Crewe Alexandra vs Bradford City match preview

@ Gresty Road on Tuesday 20 March, 2012

A run of three successive away league features has, over the last three seasons, proven significantly damaging for Bradford City managers – and if City lose to Crewe tonight you do fear what sort of pressure Phil Parkinson and his players will come under when they entertain Gillingham at Valley Parade on Saturday.

Three years ago this month, Stuart McCall’s Bantams had demolished Aldershot 5-0 on home soil prior to three key away fixtures in the promotion run-in. City lost all three, while shipping in eight goals; and by the next home match McCall had vowed to quit if he couldn’t steer the team to a play off spot. He didn’t but stayed on; and then, in January the season after, another run of three away league games – starting with defeats to Bury and Lincoln – again left him on the brink of leaving. A 2-1 win at Torquay in away game three keeping him in the hot seat for one final week.

Then there was Peter Taylor last year. Popular for turning down the assistant job at Newcastle in January, but then a shocking 3-1 loss at home to Barnet was followed up by three straight away league games which ended in defeat – the last two, coincidently, against Aldershot and Crewe. It left Taylor under heavy pressure that would a month later see him leave.

Parkinson is not at that stage unpopularity-wise, but the weekend’s loss to Aldershot has prompted a sizeable backlash of criticism and some of the loudest calls yet to get rid. Less than two weeks after the superb win over Oxford, City have not been able to build on the seven-point advantage they held; losing to Wimbledon and the Shots, with the cushion now just four points. This is as close to the bottom two as we would want to get.

It’s not hard to understand much of the criticism Parkinson is the subject of. A few weeks ago, he was making good – if not always popular – use of the depleted squad to deliver some encouraging results and performances. The return of a number of key players from injury should have been cue to build further upon that, but instead it has proved disruptive. All season long we have yet to see a settled side, and some of the recent changes Parkinson has made were always going to be slammed if they lead to poor results.

Ritchie Jones does not deserve for his recent superb performances to be rewarded by no longer even making the matchday squad; David Syers is not going to rediscover his rhythm if keeps being shunted in and out the side; Nahki Wells has recovered strongly from a January dip but was harshly left out for new signing Chris Dagnall. As supporters we will always disagree with a manager’s team selection from time-to-time, but right now there are too many holes to pick.

The problem is that players who are putting in good performances should get to keep their places, with the onus on those who are on the sidelines to push them hard and battle to regain a first team spot. To see players who have been out injured or suspended – irrespective of their abilities – walk straight back in directly triggers sympathy at those unfairly displaced. It would be a far easier sell if taking this route was leading to good results.

For me, Parkinson’s squad is too big. It leaves him with too much temptation to make changes instead of working on players in the team to improve on their last effort. Rather that coaching Jones, for example, to stay on his feet more often, the midfielder ends up kicking his heels on the sidelines. There has been a stockpiling of players which, coincidently or not, is resulting in changes for changes sake.

Of course, there is a high volume of games right now which means Parkinson needs to have the ability to freshen things up. Sure, it’s great to have so much relative quality in reserve. But at this stage of the season, we should have a settled team which is well-versed in what is expected of them. For a number of reasons – some Parkinson’s fault, others out of his control – that has not yet happened. No wonder form continues to stutter.

These are criticisms of Parkinson which I personally feel are merited, but this is not a time to be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Calls for another managerial change are misguided and would risk only further instability at a crucial point in the season. There is a point where we supporters have to be responsible in the level of criticism directed and the patience we afford the management and players. The mood has become too volatile in recent weeks, depending on the latest result. We need to keep our heads.

Some people who back Parkinson have argued he shouldn’t be judged until next season. I disagree with that – by the time this season ends, he will have overseen 87% of our matches. Of course his performance over that period deserves to be judged; but there is also a need to look at it from a wider perspective and to consider the direction Parkinson is taking. And to remember that this is a strategy that so many people connected to the club – starting in the Boardroom – wanted us to take.

Peter Jackson began this season working towards a different path, and we can realistically assume that much of that strategy was down to the input of the joint Chairmen as much as the former City captain. Five games in, that path was apparently judged to be a wrong one, and Parkinson has opted to take a very different route. Like turning a giant oil tanker, it has been a slow process. Painful at times for sure as we effectively see one team replaced with another during the season – but if we can get past the choppy waters we are struggling through right now, there appears to be blue skies on the horizon.

If we want to reflect on the crucial point of this season, it came in game one against Aldershot; where Julian Rhodes has gone on record as saying he and Mark Lawn assessed the negative 2-1 scoreline and panicked. 90 minutes into the start of a season, where the planning towards it had been about long-term thinking, and the strategy was already been questioned. That was hardly strong leadership and, giving up so soon after taking that route pre-season, has left the club with something of a handicap this season, which Parkinson and the players have struggled to overcome.

It seems almost unfair to criticise Parkinson for seeing quick fixes in reshuffling his team, when the Board – and a number of fans – saw a change of manager early in the season as the solution to a couple of iffy results. What is the difference? Jackson may have resigned, but the subsequent press comments of Rhodes in particular show he was not being backed.

All of this led to Parkinson’s arrival, but is not his fault. And he has attempted to take the club in the direction he feels is right and is using his abilities and experience to plot the future. Parkinson’s track record – when he has been given time by a football club – suggests he will get it right here. We should approach next season, unlike this one, with realistic hopes of challenging for promotion.

In the meantime, more short-term pain is likely and has to be tolerated in view of the bigger picture. City travel to Crewe this evening to face a team which they defeated comprehensively at Valley Parade just short of three months ago, but who are in good spirits after beating leaders Swindon at Gresty Road on Saturday.

Predict the team for tonight? Seems like there is no real point, other than to say that Jon McLaughlin, Luke Oliver, Andrew Davies, Marcel Seip and Kyel Reid will be certain starters – with the rest of the team unclear following the defeat to Aldershot. Surely Syers should start? What about the return from suspension of Craig Fagan? Wells or Dagnall to partner James Hanson, or those two up front with City’s top scorer on the bench?

The only guarantee with tonight’s selection is that Parkinson will be wrong in some fans’ eyes; and that anything less than three points will see those ‘wrong’ team selections used against him.

The next four games are huge for City. Tonight Parkinson has admitted they need to get something, before promotion challenges Gillingham and Crawley rock up at Valley Parade to test that 10-match unbeaten home run. Then it’s off to Devon and a massive game with relegation rivals Plymouth. The Easter opponents that follow could not be much tougher.

So tonight is not a night to follow recent seasons’ abject results when City have faced three successive away league matches. Because Parkinson’s popularity – and therefore ability to do the job well – is under heavy scrutiny, and he and his team quickly need to restore the confidence of others.

Categories: Match Previews

Tags: Chris Dagnall, Crewe Alexandra, David Syers, League Two, Nahki Wells, Peter Jackson, Phil Parkinson, Ritchie Jones