Off pitch

This season is really odd....
At the start of the season had someone said we would be within striking distance of the top three, sat in a play off position by the end of Jan, players like AOC would be putting a shift in and grafting, but we were grinding out points and the football was dire to watch I’d have bitten their hands off. Yet........
It’s like the club on and off the pitch is stuck in second gear, as if every one from Rhodes down is apathetic at best, in SMcs first term as manager we had an absolute shocker of a team, epitomised by the likes of Baz Conlan upfront, a dwarf in midfield who’s name escapes me, but they played their arses off even though they were terrible. Rhodes and Lawn worked well together The whole place had a determination to get us out of league 2. Ultimately it failed but that old Bantam spirit appeared to be back. This season it just seems well Meh!!
Along with countless others I can’t motivate myself to go on a Saturday, when I do it’s with a heavy heart and zero expectation.
I’m working in London this week, any other season wild horses wouldn’t have kept me from going to Colchester last night yet I couldn’t be arsed.
Maybe the club needs route and branch change , but who’s going to come In and revitalise it?
Maybe we need a revolution, maybe we just need a 4-0 home win and kick on to promotion.
But something defiantly feels broken, at the moment a 20k season ticket sale is just a pipe dream. I’ll definitely renew, but actually turning up at the moment feels like a chore and has done for 2 years.

 

Surely the expression of these sorts of sentiments led directly to Rahic's arrival in the first place. A proper cull, big changes and clear-outs will only lead to Rahic 2.0. If there's a need for change it needs to be properly managed with proper contingency and succession planning. Would have thought that the get-shot start again brigade would have realised by now that their preferred strategy is a tad simplistic with huge risks attached.

 

didnt you know they are forming an orderly queue round valley parade ready to take control

 

Rahic's model was codswallop from the beginning. It got ever more bizarre as time passed by.

Development squads don't work. You can't simply develop players who aren't good enough and sell them for millions, but if you COULD make it work, you'd need an exceptional coaching staff with impressive funding. In other words, to be sustainable, you'd have to be a Premier League club or a very lucky Championship club, and you'd have to be picking up players who MIGHT be good enough, not those who definitely weren't - in other words, spending money signing the players in the first place - but even if you ARE a Championship club, you're likely overspending on every single possible front, including your development squad, first team, coaching staff, and everything else, haemorrhaging money in a desperate attempt to keep pace with everybody else haemorrhaging money (ie, all of the clubs in the Championship).

Effectively, we gave up all of the good work Phil Parkinson had done via a men-over-boys policy for that pie-in-the-sky claptrap because we were an above average sized League One club with below average training facilities and average income. The maths doesn't lie. It was absolute bollox from the beginning - not only was it absolute bollox on paper, it was absolute bollox based on historical evidence, as we found out with the embarrassing Jacko/Christie saga that nearly ruined the club.

It's a shortcut mentality for those that think it's too hard work to find a manager like Parky and let him spend the money on first team players who he has spent time identifying and who ARE good enough.

I get that some like the fact we actually had a plan, but for me Parkinson's short-term plan was infinitely superior to any long-term nonsense Rahic had in mind. Parky wanted to field the best possible XI with the money available. That makes a lot more sense than signing Omari Patrick from Barnsley, then giving him a three year contract the first time he scores a first team goal. Patrick isn't good enough for Wrexham - he isn't a professional league-standard footballer in a million years - and the only fella that's proven that he IS good enough (at League Two level rather than League One level) is Conor Wood - and he's got to be worth £50k maximum.

How much was spent on wages, transfers, and accommodation for those clowns that were released or moved on ASAP by David Hopkin? More than the sum total of any transfer fees we recouped, that's a guarantee.

We don't need nonsense ideas - we need pragmatic thinking, a concrete and clear vision of the style of football we want to play, and a consistent approach to manager selection.

We have bounced from McCall (attacking, positive, free-flowing, defensively weak football) to Grayson (defensively minded, direct football based on 'proven' players) to Collins (LOL) to Hopkin (impersonal, work ethic driven, chameleonic tactics) to Bowyer (defensively minded, direct football with zero focus on expansive, attacking play).

What's more, we've allowed only Stuart and Bowyer the crack at a transfer window during that time.

No wonder it failed.

The plan we need is very simple - I'll repeat: we need pragmatic thinking, a concrete and clear vision of the style of football we want to play, and a consistent approach to manager selection.

Bowyer can clear off, and then we can actually look to achieving a vision of the style of football we want. That's the plan, at least it should be in my opinion.

 

@Park bantam don’t be so sarcastic, I have it on good authority that In the background theirs a massive battle between three consortiums, one is led by George Galloway with backing from his contacts in the Middle East, the second is lead by a skint Italian who’s currently receiving universal credit but is mates with some rich bloke, and the third is @Fordy117 who has offered to put his Merc up as collateral against a business loan, in partnership with the owners of Dixie chix on Manningham Lane.
Bring on the southern fried Bantam stadium, free Halal chicken meal for everyone under four foot

 

To live one season to the next and see where we are. The official line via Sparks is;

Ryan stated there was a shared will within the club to restore Bradford City back to where it was before it had unravelled – back into League One as a starting point. And then the club can look to build from there.

A shared will. Look to build from there. Not, Promotion, consolidation, own a stadium of our own, grow revenues, aim for promotion to the Championship in 5 years and be sustainable in that division etc.

Just a will to be a league higher and see what happens. On a strategic planning par with my will to meet a naked Kylie Minogue and see what happens from there.

 

Love it.. spot on! Only thing I get is a naked midget.. would love a naked Kylie Minogue even at her age.

All seriousness this post full explains one of reasons why I want Rhodes out.

The club seems to have now long term strategy.. it just ticks.

When we introduced the cheap season tickets we were pulling in 18k now it's around 14k which is approx 600k loss(based on £150 price, so it will be more). Now, Rhodes master plan to keep Rupp happy is aim for 20k season ticket sales, so we need to increase by 6k but we have a manager that playing the worst football some have seen and people are bloody bored... 20k is a pipe dream.. Never going to happen. Can show as many poor labour looking adverts as they want. 20k isn't going to happen and 100% not under Bowyer!

If we stay in this dreadful league then we will be lucky to get 12k season ticket sales.

When Rhodes owned the club not many other clubs we investing in new training grounds etc now clubs like Luton, Plymouth are investing big money in new stadium, training grounds etc... us we are happy just training at a school, not owning our ground - not kicking on!

Manchester United have the biggest stadium in the land but haven't done any improvements and now Spurs have the best stadium with other teams like Liverpool and West Ham having better grounds. You can't not improve! You stand still in life then you get left behind!

On the pitch, the hiring of Bowyer was a massive mistake.. we have no football identity. Tell me what Bowyer's football identity a part from being boring? Rhodes should have a vision on what he wants 20k people to see in terms of football - he has none!

Bradford City lives in hope! No ambition, no drive! Nothing! Just ticks and this is why we need Rhodes out and Rupp to sell! Rhodes has done his job now and we are grateful for that but it's same old, same old with him. We need fresh ideas and people that want to take the club forward!

 

You come across as a bitter poster.
Rupp not interested, I'd suggest he's more involved since he sacked Rahic than he's ever been, Rhodes was put in the position because Rupp wanted someone he could trust, and although many said at the time Rhodes went through Rahic who then conversed with Rupp it was always rubbish.
I believe David Garth is only part time anyway so maybe your correct with regards him being more involved at Oxford.
As Rahic is long gone thank goodness Ryan will be left to do his job rather than being micro managed by "I know football" Rahic a rather strange comment Edins senior aplogist.
By all means elaborate on each comment you've made.

 

Let's just home in on the man in charge, Rupp won't go until someone buys him out, so until that happens the ridiculous suggestion of getting rid of everyone wont happen.

 

Yes I want a long term strategy without the dancing with death of the club that GR indulged in. We do need an owner who is prepared to invest on a long term basis.

 

You want rid of Bowyer and have recently started to slag him, but defended Parkinson to the hilt bizarre stance imo. Only difference between Parkinson and Bowyer is Parkinson had probably the best lower league target man at his disposal his whole time here. And until Donaldson comes back Bowyer doesn’t have one, you can’t have it both ways. We ended 7th in league 2 under Parkinson and it took a collapse from another team just too achieve that, even with Hanson and Wells, if Bowyer has them 2 as a strike force we’d be top 3 right now. Strange stance.

 

We can't rewrite history, and we shouldn't ignore significant chapters either.

The L2 promotion season was affected by a record breaking cup run - which was achieved alongside promotion.

Nothing to compare between the two imho.

 

Target man! What is this year 2000?

If Bowyer thought a target man was vital he should of brought 2 of them in then not about 10 midfielders.

Bowyer isn't getting a tune out of any forward. People using Donaldson as an excuse for failure! Donaldson is a decent player i like him but can't pin your hopes on a 35 year old that hardly scores! Madness and a poor excuse!

We've Doyle back and had Vaughan all season!

Bowyer is done in football.. he just plays boring football and if you go to games you will see that.

Making excuses for Bowyer is just painful to read because I know you're better than that.

 

The two managers aren't comparable. Parky's football was ugly and outdated but it still had the ability to entertain and get bums off seats. No matter how defensive we were, we always used to go out for the win late on. You knew with Parky what his style of play was and what his identity was. Bowyer? Well I still haven't a clue, and that's with and without Donaldson.

 

100% people forget how a player played when they've been out injured and think they will solve the problems.

Reeves for example just ran about and passed sideways.. guess what he runs less now, collects the ball from defenders and passes sideways.

Donaldson, people forget that Bowyer had him tracking back on the left. It wasn't often I remember him holding the ball up and bringing midfielders into play like Hanson did.

Injuries are part of football and we have the squad. We shouldn't be playing this dull football and making excuses for injuries- shameful!

 

Spot on. Parky was pragmatic, but you saw the approach and it largely made sense. Big man and quick forward (Hanson/Wells), a winger in Reid, narrower wide man on the opposite side, balanced and combative midfield pairing, 2 hard centre backs. We had pairings that worked well across the pitch. Everyone knew their job and we could see what the plan was. The coaching approach was obvious and for the most part, players improved under Parky.

I have no idea what Bowyer is trying to do, beyond getting men behind the ball and hitting long balls to isolated forwards. And no one is improving under him. Maybe Wood, but even he's not been as good over the last couple of months. Several are regessing.

 

I liked watching the likes of Davies, Meredith, Jones, Wells etc under PP. Genuinely can't think of a single player that excites me under Bowyer

 

Doyle.

When he plays for Swindon.

 

That reply is worse than your original post,
Comment regards Rhodes have you some figures to back it up or you just think he made money from selling the club.
Don't twist my words with regards Rupp, I said "I'd suggest he's more involved since he sacked Rahic than he's ever been," he will obviously be looking after his investment the best he can, who wouldn't.
With regard Dave Garth hes worked at several massive clubs Man U, Inter Milan, Rangers, so he obviously has ability, I'm not sure what his position is at the club or whether he's doing it for mates rates as he is a big City fan, I've noticed we have sold our hospitality out the last two games can he be involved with that side of the club .
Dont do twitter but like it or not he's employed to communicate and in today's world twitter is one of the main media streams, and again he has fronted a few supports/club meetings.
I'm not suggesting everything is hunky dory at the club Rahic caused a lot of problems both at the club and also with other clubs during his inane dealings with the likes of Preston for one with regards the Doyle transfer not forgetting trying to screw Dave Baldwin and Burnley, nearly forgot pissing some of our sponsors off, and you want to dismantle the club ?.