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The Voice - Match preview #9: Morecambe vs Bradford City Tuesday 1st October 2024 7:45pm

Discussion in 'City Talk' started by The Voice, Sep 30, 2024.

  1. The Voice

    The Voice The voice of reason
    Staff Member The Voice

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    CityMorecambeAway.jpg

    EFL League Two Fixture #9

    Tuesday 1st October 2024 19:45
    Morecambe (23rd) vs Bradford City (13th)
    Mazuma Mobile Stadium (AKA Globe Arena)

    Record:

    Games Won: 10
    Games Drawn: 5
    Games Lost: 6

    Last 5:

    01 Jan 2020: Bradford City 1 – 0 Morecambe
    16 Feb 2021: Bradford City 2 – 1 Morecambe
    08 May 2021: Morecambe 2 – 0 Bradford City
    19 Aug 2023: Morecambe 3 – 0 Bradford City
    26 Dec 2023: Bradford City 2 – 2 Morecambe

    Morecambe:

    Bradford City will head to another unhappy hunting ground just days after losing – yet again – at Harrogate Town. Morecambe’s Mazuma Mobile Stadium has seen the Bantams concede 5 with no reply across their last pair of outings on the West Coast, and things look even more ominous as it seems Derek Adams’ strugglers are beginning to develop some backbone after ending a run of 5 straight league defeats at the start of the campaign by embarking on a 3-game run of draws.

    Morecambe ended their calamitous start by staging a manful fight back against Colchester United in mid-September. After leading early, Morecambe found themselves down to 10 men when former Bantam Luke Hendrie was given his marching orders in the 42nd minute. All looked lost when Colchester United rattled through past the Shrimpers across the next 25 or so minutes, but an 83rd minute penalty and an 88th minute own goal rescued the unlikeliest of points for the EFL’s most off-form club.

    Then, Morecambe went some way to repeating the feat at local rivals Fleetwood Town, this time staging a fight back after trailing 2-0 at the interval. Another former Bradford City defender got them on their way when Yann Songo’o halved the deficit, and substitute Hallam Hope scored a rare chested goal to once again salvage a point.

    On Saturday, the roles were reversed, with Morecambe this time defending an early lead given by yet another ex-Bantam in Lee Angol, only for (ANOTHER) ex-City player in Matty Platt to pop up with a 79th minute equaliser. 3 draws in a row, all coming in different manners, but one thing is clear – Adams is slowly starting to turn Morecambe round, and they will now be looking to go one better and claim their first league win of the season.

    While Morecambe were a distant second-best against both Colchester United and Fleetwood Town for long periods, the statistics were much more favourable in a tougher-looking fixture against Notts County. With no fewer than 8 shots on target (and just 1 off target), Morecambe matched their opponents in the stat that matters most: efforts on goal. Notts County also managed a full 9, but managed just 4 on target, and might feel fortunate to have taken a point despite predictably seeing much more of the ball. A late effort from Jamie Stott looked to be over the line before being cleared, but was not given by the officials, and Morecambe trudged off feeling they had been denied a rightful winner.

    That a Notts County community page describing the action bemoaned ‘a strong of fouls that disrupted [County’s] momentum’ might sound unwelcomely familiar after City suffered a similar onslaught from AFC Wimbledon at home recently, and the late dismissal of Kayden Harrack for a second yellow card for his protestations shows Morecambe may be suffering early disciplinary issues amid a ‘us vs the world’ siege mentality. Derek Adams’ Morecambe (18 yellow, 2 red) find themselves the 4th worst offenders in the ‘Discipline League Table’, though in reality they have received fewer yellow cards than Tuesday night’s opponents Bradford City (21 yellow, 0 red).

    One statistic former City manager Derek Adams always liked to point to was xG. Morecambe find themselves 4th bottom in the current xG table, signifying that they have been struggling to carve out meaningful opportunities this season, and the stats show that even then they have been badly underperforming with an xG vs Actual Goals stat of -0.37. Struggling to create chances and fluffing the ones you do make does not seem like a recipe for success, but at least Derek Adams can point to improved performance in recent weeks.

    Morecambe 1 – 1 Notts County



    Fleetwood Town 2 – 2 Morecambe



    Bradford City:

    Bradford City’s league form deteriorated further on Saturday afternoon with a dismal 2-1 defeat to struggling local rivals Harrogate Town. A shock defeat per practically every metric outside of recent struggles against that particular club, City can walk away feeling they fully deserved defeat after managing just 1 shot on target – the goal Andy Cook scored after robbing former City defender Anthony O’Connor and finishing neatly.

    Capitalising on opposition defensive errors is now proving to be one of the most reliable routes for a goal, which, while pointing to an effective high press, calls into question the side’s ability to create opportunities from open play.

    Bradford City’s previous league goal came in a similar 2-1 defeat at Walsall. Jamie Walker was able to rob one of the Saddler’s defenders, before crossing for Olly Sanderson to finish neatly. Against Carlisle United, Andy Cook was the beneficiary of another fine Jamie Walker press-and-assist, though Cook’s eventual winner was one of City’s own creation, but that makes just 1 goal from creative play in City’s last 4 games.

    That is a statistic that does not bode well for Bradford City’s attempts to climb back up the table, especially as they struggle to keep clean sheets at the back.

    Perhaps even more worrying is Graham Alexander’s performance last season where he oversaw lengthy periods of form – both good and bad – that fluctuated between 5 and 6 game winning runs, and separate patches of 7 and 8 games where his side would win just 1 game.

    While City’s form this season hasn’t been as consistent as that (for better or worse) this campaign, there is a worry City may have already entered another extended poor run of form. Taking the Mansfield Town EFL Trophy victory out of the equation, City’s form now accounts for just 1 win, 1 draw, and 3 defeats across their last 5 league outings. Defeats on the road to Grimsby Town, Walsall, and now Harrogate Town will have alarm bells ringing amid the City faithful, and justifiably so.

    A trip to Morecambe may look like a fine opportunity to pick up a rare away win against a struggling side on paper, but the Shrimpers’ improving form and displays of real resiliency might point to a more negative outcome. As one side scraps for every point, the other sees it’s form deteriorating to the point that poor results away from home are starting to become the expectation.

    Morecambe’s Globe Arena is not one that Bradford City fans will be looking forward to with great confidence given the plethora of ex-City players amid their ranks – as well as an unpopular former manager who will look to humble his former side on home soil once again.

    The chant from Harrogate Town was “it’s happened again”. Morecambe will have every right to sing the same thing if they get off to a good start against Graham Alexander’s men on Tuesday evening.

    Harrogate Town 2 – 1 Bradford City



    Bradford City 0 – 0 AFC Wimbledon



    Prediction:

    It’s already getting to the point where an examination of the manner of Bradford City’s goals – and wins – aren’t pointing to a team who have started the season on top form. Despite that, Bradford City have still had a far better start than Tuesday’s rivals Morecambe. Having been in the top half for the entire season so far, it will be of great disappointment to see them now sat in 13th place following a string of 3 straight away league defeats.

    Wins over MK Dons and Carlisle United in particular were unconvincing. A 3-1 triumph over EFL new boys Bromley was predicated on an early red card and penalty combination, and though comfortable, will come with an asterisk of sorts. Where is the truly convincing win for Graham Alexander’s Bantams, then?

    Any designs on Morecambe rolling over and dying on home turf seem to have evaporated in recent weeks, with Derek Adams instilling a level of fight and streetwise mentality that is making them harder and harder to beat by the game. That they could – perhaps even should – have beaten promotion favourites Notts County on Saturday cannot be ignored. All omens seem to be pointing to a game where the ‘elevators’ of momentum may just pass the point of intersection and make Morecambe favourites to win this game.

    One thing is for sure – Bradford City’s travelling fans simply will not tolerate that, and it’s mighty early in the season to invoke the fury of the Bantams fans. Graham Alexander simply must get his players fired up for this one in a way that simply wasn’t evident on Saturday afternoon. Far from making up for last season’s humiliating 3-0 win, the Bantams players found themselves 2 goals down after just 23 minutes against a side that had been struggling to score. Morecambe, for their part, have now scored 6 goals in 3 league games, though their issues at the back are plain as day.

    The question now is, do we really buy into Morecambe’s improvements? Is Bradford City’s form really spiralling out of control so soon? And if it is, is that due to the lack of an effective Plan B in the face of so many injuries, especially across a depleted back line?

    The pick, unfortunately, will be that Morecambe pick up their first win of the season in a dour, foul-filled affair. That all-too-familiar 2-1 deficit just looks too tempting right now.

    Final Score:
    Morecambe 2 – 1 Bradford City
     
  2. Hulmebantam

    P.L.24/25 Entrant Supporter

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    We've not got much time to reflect and change things after Saturday's debacle.

    I don't think that we can set ourselves up in a 442 like that again, but I'm struggling to find a second genuine midfielder to sit in with Richie Smallwood. I would guess that Clarke Odour is the most likely, but he is another player that looks more comfortable in a more attacking role.

    I think we might go back to 3 centre banks in a 3-5-2.

    S.Walker

    Benn
    Diabate
    Shepherd
    Richards
    Wright

    Smallwood
    Odour
    Walker

    Cook
    Sanderson
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  3. Foghornleghorn

    Euro24 PL Entrant P.L.24/25 Entrant P.L. 20/21 Top 10 Euro 2020

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    Like your selection of Jay Benn he certainly played well at Harrogate from the bench.
    There could be a doubt over Shepherds fitness he was struggling all game with an injury but with no out and out replacement on the subs bench so he battled through somehow.
     
    Hulmebantam likes this.
  4. Botswana Bantam

    P.L.24/25 Entrant Supporter

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    I think he has to go back to the back three if Shepherd is fit. We have looked poor offensively without any width. Benn looks like he can cross a ball, let's get him higher up the pitch.

    Kav looks completely out of form, at least Sanderson has scored goals this season so he needs to play.

    My prediction is a low quality goalless draw but one team might manage to bundle the ball into the net somehow.
     
    Hulmebantam likes this.
  5. Edin Nowhere

    Edin Nowhere Impact Sub

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    Screenshot_20240930_100421_X.jpg

    Based on the above, that's a defeat to nil coming up on Tuesday.
     
  6. Petrov

    Petrov Squad Player

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    Even if he isn't fit I'd still be tempted to go with a back 3 of Halliday and Richards either side of Diabate.
     
    Botswana Bantam likes this.
  7. MallorcaBantam

    MallorcaBantam Impact Sub

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    We at times on Saturday left some big spaces in midfield, this needs sorting but we only have one central defender in the squad
     
  8. Foghornleghorn

    Euro24 PL Entrant P.L.24/25 Entrant P.L. 20/21 Top 10 Euro 2020

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    Should be a pre match presser this afternoon let's see what's said to the media regarding tomorrow nights game.
    Alexander has had time to reflect on the no show at Harrogate perhaps there might be a reaction forthcoming in terms of changes to playing personnel but with so many injuries can't see it so we will be stuck with Saturdays under performers unfortunately
     
  9. Botswana Bantam

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    Only challenge there might be height. No idea how tall those three are though.
     
  10. DimitriPayet

    Euro24 PL Entrant P.L.24/25 Entrant

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    If Wadsworth is good enough to be given a contract and to feature on the bench then play him because from my understanding, he’s a similar mold to Smallwood in that he’s a more defensive minded midfielder.

    If Wadsworth is not good enough then he should be out on loan or out the door then. Another reason why we’ve operated on the cheap!

    I’d go with:

    GK - Walker

    RCB - Halliday (genuinely think he could do a job there. Especially against Morecambe)
    CB - Diabate
    LCB - Shepherd

    RWB - Benn
    LWB - Wright

    CM - Smallwood
    CM - Wadsworth/Pattison

    AM - Walker

    ST - Cook
    ST - Sanderson

    Please no Oliver. Get Smith back on the bench!
     
  11. DimitriPayet

    Euro24 PL Entrant P.L.24/25 Entrant

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    Height doesn’t matter so much if you can defend
     
  12. Wakefield Bantam

    Wakefield Bantam Squad Player

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    Watched Derek Adams interview after the Notts County game. He said that Notts haven’t been subject to a “high press” this season, so that was their tactic, to be relentless and in their faces, and it very nearly paid off for them.

    That’s pretty much what Harrogate did to us and we couldn’t cope.

    We have injuries, and by all accounts they do too (plus a suspension).

    We should be looking forward to a good positive performance and 3 points. Morecambe haven’t won a game and yet I’m nervous.
     
  13. JonButterfield

    Euro24 PL Entrant P.L.24/25 Entrant Qatar 2022 Entrant

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    It's a tough one because if we win, most people will say we should have been winning. Anything but a win and it's a bit of a disaster.

    Horrible game for GA. But his recent results have put him in this position. It's not like we can claim the wheels have come off, we just aren't looking good.

    We're that 'fine margins' team rather than anything special.
     
  14. Steve1970

    P.L. 20/21 Top 20

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    If we lose this the people at the top will have to explain to the fans what happened to the extra funds we as fans were promised.
    Sparkes should make a statement about the situation we find ourselves in season after season and how we are going to try get ourselves up the table .
    If he isn’t prepared to do that then he should walk and let someone else try find the solution to the problem we have .
     
    JudgeMental, Onside and vladimir like this.
  15. Idlebantam

    P.L.24/25 Entrant P.L. 20/21 Top 10

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    They would just trot out the 'injuries are hurting us' line
     
    Ponty City, Citymatt, Dennis and 2 others like this.
  16. Steve1970

    P.L. 20/21 Top 20

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    The problem is some of our fans believe what ever they say is the truth where others know what the real problems are
     
  17. Petrov

    Petrov Squad Player

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    Along with 'judge us in May'.
     
    Citymatt, Dennis and Idlebantam like this.
  18. vin weasel

    vin weasel Squad Player

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    Drop Cook
    Drop Halliday
    Drop Pointon

    Make a statement for the benefit of the team.
    Get the width back.
    3 at the back.
    Benn and Wright up and down.
    Play Oliver with Sanderson and have Smith on the bench.
    Radical yes but what have we got to lose?
    We have to try something to address the fall down the table before it's too late for everyone involved.
     
  19. NorthernMonkey

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    You lost me at "drop Cook".
     
  20. vin weasel

    vin weasel Squad Player

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    Away from home he's been average for the team at best.
    We need better.
    Look at the shots on target from the last 3 away matches.
     

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