Most liked posts in thread: January transfer window

How long did that meeting last and was the point of it? How does that move things toward for supporters? Fred wants to ask about his issue collecting away tickets and the one line answer to aims for the rest of the season is apparently unchallenged. Don’t the fans representatives prepare for these meetings? Where are their questions and the challenges to the answers or do they just nod and accept the kudos of being a supporters board member?

There’s nothing like holding the club to account and demanding answers is there? It’s no wonder the club take the piss with selling Crankshaw to fund a free agent, talk of promotion and then signing Lavery and Robinson, promising action in the transfer window then on 1st January getting the excuses in. There is absolutely nobody to hold them to account.

Another season in League Two? Well at least we still exist eh? Rupp’s not lost any money, we’ve got some new seats, Ryan’s aim for the 26/27 season is to get promotion whilst the newly launched 1911 club membership is rewarded with a limited edition jersey commemorating the famous re-election to league in 1949.

We get the football club we deserve if this is the extent the Supporters’ Board challenge the current regime.

If Rupp or Ryan thinks I’m fundraising for some new hand dryers in the bogs the pair of them are fecking clueless. It’s a not a village cricket team or a social football club. You want punters to turn up and pay? Then give them proper facilities and a team worthy of paying to watch.

Bollocks to the lot of them, football fans spend a life time supporting a club, we were unlucky enough to be made Bradford City fans. We deserve way better than this shower of shit. Nobody hears from Rupp, Sparks has left social media and so the only method of holding them to account is this absolute waste of a Teams call. Some of them at City must be pissing themselves.

 

I'm not sure what bringing Gary Jones to the club in any capacity would do, and I'm not sure what changing Adams as a manager would do - other than, most likely, set us back further. I don't think managers make as much difference as people often think. Don't get me wrong, exceptional managers will make a positive difference and terrible managers will see you underperform. But 80% of managers at this level are just fair to middling and the constraining factor will always be the players.

This club does need a complete reset, from the very top down. But our most important area to improve on, is recruitment. Its been that way for years.

Phil Parkinson had a mismatched squad for the first 12 months, he made 22 signings (including loans) in his first season and we barely survived. It was only in his second year, when he cottoned on to what was needed to make this club successful that we looked a side. And that was based around having a smaller, better squad, and crucially it involved bringing leaders into the club. Darby, Davies, McArdle, Jones. We've lacked talent and character for a while. Your platform for having character as a side is your keeper, Centre Backs and Centre Mids. I wouldn't trust any of ours. I'd have trusted ANY of the 2013 lot. even the backups like Ravenhill and McHugh. They didn't hide, ever. Whether they played well or poorly, they'd never roll over and have the piss taken out of them in games. We have to hope that Adams learns a similar lesson and that he's backed. And on that point - January IS a tough month to do good business. Which is why we have to significantly improve our approach in the summer. This half arsed approach to only doing half a job in the summer, 'keeping budget back' and not signing loan players, is a nonsense. Build the best squad you can and assume January is there for minor modifications, not for full rebuilds.

Its why I don't want Adams sacked. Not because he's done anything special, but because I think most managers need to be given a couple of years, largely to demonstrate they can learn the lessons of their first 12 months. He needs to learn those lessons, we need to sort this shithouse squad out, we need 3 or 4 'captains' bringing in in the summer, and we need a focus on quality, not quantity. And quality that can stay fit too.

 

And there we have it. The coup de grace. The crowing floater on the most random, bizarre, ill thought out, throw enough shit at a wall and hope some sticks transfer window we've had.

Proud custodian.

Ready for January.

No more mediocrity.

F**k right off.

 

Edin’s been gone three years. When he left Stefan promised that the people of Bradford deserve much, much better. In that time we have gone from 24th in L1, finished 9th and 15th in L2 and now sit 16th. Luckily the Crawley v Bristol Rovers game tomorrow is off or we would be 17th tomorrow night.

Yes Stefan, we do deserve better.

 

Nothing wrong with what Wrexham are doing in my opinion. If you want to look at financial mismanagement then the bottom half of the championship is where you need to look.

Ryan Reynolds aside of being the second highest earning actor in 2020 he is also quite savvy at business too. He sold a gin company for $600mill and also has a budget friendly mobile phone company.

He managed to get Wrexham into the Fifa22 game, he spent £50,000 to enhance the women’s football programme and increase participation at all levels’.
They have sold a record number of kits, both home and away, renovated the stadium, revamped the players' nutrition and medical support, brought in more staff in the ticketing, retail and finance departments of the club and are currently starting the process of revamping the club's medical facilities and recovery gym.

Give me "two flash gits" over the absolute mess that we have in charge.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59865612

 

Davies was mint.

Absolutely no question he's the best defender we've had in League One or Two.

 

I think under Stuart when we were losing game after game after game it just made sense. Sir Stuart never was able to turn around horrible form, and just ended up looking depressed by it all on more than one occasion at City. I think under Bowyer it also made sense, because the fans had turned on him in a serious way. It was Carlisle away, ironically given that it's the next fixture, that effectively ended his chances of staying on. It wasn't that we were doing that badly, it was just a resounding 'no' from City fans, and after that you're just peeing in the wind.

None of that is the case here with Adams, we aren't losing many, we're hard to beat, it's been very frustrating, but actually the focus is on the squad not being good enough while performances themselves have been good enough to highlight that we've had some serious weaknesses particularly in our finishing.

Frustration, yes, but I don't see anyone really gnashing their teeth at Derek just yet. Ryan sold us wolf tickets, but you know what, I was buying that ticket no matter what the lad said so I actually don't feel that aggrieved.

Anyway. We've a long way to go, but I wouldn't sack Adams this season unless, say, we dropped to 20th or below.

 

I wouldn't sack him at all this season, unless he takes us down - which won't happen. He's a very capable manager that needs to be given time and support to rebuild. We can't keep restarting. And I think that there's a lot to work with here - if he's backed to make 3 or 4 quality additions to this group, we'll have a good team at this level.

 

We paid £7,500 for Hanson.

Bitching about MAYBE offering £40,000 for a forward from non league is kinda stupid.

What should we do, offer £250,000 just to flash the cash?

Bit babyish all this.

If people don't want the lad, that's one thing, but complaining about how much he might cost because we're paying too little is stupid. If Darlington reject the offer, so what?

 

That could be useful...he might be a plumber/electrician...?...hand drier problem solved...genius...!!

 

It's one of the highlights of this forum for me, this release clause thing, I don't understand how some posters didn't get it!

 

'We've missed out on some but we'll continue to try and do something'.
Something?
Could our approach be any more half arsed?

 

Its the sort of signing that perpetuates the slow death of the club, on a number of fronts. He's not good enough, he's stepping into a position and area of the team that's already weak, so he's set up for failure from the start. Because he's been here before, and with his career since he was last here, we know that he isn't going to be up to it and when that proves to be the case, the frustration and anger of the fans will be 'another example of the toxic mindset of supporters', which just continues to manifest as a doom and gloom atmosphere around the club. The reality is, fans just know what's coming and they're growing very, very tired of it.

Repeating the same behaviours and expecting different results. We're a shambles, top to bottom.

 

Only at Bradford City can we be bemoaning Cookes 4 assists while ignoring the fact that the player that's selected ahead of him has just 1 whilst starting almost every game.

Never mind. At least if the next clogger can score a couple that will apparently prove he contributes more than Cooke.

Perhaps it's me.

 

When we have a board meeting I expect to be challenged and held to account. You promised this, why didn’t your department do that? Is there a better way of doing this? Why did you chose that?

In my opinion without being challenged or held to account and without alternative points of view you are less likely to succeed.

As well as addressing issues like bad driving on Midland Road, that’s what the supporters board should be doing.

There’s no budget to fix the toilets. Why not Ryan? You’ve recruited X positions this year, where’s the payback? What was the decision making that led to you expanding the social media team rather than looking after your paying customers? You offered new contracts to X and Y and then sacked them, what’s the impact of that on R&M or the first team? You trumpeted arrival of Lee Turnbull and then scrapped that model, why is that Ryan?

Hold him to account. How many questions do we collectively ask on here? Get them answered and don’t give up until they are resolved.

 

Oh God, we're actually at the Nahki Wells stage of the transfer window...

All hope is lost...

 

@Bantamsteve, I saw a neighbour today and asked him his opinion on last Saturday's performance. Now this is a man who goes back further than me, NEVER missing a game rain, hail or shine. I've never heard him bad mouth club, players or manager. "That's it, I'm finished, I've had enough" was his response. There can be no greater yardstick of the current low feeling when such a loyal fan throws in the towel.

 

I had no idea "Ready for the window" meant selling our captain at 8:30 pm on transfer deadline day... Jesus Christ...

 

Bit harsh that on Delf, one thing I can absolutely assure you of Faithful is his ability. Evatt has a very specific way he wants players to play and whilst he was a big part of our promotion last season, the changes Evatt has made to the squad this year has left him sidelined. That doesn’t take anything away from his ability, he’s got plenty of that but maybe not as an out and out striker. He’ll probably play left side although he can equally well play down the right but either way he will create chances. He still has pace and I doubt there’s anybody at VP with his skill, so played right he will be a good signing. Anyway, good luck for the rest of the season, you’re far too big a club to be where you are.