The Voice - Match preview #14: Bradford City vs Doncaster Rovers Saturday 26th October 3:00pm

It doesnt take a decent side to exploit piss poor defence play does it ??????
Are Harrogate,Grimsby or even Morecambe decent all 3 have got through us easily.............and the reason we stand 7th is due to how bleeding poor this level is.

 

If you understand football (which i'm sure you do) and if you had watched the games you quote (wich i'm sure you did) then you'll know it was teams dominating the centre of the park with mobility and pace which caused our undoing (even the Morecambe game which is surprising given Adams long ball tactics). Our downfall yesterday was a team breaking at will from their own half due to our structure breaking down upfield. Yes our defence was at fault for not doing their job but generally we've defended ok. Its that centre of the park thats the main problem and its lack of mobility.

 

All those around me were certain number 8 had been booked twice

 

Money on the pitch or summat. I'm not a fan of square pegs in round holes but if GA is going to persevere with starting him, I'd rather see him tried as a square peg up front with Cook rather than continuing to try and make him into the LWB he is never going to be. He can't be any worse than Kav, Smith or Oliver and it looks like Sanderson isn't going to get given the nod anytime soon, if ever again, so what is there to lose by trying him upfront?

 

Smallwood is shite for us. Yes, he’s doing better than last season so far but he’s still shite.

What I will say in his defence is that since he has been his the midfielders around him have lacked pace and are weak on the ball.

Our midfield yesterday didn’t help him at all he was getting over ran and I am sorry but Bobby Pointon and Walker were a disgrace.

 

And nobody to make a difference. Smallwood and Evans in the DM position are both slow. Odour doesn’t have much tactical awareness to make a difference. In the attacking midfield positions, Pointon and Walker don’t have much pace. Pattison and Sarcavic don’t have any speed. And are injured.So much for improved recruitment!

 

OK - but hooking folk at half time is a really drastic move that in terms of managing a squad is probably not the best way to get consistent performances. He can't finally give Smith a start and then replace him after 45 - that's a recipe for someone leaving the building mentally. Who knows what exactly has happened with Sanderson and Alexander, but is seems it followed him hooking him in favour of Kavanagh at half time at Harrogate. Got to say that if I'm Sanderson, who I thought was performing quite well and far in advance of Kavanagh over the start to the season, that too would make my blood boil and I might have something to say about it.

Personally I'm tempted to start a gofundme for a Sanderson / Alexander date night. You game?

 

Maybe the first goal played some part in the pace but 3 players going for the ball was the real issue for me.

And if it is down to pace in there which we have had issues for years then why aint it been sorted out again ??????
Why have we yet again gone down the road of bringing in injury prone players yet again???..
Thats what really gets me this league is the weakest its been for years and yet again we are failing yet again to get out of this division.

 

Owen Moxen doesn't seem to be getting much game time at Portsmouth.

We should be speaking to him about coming on loan for the second half of the season.

 

Can't disagree with that Gaz.

 

Losing Sam Walker wouldn't make a blind bit of difference. He's a very average keeper e who's mistakes have now started costing us goals.

 

I cannot believe that firts goal.... not only do they let it bounce all three defenders follow the player with the ball... and the other scorer drifted away thinking they are really poor give it to me... what ever happened to hold him up and mark the man..... we are bad

 

Agree sadly he has no competition
Struggling to see who would replace him
#investment

 

Listen to the Carlisle manager that will cheer you up ....

 

Sad isn’t that the only bit of solace we get is how Carlisle are getting on.

 

The really sad thing is that your sentence above could be from any of the last 5 or 6 seasons and the really really sad thing is you could copy and paste it and use it in the future as well.

 

Not since Lewis O'Brien have we had that sort of player. Walker does it to a degree but the players around him are static at best. Oduor probably out most mobile player but again comes with limitations (before anyone states the bloody obvious I know all league 2 players have limitations). The trams I've seen with this mobility and movement over the last few seasons have pretty much been the ones that get promoted.

 

Said it all summer and will say it again, it was criminal that we didn't bring in another keeper to challenge Sam Walker. He knows he will never be dropped for Doyle in league games.

 

Jamie Walker needs to look long and hard at what their number 21 did for their goal- taking on players and playing a precise ball into the box. Once again he spent all day playing with the brakes on - he falters to deceive and doesn’t offer nearly enough going forward given his quality

 

Yet as you point out he did just that against Harrogate with regards Sanderson and also Halliday and Pattison, so that suggests he's not afraid to pull the trigger no matter who it was that gets hooked.
With regards Kavanagh he's certainly not the player who looked well capable of partnering Cook after that good finish to the season, and its not as if he's one of my favourites I've been critical of him this season.
What I do find strange is the fact that Alexander played him Kavanagh along side Cook during that little good run against Morecambe, Newport, Tranmere, Gillingham, Cheltenham (never change a winning team) so I personally found dropping him a very strange call, then when Smith who was picked in favour of Kavanagh IMO didn't do himself or the team justice I thought he might have done what he has done previously, but what makes the situation even worse was he waited until we went 2 - 0 down to make any changes which was criminal.
I just don't understand why he continued for nearly another 20 minutes before making substitution's its not as if we were pinning them back in their box, once he made those 4 changes we did just that, anyway onto the FA Cup and possibly seeing Sanderson re introduced along side Andy Cook if he's fit as he looked to have taken a knock towards the end of the game.