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

I thought the game had a familiar pattern up to the first goal in that we looked pretty comfortable but without really creating anything. Bar the Peterborough game the lack of creativity can be a problem especially when conceding first, might have been the same had Stockport taken their one on one when the score was 0-0.
Bar a complete loss of form I think we are a definite for the playoffs but Alexander will need to figure a way to get as many minutes out of Sarcevic as possible, without him we simply aren't the same team.

 

Rotherham (h) 3pts
Reading (a) 0pts
Leyton Orient (h) 3pts
Port Vale (a) (1pt)
Wigan (a) 1pt
Mansfield (h) 3pts

Still think we look good for home wins but our away form is rancid and can only see us scraping points at Port Vale and Wigan at best.

11pts from next 18pts available.

 

Spot on! Which is why if fit, at least one of Touray or Baldwin should start every time and preferably both.

 

God forbid we have any kind of drop off at home because we really are in bother

 

Watch midweek and should we hit a decent lead he will still have Sarc on for 70 minutes ..........okfolk going on about managing minutes but thst works both ways ...........

 

Personally I think mid table Wimbledon deserve some credit.
They were clinical, taking full advantage of shambolic defending from the off.
Not for the first time away from home we looked like a group of individuals hand picked by the PE teacher, it could have been a scene from Kes with Humps joining the fray late on has the slightly balding Bobby Charlton.
The trouble is if we are lucky enough to make a playoff spot would the away leg be our downfall?

 

There is much to like about Graham Alexander. On some things however he is incompetent. At least 3 were evident yesterday.

The bus was late. This is no preparation for a game and inconvenienced thousands. How may times will this happen to any team during the season? None? All the City fans seemed t get there on time on their own steam.

As said in a previous mail he ends out one to defend against two at a corner on a regular basis. Asking for trouble

They play in a dull pink kit. Have any team in history been successful in such colours? There is a reason for this. We do not need a long analysis. It is hard to see and cannot inspire players wearing it. I saw them play in it once. Live against a bright yellow Mansfield. In the poor light Mansfield seemed to have 4 more players than us. We were in camoflage.

For a man concerned with the details - Graham you can and must do better.

 

Agreed. I do think we’ll do enough in the remaining home games to grab a top 6 finish but the way things are, if we played any of the current top 13 away from home first I think the tie would be over before the home leg.

 

Late for the game. We need to win 4 nil at home in any playoff match. Not going to happen.

 

You’re blaming the manager for the bus being late! really?

Surely it’s someone else’s job to decide what time they should set off. The club are now facing a fine.

 

Last season away from home City won 23 points in 23 games and this season City have won 17 points from 16 games !!!!

 

He has done this with Lapslie before, bringing him on as a sub in home games to help see a game through, and he has done just that well by the way, only for him to completely disappear the next game.

Surely, if we wanted to 'rest' his front 3, Lapslie should have played over Sibley, who looks a shocking signing.

 

I think folk bigfest gripe is that we had looked to turn a corner only for him to think that we are prime Man City and can afford to do wholesale changes ..........i get the Sarc one to a certain point but the rest nahhhhhhh not at all

 

Put money on that it happens to a few teams during the season .............unless the bus was late setting off from the hotel then you cannot blame anyone or is traffic management down to GA ??????

 

Of course it is. GA deserves some criticism for yesterday but blaming him for the bloody bus being late is another level!

 

GA doesn’t dictate what time the bus leaves the hotel, someone else within the club does and GA called it unprofessional in his interview.
The late start wasn’t the reason we lost, the team selection was and Graham knows that.

 

Although team selection was clearly a huge factor in yesterday's fiasco it's worth remembering that we've performed equally badly away from home when we've put out a team most of us were happy with. There must be something else in our preparation that comes into play but I've absolutely no idea what it might be.

 

The more his tactics/team selection leads to a struggle away from home the harder it will become to motivate players to put a shift in for the next home game
Rest assured our home form will suffer sooner rather than later unless things change, we should always be playing our best available 11 home or away
I have no idea what mindset this is I don't buy for 1 minute with the exception of Sarce players need a rest remember these are mostly young fit athletes in their prime who's training programme should be built around this, playing midweek and Saturday is nothing new
To me yesterday was a winnable game and I consider it points lost which could be crucial for our play off ambitions especially as we seem to be relying solely on our home form to get us there

 

Unless I have missed it, where were the Wright brothers yesterday?

Tyriek, I presume injured, as he has been on good form?

Joe, has he gone missing?