The Voice - Match preview Gillingham vs Bradford City Saturday 16th December 2023 @ 3:00pm

EFL LEAGUE TWO FIXTURE #19

Saturday 16th December 2023
Gillingham (8th) vs Bradford City (14th)
Priestfield Stadium

22/23 Results:

28 Feb 2023: Gillingham 0 – 2 Bradford City
22 Apr 2023: Bradford City 2 – 2 Gillingham

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

Won: 15
Drawn: 17
Lost: 23

Current League Form:

Bradford City: WWLLL
Gillingham: WLWLL

GILLINGHAM

Stephen Clemence was appointed Gillingham manager on November 1st, just 5 days before Graham Alexander rocked up at Valley Parade. This being Clemence’s first managerial role, the former Tottenham Hotspur, Birmingham City and Leicester City midfielder got his coaching break under Steve Bruce at Sunderland back in 2012, and the two would strike up a great working relationship. Clemence would end up following Bruce to Hull City where he would be promoted to assistant head coach, and on again to Aston Villa having helped guide Hull City to the Premier League. His reward for his loyalty to Bruce was to be named as First Team Coach. Further jaunts (all under Bruce) to Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion have given Clemence a full decade’s worth of experience working at a high level in the EFL pyramid, and he’ll be looking to make the most of that in his first fully hands-on managerial position.

His job isn’t hurt by the fact that Gillingham’s league performance this season isn’t all that bad, at least according to the table. Gillingham currently sit in 8th place, having been in or around the top 7 for much of the season. That said, Gillingham are also League Two’s lowest goalscorer’s with a tally of just 19 goals from 20 league games. That, combined with a 3-game winless run, saw Gillingham’s ambitious American owner Brad Galinson opt to go ‘in a different direction’ in late October, dismissing previous manager Neil Harris – who has since been snapped up by League One Cambridge United.

Certainly, Harris wasn’t doing the worst job, but groans about the lack of goals and generally uninspiring football grow and eventually led to the axe falling – and the appointment of a very promising high-level player and coach looking to make his mark at long last as a manager.

With a current record of 4 wins and 3 defeats from his opening 7 encounters as Gillingham manager across both league and cup, Clemence is starting to show signs he can make the Priestfield a proverbial fortress, with 3 wins on the spin on home soil. Beating Salford City 3-1 clinched Clemence his first league victory (having beaten Hereford United 2-0 in the FA Cup first round ain his managerial debut), and despite away defeats at Wrexham and Tranmere Rovers either side, The Gills have gone on to record a 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon and a 2-0 win over Charlton Athletic, the latter fixture taking place in the FA Cup second round.

What must be most pleasing to Gillingham fans in these precarious early days of a new manager’s tenure is the uptick in goals scored. The pair against Charlton Athletic and a full 3 goals against Salford City are as good as any result Gillingham have managed all season, but there’s no doubt there is much work left to be done. Averaging under 1 goal a game across the season, Gillingham’s early season ability to render a defensive shut out seems to have largely dissipated – at least prior to their 2 most recent results.

Gillingham’s ability to win games by the narrowest of margins means they have still won a full 50 percent of their league fixtures this season, 7 of those being 1-0 wins specifically. Part of the credit for that stat must go to a fairly settled back line consisting of Shadrach Ogie (18 starts), Scott Malone (18) Cheye Alexander (16), and Conor Masterson (14) ahead of ever-present goalkeeper Jake Turner. In midfield, The Gills have started Ethan Coleman (16), Connor Mahoney (16), and Dom Jefferies (15) most often, with strikers Tom Nichols (12), Macauley Bonne (10) and Ashley Nadesan (6) most likely to start up front.

The lack of consistent game time for the centre forwards must be seen as symptomatic of their poor goals return, with Nichols having scored just 1 league goal this season, and Bonne having notched 3, with Nadesan barely behind with 2. It is Connor Mahoney, then, that leads the scoring with 4. Hardly awe-inspiring stuff in terms of a discussion about firepower!

That said, Gillingham might line up with Bradford City’s summer target Jonny Williams in attacking midfield, but given Gillingham’s poor goalscoring quota, that might not be such an intimidating prospect – even if the Welshman has put in good performances lately against the likes of Salford City and Charlton Athletic.

Expect a 4-2-3-1 formation (or similar), and a fairly possession-heavy style now that Clemence has his Gills side trying to be a bit more patient and measured in their build up, at least according to Charlton Athletic manager Michael Appleton, who fell victim to Gillingham in the FA Cup most recently – before last weekend’s tie with Barrow was postponed.

BRADFORD CITY

Bradford City’s sense of momentum was put on hold – at least temporarily – as a home game with struggling Salford City could not go ahead due to a waterlogged pitch last Saturday afternoon. That means The Bantams still bring a 4-game winning streak to the table ahead of their long journey South to Kent, but now meet a side who are also evidencing improving results under their new manager.

Graham Alexander, however, will have had even more time to imprint his style of play on his players as a result of the blank weekend. On Tuesday, Alexander issued a challenge to his players to ‘shoot on sight’, which will be music to the ears of a fanbase that grew jaded by the slow, patient build-up play and low goal tally of Graham’s predecessor Mark Hughes. Bradford City have certainly shown they can do that, and indeed put games beyond opposition in their last few games – 2 of which were thumping 4-goal victories in the EFL Trophy, as well as a 3-0 win away at struggling Forest Green Rovers.

Not every game lately has been thrill-a-minute. The Accrington Stanley win, a 1-0 at home, was more comfortable than the scoreline might suggest, but the Bantams never really looked like tearing the Stans to shreds, perhaps suggesting Bradford City can shut teams out when required. That thought will (theoretically) be put to the test at Gillingham, the EFL’s lowest scoring side. Surely if there’s a team City can prevent scoring, it’s them, right?

But that isn’t the nature of the beast, unfortunately, as Gillingham are themselves 1-0 win merchants. That’s a trap Bradford City will not want to fall into, and why should they accept such a fate with on-form striker Tyler Smith looking to overtake top scorer Andy Cook in terms of total goals this season?

With goals coming from all sorts of players, Bradford City will look to stretch their winning run, and prove that the impressive EFL Trophy wins are more relevant than many would have given credit for at the time. These games potentially allowed Bradford City to shift gears towards a more direct, more positive playing style. The question remains, though, which is the real Bradford City when they’re facing good opposition? Is it the side that beat Accrington Stanley 1-0, or the side that suffered a first half, 4-goal capitulation at Notts County?

Time will tell, and certainly this game against a top half side who generally either win or lose (Gillingham have drawn just 1 league game this season) will give us a better idea of where Bradford City might wind up in the long run. Are the games against Accrington Stanley and Forest Green Rovers examples of City hitting sides who didn’t play at their best? Or were they both apt displays of a club now willing to flex their offensive muscles?

Graham Alexander will look for more goals from the likes of Cook and Smith, but also Jamie Walker and Alex Gilliead who have emerged as semi-reliable goal threats themselves. Then there’s centre back Matty Platt, who has returned to the first team apparently hungry for goals, while long-injured striker Vadaine Oliver will also look to make up for lost time.

It seems that, in the very least, Alexander has given them license to fill their boots – but it’s yet to be seen if The Bantams can consistently get the balance right in terms of attack and defence.

 

THE BREAKDOWN

13/10: Gillingham
23/10: Draw
2/1: Bradford City

As well as having newly appointed managers that were appointed 5 days apart, there are other parallels that are striking coming into this game. While Gillingham sit 12th in the ‘Home’ league table this season, Bradford City similarly sit in 12th in the ‘Away’ league table. But draws? Not many of those for either, despite being perfectly middle-of-the-pack. Gillingham have drawn just once at home (their only league draw of the season), while City have picked up just 2 draws from 11 away games. If we scratch that possibility, and start to look at what both sides do most often, Gillingham have won 60 % of their home league games, while Bradford City have lost 54 % of their away games.

A low-scoring affair is possible, but certainly not guaranteed. While both teams have struggled in front of goal when we view the season in its entirety, both sides have also shown a recent uptick in form (although both can thank recent cup games for that). Gillingham have started stringing wins together at the Priestfield, and posted their most impressive result yet under Stephen Clemence last time out when they bested League One Charlton Athletic 2-0.

For their part, Bradford City have halted a losing run on the road that dated back to mid-October when they beat AFC Wimbledon by a goal to nil, although it took a trip to lowly Forest Green Rovers to achieve that. Still, this trip to Gillingham is only Graham Alexander’s third away game since taking over the reins at Bradford City, so data remains limited.

Bradford City might be happy to hear that Stephen Clemence favours a slow and patient approach, just so long as they don’t find themselves chasing shadows come Saturday afternoon. Bradford City’s new-found direct attacking approach has seen them enjoying far less possession than they did under previous manager Mark Hughes – but they’ve also become more of a threat in front of goal. It’s not how much of the ball you have, but what you do with it that counts.

This game becomes particularly interesting from a tactical viewpoint, then, as two sides look to settle into seemingly opposite approaches. Bradford City will likely look for long diagonal balls to the wide men, while pressing high and looking to capitalise on mistakes. Gillingham, if they stamp their own authority on the game, will look to thread balls through the Bradford City back line, and rely on runs from midfield to do the damage. If Welshman Jonny Williams is at his creative best, much of the play may come through him – though if that’s the case, then Bradford City should look to shackle the attacking midfielder, potentially pitting him against captain Richie Smallwood – or if he’s out wide, potentially City’s prospective player-of-the-season, Brad Halliday.

All things considered, this does look like a tough away day for the Bantams. 3 consecutive home wins is an undeniable improvement, and that Gillingham have conceded just 1 goal in that time suggests they’re equipped to deal with the partnership-in-the-making in Tyler Smith and Andy Cook. If City can get something at 8th placed Gillingham, make no mistake: this is a major result.

But for now, the outlook seems slightly pessimistic. While the game could go either way, and while a low-scoring affair is a little less likely than it was before, the pick is a 2-1 victory for the home side. Both teams may have started to improve, but one side has been found consistently in the top half, while the other has largely languished in the bottom 12 – the reasons for that performance cannot be ignored, or simply chalked up to the previous managers.

PREDICTION:

Gillingham 2 – 1 Bradford City