt score or a midfield that was either injured or way off the pace

 

Some of the stuff I'm reading is quite comical, do the posters actually believe Alexander would allow players to return to default whacking long balls up to Cook with the talent we NOW have in the team.
I can't remember Alexander making a big issue with regards our players being out injured early season but I think he would have been frustrated knowing just what those longer term injuries had to offer when fit, without doubt we're now reaping the rewards, not just because the likes of Pattison and Servic are quality but they also allow other players to play their natural game, I'll repeat Smallwood looks a different player and Bobby has come on a bundle, it also has to have an effect on our defensive unit who have been solid.

 

Here you go! 533 mins between them so far this season (24 mins in the cup).

 

The “Cook can’t play in this system” debate is absolute nonsense.
Would Cook not be in the same position that either Halliday or Mellon were in last night?
Of course he would.
And I’d be putting my last pound on him scoring both those headers.
Would Cook in the team prevent Pattison from running half the length of the field against Walsall?
Of course it wouldn’t.

It seems to be the Cook doesn’t do anything apart from score brigade who now want to jump on the bandwagon that it’s some tactical masterpiece that’s been pulled off.


It’s simply down to having our most effective forward thinking midfielders fit and flying.

This also allows RS to do his job.

People also seem to forget that Cook is still 6th top scorer in the division despite not playing for the last 2 months
He got 12 by New Year’s Day in a team that weren’t making that many chances.
If he was still in this current team he’d have at least 25 by the season end.

 

This I absolutely agree with, in that (just like with some other laws e.g. offside) IFAB have tinkered with the original laws in an attempt to make them more objective, but in doing so have actually made it worse. Then they try and row back/amend further but that seems to cause greater confusion.

For me that stems from some not being comfortable with the subjectivity of (some aspects of) refereeing.

Consistency was and is brought up an awful lot, with that discomfort I mention apparently being driven by - for example - a handball being given one week and then not the following week when the incident is only slightly different, or possibly even almost the same.

People didn’t like that, hence the law tinkering commenced to try and make things more finite, when in reality in a game like football where there are so many variables, you’ll never reach a point IMO where it can be truly definitive (at least not with a good number of the laws which aren’t black and white).

 

I'm not sure about your final sentence.

We weren't creating lots of chances when Cook was fit. Many of us commented on this at the time. Equally Kav and Mellon aren't exactly getting several gilt-edged chances now and messing them up.

I don't feel we've dropped points though because we havent had Cook.

We do need to create more chances or make the opposition keeper work more. Even last night he only had what 2 or 3 saves apart from the goal.

 

It's even more laughable that people think we now play some sort of total football. We still go long plenty of times and try and either pick up knock downs or win it back high up the pitch. Cook would very much fit into that style of play.

 

100% correct.

 

I think we'd be on about the same with or without Cook as the whole team has stepped up.

My point is more for the rest of the season, as with Cook, you just know he has a goal in him. He might get one from absolutely sod all... Kav, Mellon & Leigh don't have that instinctive play. When a cross comes in before, everyone in the kop creeps off their seat slightly because you think Cook has a very good chance of winning this duel. Now if a good ball comes in, I'm barely expecting Kav or Mellon to even be in the box.

The defensive play is really helping us at the minute against some poor teams that really, we should have added more in the goal column than we have. These 1-0s will dry up eventually and that's where difference makers like Cook come into their own.

 

“ We all one that one together”


Nice!

 

Cook was the focal point for the whole team the way we played was about giving him the service and rightly so he is a great finisher. If Cook hadn’t picked up his injury we would have probably kept to the same way of playing. Just speculation though nobody knows what would have happened but we do know his absence hasn’t inhibited the team at all

 

His pressing is not on the level of the rest of our team. Guess that’s why it’s took him a while to get a few games

 

I think we have to be patient with our newer members of the team. They need time to get up to speed. He just needs a goal in front of the Kop to feel the love. I noticed lots of times last night although he was in the right place he didn’t press as he should. GA or another should quietly reassure him he is doing ok but need to up the energy output.