Mark Hughes - NEW POLL

A round of applause please. Well said.

 

Just seen this and thought I'd share it, pretty much somes up my thoughts on the season,

Listen a lot of mixed air around the City and on social media tonight - lots of toxicity, lots of opinions, lots of proudness and equally lots of anger. But regardless, the bottom line is what’s happened has happened.

I think the thing that hurts the most is that this isn’t just the case of a Stevenage, or a Barrow, or a Forest Green, where we take our prawn sandwiches for a day in the sun every week and it’s a bonus when something great happens - we live and breathe this football club, tens upon tens of thousands of us, it’s our lives, our Bradford City, and times like these have power to divide and cause frustration because of that.

If you ask me? Yeah it’s poor. Have we been let down? Again? Like every season? Yeah absolutely. Massively. Does the squad need re-looking at in terms of value for wages and the quality of player this club should possess? One million and one percent. Does Mark Hughes need to go? No, genuinely, as someone who’s as depressed by today as the next man, I don’t think so. I think that’s a flippant call.

Has the club failed? It depends on your outlook but me, personally, I also think that’s debatable. Have the fans been failed? Oh yeah. Without a single shadow of a doubt, this fanbase that continues to plough it’s heart, soul, money and time into a club which returns very little has been let down. But here’s no question that it’s a club on the up. In the community, finically, etc etc we are getting there.

And that day of success will come. It will. Fans of 40+ years will tell you it’s in the air. And we’ll be there when it does.

Football is a cruel sport. Tonight’s sickening to be honest. But we’ll go again. As always. We’ll hope, demand, invest and continue to be passionate. And one day, that hope, demand, passion and investment will give return. And we’ll be there. We all will.

Will be active again in a few days.

Go steady.

CTID.

 

You paid your bet yet ?.

 

Good one Broncs

 

Just thinking back to the Gillingham game at home where Cook had put us in front late in the game and Hughes brought Banks off and replaced him with Platt and we lost 2 points Gillingham equalising deep into injury time, what's the old saying " you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink" or "learn from your mistakes" ?.

 

I'd forgotten about that substitution in the Gills game.

Just cannot get my head around why he indulges with these negative tactics when we are leading. It doesn't make sense.

I hope he has a re-think over the summer about his negative tactics, not holding my breath though, like most football managers, he will be stubborn.

 

After 20 plus years of failure as a manager it is obvious he cannot change his ways, Failure to learn means learning to fail and he obviously either to stubborn or not very bright not to learn from his past failings, Hopefully next season will bring MH and the club success it is what we want but can MH change? We will soon know,

 

Maybe I have.

 

In a way I was hoping Clayton would be out for the season. It was clear he wasn’t going to drop Smallwood or Gillihead for Clayton and go back to the old slow midfield.

Hughes didn’t learn from this. When Clayton was out of the team we played better.

Hope MH understands for next season we need legs in midfield and better players.

 

Previous 3 seasons in league 2
19/20- 9th - 54 points
20/21-15th-59 points
21/22- 14th-58 points

22/23- 6th-76 points

From a statistical point of view it's difficult to argue that he has not improved you, 18 points better off and getting in the play-offs ; if he can even marginally improve on that you would have a very good chance of automatic .

 

It looks a tough league next year. Lot's of teams with cash, going for it.
If you spend your FA Cup money wisely you could be right up there.
Who've you got lined up?

 

As you say without doubt Hughes has made us a better team at getting results but at times we have been poor to watch whilst accumulating those points, I suppose beggars can't be choosers, we want a promotion and we shouldnt be bothered how we achieve it, but gaining promotion and playing good attacking football didn't stop Richie Wellens at Orient.

 

I don't think league 2 and good football go hand in hand in general tbh ,there is the odd exception but most games don't tend to be easy on the eye (unless we just bring the oppo down to our level lol)

I am quite relaxed for next season I would like us to get top half anything more would be a bonus as in reality there will be about 10 teams with bigger budgets and expectations.

A good bit of money has gone on the pitch and Main Stand as that wooden thing must be nearing condemnation .

I am happy with where we are going the owners are investing but sensibly ,something that could be brought back to sustainable levels if they left , some fans just want them to spunk a load of money on the team but most realise a longer term strategy is a better way forward .

I would rather a slow build without putting the club at risk , looking at our neighbours at Scunthorpe United has made me weary of us 'going for it ' they are now in National North with doubts over whether the club even survives only a few years after being top end of league 1 .

I don't know if Wrexham & Notts will find it as easy as people think - they will be predicted to go right through like you probably are every year, out of league 2 but it's so unpredictable who would have tipped Leyton Orient,Stevenage and maybe Carlisle to go up ?

 

Those 2 points cost us automatic promotion, And then repeated to lose in the play offs showing not much learnt

 

I don’t think there is a cat in Hells chance Hughes will change tactics that’s why he has to bring in players to suit his style players with a bit of athleticism and pace. And they are usually expensive and unwilling to play at this level.
One of the other disappointing things with Hughes is the lack of using his contacts to bring in some really good loans from teams like the Manchester clubs. Like it or not good loan signings are vital at this level

 

He's said before that he doesn't like taking on loans with no experience at all.
He likes it when the player has been out on loan before.
For example, I think we were the fourth loan for Tyreik Wright.
Nevers had been on loan at Newport. Costelloe had played a few games in the Championship.

 

I realised I did not answer the question

We just seem to get linked with players who have played for us before or are from the area who have done well .

Ryan Bennett wanted to come back last summer I think because he still lives in Grimsby , but we had 4 good centre backs so it did not happen - he might stay at Cambridge though I think .

Vernam is constantly linked to again just because he's local - he has not pulled up any trees at Lincoln though by all accounts .

How was he for you ?

We will probably end up signing a load of relatively unknown players and some high up loans . The issue with some them for us was although technically better than league 2 physically they are just not strong enough or suited to it .

 

Vernam was good for us. Pacey and direct. Scored a few too.
He's struggled twice in league 1 now though, with Burton & Lincoln.
Maybe league 2 is his level.

 

Not sure that one match cost us a play off place we could point out Rochdale at Home Crewe away where if we had won there was still an auto place up for grabs, Hughes learnt nothing from that game and the substitution he made as he did it again at Carlisle and we lost the game.

 

I know people laugh at pre season but I think missing it hampers players. I believe Vernham missed it as did Walker largely and I don’t know about Vernham but Walker looked the worst for it