The Voice - Match preview #15: Bradford City vs Burton Albion Saturday 8th November 2025 3:00pm

The Tilt inclusion was more based on fitness from beginning of the season with a longer term view in mind. This said, for me Richards has to prove his inclusion before being considered a starter.

Think we all agree our best form this season has been Tourey - T Wright - Pointon and honestly, I don’t have an issue with this either. However no way GA is playing this long term unless availability dictates.

All this said, Saturday’s performance wasn’t the result of a terrible back 3, the bigger issues were coming from further up the pitch.

 

Not sure that’s entirely true. Kelly and Wright are decent no nonsense defenders but neither is comfortable bring the ball out of defence or making accurate forward passes. I don’t think it’s coincidence that Power and Leigh sat twenty yards deeper than they would have done if Baldwin and McIntyre had been passing and carrying the ball out behind them. We sacrificed midfield territory because the CMs didn’t trust the CBs to play anything but a short pass or a hoof.

 

Absolutely right.

 

If the CMs don't trust the CBs to play anything other than a short pass or a hoof, then they shouldn't keep passing it back to them. I can't see the point for example in Power dropping deep to take the ball from Walker, only to pass it back to Kelly. He needs to turn and get his head and see what's on. Maybe we should credit Burton a bit more for how they pressed and didn't give us that time on the ball. I've said earlier in the thread the issue wasn't just with the CBs, it was the whole disconnect through midfield too

 

I agree with your post but the back 3 play their part in the issues further up though. If they resort to playing the hoof to Humphrys, Kav and Pointon too much then you tend to see the midfield dropping deeper and more often to try get involved and that has a knock on throughout the team.

 

I agree that Power and Leigh were dropping far too deep to get the ball and were then often giving it square or backwards to Kelly or Wright. But I don’t think that was particularly due to Burton pressing us. When Power or Byrne received the ball so deep, what were their options? There was a gaping chasm between themselves and our forward players because there was no one in the space that they should have been in. As Gary Jones said, they needed to make themselves available 20 yards further forward and trust the CBs to pass out to them, which they clearly didn’t. With McIntyre and/or Baldwin in the back three I don’t think they’d have dropped so deep. We would then have had more chance of passing through their midfield and also closing down their breaks from higher up the field, which is what we were doing when we were winning games.

 

We were simply too easy to play against on Saturday. The main problem with those three centre backs is that you can let any of them have possession and not worry about it, as they have absolutely nothing in their passing range to hurt you with. This is why I thought we'd move Touray to LCB and play Tyreik at LWB; it would have given us more of an option when playing out from the back.

I know that Leigh is possibly the most Marmite player we've had in the last decade, but he's woeful for me. Another shocker on Saturday, one pass aside. For a big lad he's unbelievably soft, never gets stuck in and just strolls around the pitch doing nowt. Makes Omar Daley look like a midfield hardman. I'd start Patto or Metcalfe over him any day of the week.

One last moan from me - and I do honestly enjoy watching City at the moment - but I never fancy us to do anything from set pieces. We don't have anyone who I'd back to score direct from 20-25 yards and delivery into the box is generally average at best. Aside from the Humphrys goal against Barnsley, when was the last time we scored from an attacking free kick? Kelly against Notts County from Khela's ball in is the one that springs to mind. Hopefully it's my appalling memory.

Stating the bleeding obvious but we need to turn up against Bolton.

 

To turn your argument on its head, Leigh scored from outside the box against Cardiff from a set piece.( Corner)

Just sayin

 

You're quite correct. How could I forget his solitary goal for the club?

 

Especially when it turns your comment upside down

 

Glad I'm not the only one who thought this, but the set piece coach just called me out!

 

If you say so. I still don't consider us a threat from set pieces, nor would I back Leigh to do that again any time soon, but I'd be delighted to be wrong.

 

There’s always a second time