The Voice - Match preview #44: Chesterfield vs Bradford City Monday 21st April 2025 3:00pm

Bobby was seething after the match.
Straight off.
Didn't come over to acknowledge the away support.

 

If Alexander had taken a two week break from management we,d be top of the league now.

 

Walsall is the only thing at the moment saving Alexander from serious questioning about his subs.

Still half of me expects us to win out of nothing and see all 3 teams at the top sat on 77 points next week such us this league.
Only 1 of the top 8 won again today just like on Friday.

 

Ha ha ha

my own coping strategy was to sit in the car for half an hour and sulk, then gorge on a nandos. Been robbed twice in the space of two hours now!

 

The bottom one is the full interview.

 

Two goal leads lost twice in three games and a goal lead lost in between. Absolute shambles of in game management both on and off the pitch. Promotion absolutely thrown away.

We spent the last five minutes hitting it anywhere, until giving them the ball back finally bit them on the backside.

There was No lesson learned from when we had a deep free kick in our half with 90 seconds of the first half left and Baldwin decides to turn into prime Paul deacon and kick the ball straight into touch and giving them the ball from which they scored.

I'm not sure I buy Alexander's reasoning for the substitutions. Im fairly sure these subs are data led , especially with the lad sitting next to him today.

I'm sorry but with two games to go, you play what you see. Unless players are crawling, they should still be on the pitch.

In fact four of the substitutions today we would have been better leaving four crawling players on the pitch for the good their replacements did. Apart from Wright who to his credit managed to win a great header, the rest just caused more issues.

Alexander also says his hand was forced, but how do we end up with critchlow in midfield?

You could see from the very start that critchlow would have felt more comfortable being put in the outside lane of the M1. He didn't know which way to turn.

Why not Jamie walker who was played there previously, Even lapslie probably could have gone there. Why not Baldwin who was played there three times?

Just not good enough when needed most, three wins in ten since really hitting the promotion race leaves questions about whether the squad and management can handle the pressure and I certainly wouldnt be looking at backing us over two legs against the current playoff incumbents

 

I’m surprised that Smallwood absence has made such a significant difference. Patently underestimated but they’re a team of PRO footballers. There should be a mentality without him to ensure we don’t ship anywhere near what we have in the last 2 away games.
If Khela is ill I can’t argue that. But we’ve developed a nasty habit of shipping goals in injury time. It’s killing our progress. Having so many defenders on hasn’t been the answer. Why has Lapslie not had a run out. His energy and closing down could be important in us closing out games.

 

If you got a whiteboard it would make horrendous reading......lose you top scorer after he scores one of the best goals at Valley Parade.. goes to Barrow away and pffffuut..... Buy Tommy Leigh....appendicities to one of our best midfielder's, Sarc injured, Bobby Poorly foot... sickness bug wipes out most players,,,,,,, rejig our defenders every game in out in out......pull out complete midfield and do a Carlisle with five defenders on the pitch no midfield.... put centre half's in midfield .....get leads and don't protect them.... our best captain in years and current important player gets sent off when we are 2 nil and playing superb and gets banned for three of the last four games.....Save players for games that may not matter.....I am bored .... evening gents

 

Don’t believe for one second khela was ill, was sat in the dugout all 2nd half. If he was ill he’d of been in the changies. Alexander covering himself, be no hiding place come Saturday

 

oh Tyrieks broken nose just when he was getting back to form....

 

I liked the way Byrne was too busy grappling with Grigg to worry about the ball going past him into the net for the first goal, head the bleedin' thing.

 

He has proved to me that he is not the man. We need better but not sure who!

 

Alexander will cost a good team to miss out. The poorest game management seen in a long time

 

He’ll be in league 1 next season,probably Huddersfield or Bolton.

 

Agree if we could have seen it out till half time at 2 - 0 then it might have been a different story but once again we allow the opposition to score in injury time putting them on the front foot second half, yet we went 3 - 1 up and still found it difficult to defend a 2 goal lead, having said that we saw what Chesterfield were capable of when they smashed Doncaster 5 - 2 they looked capable of scoring every time they attacked.
We're all annoyed and frustrated with regards bringing Khela off but he lasted until 30 minutes from the end and we were still 3 - 1 up, we can only believe what Alexander says with regards Khela illness, I questioned it at the time but we have to realise if the kid is not available for the Doncaster game we're in trouble, even though he's not the natural replacement for Smallwood as DM I'm not sure who could drop in there and do a job.

 

Agree

 

This fella has lost the plot.

 

Same with the Hughes side that messed up in the play offs more than good enough but fooking moronic decisions cost us.
Lets hope that history is not gonna cost us yet again because a manager goes and does stupid things yet again.
Makes you wonder what they actually see or say to the players while the games is going on.

 

Reading between the lines not only starting Bryne but I believe if Kelly hadn't been injured he might have also played him on the right at the expense of Shepheard or Baldwin, unfortunately IMO Bryne is the weak link in our present set up.

 

Chesterfield are a good team and second highest goalscorers so on the face of it a point there in normal circumstances would be a good one. It is just the fact that we should have had three points and it seems self inflicted that we didn’t.i mean I will take GA word for it on Khela but why take Baldwin off. And why go mad with substitutions when you’re hanging on. I pray that we don’t live to regret this result