The Voice - Match preview #32: AFC Wimbledon vs Bradford City Saturday 21st February 2026 3:00pm

Always, always play your strongest team. If they start tiring, bring them off. Don’t, start with a weak team and think, I can always bring fresh legs on later. It doesn’t work. It’s too late when the game has gone for you.

 

Why the hell does he tinker. Play your best team. Christ, players should be used to two games a week. It’s always been like that.

 

I mean within a week we have gone from one of the best performances at VP in years to shite rotation again shite tactics and yet another pathetic away performance ............... honestly i aint even gonna bother with the Reading game because it will be the same yet again he simply never learns.

 

And Byrne (the previous scapegoat) continues his excellent form in a back 4 defence for Donny. Perhaps we should have retained him?

 

I agree, but it has worked.

Last season we were playing absolutely atrocious XI's and still picking up results.

It won't work higher up the pyramid, but somehow its worked for GA in the lower leagues.

S Walker (G) 1
(83) N Byrne (D) 5 Yellow card
J Shepherd (D) 24 Yellow card
J Benn (D) 27
C Diabate (D) 39
R Smallwood (M) 6
(89) J Walker (M) 7
(69) C Kavanagh (M) 8
(69) C Oduor (M) 12
A Cook (F) 9
T Tyreik Wright (F) 17

This is one of the worst XI's we have ever fielded, and we beat Newport 3 1.

For the life of me, i have no idea what formation thats meant to be. Its just a mess of random players, many of whom are crap.

Getting rewarded for picking that dross hasn't helped GA become more selective.

 

Ah but he's won MOTM this season, I haven't heard Alexander post match interview yet, most accept Kelly is an impact sub around 89/90 minute when were hanging on to a lead.
There was so much positivity after those two wins, now we have put pressure on ourselves with regards Tuesday nights game knowing we need the win to concrete our play off place, were as if we'd won today we'd still have had to beat Rotherham but to kept ourselves in with a chance of Lincoln slipping up and sneaking second place.

 

Alexander owes the fans an appology for that disgracful team selection. Fans spent lots of hard earned cash to travel and Alexander let them down and should appologise in public. Not one fan believed that that team could win today and it is baffling to many that Alexander with all our resources could pick such an obvios lpoor team selection

 

2 home games like that you simply go again with the same team................its like he hopes we can get through to HT before changing it
Mansfield 2-0 down at ht
Town 1-0 down at ht
Lincoln 2-0 down at ht
Luton 1-0 down at ht
Today 2-0 down at ht

I know we where leading away at Blackpool but 5 out the last 6 away games we have been behind at ht so can he not grasp that its not working and the only way to change this shite away form around is to play your strongest side ................honestly i will be amazed if any side at our level continues to make the whole sale changes we do

Honestly thought we had turned a corner on the last two games but sadly yet again another piss poir away performance when we have gifted the home side the points before a bslls been kicked

 

I do hope your right @vin weasel.

 

Id still play Jackson, think hes better than Humphrys, but fair play to Humph for responding to the competition with a couple of goals.

 

Master of overthinking things, our Graham

 

I'll assume Alexander knows the players better than me and on that basis I'm not going to knock his approach. If he feels that sacrificing an away performance to maintain the points haul we need from the home games, then I'm not going to criticise this approach. I'm happy to trust his judgement that these 'write offs' away from home are the reason that we are absolutely flying at home and the reason that we are currently in the position that we are. I'm not one to deny that fans that have the right to criticise on a message board but I do feel that on this one I'd accept that based on where we are we'd be best to trust that he knows what he's doing.

 

Just watched the highlights, some abject Sunday league defending, players should be ashamed of themselves, they have to take some responsibility for their actions. GA can’t shoulder the whole blame for today.

 

Agreed.

It's a shame that Humphrys didn't perform when he was first choice with little competition.

 

Well I'm going to Reading next week and I will be bloody fuming if Alexander thinks of sacrificing that away game so we have more chance of winning at home.

 

What have Blackburn and Stoke got to do with the situation, he keeps telling us "we only focus on the next game" he openly admits todays starting 11 was made with next Saturdays game at Reading in mind, come on Graham your sounding like Lee Grant,
You say your not going to criticise the players you brought in as there were players out there who've been regular starters, what if the regular starters know that by making so many changes the players you've selected can't perform to the same level of those left out, they become a burden on the regular starters and as we saw today their standard slips because said players can't be relied on, or were you hoping it was going to be a one off and the likes of front three yes front three who apart from Jacko had played little football before coming to Valley Parade were going to raise their game creating chances and scoring from them.
I believe we've enough quality in the team to cement a play off place and then it becomes a situation where the strong teams usually succeed but you have to be positive in your team selection and stop this continual swapping and changing unless there's an injury which you have no control over.

 

5 times this season we have conceded 3 goals away albeit one was in the Mickey mouse cup.

 

Ok having semi calmed down after that horror show I'll try and give a balanced opinion.
We do face a heavy run of fixtures so an element of rotation is inevitable. I get the sentiment that we should always start with our 'best' 11 but thats not always realistic. Sarc would be in that 11 every time but no way was he going to play in all 4 games (Peterborough, Stockport, today and Rotherham). I would personally have played him today, but thats just my opinion. He will most definitely be back in on Tuesday.
So the odd tweak in midfield and upfront to ensure we keep our best players fresh is fair imo. Where we are going badly wrong though is regular, frequent tinkering at the back. Imo once he decides on his best and favoured back line he needs to stick with that week in week out except for injuries and suspensions.
When we play away, the first objective has to be to make yourselves difficult to break down. We just are not giving ourselves a chance with the swapping and changing at the back, as a defensive unit needs to get used to playing together, yet what we saw today was a total shambles from the off.

 

I could sort of buy into that if we stank the place out deliberately, but an extra man in midfield, wasted time and played for a draw. But the system doesn’t change just putting in a number on of changes akin to the Mickey Mouse trophy.

 

Well sadly everything I predicted when the team got released came true.

Certain players are undropable and certain other players aren't good enough for this level. Mix the two things together and you get this car crash of a performance.

The two sides at the top, Cardiff and Lincoln largely have settled squads. Why do we have to be different?