(h) v Middlesbrough League (Carabao) Cup 3rd Round - Tue 26 September 2023 7.45pm

Put it this way: nobody in England that isn't a Bradford City fan will be wondering how that result happened or "what has happened to Bradford".

It was completely expected by everybody.

Probably their worst player, Latte Lath, cost them 6.5 million Euros.

The Championship isn't the same Championship it was before.

 

We know Tulloch is descent he was part of a winning side last week, Why was he dropped? Why change the team? Just to show he's the boss??

 

Fitness is my first guess.

I imagine our line up tonight heavily leaned into the thinking for the Walsall game.

Hopefully Cook, Pattison and Tulloch all start that, and since nobody seemed to take a knock, let's keep our fingers crossed.

 

I still waiting for our class at home against fellow league two teams to come to the fore.I don’t know how bad were Newport or how good we were but we should find out in the next few games.

 

Walsall is a pretty big game, in my mind, and while no game at this stage is "must win", we can gain so much from a win on Saturday that we really have to be up and at them from the off.

Newport were a side that either panned someone or got panned, Walsall are a bit more competitive I think, but whatever form a win comes in, a win will be big.

 

I thought Boro are a really good side kept their shape and discipline. They passed us off the park with their accurate and crisp passing. If anything the score flattered us.

We didn’t really have a go but it sounds like that was the game plan. Hughes interview after the match was snappy when challenged about our players giving too much respect. My philosophy on cup games are don’t try then you will certainly lose to higher opposition. He said cup matches were not our priority and that maybe true. However, I think the Board wanted to have a crack. More money into the pot etc., I doubt they will be happy at his comments.

 

The fans who are happy with the way we've played tonight and the rest of this season are giving Hughes a feeling that he's doing the right thing.
He set up the team not to win and to protect us from getting more injuries.
Is that what we want??

 

The key words there are " they passed it" something we can't do.

 

I thought the gulf in class was frightening. I couldn't fault the effort tonight but the bottom line is they were a class apart.
They were a yard quicker and gave us a lesson in how to pass and move. Sometimes you just have to accept that your team isnt good enough.
We move onto a much more important game now.

 

Keep it at 1-0 and try get it to penalties at the end. Wow that mustve inspired them from hughes at half time.

Without penalties we have won 3 out of 12 this season in normal time.

 

And we all know how trying to get it to penalties affected the play off 2nd leg match.
Hughes hasn't learned a thing has he??!!

 

To have a gap in class is no surprise, but that was as one sided a contest as I've seen. We didn't lay a glove on them. And we have recent frames of reference for games against higher league opponents where we at least make it an honest contest. That was anything but.

 

I thought they did ok. Boro were a good team. Just as City got a bit of momentum the 2nd goal went in. I have been appalled at the last couple of home games but this game really isn't a stick to hit Hughes with.

 

It is what it is tonight. Gulf in class for sure, and perhaps we could have gone for it more, but I totally understand Hughes saying we’d just be picked off. People saying we were “cr-p” is very harsh IMO.

 

Just the post match attitude when we lose a cup game oh we'll we are not bothered about cups anyway, mccall had exactly the same attitude.

Sends out totally the wrong message to the team, play for a draw at best but doesn't matter.

Funny he tells us how good it is when we get through a cup tie.

 

Honestly, I know I'm usually positive... but I cannot be positive after what I witnessed tonight. I know we played a Championship side tonight, but our team just seem to lack passion and drive and I feel like that spent half the time jogging, almost walking at times around the pitch.

It was dire and it was hard to sit there and watch us tonight.

I'm very disappointed.

We had a winning formula against Newport. I don't understand why Mark Hughes wouldn't just put out the same team? I blame have to put blame with Mark Hughes, but also the players, they just seemed to lack passion in my opinion, I don't feel like they really cared about creating anything special in what to me was a big cup game.

I'm sorry but I feel he does deserve to be called out for tonight's game, we had a winning team against Newport, if it's not broke, then it doesn't really need fixing.

Like I know he'll be looking at Middlesbrough's team tactics from their previous games and the line ups they have had, then he'll make his overall decision based on that. But this is a Championship side and I feel like he should of gone into this game and put out the winning team from the Newport game. I would rather of had that and lost than had what I saw tonight with the changes that were made.

Again everyone, those who know me on here know how positive I have been in previous years about Bradford City, but a little bit of momentum from our team isn't good enough. We should of been playing football from the start, I saw a kick about in the park from us today, not a professional football team.

In short, we were crap and I would rather watch paint dry and watch what I saw tonight.

 

I hate negative football but if he had pressed from the start tonight they would have picked us off at random. We need to get at Wallsall on Saturday a much more important game. I think Boro will climb the table and be challenging by May time

 

There was one time in the second half towards the end when we pressed them on the edge of their box.....20 seconds and 5 passes later they were in our box. It's exactly what they play for.

 

McDonald needed to be rested and from his performance so should have Cook

 

Actually yes this is a good point, I wasn't really thinking about the rest that may be needed.

So I guess from that point of view, maybe resting Cook would of been better?

Either way, some positivity from me tonight, I did enjoy the day overall being back in Bradford!

I had a great day in town and it's good to be back! My first time in the TL Dallas stand too ahahaha, never been in there before, it was a cool perspective to see our ground from this point of view.