The Voice - Match preview #43: Bradford City vs Notts County Thursday 17th April 8:00pm

In isolation that is a decent point against a promotion chasing team. Sadly our away form is so poor that we can’t afford to slip up at home at all. That is something we need to change in Monday if we want to get top 3.

Looking back at the “easy” points dropped in recent weeks is also very frustrating.

 

The away form, just like our great home form, is irrelevant with three matches left.

Frankly we've had some very lucky breaks at home and some equally unlucky ones away from home.

Play like we did today, where even though there was a nervousness without Smallwood and Pointon's worse match of the season - we still kept Jatta totally quiet.

I was very pessimistic going into this match - but in fairness we showed the character that promotion teams have to have.

 

Agree. I feel more confident about promotion now than I did at 8pm this evening.

 

Great anslysis. I thought we were sure to lose this as great numbers of our fans seem to not understand how important Smallwood is.

However, in his absence, the dead ball deliveries lept from 5 to 9 out of 10. Do that in that in the next three matches and we will be very unlucky not to be up.

 

It was light years better than that guff on Tuesday night - Salford v Doncaster. Hats of to McGoldrick. What a player - no wonder Notts fans are seething that they haven't got more points.

 

Disagree. There is no way Sarcevic is lasting for the full match, in either this or any of the remaining fixtures. It would he been suicide to have kept him as after out best spell, he was spent and just a passenger.

Thought Baldwin was fine and there would have been a danger of Notts breaking away and scoring if passenger Sarc had stayed on.

I also think his subs were 100% correct against Swindon. If we're winning going into the last minute - I fail to see how the managers subs can be deemed bad. Let's remember, a bit like tonight Pattinson and Pointon did nothing from minute 15.

 

An even game with a draw a fair result. McGoldrick a level above anyone on the pitch and his goal a real piece of class. For us Khela was excellent, not really helped by an out of form Pattison and with Bobby having his worst game of the season it never really clicked upfront. Badly missed Smallwood in the centre, sometimes you don't realise what you've got till it's gone as the song goes. Might turn out a good point what with both sides out of form. Interest now turns to tomorrows games to see how important that point was.

 

Overall a fair result after we scored the goal and for the first 15 ton20 minutes of the second half and up to Sarcevic going of I thought we were going to steamroller them but the substitution and their 2 substitutions changed the momentum and I don’t know if illness in the camp played its part but uncharacteristicly a few of our players looked out on their feet. Not winning this match is a big blow we really need a win at Chesterfield now.

 

Nope.

 

Absolutely spot on. We never got anywhere near him all night.

I know Alexander focusses on US rather than the opposition but if there was ever a case for putting somebody on him to stop him, it was tonight!! It's no coincidence their form picked up when he returned from injury.

 

Seems pretty relevant given 2 of the 3 games are away from home and our away form is woeful.

 

McGoldricks performance reminded me of Jamie Walker in his first season. Finding pockets of space, given a free role, getting shots off and ultimately scoring. For a 37 year old that was a great performance.
Looking at our recent performances it feels like "in game management" (by Alexander) is costing us heavily. No doubt Sarcevic had to come off, but a straight swap was needed. Maybe he felt the height of Khela would work. Unfortunately it didn't, but the damage was done before he changed back. It was always going to be a tight affair and those decisions have to be right with such fine margins. Looking forwards I'm less confident than I was a week ago. The left side hasn't performed for the last few matches. The right side (since the introduction of Bryne) hasn't performed either. We just don't have the swagger we had a month ago. Neither wingbacks are getting forward to any real effect. Can we get 2 more wins? Will he reintroduce Mellon to the forward line? More chopping and changing isn't good but we need to get hold of the ball up top and Kav doesn't give us that.

 

And Notts may need to win it just to qualify for the play offs. There's far too many permutations to have any confidence.

That said, they face Cheltenham and Harrogate in the next two and 6 points would possibly leave them within striking distance.

 

It was a terrible decision and handed Notts control in midfield far too easily.

I accept Sarc had to come off but with THREE competent and experienced attacking midfielders on the bench why aren't we going like for like instead of moving the midfield around to shoehorn an average centre half into that role? It's madness.

At least GA realised his error and swapped it back around so we could at least finish the game with a little bit of momentum during which we were very unlucky with the soft free kick on the keeper, otherwise we'd have won the game.

 

It's still in our hands and we can do it, but going into the 3 biggest games we've had in years and we have 2 wins in our last 8 for momentum. How we pick up and win against big sides is a worry.

Feels like since the Colchester game we've just started over complicating things more often than not. Injuries don't help, but that's why you squad depth. But this playing guys out of sorts and hiping it clikcs, or players not exactly out of position but not where they fit like Byrne as a wide CB. Or random substitutions altering shapes for the worse needs to stop. We've looked far ropier in defence since Baldwin moved central and Byrne to the right, let's sort that bit out ASAP.

 

Last night was a point, I thought we would not get
Fully expected to lose, so that’s a positive for me
The defeat to Swindon far more damaging
I thought last night both teams looked frightened to lose
Notts were better with the ball without really threatening
We looked tired, how much had the bug taken out of players. Bobby looked miles off and Patto well off the pace too
Someone should have given Mcgoldrick a bit of a kick early on, but we never got near him and allowed him the space to control the game up front for them
Keen eye on today and hopefully a few favourable results
Vale and Donny won’t get an easy ride against teams fighting for survival
I can see a wallsal win and Wimbledon and Chesterfield draw
All hope is not lost, just got to find a way of winning 1 of those away matches

 

100% agree with this. Form, home or away is irrelevant. Maximising each game is the only objective regardless where we play the game.

 

On another point
Alexander needs to stop blaming the officials every game and have a look closer to home
Yes we have had lots of players missing for large parts of the season and we have done well to stick in there
Not certain other clubs would have coped
But the away form is horrendous and that is down to him
Even a couple more wins over the season and we could have been up already
It’s a strange one, has he concentrated too much on making VP a fortress

 

I think we have the best home record in the whole EFL but you were sure we were gonna lose at Valley Parade? Each to their own but thats very strange logic against a team that aren't in great form themselves. Truth is were battling like mad but form wise we are struggling, a level or two below what we were like in the run of 15 wins from 21 games.

 

Completely agree. Those banging on about only winning at home, that actually sees us technically 2nd in the table right now. Doesn't matter where your wins come from.