By Jason McKeown

“Every time we go out on the pitch, we are representing our families, we’re  representing the supporters and we’re fighting for our livelihoods. It didn’t look like that to me today though, and I am not accepting that performance.” Phil Parkinson after the Rotherham defeat.

Well, in view of the League Cup miracle of last season, I guess we can accept three rather disappointing first round exits from this year’s cup competitions – particularly with so much focus on the league. Yet a mixture of an increasing number of Bradford City supporters holding a bizarre fixation with Rotherham United and the recent struggles in the league means a dismal surrender at the New York Stadium is not one that can be easily shrugged off.

As a furious Phil Parkinson turned on his players when speaking to the media afterwards, it feels as though the afternoon has the makings of being looked back upon as pivotal when we come to reflect on the season next May. It’s not so much the defeat, but the manner of the performance which has clearly strained the goodwill that supporters – and the manager – hold for this team. That brilliant 2-0 win over Walsall – City’s last – which placed the Bantams in fourth suddenly feels like a long time ago.

The true cost of Saturday is likely to be felt in the January transfer window. Back in August, joint-Chairman Julian Rhodes told Width of a Post that a good FA Cup run could enable the club to spend more on signings. With Football League rules stating that League One sides can spend a maximum of 60% of their income on wages, and Julian revealing at the time that City were above 55% (and this before the arrivals of Caleb Folan and Matthew Bates), any additional revenue that could be sourced is crucial. For how much money City made getting to the League Cup Final last season, it doesn’t count in this one. The FA Cup had increased in importance, given the tame exits from the League Cup and JPT.

So instead, it means that Parkinson won’t benefit from additional income and has little option but to get players off the books before he can strengthen on what he has. And with the squad stagnating of late, the desire to bring in new faces in January is probably increasing. Essentially, Parkinson has the option to sell a crown jewel, such as Nahki Wells, or to find suitors for players not in his plans (something not easy if rumours of what certain back-up players earn are to be believed).

The window is still some seven weeks away, and so in the meantime Parkinson faces some tough dilemmas over the existing squad. So far this season, he has largely remained loyal to the promotion winning side of the last one, with the majority of new arrivals brought in during the summer – when given the opportunity – struggling to impress. Then there are the remaining back up players to last season’s promotion-winning side, who have seemingly drifted even further out of the picture of late – some even having been made available to go on loan.

It is going to be very interesting to see how the squad’s evolution progresses from here. Can Parkinson get his tried and tested players to recapture their early season form? Does he see answers – short-term or long-term – in the back-up members of his squad? Or is he going to shake things up when the next window opens?

The amount of game time awarded to each player, so far, certainly offers big clues on their respective futures. Only 20 different players have featured in the league (and remember, each week Parkinson selects 18 players to either start or sit on the bench). There is a wide disparity between differing groups of players, which we can split into three categories.

The regulars

In the league, Jon McLaughlin, James Meredith and Gary Jones have so far played every minute of action (that’s 1,350 minutes of the 1,350 minutes City have played). Stephen Darby, Nathan Doyle and James Hanson have also started every game, but have been taken off early in at least one or two matches.

Nevertheless, that’s six players who have featured in the starting XI every match. And, were it not for injury or international duty, we can reasonably say that Andrew Davies, Rory McArdle and Nahki Wells would also be ever-presents. That represents a large core of players who Parkinson trusts and believes in. It would be interesting to know who, if any, of these regulars were in Parkinson’s thoughts when he made the post-Rotherham comment that, “We looked like a team, certainly a few individuals at least, who have just started to believe that they are better then they actually are.”

The in-betweeners

Other players have enjoyed plenty of league action this season, but a fair bit on the sidelines also – the seventh-highest appearance-maker was almost 300 minutes below sixth-placed Doyle. As mentioned, there are mitigating circumstances with Davies, McArdle and Wells for not featuring more than they have, but the situation with Garry Thompson and Kyel Reid is interesting.

Both have started more games than they have appeared from the bench, but invariably have been substituted. Thompson, for example, has only completed a full 90 minutes twice. Reid has escaped the hook more often, and were it not for starting the season out of the side, as Parkinson initially preferred Yeates, he would probably be in considered the regulars. Nevertheless, the fact he lost his place in August suggests Reid is far from invincible and could easily face the chop again in future.

Yeates’ start to life at City has been stop-start, and the former Watford man has only completed the full 90 minutes once.

The players in this group are unlikely to be leaving Valley Parade soon (ignoring the inevitable Wells’ January speculation for now), but Thompson and Yeates at least would appear to face a fight on their hands holding down a regular place in the starting line up. Parkinson spoke of his fringe players, after Rotherham, “I simply don’t think the lads out of the team at the moment have done enough  and I don’t think the lads who have come off the bench in recent weeks have done enough.”

The outsiders

There is again a gap of almost 300 minutes between groups two and three, with eight players barely figuring in Parkinson’s plans so far. Rafa De Vita has featured in all but two of City’s league matches, starting the last three, although will need to improve on what he has shown. Matthew Bates looks a better bet to jump up out of this group, although when Davies is fit he is unlikely to keep his place in the side.

What is especially striking about the outsiders is how many of this group are summer/autumn signings (five of the eight). With the exception of Bates and, arguably, Folan, these additions have been at the club long enough now to have reasonably expected to have featured a lot more. Is this likely to change, or is the writing already on the wall for them? Again, Parkinson’s Rotherham comments are damning, “I don’t feel the lads out of the team at the moment have done enough to get in it.”

Note: Carl McHugh and Connor Ripley have featured in the cup but not in the league. Andy Gray has yet to figure at all.

I have deliberately focused on the league matches only, given the fact Parkinson opted to make sizable changes for the League Cup and JPT exits (making selections for those games more difficult to judge). Nevertheless, a full aggregate minutes of the season so far still shows these three distinct groups.

The regulars – total minutes so far

The in-betweeners – total minutes so far

The outsiders – total minutes so far

This upcoming period of games between now and the end of the calendar year is going to prove crucial in shaping just what kind of season City enjoy. I personally still believe we are capable of challenging for the play offs (something I doubted during the summer), but the recent slump needs to be halted soon.

The question is which group of players – of the three outlined above – are the most likely to provide the catalyst for a positive turnaround? Does Parkinson stick with the regulars for inspiration (it’s hard to see any of these six players – and Wells and McArdle from the in-betweeners – losing their place anytime soon), or will the other two groups be looked to instead?

Which route he goes down will say a lot for the futures of the players in groups two and especially three. With form dipping and certain players struggling, it increasingly looks to be a case of now or never for people like Kennedy, Folan, Oliver, Taylor and McHugh. If they can’t provide the competition for places that Parkinson’s post-Rotherham comments suggest he feels is required, why would that change in future?

The stunning progress made by the club over the past 18 months never came smoothly, which is why there is no need to panic about the recent slump. Nevertheless, over the next few weeks we will find out once and for all whether the key to continuing City’s superb progression lies within or outside the club.

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Categories: Opinion

Tags: 2013/14, Caleb Folan, FA Cup, Gary Jones, James Hanson, Jason Kennedy, Jon McLaughlin, Kyel Reid, League One, Mark Yeates, Nathan Doyle, Phil Parkinson, Rafa De Vita, Rory McArdle, Rotherham United, Stephen Darby