The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Sutton United Monday 10th April @ 3:00pm

Sometimes you fall upon your best squad kind of by accident. I recall back in 99 that Blake started mainly in a wide role and it was largely by chance that he went up front with Mills and it clicked. Or that's how it seems now.

Todays side just looks perfectly balanced. Crichlow and Stubbs combine strength, pace and composure with the natural balance of a left and right footed pairing. Smallwood and Gillead are the ideal midfield pairing in a 4231 and that system is a better one than the diamond, IF we play with intensity and the 3 in and around Cook. And I can't recall that 3 playing many games together at all. There's plenty of technical ability.

Maybe we've landed on our strongest 11 at the perfect time...?

 

Certainly hope so, that was a complete performance yesterday

 

Great performance yesterday. It could have been 5 or 6, but to temper things slightly, if the pen went in it could have been a different story. However, it didn’t and City took full advantage. Great to see such swift attacking play. Fantastic that Crithlow can slot in so seamlessly. They all played well. Automatics certainly in reach now.

 

You said no better than 8th with the transfer business we did. Said promotion wasnt happening!!! Then went on some rant about Sparks and the school.

 

Yes but we are a better team now.

 

Ridehalgh comes in for some stick but I thought he was excellent yesterday and linked up well with Chapman. Yes he's not the quickest, but I'd rather have his experience over the younger and more pacey Bola during the run in.

 

1 loss in 16. We are a hard team to beat. Handy for the play offs.

Home form improving too. Up to 8th in the home table.

 

And a half decent referee who let the game flow better?

 

Quite so Jon. Very honest by the Manager, echoed in the Boardroom by them who, incidentally think Stockport are the second favourites in their eyes for auto.
They also echoed the Manager about the pen. Angol is not the designated taker, the Captain is and I suspect Angol will have had an earbashing.

 

You have to wonder why Bola was brought in, Ridehalgh and Fould's were ample and it wouldn't have pissed our own player off feeling he'd be better going out on loan.

 

Fordy has plenty of form for this. He said we wouldn't go up in 2013 and, after we did, that we'd be in a relegation dogfight the following season - we ended up comfortable mid table.

 

That's some memory remembering quotes from 10 years ago!

 

They weren't just isolated quotes. I can't remember whether it was the old official message board or Claret & Banter, but there were many discussions about Fordy's pessimistic predictions back then. Some things are inevitable - death, taxes and Fordy's doom-mongering.

 

If you want to "hear" (or see) the penalty misses again...

 

Suggested that at the time. It's allowed Smallwood to go back to his natural position and given us much more balance.

 

Its a strange old game Clayton gets injured and we go with the same formation yesterday as we did at Crawley but with Derbyshire rather than Chapman and we made hard work of getting a point, same formation for Sutton but with the kid Chapman starting and we looked a different side, who'd be a footb all manager.

 

I think that's because Derbyshire isn't a wide player, whatever his other qualities. All will be forgiven if we go up but we've played players out of position frequently this season, Smallwood and Chapman being the obvious ones. You might have expected an experienced manager like Hughes to have spotted that it wasn't working but he's still doing it. If Clayton's fit before the end of the season we need him or Smallwood to play, not both.

 

These things might not still happen.

I don’t mind being wrong but until the playoffs or automatic is fully confirm I suggest you get back in your box.