The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Colchester United Saturday 4th March 2023 @ 3:00pm

Nope.

 

Yes thanks thats it, it wasn't showing for me

 

One improvement I did notice today despite me thinking pre match it was going to be well above the normal levels was fans not getting on the players backs, I like everyone else get frustrated at times within games, but one thing that annoys me is fans frustration in the stands being blasted from the stands when is what they need is encouragment.

 

Ill have to disagree not merely the keeper and full backs but taking throwings from the wrong place the first half corners one player took one, the ball goes out for another corner the first guy looks to be taking it again only for him to walk away and another player takes it quite legal no law says your corners have to be taken by the same player but it looked very much like time wasting to me.

 

The only thing that annoyed me was Clayton refusing the forward switch to Halliday at one point in the first half, that got a few groans, but it was only one.

On the opposite side in the second half, Halliday got pelters for turning back when Hughes had brought Banks on for just that reason - an outlet out wide!! Hughes went ballistic with Halliday.

But generally, decision-making was good today, and so was the support despite the growing sense of frustration/desperation as it looked to be headed for a 0-0.

 

My ratings on today's performance :

Lewis - 8 - Pulled off some good saves to keep us in the game

Halliday - 8.5 - Really stepped up in the second half, when it mattered. always tried to get forward an was getting stuck in with challenges

Stubbs - 8 - This guy is quality.

Platt - 7 - Did the business

Ridehalgh - 6 - Did okay. Not his best performance. Looked a bit leggy but understandable considering he's been out for a while prior to the last few games

Smallwood - 6 - Did okay. Some wayward passes that created us problems. Set pieces were an improvement today

Gilliead - 5 - Was rather anonymous today imo

Clayton - 7 - Kept us ticking. Good player for this division

Walker - 7 - Not his best game but its evident he is a level above league 2

Costelloe - 5 - Ran around a lot, tried to make things work but lost the ball far too many times

Cook - 9 - People say that Cook has nothing to his game besides goals. Today demonstrates that people don't know what they're talking about. A menace to the Colchester back line, won several free kicks in dangerous positions. And what a header. Let alone how he bullied Kelleher at the end to set up Banks for his goal. My personal MOTM

Subs :
Osadebe - 6.5 - Good to see him back. Looks rusty due to a lack of game time but provides something different compared to our other midfielders

East - 6.5 - Made a massive difference to our midfield. Doesn't stop running, can pick a pass, has a bit of pace. He needs to get more minutes in on the pitch

Chapman - 7 - A very good cameo from him. Willing to take his man on. Great cross for Cook's goal

Banks - 8 - This guy deserves to start every home game. He is a level above anyone else we happen to have on the wing. We need his creativity an drive to break down teams that come to VP to park the bus.

 

Despite the time wasting antics, which in fairness, were nowhere as bad as some of the teams that have come an visited VP this season (Barrow & Rochdale come to mind) I think that Colchester look like a very good team. Their passing was quick an precise an it cut our midfield open on many occasions in the first half. We should be thankful that they couldn't hit a barn door with a bazooka, otherwise we'd of been down 3-0 by half time

 

Spot on with them. Thought Halliday's was excellent. If we take Lewis and Cook as the two outstanding performers this season, I'd have him down as my best of the rest. Proper unsung hero.

 

Spot on with them. Thought Halliday's was excellent. If we take Lewis and Cook as the two outstanding performers this season, I'd have him down as my best of the rest. Proper unsung hero.

Aye. Thought Chilvers, Jay and the right back were excellent. They were one of the better sides at VP this season.

 

Obviously today they will have been a few warranted groans from the stands, but I do think in recent weeks the fans have been too quick to get on the players backs for backward passes when more encouragement would be better.

 

Don’t worry mate we both made it through to the end. Probably woke the neighbours up when Cook scored!!

 

A véritable happy ending.

 

Obviously today they will have been a few warranted groans from the stands, but I do think in recent weeks the fans have been too quick to get on the players backs for backward passes when more encouragement would be better.

Only just seen this post but I agree with pretty much all the ratings, I especially like the Stubbs mention as I feel he is our new Davis

 

Milk?

 

I think from here on out, Hughes needs to have an Away game strategy and a Home game strategy.

The diamond consisting of Smallwood, Gilliead, Clayton & Walker is relatively effective away from home. It allows us to pack the midfield an to play a mid block. The movement of Costelloe allows us to create space in behind

As for at home, I think a 4-2-3-1 is more effective, but with the right personal. In an ideal world, I would like to see a midfield duo of Clayton and East/Osadebe with a trio of Chapman/Costelloe - Walker - Banks playing behind Cook, But inevitably, Smallwood and/or Gillead would take up the midfield slot/s next to Clayton. At the very least though, Banks needs to be playing when we are at home. We need that creativity on the flanks. The fullbacks cannot solely do this role alone

 

Yoive dug yourself a horrible hole calling Cook shite. The leagues top scorer and pretty much winning us pts with moments of brilliance.

Your pre season prediction of midtable looks useless as well....

 

The problem with a home/away strategy is key players don't end up playing consistently.

If you consider that we're winning so many away games because the players are playing all the time, is it really worth derailing that to try and improve our home form?

That said, Banks should be ahead of Costelloe for the next game (even away), but those two should duke it out for the remaining games. Costelloe performed very well at Gillingham, and both can play a significant role alongside Cook and Walker

 

Ha ha at one point were 8th but yes we got win.

We are closer than to 8th than top.

As for Cook, fine he’s having a purple patch. Let’s see where he’s playing in the summer. Div 1 hopefully with us but if he’s good enough he won’t certainly be playing div 2 football.

 

But that last sentence is meaningless.

We play in league 2 NOW
He’s a league 2 striker NOW
He’s our top scorer NOW
He’s the top scorer in league 2 NOW
We are giving him praise for what he does NOW
Nobody is saying he’s a league 1 striker NOW

Where he is playing next year is irrelevant to anything you say and has no bearing on what he is doing NOW.
I suspect he’ll still be in league 2 as well,but I’m struggling with how that changes the fact that he is scoring lots of goals for us NOW.


You’re inability to give him any credit for what he has done this season( apart from the last 3 games)is just baffling and along with your “football is not just about goals” statement is up there with the most bizarre things most of us have read on this forum.

 

Im totally with you except Costello. I’d stick with the same 11 we are getting familiar with, ie last 3 unchanged sides and leave the wholesale formation change until the last 1/3 of the game. I’m of the opinion that these “flair” players won’t be able to “grind out” a result over the full 90, but bring them on wholesale for the last 1/3 could and as yesterday indicated, have a huge impact on tiring defences. Costello looked a real battler agains Donny and Gills. I can’t see Banks having that kind of impact away from VP over 90 minutes. Costello was a pain in the rear to defenders , especially at Gills.