The Voice - Match preview #7: Luton Town vs Bradford City Saturday 19th September 2026 3:00pm

I have a feeling of De Ja Vous !

 

Yeah, feels like we're squeezing the life out of the attacking side a bit to stay solid. Fine while the clean sheets keep coming, but it’s a nervy way to live.

 

I could understand the stick some fans are giving Beesley if we were just above the drop zone and he was missing chance, after chance, after chance. We're top of the league for a reason, because collectively as a squad we’re doing more right than wrong. It's been a tough start and I honestly don't see it getting that much easier throughout the season, but with a few home games to come I'm sure he'll put one away.

What Beesley is and does, is working to a degree. What he isn't is clinical, and I think the club knew that when they brought him in. He's a typical Alexander player who's job is to press from the front and keep running until Powell comes on against tired defenders.

It's strange to me how some can obsess with one player and pull him to bits week in week out after the good start we've had. He'll know he needs to score and will be feeling the pressure. Let's cut him some slack whilst we're doing all right. The real pressure will come when the results start to drop off.

 

I'm not getting into the whole Beesley debate as today isn't a time to be criticising any of the players who, to a man, grated their balls off yesterday and were superb but......

our comment about crosses is a mile off. We've literally put the most crosses into the box in the division if not the entire EFL.

 

Yes, the stat post during the Wimbledon v MK game showed we had put in the most crosses in the league. No data on the effectiveness of them though.

 

I do think our crossing "tactic" is often a percentage play, they're not always aimed at someone, but we have players who are quite effective when picking up the second ball after defensive clearances.

 

I'd gladly eat my words but I'm hungry and need feeding soon. Nothing would please me more than to see some goals and assists from Bees but despite my criticism of Humphreys in the No 9 last season and his often poor attitude, Humps was a lot more productive in both assists and goals.

 

Watching on the tv yesterday and there seemed to be a bit of needle/bad feeling between Ashby and city players and some naughty challenges down that side of the pitch. Toure was forearm smashed in the throat after a tasty tackle on Ashby and eventually Ashby was red carded. I wonder if he was targeted because we knew his temperament or was there genuine bad feeling

 

Aaron Mclean thinks a 'lack of goals' is not sustainable for a promotion challenge. I guess he would certainly know about not scoring for Bradford City.

Bradford City's 58-year wait for a win over Luton Town has enabled them to usurp Sheffield Wednesday at the top of League One. The Bantams have only scored seven goals in seven games but have conceded just four - the joint-best defensive record in the EFL. Predictably, given his history at Deepdale as a player, Graham Alexander has been linked with the vacancy at Preston North End.

McLean: "Bradford are a massive club, you only have to listen to the noise they make at Valley Parade and the support they get and Graham Alexander is an outstanding manager who is at the right club for him to continue progressing.

"This season, their bouncebackability has stood out. They won their first two games, then after back-to-back defeats you are looking at them and thinking, 'oh was it just a good start' but then they go and win three in a row, so even in adversity they can bounce back and respond in the right way.

"Is their lack of goals sustainable for a promotion challenge? No, probably not but, at the moment, it hasn't needed to be because they have been so good defensively and so hard to beat.

"And that's from front to back and when they do get their noses in front, they know how to see games out.

"I expect their conversion rate to improve and Bobby Pointon is a fantastic young striker who I have tipped to be one of the best strikers in the division over the next few seasons."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cm4gdj405n2no

 

Jamie Raynor and Mark Bower were commenting on this also. Mark was speculating that either he didn't leave on great terms or they knew he was a little bit soft and went in hard on him.

Here's a cracking picture anyway

 

I read that article as well - chuckled to myself thinking how the ‘goal machine’ did for us !

 

Wached soccer Saturday for the results, when the 1st division came in nothing about city moving to the top just sheff wed relinquishing the top nothing else about City just Leicester and the doggies, it really does wind me up sp biased to certain clubs

 

It's the best way to be imo, fly under the radar

 

Very good point, these stats can be meaningless without context. I've watched every game this season and can't remember a steam of crosses coming in that you could class as being goal scoring chances.

 

MacLeans summary is pretty much spot on. Goals win games, defence keeps you in games. Only time will tell but I'll wager come the end of the season the top two teams are two of the highest scorers in the division

 

Is that because we don't have someone in the box who naturally gets on the end of things, like a Cook or like Powell has done in his limited time? Or is it purely down to consistently poor delivery?

The sheer amount of crosses suggests that the level of probability is that any centre forward should be getting on the end of at least a few you'd think?

 

Not as simple as that. This whole cross stat really is meaningless unless you've watched the games, it doesn't tell anything about how good the crosses are or how good the defenders are defending them. I'd have liked to have seen Beesley on the score sheet by now but it's clear he's playing to the tactics employed by Alexander. Can't just blame one man for the front and middle for not clicking, the two behind Beesley swap and change every week and the central midfield doesn't really attack.

 

An interesting stat discussed on latest WOAP podcast was that since about 2013 the team with the best defensive record in league 1 have been promoted every season. All bar one through the autos. Would be interesting to see if the same applies for the team with best offensive record.
It's not pretty to watch at times but certainly very effective based on results thus far.