Match Thread Notts County vs Bradford City Saturday 18th November 2023 12:30pm

The regular defence and excuse of Pointon, because of his age or lack experience, has to stop. I’m not saying he deserves slating, but it’s only fair to evaluate his performance per the rest of the team.

If Bobby is deemed ready for first team football, judge him accordingly, whilst respecting his age.

This is general comment rather than directed to the above post from @NorthernMonkey or solely based on yesterday, but if Bobby didn’t have a great game it’s ok to call it as it is.

 

The latter, he needs to get an idea of his starting 11 and his bench, plus of course how best to play them.

 

We were set up really badly in that 1st half. Off the ball Cook & Smith were so close together for about half an hour I can only assume it was a tactical instruction but 2-3 passes bypassed them both and they were running free at our back-peddling midfield/defence. Eventually G.A changed it by bringing Tyler deeper and leaving Cook on his own and it helped but by then the damage was done.

Not sure we have the personnel for his 4-4-2 so hopefully he's sensible and pragmatic enough to recognise that and change accordingly. If he sets us up the same way again im going to start worrying about him already.

That said despite people saying it was a game of two halves even in that disastrous first half we created a good few chances, just couldn't score and couldn't adapt enough to keep them out.

 

I watched the recording late yesterday evening without knowing the score.

So first impressions. Hughes style of play 3-5-2 can work with the RIGHT players. 3-5-1-1 with the ball, 5-3-1-1 without it. Simple but effective, however highly complicated if the players don’t fit the system or can adapt to the plan without thinking.

Sitting back and let them play through us with pace with Taylor and Stubbs in the centre of defence, was not a good idea!

I thought the idea of bringing back a specialist left back would settle down our weak and slower side of the pitch, the left, would work……It made it WORSE. Richards was slow , unfit and as a result awful. He has caught Threlkelditis, gets to the half way line and passes back.

Both centre backs weaknesses were clearly on show; slow, ponderous and easily pulled out of position.

Bobby far too isolated and exposed, I wasn’t surprised when he was taken off, I didn’t realise GA would take him off so soon, that was a surprise, but the right call nevertheless . Not his fault but he was always doubled up against their formation

Halliday had a great game
Positives Walker, Gilly and Smallwood, Platty and Kelly to a certain extent second half.

Now the for the nitty gritty.

First half defensive central pairing highlighted what a lot have said since season start. Not good enough in any shape or form. The Kelly and Platt introduction worked well.

I don’t readily buy “ they switched off “ stuff, rather we stifled them in the middle and largely cut off their pace and opportunity for diagonal running. GA needs credit for the switch of formation however as it turned out, it should have taken place after 35 mins not 45!

As someone mentioned early on , I stopped reading the last few pages of posts, the turning point was on 30 mins. Cook free header on rushing towards goal, clean contact , straight in to the keepers arm. Awful miss when the entire goal was gaping from 3-4 meters out.
Just prior to that Cookie did well to get a left foot shot off just skimming the keepers left post so credit there. I honestly believe that missed header was the turning point. 1-1 meant they couldn’t to so expansive , they scored more or less straight after Cookies miss , we all know what followed.

Don’t get me going about his second half showing when we were undeniably ON TOP .
On form he could have had FOUR.
Fannying about on the left of the pen area, trying to beat the entire City of Nottingham , with the ball control of an 8 year old with his big brothers boots on was comical , and strangely sad all in one. Just hit the bugger!
Then a completely unmarked , simple free header at the back post, headed high wide and not so handsome. Truly awful. I haven’t looked at his stats but at least half a dozen simple chances were there, and a further half dozen half chances on top.

I said a few days ago he needed a challenge, he does now, he needs dropping , but alas until Oliver is fit…..

Give them space and standing back as in the first half , made them look like Man City, which to their credit they did well, a change of formation, using the press in the second half, they looked very ordinary and defensively poor.

Decent finishing and it should have been a 5-5 game …..Alas.

 

The problem some folk think is Taylor is the problem, its the easy go to just like Ridehalgh. Now i'm not saying both can't be improved on because they clearly can but then you could say that about a number of players in this squad. The reason we lost yesterday wasn't because of an individual having a bad game, it was because of Alexanders first half tactics which made the players look far worse than they actually are. He even admits after the game, he has to have watched them this season after being the manager at MK, he should have known you can't stand off them like that, it was criminal. Also twice now he's started 4-4-2 with Walker and Pointon out wide and it didn't work the first time. I know he's new and getting to know the players but after a while i don't want to see him making the managerial mistakes he's made so far. Walker always looks better central and i suspect Pointon will end up there later in his career.
I'm also hoping that he understands we need better than Osadebe (who i guarantee would have been blamed yesterday had he played) and Taylor but also that he understands his tactics are far more important than changing the odd individual player.

 

You keep posting away nothing in your post most fair minded City fans would disagree with.

Just the one point your correct Andy Cook should have had at least a hat trick yesterday, he's certainly not the same Andy Cook as last season for whatever reason, but I'll wagger once again he will get in double figures possibly high teens and finish this seasons as he has done for the last three season Bradford City's leading goal scorer.

 

We can all pull the systems to bits 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 but if you simply cannot do the basics or you have players that are here for easy money then sadly no system will work

 

Depends on the plan for Jake young.
If hes back in january then i can see him going in as our main striker

 

You saying the 3rd goal was down to tactics ???? You are talking basics here ....... you are talking about individuals doing there jobs and not allowing oppo players to basically just have free shots on goal and i simply dont care what system you play if you simply cannot do the basics then your always gonba get a batteting and yesterday wasnt just a one off its been going on for ages now right back to the no show at Morecambe

 

Seen his goal yesterday? A belter.

 

He did play, we conceded twice to that team that just, er, defend. Says it all really.

 

Of course it is but my point was also that Bobby has had good games this season so it's contributing. The best I can say of Taylor is that he's had a couple games where he doesn't look a complete liability.

 

Read the statement properly and in context before getting all angry. I'll write in easy from for you to understand. In football matches there are and always will be individual mistakes that attribute something to the game. Whether that be mistimed tackle, a poor header, a shot off target or a poor save etc. And these become more prevalent the further down the leagues you go. We have players that make these mistakes every week, sometimes they get punished, sometimes they don't. But, and get ready to take this on board, we would not have been 4 nil down at half time yesterday if it weren't for our managers tactics first half. Heck he even admitted it, i can't make it any clearer. Hopefully that will mean no more placcid defensive set ups giving the highest passing team in the division all the time and possession they wanted.
And guess what? I guarantee you there will be more individual errors next week. But we won't be 4 nil down at half time. Why? Because the manager won't make that mistake again. Put it this way, if he does i'd question his ability to be a manager in professional football.

 

I get the mistakes at this level but your talking allowing players to have shots at goal unchallenged now is that a mistake or simply not having the heart to do something about it ?????

I can forgive mistakes all day long at any level but lack of desire well its unforgivable in my book.

Still lets come away from 4-4-2 because it will resort into a massive turnaround in results did we play 4-4-2 at bottom of the league Sutton ???
Did we play 4-4-2 when the MK Dons battered us ?????
Was it 4-4-2 when we made dreary Dereks team look like world beaters when Morecambe battered us ?????

We have played different systems all this season and it simply aint gonna make a blind bit of difference when you have players that simply dont have the stomach for the fight

 

Saying that someone not having the stomach for the fight is quite disparaging. Teams do actually get beat in sport, sometimes they get a severe beating but to say they don't have the stomach, sorry thats insulting. Its an easy stereotype thrown about when a team is struggling.

 

So you was happy with that 3rd goal when he simply let him get a free shot on goal ?????
At any level he would have been brought down .........red card or no red card but to simply pull out of his way ....... wow indeed.

Btw i think its more insulting to play that way when over 2k have made the effort to support yet another no show.

Still come away from 4-4-2 it will be fine the likes of Stockport will be bricking it now on the back of yesterdays 2nd half

 

Can he even head the ball? It will be on the deck therefore , personally can’t see it, coming in from the right I can. Just about………

 

Where on earth have i said i was happy with it? Not in any of my posts have i said i was happy with what was a 4-2 defeat. But to look at one goal when four were scored in 45 minutes is too simplistic and is not and never was the reason we were 4 down at half time. Which, if you read and understand my posts were the point i was trying to put across. Tactics will win and lose you far more points than individual errors ever will. Its why the top managers get the big bucks.

 

Tactics are great when you have the players to do that and thats why the managers at the top levels earn big bucks.

You can pull our head coach up for playing 4-4-2 but if you simply have players who aint up for the fight thrn your screwed whatever system you play.

I could understand if we had played 4-4-2 all season but we havent and we are still shite.

Yesterday was not the first and it wont be the last till he can somehow bring the players who can play.

Lets just hope he can somehow get enough points to keep us clear come January when our amazing recruitment team will bring in more crap to work with

Lets just hope what sytem he play next Saturday works because we lose that then i feel we could be in bother come the next window

 

We were 4-0 at half time. No one can take the second half seriously. It wasn’t a game of 2 halves at all.

Notts took the foot of the gas. We were always going to play better in the second half. The game was done though.

4-0 down should never happen. Let’s see what we do next weekend but for me it’s now time for fans to voice their frustration at Sparks and Rupp no matter what happens or how we are doing next weekend.