The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Swindon Town Saturday 7th October 2023 3:00pm

EFL LEAGUE TWO FIXTURE #12

Saturday 7th October 15:00
Bradford City (18th) vs Swindon Town (6th)
University of Bradford Stadium (AKA Valley Parade)

22/23 Results:

25 Oct 2022: Bradford City 1 – 1 Swindon Town
18 Apr 2023: Swindon Town 1 – 0 Bradford City

Head-to-Head Form: LDLWD (most recent result first)

Won: 13
Drawn: 14
Lost: 17

Current League Form:

Bradford City: LLWDD
Swindon Town: LWDWW

SWINDON TOWN

Swindon Town’s first defeat of the season came at league leaders Notts County on Tuesday night, with the Nottingham-based side putting 3 past the Robins inside the opening 37 minutes. Swindon Town did get a consolation, and kept plugging away, but a 3-1 defeat was the outcome.

Manager Michael Flynn, of ex-Bradford City fame, said his side “had a first half to forget”, and in truth the very first kick of the game was a bit of a disaster as on-loan star Dan Kemp tried something a little unusual – and got it all wrong!



But the season has been a superb one to this point for Swindon Town. While draws have prevented them sitting any higher up the table (they sit in 6th place), they’ve also played 1 fewer game than all those teams above them – perhaps making their current position a false one. A win in that outstanding fixture would have Swindon Town sat in 2nd, 1 point behind Notts County, and 2 ahead of AFC Wimbledon and the rest of the League Two pack: but as the old adage goes, better to have points in the bag than games in hand, and so it is that Swindon occupy one of the 4 play off places at present.

Goals have been easy to come by for Swindon Town this season, and in truth, rival clubs Bradford City and MK Dons both have a significant hand in that: Jake Young (9) and Dan Kemp (7) have been two of the hottest marksmen in the division, and both come from parent clubs plying their trade in the very same division.

It’s not the first time Bradford City have lent a significant helping hand to Swindon Town, either. Irish striker Eoin Doyle spent half a season on loan at Swindon Town in a previous promotion season, and incredibly had a better than a goal-a-game record of 23 strikes in 22 outings… history is currently repeating itself once more, with Jake Young having scored 9 goals in only 8 starts (albeit with 2 substitute appearances.

Tyrese Shade (2) has also contributed multiple goals this season despite not having made a single start, while Rushian Hepburn-Murphy (2) and Jake Cain (2) are other bit-part players having made decent contributions. Charlie Austin (3) is the elder statesmen and focal point of the Swindon Town attack, and continues to be an ever-present in league games, alongside goalkeeper Murphy Mahoney, Dan Kemp, Remeao Hutton, Udoka Godwin-Malife, Tom Brewitt, and Frazer Blake-Tracy.

Well, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it!

George McEachran is a player that has started all but 1 game in the league this season, while Jake Young lost his starting berth against Notts County despite being the club’s top scorer, though he did come on at half time for Charlie Austin, possibly with his inevitable exclusion against Bradford City in mind.

Bouncing back from their sole loss in either league or cup is now the priority for Michael Flynn and his team, but the lay of the land has just changed quite dramatically ahead of their trip to Valley Parade – Swindon Town will have to ensure that does not affect them mentally, and they just do what they’ve been doing so well all season, regardless of what type of performance Bradford City can muster under a new caretaker player-manager in Kevin McDonald.

Boasting 2.7 goals per game, but with a far-from-watertight back line, Swindon Town will look to bring some entertainment to a venue that is no longer a fortress following Bradford City’s first home defeat of the season.

BRADFORD CITY

Mark Hughes is gone.

Sparky came to Valley Parade in the wake of a dismal tenure under Derek Adams, and successfully guided the club into the League Two play offs – only to be dispatched by Carlisle United in the semi-finals. The hangover of that defeat became impossible for the Bantams to shake off, and after 11 games they find themselves way down the table in 18th position.

That’s not good enough, and Ryan Sparks duly swung the axe, even though the midtable teams remain extremely tightly bunched – to the point where City find themselves just 2 points off 10th place. The fact is, though, a top 3 finish is the target, with a top 7 spot most likely to be viewed as a consolation. Anything else represents failure, and with a series of dour home performances relying on late equalisers against Grimsby Town and Harrogate Town no less, back-to-back defeats against Walsall and Tranmere Rovers was too much for the current Bradford City CEO to take.

A shocking start, then, sees Bradford City sat just 6 points off the dreaded drop zone, and having just lost to a side previously occupying 23rd place.

Over to you, Kevin McDonald.

Perhaps a surprise choice as Bradford City’s caretaker manager, McDonald was preferred over Mark Trueman perhaps for the sake of trying something fresh and new while the search for a permanent replacement gets under way. Kevin McDonald, a player who still has an excellent eye for a pass, has unfortunately looked every bit the part of an aging pro, so it will be interesting to see if he selects himself or not in the coming games. More likely, perhaps, will be the return of club captain Richie Smallwood, who has lost the armband in recent weeks after a series of underwhelming performances.

Perhaps it was the form of goalkeeper Harry Lewis, though, that ultimately condemned Mark Hughes. One of the best goalkeepers in the division last season, Lewis has struggled of late, and his howler allowed Tranmere Rovers to get in front on Tuesday night. His inability to defend or organize his side for corners also cost Bradford City 2 goals against Walsall last Saturday, though he’s certainly not alone in facing criticism for that.

Andy Cook, who has 5 goals in 3, is certainly not the first person anyone would wish to criticize, though he missed a sitter of a header against Tranmere Rovers that could have changed the narrative entirely – especially if combined with the cracking header he later did score, as he made amends for that miss. But players at this level do miss chances.

Unfortunately for Bradford City, they’re currently missing more than most.

Just 12 goals scored in 11 games are the sort of numbers expected from struggling sides, and only 3 teams have registered fewer goals scored. Bradford City will simply have to address that dearth of attacking quality, or they’re likely to find themselves in yet deeper trouble.

So, what does one expect of Kevin McDonald ahead of his first game in charge? Unfortunately, that’s an almost impossible question to answer. One would hope McDonald wouldn’t try to reinvent the wheel with such a short space of time to prepare, but one would also hope he can find the motivation within his newly acquired squad to get further up the pitch and gun for more goals.

THE BREAKDOWN

Bradford City: 11/8
Draw: 12/5
Swindon Town: 2/1

Swindon Town are a little leaky at the back; but that is counterbalanced by the free-scoring nature of their attacking play. 5 goals against both Sutton United and Wrexham, as well as 6 against Crawley Town, obviously improve the average number of goals scored heavily – but those games aside, Swindon Town can generally be relied upon to score 2 goals and have done so 6 times this season.

While there is no guarantee Swindon will hit another couple on Saturday, particularly with the absence of top scorer Jake Young who is unlikely to play against his parent side, they’re playing a Bradford City side that have conceded 8 goals in their last 4 games across both league and cup. An omen? Perhaps.

Whether Kevin McDonald can instil more steel in the heart of the Bradford City backline remains to be seen. Whether he can get the Bantams firing going forward, too, is a huge question.

But for now, the assumption is that Swindon Town continue to do what they do so well, with the likes of Dan Kemp looking like one of the best players in the division despite not getting a look in at MK Dons. Charlie Austin will look to bully the Bradford City back line, with Hepburn-Murphy and perennial substitute Tyrese Shade will look to make up for Young’s absence.

While a new manager bounce would be extremely welcome at Valley Parade this weekend, the momentum is firmly with Michael Flynn’s men.

This game, realistically, might be seen as a free hit if it weren’t so urgent that Bradford City get firing as soon as possible. Expecting a miracle seems a little too much to ask, though, so the pick is a comfortable Swindon Town win and some real soul-searching within the Valley Parade set up.

PREDICTION:

Bradford City 0 – 3 Swindon Town