The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Morecambe Tuesday 26th December 3:00pm

EFL LEAGUE TWO FIXTURE #23

Tuesday 26th December 2023 15:00
Bradford City (10th) vs Morecambe (12th)
University of Bradford Stadium (AKA Valley Parade)

23/24 Result:

19 Aug 2023: Morecambe 3 – 0 Bradford City

Head-to-Head Form: LLWWW (most recent result first)

Won: 10
Drawn: 4
Lost: 6

Current League Form:

Bradford City: WWWWL
Morecambe: LWDLL

MORECAMBE

Morecambe cruised to victory against Bradford City earlier this season (mid-August), registering a 3-0 win in one of City’s worst performances of the campaign. That result went against the grain for both sides, as Morecambe scored only 1 goal in the 4 games either side of that crushing victory, while for Bradford City it was a rare defeat in a run of mostly draws leading up until mid-September.

Looking at Morecambe’s most recent results, which see a 5-0 victory away at Doncaster Rovers and a 2-0 win away at Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup counterbalanced by a shocking 6-0 hammering at Wrexham and a 3-1 defeat at home to MK Dons this past Saturday, that result looks like it could be chalked up to the age-old adage: “anyone can beat anyone in League Two”. While a cliché, it seems to ring true. Morecambe, at least since Derek Adams has departed, appear to be very inconsistent with results varying wildly from game-to-game.

The Shrimps did, however, enjoy a spell of 5 straight wins throughout October under newly appointed Ross County manager Adams, but the wheels had come off slightly before Adams departure. A run of 3 defeats in 4 games saw Morecambe following their best run of their season with their worst run to date – with Ged Brannan stepping in to pick up the pieces.

New to management, former Manchester City midfielder Brannan is a former Morecambe player and joined the club in September 2023 as a member of Adams’ coaching staff. Prior to this, Brannan had been U23’s manager at Accrington Stanley. Brannan had an inauspicious start to life, originally as Morecambe’s caretaker manager, losing his first game in charge 6-0 at Wrexham. Subsequent to this, Brannan was appointed permanent first team coach, again losing his first game in his new role 2-1 to Newport County, before turning the corner by upsetting Wycombe Wanderers in a shock cup win. A creditable draw against run away leaders Stockport County was followed by that 5-0 demolition of Doncaster Rovers, before Morecambe found themselves out-played and out-gunned by possession-heavy MK Dons.

Ged Brannan will now hope right some of the wrongs of the MK Dons encounter against a resurgent Bradford City, who have registered 6 straight wins in both league and cup for the first time in 39 years. Shackling City will be easier said than done this time around, with a repeat of the 3-0 drubbing at the Globe Arena looking like a distant memory for both sides. Derek Adams will have been delighted to put one over his former employers, for whom he still seemed to hold some degree of resentment, whereas for Brannan, it’s likely just another game.

Brannan will look to rely on 13-goal hot shot Michael Mellon, on loan from Burnley, who missed the MK Dons game with an illness. Mellon has been on great form lately, netting 4 goals in his previous 3 league games, and Morecambe’s hopes will be that Mellon is raring to go on Tuesday afternoon. Behind him in the scoring stakes, JJ McKeirnan (6) and Adam Mayor (3) are the only other players to have scored more than 1 league goal this season. Sufficed to say, Mellon really is the talisman for the Shrimps this season, and his presence will be a great boost should be make the starting line up.

Morecambe make for an average side on the road, sitting 12th in the ‘Away’ league table, with 4 wins and 6 defeats. That said, Morecambe tend to both score and ship quite a few goals, averaging 1.6 goals scored per away game, but with 2.1 goals conceded per away game. That said, Shrimps’ fans might well point to the anomalous games at Wrexham (0-6 defeat) and Doncaster Rovers (5-0 win) recently, dramatically boosting both tallies.

Will Brannan’s side run very hot or very cold at Valley Parade on Boxing Day? Or just somewhere in between? One thing’s for sure, their opponents will be looking to take advantage of any doubts in the Morecambe ranks.



Morecambe 1 - 3 MK Dons



Doncaster Rovers 0 – 5 Morecambe

BRADFORD CITY

To call Bradford City’s turn-around in form remarkable doesn’t really tell the story.

When Graham Alexander came in, City were badly off form, and when the former MK Dons manager presided over a 4-2 thrashing at Notts County, there was very little to signal such a dramatic upsurge. Sure, the second half at Notts County was significantly better than the first. City wound up winning that 45 minute spell 2-0 to halve the considerable deficit from the first half, but the question was: was that down to City playing far better, or Notts County taking their foot off the gas? Or more likely, a combination of the two?

Those doubts must have lingered in the minds of the fans, players, and most probably the manager, too – but the club haven’t shown any lasting effects. The importance of the EFL Trophy in Bradford City’s turnaround cannot be underestimated, as the Bantams now look increasingly ruthless in front of goal. Andy Cook continues his transformation into the player of the 22/23 campaign, now having notched 6 goals in his last 6 games. Tyler Smith, who now appears to be Cook’s first proper strike partner in some considerable time, is also showing signs of superior form.

Indeed, Cook netted twice and Smith scored with a sublime finish from an Andy Cook assist, no less, as Bradford City ran out 3-1 winners against struggling Doncaster Rovers. It might not have matched the 5-0 drubbing issued to the Rovers by Morecambe, but it did come against a Doncaster side determined to make amends for that hammering – making it all the tougher.

It’s hard to imagine Bradford City embarking on their current run under Mark Hughes, yet Hughes and the much-maligned Stephen Gent have certainly played their part in assembling a squad that suddenly – under new leadership – look like they have enough to quality to challenge for promotion, rather than stave off relegation. Hughes will certainly point to untimely injuries, but equally Bradford City were never so free-scoring during his time at Valley Parade. Graham Alexander, and his tactics, are the undoubted catalyst.

As well as playing 2 up front, City are back to 3 at the back, a change Hughes attempted at the start of the season with limited success. The form of goalkeeper Harry Lewis, as well as players like Sam Stubbs and Liam Ridehalgh, did not help – but what Alexander has done is take the struggling players out of the line up, and elected to go with what might have seemed unfathomable at one point: a trio of any of Ciaran Kelly, Matty Platt, Ash Taylor and Jonathan Tomkinson. These four defenders have all been second string figures at one time or another this campaign but are now routinely putting in high calibre performances and playing with confidence.

If there was a fear of making mistakes under Hughes, it doesn’t seem to be there with Alexander.

Harry Lewis did, in fact, make a major gaffe for the opening goal at Doncaster Rovers, punished by a tidy finish from Joe Ironside, but it wasn’t the catastrophe it might have felt like earlier in the season. 20 minutes later, Cook levelled the scoring, and before half time City were ahead through Tyler Smith. Cook rounded off the scoring with 5 minutes to go, and in truth, City never looked back after going ahead. Another day, another win, and even with the same sketchy mistakes taking place at the back, this time The Bantams just picked themselves up, dusted themselves down, and took the game to the opposition.

A breath of fresh air.

Now Morecambe await, and the opportunity to avenge a miserable 3-0 defeat on the coast earlier this season presents itself. Betting against City to do so, at this point, seems illogical. Things are indeed looking up – dramatically so.



Doncaster Rovers 1 - 3 Bradford City



Gillingham 0 – 2 Bradford City

 

THE BREAKDOWN

3/4: Bradford City
11/4: Draw
15/4: Morecambe

It’s no surprise to see Bradford City installed as strong favourites ahead of Boxing Day’s home tie against Morecambe, but there are a couple of caveats for consideration. For example, Bradford City have only played 2 home league games under Graham Alexander, and have a win-loss record of 1-1. Their best results and performances under Graham have come away from home in the league, thanks, of course, to the unusually road-heavy fixture list. We haven’t seen City put in a performance at home under Alexander to match the away wins at Forest Green, Gillingham or Doncaster Rovers.

That said, there was little wrong with the 1-0 win over Accrington Stanley, that earned Graham Alexander his first league win at Valley Parade after a losing effort against Barrow two weeks previous. The personnel that picked up that 1-0 win against Accrington now look pretty settled, and are playing with much more confidence. Ash Taylor is the only player that performed in the starting XI against Stanley not to hold down their place come the Doncaster game a full 4 weeks later – and that was because he was sent off in the last minute of the 3-0 win at Forest Green Rovers!

This game, then, has much more in common with that win over Accrington than the defeat to Barrow. That can’t be a bad thing. But still, there might just be an inkling of pressure in the backs of the minds of the players and coaching staff: winning away from home is all well and good, but making the most of the sizeable Valley Parade crowds and developing that aura of a ‘fortress’ at home could be the difference between an assault on the play off spots and something even greater.

Will Bradford City be able to register a seventh consecutive win in both league and cup? Or do the odds dictate that remarkable run simply has to come to an end sooner or later?

For now, it’s hard to look past Graham Alexander’s men. The strikers are in fine fettle, the midfield has been chipping in with goals largely in the guise of Jamie Walker and Alex Gilliead, and even set pieces have become a much more potent threat. Morecambe will, of course, bring their own narrative to the game. Their new manager has got them performing well at times, and they will be looking for a win here to make the most of a reasonable run of form. Consigning the MK Dons defeat to the status of a ‘blip’ will be a priority – but they will have to be at their best against a Bradford City side that can play nice football, go direct, be very physical (as Gillingham fans will no doubt attest), yet still tread the line, while also taking their opportunities in front of goal.

It’s looking like a mighty task for Ged Brannan’s players, but one no doubt they will be up for on Boxing Day in front of such a great crowd as we can expect this coming Tuesday.

PREDICTION:

Bradford City 2 – 1 Morecambe

And a very Merry Christmas to you all!​