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

You want Graham to give you updates on each players fitness, their performance in training?
Which players were fatigued after Stockport? Which players need minutes to get up to speed or how about creating competition for places so the players don’t become complacent?
What about attitude in training?
Did any of the lads have tight hamstrings or any returning from injury that can’t play 3 games in a week?
Maybe he changed it up based on our last couple of away games due to inconsistent performances?

You are right.. it’s a football forum to discuss our various opinions. In my opinion we are massively over achieving and I’m throughly enjoying the ride. I expected a fight to stay in the division in August so apologies I aren’t quick to jump on the manager considering what he’s achieved here so far.

 

I’m not defending the five changes GA made today. In particular the frequent rotating of the back three is perplexing. But I think we have to accept that the game is different from the days when teams played the same eleven every week as far as possible. It’s so much faster now, the demands on the body must be greater. And there iis, quite rightly, much more concern about players’ welfare nowadays.
They now have so much more data about how players are performing physically during matches and training and how well they are or aren’t recovering.
Contrast that with the past when players were cajoled into playing through significant injuries and many were routinely pumped full of steroids to get them on the pitch, often with dire consequences for their health in later life.

 

Awful performance.

• Tilt had a shocker
• Not entirely sure what Kelly offers personally
• Neufville didn’t appear to want to take his man on
• Mullin not great but god knows what he’s supposed to do when we’d just launch a ball at him and he’d have to battle in the air against players 2 ft taller than him
• Walker should’ve done better for the first 2 goals (first he was expected a flick on which never came but was still poor) - didn’t really see the third
• Thought Wheatley did well with what service he got which wasn’t much (the stand out being when he requested a long ball to his left and received one to his far right ???)

Once again we rallied and actually started playing football but far too late to make a difference.

Third game of the season that I’ve been able to get to, Northampton & Luton being the other two, and the performances have been getting worse so maybe it’s me!

 

The bigger risk for me would be risking a dip in fitness for the home games where we know we are strong at the expense of maxing out the side on the road where there is less certainty over our results and less that we can control. It's pretty clear that in GA's mind he can't afford to jeopardise our maximum performance levels at home. Better to protect our home form and trust that we'll snatch a couple of results away against teams who are having an off day at home. It's sh*t for travelling fans but it's paying off for us.

 

The away performances are an absolute joke and GA deserves all the pelters coming his way. we’re absolutely hideous the minute we step outside of VP. Fans are paying good money to watch utter tripe. Its his set ups, his tinkering. The football is dross, the results are dross. It is indefensible, sorry.

 

The final verdict on whether or not its the right approach will of course come at the end of the season and where we end up.

 

Not writing them off just yet Sergio, just hoping at least a couple of them have a big part to play in the remainder of the season.
But my comments on the loanees are not just a reaction to today, at the end of the window I described it as average when many were blowing a lot of smoke up our recruitment teams arses.
Anyway, onto Tuesday and hopefully back to our Peterbourgh/Stockport form

 

We won/drawn more away games than we’ve lost this season.

 

We’ve become very Jekyll and Hyde lately.
I want to see us return to the all in balls out football that Alexander eluded to in the early days.Don’t care if we lose when we go for it, but half hearted performances away from home are becoming to common and do not do the support justice

 

If I'd have known GA was to pick the 11 he started with today, I would have thought twice about spunking £80 on a train down there today.

I just don't understand why he doesn't change system away from home and stick another midfielder in the middle with Metcalfe and Evans. Probably wouldn't have made a difference today as my finger is pointing more towards the defence, but they don't get the help at times.

Has football really changed that much in 13 years that players are unable to play 50+ games in a season? McArdle, Doyle, Jones (probably more) all played over 50 games in the 2012/13 season and probably would have kicked up a fuss if they were 'rested'

 

It’s a lot of money and i understand that completely but would you actually not have gone knowing Sibley, Mullin and Kelly were playing?

 

Honestly, yes. If I have to travel hours on a Saturday to watch our defenders hoof balls up to Mullin again......

Didn't think that signing would work when he was announced, but I do feel for him. He needs Hanson up there with him, or someone we've sent off to Grimsby.

 

I remember Parky resting Nahki for a few games after Swansea as he was pretty much running on empty, and that worked as he came back firing. Parky never tinkered unnecessarily with his back four though, and ensured we stayed solid-I recall a couple of dour away 0-0s in that run in. I think I'd take those now given our current away form!

 

We've played 38 games away over the last 2 seasons and won 9.....

We've conceded 3 goals in 3 away games just recently.

We've not had a single shot in the first half of 4 of these away games.

They have been dire, let's be honest with ourselves.

 

I suggest you don't bring inferior players in who weaken your team unless of injuries, hoping they will turn your away form around.

You have to have balance in your starting 11 selection, you can't just stick inferior players in because a player might have had hard games against Posh and Stockport, you criticised fans for suggesting starting the likes of Sarcevic, Pointon, Baldwin then seeing how they performed and bringing them off it they were struggling, "Too many would be managers who think they have a clue" I really don't believe a young lad like Bobby couldn't do three games in a week, but to have them on the bench suggests to most fans they are capable of coming on if things aren't going to plan as we saw with Baldwin and Humphrys, I don't see any other reason why they would travel if they were incapable of playing do you ?.
Alexander believed the 11 he selected were good enough to get a result and it wasn't as many posted, as I posted on seeing they weren't capable he made changes at half time it really is that simple.

I've said I'm also happy with what Alexander has done at our club in his time here he has my full backing but that does not mean questions cant be asked of his team selection, I've posted I believe we will finish in a play off place before today, I actually posted I hadn't given up on the second auto place.

 

Without doubt modern day football is more demanding but players are far better looked after and are far superior with regards fitness and lifestyle, but for me we were playing away (and all that goes with our current away form) to a team that were well down the table fighting off a relegation scrap, so for me if fit (which Baldwin, Sarcevic, Pointon and Humphrys obviously were as they travelled down) would it have been such a big risk to start them and bring them off if were in a winning position rather than brining them on to chase the game when were 2 - 0 down at half time ?.
I hoped we could keep it to 1 - 0 until half time and Alexander could have worked his magic which we've seen him do before unfortunately the goal just before half time made it very difficult.

 

Who was inferior apart from maybe Kelly? Sibley and Mullin are more than good enough for most teams in this division. Sibley was starting his first football match in 10 months today. The lad won’t be fully up to speed?
You mention Bobby.. 2 weeks ago half this board were saying how out of form he looked and needed a break. I don’t know if you were there on Tuesday night but he was knackered after an hour. Sarcevic has just come back from injury.
So again… apart from Kelly. What did Alexander get so badly wrong today in his selection?

 

I thought today Neufville would be contesting MOTM as it was his first visit back to Cherry Red Records Stadium since he left as you say very poor, but its not unique to today when we change our back three its been said several times the likes of Neufville and Touray don't seem to have confidence in their team mates and get forward.

 

I do believe though Dave that Alexander also said, either last season or the previous season, that to be on the bench you needed to be fit enough to do 90 minutes not just 20 or 30 so I don't buy into this 'resting' mullarkey....

He also started this 'rotation', particularly on the defenders after we lost so many of them at the start of last season was it?

 

We started the game with a 352 for the first 20 minutes and that didn't work out well. Football is a lot faster and more technical even in lower leagues, 13 years ago there was far more hoof ball so you didn't need to worry about the high press. If you're going to play high energy and cover huge distances at high intensity you can't play 90 minutes week after week. Players could play 50 games if you wanted but you wouldn't get the same level of performances. In that season you mention no player started all league games, only 6 players started 30+ league games so there was rotation in that season including the goalkeepers.
In terms of players used this season we're 10th on the list with 31. With having the 2nd oldest squad in the league this season rotation was always likely to be needed as well