The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Tranmere Rovers Tuesday 14th February 2023 @ 7:45pm

Can't put my finger on why. I know we've never been the most boisterous of supporter group, quite a placcid lot usually but last night was dire. Just off the back of a great away win in a game we needed to win and yet it was like being sat at the theatre. I know fans react to the level of performance but they also have their part to play in backing the players. The faint sound of boos last night when in possession was quite frankly pathetic and in some way justifies the thoughts of away clubs about our home support.

 

Except, if you hadn't noticed, we lose possession eventually anyway when fannying around and one day it will surely cost us ...

 

it’s not just the last 4/5 years though ......... it’s gone on a lot longer than that even during the Parky and McCall years ......... it seems that sum actually turn up hoping that we play bad so they can start there mass moaning ........... and that’s not me I’ve even heard it from former players that it can turn toxic very quickly

each and everyone of us wants us out of this league and surly it would help the players knowing that they have the full backing of the home crowd ............ 4 points off the Automatics with games in hand ........... we’ve come through two tough games with 6 points and 5 goals ............ I know I’m a right moaning bastard and I have justified it but that last night was fooking embarrassing .................

 

you actually can script what the away managers gonna say on Saturday ........... “ keep it tight for 20 minutes and watch this lot turn on there OWN team “

we have probably got out best chance of getting out of this league since we’ve been down here ............ normally now the fall down the league is well in its way ........... 4 points off 3rd with two games in hand ..............is it really that hard to give them our full backing for the home run

 

It wasn't just the fans though, twice Jamie walker had a go at the back four and another time Hughes did. It's just the frustration of it at times, especially when an out ball is on.

Had critchlow have played last night ridelagh would have had a field day on the left,. particularly in the first half when Tranmere seemed to either forget he was there or seemed him inconsequential.

I get what we are trying to achieve by playing it around deep, however we have seen many times over the years that we are always vulnerable to a sucker punch which is why fans are always on edge, and want that second "comfort" goal.

I could be wrong but I think that goal of cooks, put us two up at home for only the second time this season

 

At this stage of the season I’ll just accept any method possible of finishing 3rd even if I’m bored rigid.
However, make no mistake about it, this squad would finish bottom of league 1 so another mass influx of players would be required to compete in the league above.

 

I'd forgotten about Jamie Walker throwing his arms up in despair when he was in acres of space upfield. I was moaning last night - not booing I hasten to add. It's because a lot of the time the midfielder is facing our own goal and automatically passes backward without even looking to see if anything else is on....and 7 times out of 10 we end up penned in and hoofing it anyway. The 10 minutes before the second goal were awful.

 

I follow was available in the away game at Orient on a Saturday but we took a big away following and Orient had one of their biggest crowds of the season. I follow is the future,it’s coming and will be a big money spinner for clubs like ours. £10 to watch an away game which most comes to City compared to getting nothing for an away game which is not I follow available.

 

Another thing, which are our actual games in hand? Is it Carlisle and Gillingham, though given we in turn have a further GIH on Carlisle I'm guessing there is another.

Every midweek game, I wrongly assume it's the point where the table will start to level off however every bugger else seems to play at the same time

 

Funny, the kids who sit around me are the loudest, always backing us, it's the miserable moaning old sods who don't have an ounce of positivity in them

 

And another thing! At least twice in the second half Tranmere had free kicks on their left (one may have been a corner) and their No5 was stood on his own in acres of space on the right side of our box. Both times he had free headers but fortunately didn't make the most of them. Surely this is something we need to sort out

 

Having a possession based style isn't a problem. In fact, there's a good argument to say that establishing such a style will serve us well if we're able to move the leagues. The problem to my mind, is that we overdo it. i.e. we don't just go backwards and sideways when nothings on, looking to move the opposition around, we do it as a matter of course. Often the ball comes into midfield to a player who has the time and space, or option to move the ball forward, but they don't even look to do so - the programmed mindset is to play the ball backwards. It means we lack momentum and don't sustain attacks, which is why we often struggle at home. We give encouragement to the opposition.

What I would say though is that too often, there was too big a gap in midfield to play properly through the lines. I noticed prolonged periods in both halves where Clayton and Smallwood had dropped very deep and completed vacated the space in midfield. There was a great big square box area in the middle that was vacant. When Clayton and Smallwood drop, the likes of Walker, Gillead and even the full backs need to move into that space to create passing options.

I'm as frustrated by our style as anyone, as its not great to watch and isn't really effective at home. But its probably worth persevering with, IF we can make those tweaks that take us from being possession based without purpose, to really controlling games and sustaining attacks to create more chances. If we don't go up though, and we stick with this style, I think we'll need to focus on having a smaller squad with more attacking quality next season. And with greater attacking threat from full back - left back especially.

A word for Stubbs though - looks a solid, solid defender at this level. And despite only seeing Kelly briefly, I think he has something about him too.

 

Smallwood was marking him and was out jumped by him both times.

 

I did notice your none attendance don't make it a habit .

 

So when we had around 2-3,000 at home in the dreadful days of the 60/70’s why was there more noise coming from the home support. ? Simple question

PS , I’m of the older ilk, and you will never see me boo my team, never. See me away and I’m like a big kid all over again…win, lose or draw!

That’s beside the point, you used a footballing anology, ie playing dreadful for 5 years or so, how then does that answer my point of the 60/70’s, when we were fighting against relegation for seemingly years on end. That’s how it felt. I don’t know the answer, but it’s not playing badly!

 

London away games on a weekend will always sell out so that’s no comparison.
How many went to Colchester?
How many will go to Gills?
200 max
But it’s not really the away crowds that are hit because our fanbase is big enough to sell the available tickets despite it being on iFollow.
It’s the home crowds that suffer where someone has already paid for a cheap season ticket and for whatever reason it’s more convenient to spend £10 and stay at home.
If iFollow wasn’t available, more would make the effort as radio coverage is garbage.

 

I never boo even after a terrible performance it’s a negative action and it does no good. The atmosphere last night was flat because the football was flat.
Football is a simple game get the ball into areas where goals can be scored then put them away. There are many methods of doing that but playing the ball backwards and forwards around your own area risking losing possession neither is when you do eventually get the ball in a good area returning it from whence it came isn’t a good way.
The tactic worked last night we got the three points. Great. There will be plenty of times playing like that when it wont

 

I saw that and like Smallwood at the back post marking Pierganni on Sat. ( Evans claimed it was a pen) he was static as part of the zonal system. Twice last night he was again markin* the back post, again static and beaten both times by the bigger player coming in on a run, easily out jumping RC . In not the player ps fault..rather the iffy zonal system.

 

Not sure if you're suggesting there were only 7,000 there last night but I think your wrong.
Again with regards Ifollow if fans have already purchased their season tickets and can't make if for what ever reason surely buying an Ifollow pass is once again generating money for the club, win win.

 

Ny son has just been texting me about a fan sat in front of him. Oldish guy, but moaned throughout. He was moaning about the passing back and onto Lewis about not getting it forward, when Lewis fired it out to Eisa, he said why didn’t you do that in the first place, my grandson told him he was giving a nice flat pass to Eisa and that pass was not on 10seconds ago”

He then started cheering for Tranmere; where do we get these supporters from?