Why are we so poor at home?

You are bang on.
Possession is nothing if it’s not got any purpose.
Just had a quick look at a couple of stats for recent games.
56% possession yesterday and created very little.
57% against against Harrogate and created even less.
65% against Crawley 1-1 draw.
37% against Salford away 2-1 win
37% against Mansfield(admittedly the sending off makes a massive difference) 2-1 win.

I mentioned the same as you about the first goal in another post earlier and as you say,Smallwoods first thought is backwards to keep possession rather than move in to a few yards of space and move us forward.
If you keep going backwards(just to keep possession) as your preferred option sooner or later something like yesterdays *@?$ up is going to happen.

 

I fall into the category but I can't take the majority of his posts seriously, we should know by now he enjoys the attention, sad really that he has such little respect for any Bradford City fan young or old, as we know old age is something that comes to us all.

 

These were the stats from yesterdays game, apart from 56% possession for us the other stats are very similar just that they took 3 of their efforts on target and we didn't.

 

I'm still in denial ...

 

I think the word is "shit".................................not poor

 

Yes we have a habit of making chances look bad! We had a few ones ourselves, the Chapman one but Banks also cut in from similar distance as one of their goals and put a tame shot at the keeper.

 

My dad is in his late 70s, had one knee replacement and needs his other doing due to 50 odd years as a sparky, recent breathing problems but they won't stop him. He's the reason I have been going 50 years. reason my kids now go too and he loves spending time with them. Was fantastic a few weeks ago when my brother and nephew and his daughter came, so my dad's great-granddaughter, so four generations of us!! Brilliant day was had.....

 

I know you cannot reply but what bollocks you thinking that should we revert to an hardcore support we would suddenly be a better club ????? You do know amongst that hardcore support there are folk who orobably just go to watch the game and don’t get involved with the singing ............... seriously only a loon would blame our fanbase for what shite is served up on a match day down there

 

Although both Chapman and Banks have scored some cracking goas they have a tendancy not to look up and see if there is a better option than having a go themselves, having said that no doubt if they did and nothing came of the assist they would be accused of not having confidence in their own ability, its so easy from the stands.

 

I feel we are a very cautious side.
Away from home this works as it brings teams onto us where as at home we need to be a bit more gung ho and commit bodies forward.
Having 1 main striker doesn't put pressure onto the opposition defence giving them more time to build and start their moves.
Looking at Northampton's league 1 record they have scored 34 goals whilst conceding more than us.
Shows they have been braver going forward while taking the hit of letting a few more in at the back.
A long way to go yet though.
Lets see whos philosophies work the best by the end of the season.

 

what is this? What has mobility and age got to do with being a supporter? I cheer when I have something to cheer about. If it wasn’t for the old codgers we wouldn’t have a club to support!

What we are short of is a barn storming performance to get us off our seats shouting and cheering them on. We were promised that before the season started; get them off their seats style of football. They got me off my seat and straight to the exit door early. Then there would no need for this thread. BTW I am 73 years old, what you are proposing is that I am priced out of my season ticket; I have attended VP since 1967. I still have all my faculties and still mobile as those that see me round VP can testify.

Funnily enough I am not surprised by your discrimination, I see it all the time on social media, lack of respect for senior citizens and why can’t we drop dead in order to save on the expense! Well I have news for you. We all get old and it is better than the alternative.

 

Morning IB.

You know my feelings on the Rupp /Rahic tenure. I'm not trying to slate Rupp per se in this post but Valley Parade and its fans have suffered during his tenure.
The fallout is not just extinguished due to a budget and a high profile management appointment, in a few months... Go back just 6 months, 9 months etc and recall the 'atmosphere', the apathy and frustration under Adams, Hopkins, Grayson etc...

Times are "better" now but just like in real life, we don't just forget and forgive after some real challenging times.

 

Why are the crowd to blame. Why do we have that mindset?

 

Probably because they became used to success under Richmond. It's not something that is new to Rupp's reign, it happened under Parky quite often when we were losing at home to Accrington and Dagenham and others that some felt we were too "big" to be playing every week.

Some will blame cheap season tickets, but if that were the case why do they renew and why do we keep getting at least 13,000 season ticket holders.

 

Since the failure at Wembley and the end of the honeymoon period, our home form in 120 games reads

PL 120 W 45 D35 L 40 pts 170

17/18 9-4-10
18/19 7-4-12
19/20 11-5-2
20/21 9-7-7
21/22 6-10-7
22/23 3_5-2

Won 18 of our last 56 at home...

Our home form has not been cracking for a long time.


I wonder why the fans turn so quick..

 

That is an awful stat. Yes we have seen it all before. We don’t need much, we just need to know we are up for it. Losing at home on a regular basis sets fans teeth on edge. It is important that we win at home. That is what keeps the club going. Winning away is great, but will not sell season tickets come April.

 

They had at least 3 big chances that they should at very least have hit the target for and really scored. I can't remember their goalkeeper making a save that troubled him, Eisa had 2 or 3 shots where the only risk to the keeper was the ball slipping out of his hands with the weather.

 

Let us go back what seems to be a few short years.

We have had Kamara, Jewell, McCall and Parkinson to name just four managers who, on the whole, gave us exciting attacking football at Valley Parade.
They all played with two 'strikers' - Mills / Blake / Windass / Watson / Hanson / Wells / Carbone etc etc
(Even before these players, there was a strike force of Campbell and John Hawley, supplied by Hendrie, Ellis etc)
These players were supplied with exciting attacking players like Beagrie / Lawrence / Waddle etc to name just three.
Their engine rooms were the likes of Flynn / Jones / McCall and many more who gave 110% in every game.

Each and every player showed desire, commitment and a 'win at all costs' attitude.
Even when going behind the fans just knew that these players would claw it back and go on to win.
As a result, Valley Parade was always, without fail rocking/bouncing.
The players didn't need all this 'the fans are at fault for not getting the players going' rubbish - they did it themselves and it was them that got the place bouncing as a result.

Since those days what have we, the fans, had to cheer about?
The boring, dull stuff churned up by the likes of Robson, Taylor, Hopkin, Grayson, Bowyer and Adams.
Are we now to add Mark Hughes that terrible list - at least when playing at home?
I sincerely hope not but if Hughes cannot see that whatever his system/tactics are when playing at home are failing miserably, then unfortunately he will.
Mark Hughes cannot live on his name alone, fail at City and he is done in football - unemployable.

Time for Mark Hughes to give us, the paying fans, something to cheer about and to get excited about going to Valley Parade in future, at the moment there seems to be many fans, including myself, who are not excited about attending home games.
Personally, I don't want to hear the man saying, what seems to be week in week out, we will get to the bottom of this home form, most fans can see what's needed, when will Hughes?????