The Voice - Match preview Newport County vs Bradford City Saturday 11th March 2023 @ 3:00pm

We did nothing to get ourselves that crucial second goal and we did even less after the equaliser. Did we even have a shot after it went 1-1? We didn't do anywhere near enough to earn three points at any stage of the game today or on Tuesday.

 

No. I think that's 20/20 hindsight. It's inevitable after the club have travelled for three matches in eleven days that we'd perhaps run out of ideas. Subs were arguably made late, but none of them showed any justification for starting and in fact Newport dominated the last ten minutes.

I just don't go along with this we've got far better players on the bench narrative. What we have is a squad where players can come in and occasionally make a difference - but they are not obvious starters.

Banks is a classic example. He looked terrible when he first came on last week, showing the lack of streetwise play you need at this level. Hughes ticked him off and then suddenly he looked good. But you can't blame Hughes for not starting him as he's not showing us a reason for this.

 

That £140 could have been a few pints in London!!

 

football is a game of fine margins, but for a crossbar and an og, we could have had another 4 points this week.

 

The problem started from Ridehalgh trying to do a left footed pass out on the wing prior to the free kick and giving the ball away.

 

We've been just 'OK' all season and yet still find the auto's in our hands.

I keep asking who is playing this scintillating footie that justifies you and other fans worries. I always listen to the interviews involving our rival managers and recently you'd think Stockport were in relegation zone - such is the similar moans from their fans.

Mansfield fans have spent nearly two seasons moaning such much, they make our crowd look optimistic.

I dunno what D4 fans expect. Not a single team has a higher average than 5 shots per match and it was worse the last two seasons.

So 'OK', boring 6 to 7 out of 10 will be fine for the rest of the season.

 

But were Bradford City we should be battering every team we play, oh dear, were still on a very good run (4 games without conceding todays game should have been 5) now a week to give our players a break then Hartlepool followed by Carlisle, at home lets see where we are after we've played Carlisle on the 21st of the month before some start chucking the towel in ffs.

 

In my eyes the last 2 results have sort of summed up where we are. In many ways they are good away points - if we could trust our home form a little more. This team, manager, tactics etc are about league 2 play off level. We have had good moments, shocking moments and a lot of bang average.
In this division that might just about be enough to scrape going up, we are in the same boat as a number of teams.
One thing for sure, there will have to be massive improvements all round if we do make it to league 1. But for now we have what we have, we are definitely in the mix and who knows what will happen - so let's enjoy it and keep a bit more positive than some of the negatrons on here

 

Yet if you look back to the Northampton match thread, we were told that we had no chance of competing with them and that they were the best in the league etc.

I've no worries about going to their place and getting a point - their current form is little better than Newport or Walsall's and worse than Gillingham's.

 

Its not 20/20 hindsight at all. From the 60th minute, or even sooner, it was obvious we were creating F all. Look a draw is a draw, its football. We could have thrown the kitchen sink at them and still got a draw, but at least we would have tried. Am I happy with a draw at the team 18th. No not really.

 

I think the team and the set up are well suited to L1. Let's remember that our record against the teams around them and above, i.e. the ones we played in the cup matches is pretty good. Unless 16 points from the 18 we could got from Mansfield, Salford and Stevenage is suddenly bad.

I don't think anyone other than Orient are making an argument for been classed as anything other the 'playoff' level.

 

His previous record suggest otherwise he is a victim of our style of play as with Costello he makes runs and the ball never arrives it’s usually going backward and forward at the back.
Away from home it’s a good policy as our record suggest at home it’s stifling. In the play offs which is where if al, goes well I think we are heading it might serve us well but it can become very boring

 

But they're 18th because they started the season with an incompetent manager who has been replaced by a good manager.

They wouldn't be 18th if it wasn't for the Rowberry period.

That might sound irrelevant, but we weren't facing the crappy Rowberry version of Newport, we were facing the better one, that would be much higher than 18th if not for the poor decisions of their owners.

 

I'm not interested in us been reckless with a knackered team (and that's due to us travelling in excess of 1200 miles in 11 days) going for it and then having a plucky defeat.

Take a point and move on to the next battle, when more players could be back for a spell of realistically winnable matches.

 

Why not utilise the squad better. I haven’t seen the match today but Walker seems to be feeling the effects of all the travel and games more than most why not put fresh legs in there and bring him on later. Same with one or two others. My belief was with our big Squad when the games started coming thick and fast we would have an advantage but Hughes sticks to an ever diminishing pool of players.

 

spot on

 

I listened to the game In my Repair Shop I thought it not to bad a game . Newport seemed to step up at times home team and fans behind them
. A win would have been good result for City I’ll take a draw away from home . Is it just one defeat in ten games that’s keeping us up there .
Anyway not as depressing as yesterday afternoon. . Mrs Rocket made me Watch Elvis what’s going on Bronco I’m a Soul Man .

 

I really don't care how we win/ draw our games right now. We're a 'big fish in a little pond' and i'm fed up of listening to away commentators saying how brilliant their team have played against the mighty Bantams. Lets get the feck out of this league any way we can.

 

Doesn't look like we trained anywhere in the ends due to not being able to get out of Bradford which isn't that surprising basically when there will have been players like Smallwood, Cook, Gilliead who probably struggled to get to Bradford from the north east.

 

The players don't have to walk there, or even drive themselves you know.
I agree we move on, but I also think today was a realistically winnable match