| Morecambe 2 |
| McAlinden 28, Stockton 57 |
| Bradford City 0 |
By Jason McKeown
In the build up to this final day encounter, Morecambe had deemed it necessary to issue a statement asking their supporters not to congregate outside the Globe Arena. The Shrimpers fans had wanted to show their gratitude to a group of players and manager who had achieved the highest league position in their history, and turned up anyway.
There was no danger of Bradford City needing to ask their own supporters not to gather and congratulate them. The players were lucky that Morecambe’s East Terrace – always packed out with City fans on previous visits – stood empty. Sparing them from a deserved flurry of boos at the full-time whistle; after another dismal defeat that rounded off another season of disappointment.
What happened to that feelgood factor that sprung up between December and March? All the optimism about the promotion and success of Mark Trueman and Conor Sellars? It’s all gone. The Bantams’ form has completely collapsed, and there is absolutely no momentum to take into the summer.
At Morecambe, the City performance was a dismal repeat of recent games. A pretty promising start with some good attacking intent, even though they struggled to create a chance. A falling behind to a goal that was as self-inflicted as it was decent opposition play. Some huff and puff, but a sneaking suspicion the players were holding something back – be it because of cautious tactics or their own effort levels.
The end of the season form is utterly grim. One point from the last 21 on offer. Just two goals scored in the last 678 minutes of City action. A woeful 10 shots on target in the last five matches.
The run of one draw and six defeats in the final seven matches makes it the Bantams’ worst end to a season since 1994/95. That’s 26 years ago. Back then, Lennie Lawrence had endured a disappointing first year in charge, after City – in Geoffrey Richmond’s first full season owning the club – had spent relatively big in the transfer market but failed to push for promotion from the third tier.
They finished 14th – then, as now, gaining just one point in the final seven matches. And failing to score in the last five.
Lawrence was kept on as manager during the subsequent close season, though Richmond did demand coaching changes that saw George Shipley demoted – and as a result choosing to leave – and Chris Kamara promoted to assistant. By November of the 1995/96 season, with City’s league position barely improved, Lawrence was sacked and Kamara promoted.
Just like Richmond in the summer of 1995, Ryan Sparks will go into this close season with a decision to make over Trueman and Sellars. He is rightly proud of what the pair achieved after they took over the reins from Stuart McCall last December. But this drop off in form is alarming.
The end of season results are just as awful as the final few weeks of McCall’s tenure. And though there aren’t relegation concerns this time, the football is worse to watch and the pool of fit players to select from is significantly stronger. If McCall deserved to go then, what does that say about Trueman and Sellars now?
Sparks will surely be worried that – just as McCall seemed to have run out of ideas of how to fix things – Trueman and Sellars haven’t shown any solutions to address the nosedive. There is scant evidence the players look bought into the managerial pair. They look bored.
When Andy Cook was substituted with 22 minutes to play, it appeared – through the lens of iFollow – that the on-loan striker walked past Trueman and Sellars without shaking their hands. The BBC Radio Leeds commentators, Jamie Raynor and Andy Kiwomya, confirmed this suspicion by relaying Cook’s evident frustration at being taken off.
To Trueman and Sellars’ credit, they did at least adjust formation at Morecambe, moving away from a faltering 4-2-3-1 and accommodating Lee Novak and Cook in a 4-4-2. Yet with Callum Cooke moved to a wide left position, it wasn’t a case of out and out wingers, and the WOAP player of the season’s game slightly suffered, with a pass success rate of 72% when outwide, that improved to 78.3% after being moved back to the centre for the final 20 minutes, just below his season average of 83.3%. He produced 23 passes in total compared to an average of 33.3.
Cooke attempted five crosses (average per game, 0.5) – none of them finding a City player.
There was some confusion with the team news that had seen Matty Foulds and Charles Vernam originally in the starting XI, but swapped to the bench by kick off. It meant that Oli Crankshaw started on the right. He failed to really get involved in the game – just one cross all afternoon summing up his lack of attacking contribution – and it all left Novak and Cook feeding off scraps.
It is revealing that, after coming on as sub for Cook, Clayton Donaldson touched the ball 17 times. When over the full 90 minutes, Novak touched the ball just 11 times and Cook 12 across his 68 minutes of action.
It all meant that City dominated possession in the first half especially – 73% to Morecambe’s 23%. Yet the visitors didn’t register a single shot on target until the 76th minute. Morecambe, who knew that victory could earn automatic promotion if other results went their way, started the game nervously and looked there for the taking. Once again City were too passive and failed to take full advantage.
There was an early warning sign of Morecambe’s more cutting approach when Paudie O’Connor cheaply gave the ball away, Cole Stockton played in Ryan Cooney whose shot was blocked by Sam Hornby, and Liam McAlinden rattled a follow up effort against the post after Levi Sutton had lost the ball again.
Not long after, Cooke tried to pass the ball inside but it was intercepted, the impressive Toumani Diagouraga charged forward and released McAlinden, who finished clinically from an angle. Trueman and Sellars would surely have spent part of the half time break lamenting Elliot Watt’s failure to track Diagouraga. It was a goal that gave Morecambe confidence and settled their early nerves.
Even with their automatic promotion hopes fading, as news flooded through that their top three rivals Cambridge and Bolton were both winning, Morecambe went on the front foot early in the second half. Cooney embarked on another rampaging run and crossed, with Diagouraga latching onto a loose ball and volleying just wide.
And then the game was put beyond a goal-shy City’s reach, as Yann Songo’o was given too much space in the centre, and he picked out Carlos Mendes Gomes with a pass that caught out Jorge Sikora. As the City youngster and Anthony O’Connor raced to closed the Spanish forward down, he produced a brilliant pass into the path of Stockton to make it 2-0. The sight of Paudie O’Connor ambling slowly back – after losing Stockton – was maddening.
The game was largely up from there, even though City did continue to attack. Connor Wood – in what may be his last game for the Bantams – struck a free kick just wide. And Donaldson got on the end of Sutton’s cross to hit a tame effort that counted as City’s first shot on target. Another substitute – Billy Clarke – produced a diving header attempt that finally tested Kyle Letheren. But there was never a spell of sustained City pressure that suggested they were likely to come back.
The biggest positive of the performance was Sikora, making his league debut. Apart from the mistake for the second goal, the young centre half looked accomplished on the ball and composed in the tackle. He is surely worth a new deal, and with City going into the summer with Niall Canavan, Paudie O’Connor, Reece Staunton and Finn Cousin-Dawson under contract, Sikora’s promising performance is arguably another reason not to retain the well-paid Anthony O’Connor.
But throughout the team, there is so much work to do. Over the course of the last ten months, the Bantams have shown flashes of being capable of producing promotion standard results, but it has proved feast or famine form. Just 48 goals over the season. And City have failed to score in 17 of their 46 games. They have only the 14th best home record and the 7th worst away.
They end an underwhelming campaign in 15th place – 14 points shy of the play offs, and 14 points above the bottom two. And though Trueman and Sellars have an overall win ratio for the season of 43.3%, which is the best record since Stuart McCall’s second spell in charge (45.5%) – less than a month ago that win ratio stood at 56.2%.
It’s on the slide.
Trueman and Sellars’ overall record of 13 wins, seven draws and 10 defeats is decent. But shown in sequence it reads as: DWWWDDWWLWWWWWDLLDLWWDWLLLLLDL – and that’s too many Ls in the same place.
The non-stop revolving door of managerial changes at Bradford City since February 2018 has contributed to the club’s demise – from finishing 49th out of the 92 in 2017, to ending 2020/21 in a wretched 83rd. Trueman and Sellars are the first managerial switch that has improved the club’s league position since Phil Parkinson took over from Peter Jackson. That has some significance.
Balancing all things up, they deserve a crack next season. But there have to be big, big concerns. And we cannot afford a repeat of this season, the one before, the one before that and the one before that, where a managerial change is needed half way through.
Trueman and Sellars need some experience around them. When looking at their career prior to this opportunity, it’s obvious they’ve never found themselves in this kind of position before and so mistakes are bound to be made. Extra support doesn’t have to be a director of football or an assistant who they might look on as a threat, but even something like having regular mentoring from people who have been in this position could make all the difference. There should be no shame in admitting they don’t have all the answers, because how could they?
Paul Jewell – a man who has walked a mile in their shoes, and who even knows what it’s like to end a season badly and have supporters questioning your employment – would be a great person to learn from. Though the Swindon director of football might have different loyalties these days.
In the end, 2020/21 has been another step backwards for a club that can’t seem to reverse its flightpath. If Trueman and Sellars remain at the helm, they need all the support from the club to give them the best chance of success. Sparks has already talked to WOAP about making significant changes to the coaching structure, aimed at improving the performance management and sports science of things. The recruitment director, Lee Turnbull, also has a huge role to play. Success or failure on the pitch cannot be solely down to Trueman and Sellars.
Sparks has more than just season tickets to sell – he has to deliver on a vision that fans can see and buy into, because the supporter mood is once again really dark. We’re absolutely fed up of failure, and the fact that long losing runs like this has become the new normal.
In 12 months’ time, we need to be able to look back and see that progress has been made. As supporters, we want to feel like Morecambe fans do right now – proud enough of our football club to want to gather in a car park and applaud them.
Categories: Match Reviews
widthofapost.com 
A big crossroads for the club now ST sales wise…..especially on the back of:
a) a dreadful season on the pitch
and
b) the fact that covid will have shown
lots of supporters that there’s better use of time on a saturday afternoon
If these 2 are left in charge to start the season I predict sales will drop to 5-6k at best….
SPARKES needs to wake up and smell the coffee quick!! Time to act…AGAIN!
The only argument for keeping them next year is they’re already under contract, and that’s the wrong reason. If they’d been given a contract until the end of the season, I don’t think Sparkes would be renewing their contracts by any stretch of the imagination.
A dreadful season on the whole and the football that’s been on offer for the final 12 or so games has been totally abysmal and unexceptable. In addition so have Truemans match analysis and stubborn tactics.
Whatever the price of STs next season fans will not renew in big numbers required for the dirge that’s been pathetically played out in the last quarter of the season.
Personally after 42 years a fan unless Sparkes moves to axe the pair I will not be renewing to watch negative hoofball, with a lone striker, like for like substitutions with absolutely no emphasis on any kind of attacking or entertainment football.
Simon,
Are you a fan? I haven’t had the honour of being in VP for over a year. I’d chew my own arm off to do so.
Better use of a Saturday afternoon? Stick with what you’ve been doing mate. The club doesn’t need you.
It’s “fans” like this that make me hate football.
End of rant.
The point that Simon is making is valid.
People are creatures of habit and going to watch City(or any club) can become an habit. You know meet your mates in the Corn Dolly and have a few jars. Then just at the right time walk up to the ground and take your seat just as the teams come out.
Say `hi` to the regulars who sit around you and then concentrate on the game.
This has not been possible for over a year now, and many have found other things to do on matchday.
Its an habit that can be broken and its even harder for the club to persuade these people to return to watching City every week and buying a season ticket.
Add to that the Covid 19 pandemic and there is a very strong possibility that some fans will never regain the confidence to return to be in a large crowd.
The manner of the demise of the teams results in recent weeks, the perceived lack of interest of the owner, the inexperience of the CEO, the negative and boring tactics of T&S, the poor quality of L2 football, an possible increase in season ticket prices, the apparent lack of intent by the club to climb back to where we were when the ownership took place. etc etc and a myriad of other reasons all add up to what could be a dramatic reduction in crowds at VP.
So its ok for Ben to say the club does not need you is wrong.
Multiplied these kind of reasons for not going to VP could be catastrophic for the club.
The club should be making a firm statement of intent about the future backed up with a very positive action in order to `drive` season ticket sales during the next week or so.
With the exception of Bolton, every club that finished in the promotion or play offs were operating in nin league until recently. We finished just above tiny Harrogate Town for goodness sake.
This trend needs to reversed and quickly.
Ben,
It sounds like you’re a single bloke with nothing else to do on a saturday- so fair play to you.
Lots of others will have families etc who are finding that’s there’s more to life!
It’s not about the being at the match between 3pm and 5pm – it’s the time gained when having to leave at 11am to get to the pub or not getting home til 6pm cos of the traffic etc – that’s a whole lot of time recovered that can be put to other use.
Being forced to stay away because of Covid for so long will naturally take it’s toll that way.
Jason I for one in general admire your post script account of games. However, seemingly of late stats of players seem more prevalent. Recognising to a degree that at times they can provide some insight, they can also mask what football is all about. For example, if a player misplaces 99% of his passes but manages to create one pass that creates a scoring opportunity then that’s all that matters, doesn’t it? Sideways or backwards will rack up your stats but invariably doesn’t lead to the necessary effect.
I’d gladly accept that a particular player has had an indifferent game but managed to find the pinpoint ball to a colleague to score the winning goal!
Thanks and duly noted. I think when watching games from home rather than in a stadium it has been harder to get that natural feel of a game and performance. And with a sudden availability of stats for lower league football, I’ve studied them more closely than I usually would due to following it all from a laptop. Hopefully, it will be back to normal of being in stadiums next season. Meaning more time for beer and less time for stats!
I’ve held off this point as I respect Jason, all contributors and this website immensely. Now it’s been raised I will add my penny worth.
I love this site. But Ive actually gone off it recently. Stat after stat after stat. Boring as hell.
I know we haven’t had as much to endorse of course, but it was about the writing and analysis. I would often watch a good win on a Saturday and then have the hairs stand up on the back of my neck again on Monday lunch when I read the reports back. I cannot give a higher compliment.
Stats are crap. Simon Parker has just listed all his stats for the season that show Cooke to be no where near POTY. Can I knock, having seen him with my own eyes, Cooke getting POTY on here? Not really. But this shows stats are just that, no barometer of anything.
Let’s get back to the mesmerising writing please. I for one loved it.
Jason, I welcome your statistical analysis. I may not agree with some but I find them thought provoking. Especially, the xGoal stats which in the case of City turned out to be somewhat accurate in indicating City’s early run of good form under T&S was unsustainable.
Jason, Keep the stats, they’re informative and interesting.
If others don’t like them, then they don’t need to read them
and what if those 99% of mis-placed passes went on to become counter attack goals – would you still remember that 1 pass then or say that player was still worth his place in the starting line up.
Because that is pretty much what’s happened this season.
Stats don’t lie – they tell you everything!
…and what if they didn’t! Hyperthetical!!
I’ve read some beauties on here in my time but stating pass completion doesn’t matter is up there with the best of them. If a player misplaced 99% of his passes he wouldn’t be a footballer.
the same stats often can be used by opposite sides to justify something or other. I have usually dismissed stats especially something like possession stats as there is no context. Our game Saturday somewhat proves its meaningless. I used to think that corners gained were a better way of deciding a match then penalties because it shows intent rather than been defensive all game and winning on penalties……however i found your use of EXG stats to be very interesting, partuculary when i was watching T and S initially get results but not been impressed by the actual performance, and truthfully thinking that they were getting away with it and dare i say been ‘lucky’. There is one poster on here who claimed we were fortunate at the time and was derided by many on the basis that its “the result that matters”. Me and him do not usually agree 🙂 on many things. Yet comments on here and by those contributing the articles have seemingly changed their stance to the words ‘fortunate’ on a few occasions. EXG was fairly new to me but proved WOAP to be quite prophetic despite them also initially discounting the ‘luck’ albeit non stat, but a very football fans. pundits. players and managers often used word. In the case of our current management duo the exg stat has born fruit and as stats go deserves some consideration.
The fan’s have had enough. It’s a massive decision the club have to make regarding the management team, keep them and they will be accused of running the club on the cheap .But in my view there downfall is because of the last seven games, very negative and not been able to change tactics. The owner now needs to make a statement of intent his vision for the future of the club or put the club up for sale and see who is interested. Because the club is in decline and it cannot go on like this ,all you see in Bradford again is Leeds stickers on cars it’s like going back in time ,something needs to be done we cannot have another season like this one again.
Bratfud “Whites” were always there and not supporting City…just re-emerged from under a rock when the team reached the promised land
Yes but the kids started wearing city colours because they were proud to do so ,not any more .I believe our present owner has no interest in city but getting his money back and I have a lot of experience in running a business and there is than one way to skin a cat.If a business is doing well you invest back into your business to keep it there. Like wise if a business is failing you put a business plan together .which you will invest to turn it round .I don’t see that at city i may be wrong I hope I am .
Time for the moaners to start bashing at their keyboards and demanding a managerial change.
In mid-December 2020 we looked like we might start the 2021/2022 season playing non-league football. For keeping us in the football league, Trueman and Sellars deserve to be our management team in August 2021. I was in the minority in December 2020 when I felt that the club should stick with McCall and I am probably in the minority now regarding Trueman and Sellars. The past four years have proved that twisting rather than sticking hasn’t helped the team on the pitch. I am fed up of the managerial merry go round.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been challenging for all of us, for different reasons. We don’t know what Trueman and Sellars have been faced with during the past six months. It’s only a few months ago, that a lot of people were praising the young duo. Now they criticising them after a poor run of results. Ryan Sparks needs to hold his nerve and stick with Trueman and Sellars.
Perhaps if they ‘explained’ what they had been, to use your term ‘faced with’ and why they have in the last seven games, only achieved one solitary point, from a possible twenty one, then we could gain an insight. I like straight talking, no nonsense Yorkshire Folk.
The wall of silence and/or rather sickening platitudes just don’t hold any weight
If we do stick with them – it will simply be another season of negative football skirting with relegation – guaranteed!!
But if that’s what you’d be happy with then keep singing their praises !
Hi Richard, I do respect your loyalty and I was overjoyed at what T&S initially achieved but I think there are massive dangers in sticking with them. They look lost and uninspiring and it is damning on everyone at the club that everyone appears to have switched off about a month ago. As a coach I know one of the easier things to do it to make a team more difficult to beat and T&S received massive credit for achieving this and finding a way to nick results in the early part of their reign. But they and the players have failed massively when an opportunity to really make a mark came their way – I feel for the young managers but their press conferences have become very placid and strange affairs. We need a big shake up now because there are just too many people at VP with a losing mentality, or at least without a winning mentality.
One thing I would really like to ask Ryan is what was the message to T&S and players when we were well away from the bottom and in with a real chance to have a go at the play offs – Ryan wants to be a winner so surely he must have recognised that an opportunity was there but we have just collapsed miserably. If it is just that none of them are good enough then fair enough but that is why we cannot go into next season with this mentality hanging over the club. Ryan should have no qualms over his decision to appoint T&S – at that point they had more than deserved it by galvanising the club, making us competitive and getting results – but we have been found out once teams realised letting us have the ball and adapting a lower press would mean we had nothing to hurt them. We have shown nothing to overcome this and my view is Ryan needs to follow his ambition and winning instinct (rather than hold his nerve) and do what I am convinced he knows is the RIGHT decision.
as Trueman might say “erm erm erm ” “for whatever reason” “erm” “for whatever reason”…..sorry but thats what you hear. When they said we can play expansive it lasted how long? and it wasn’t. They play our wide players on the wrong foot every week. They justified their approach by initially saying that the tey didn’t have the players to be more attacking, and then saying that they didn’t have the time to suddenly change the mindset/approach. Please tell me any city fan that would play Clayton Donaldson behind Rowe. Surely their strengths are the other way around? When O donnell was dropped the last time they said live on radio that thiis was a tactical decision based on the opposition?? I have never heard this before. I do not want managers sacked but they have in interviews and more importantly in their team selections have been far too negative and also unsure on what the reason is for out recent results, “for whatever reason”. They have fat better options in an attacking sense than Stuart ever had yet do not know how to utilise them, hence Rowe going. A very hard decision for Sparks to make.
A thoughtful article Jason, although on analysis I am a little surprised that you feel that T&S should be retained. You mention their limited experience and if one looks at the managers of this season’s L2 play off clubs then it can be seen that experience is a common denominator. Linked to that factor may be another point you hint at, – a possible lack of respect from some players towards the management team. Had we been at Valley Parade recently the atmosphere would have been toxic, indeed as you say it was fortunate that supporters were absent at Morecambe – just recall how things went wrong for Gary Bower. I would hate us to have a poor start next season and would much rather we opted for change now, with T&S retaining respect and our thanks for digging us out of a hole.
I’ve flipped and flopped over Trueman and Sellars continued employment. Sellars in particular doesn’t appear to be singing from the Sparks’ hymn book. Sellars is looking for improvement with a long term view for achieving promotion. While Sparks is saying that not getting promotion next season would be disappointing. My suggestion, both should start singing from the same hymn book or someone should leave.
This season is a great example of teams like Morecambe, Carlisle and Stevenage to name just three who can turn their fortunes around on a smaller budget than City. The parity that exists in League Two football means that a well run club has the opportunity to advance significantly over 12 months.
Chicken (surely not bantam) or Egg? Which comes first? Quite frankly I am not sure that either the current managers and/or group of players have the right skill/ability/connectivity to create a fluid/effective/dominant and effective team, to press for promotion.
I think there has to be wholesale change. A lot of responsibility lies with Lee Turnbull, who should support Sparks in recruitment.
I really think the club needs to make decisions in the next 3 or 4 days. If T&S are to remain, then there needs to be a more honest admission in respect of the failings and a detailed plan as to how they realistically think things can be changed.
At the moment, we are a poor ‘one trick pony’, with no shoes or tricks, playing against teams who are made to look like thoroughbreds!
Big clubs, for their league take action. If Chelsea wanted a ‘alright’ season, they would have stuck with Lampard and not dreamed bigger. Possibility of league 2 again, is not ‘alright’ for Bradford City. Pat the lads on the back, say thanks for their contribution and replace them with a quality leader. The lads are in a position now, of being thought of in a positive light, for their contribution, if there is a change. Otherwise, their names will become tarnished by by resisting the fans wishes. Stop pissing about with pointless interviews and go for targets directly. Small minded long termism is for clubs who can’t make a quicker impact. Get the right successful model in and then build a philosophy, not gamble on unpredictable long term philosophy, that no one now wants.
To be honest I’m still not happy about Stuart been sacked but it’s a results business so have accepted it and it was a breath of fresh air with our injured players coming back our results vastly improved under T&S but even with much better quality players we end our eventful season like this (IT’S A RESULTS BUSINESS).
The are two remaining interestS this season. The retained list is one. I know it is tempting in frustration to say sack the lot but three or four of those out of contract will have no problems finding other clubs and we should consider retaining them if possible. The other issue is that of the management. The sacking will come in the next few days or not at all? It should all be more interesting than the recent football.
T&S should now be moved back away from the frontline. If Sparks is serious about installing a winning mentality at the club, then we can start by recognising where proper leadership is absent and needed.
The recent form and the accompanying performances have been as awful as anything served up under Hopkin/Bowyer/McCall. I take your point from the podcast that, given the preparation for two games a week, T&S won’t have had much time with the players on the training pitch. But both on the pitch and in the interviews off it, neither M nor S have shown any signs of being able to identify the problems nevermind solve them. It’s been a dozen games of automatic mode – rinse and repeat – which have washed away any foundations they had put in place.
We will always be grateful for the phenomenal turnaround in the winter of 2020. They did exactly what we needed them to, in the manner we wanted them to, and they over exceeded even their own wildest expectations. No one can take that away from them.
But they took over a team in 22nd, who were probably better than 22nd. By the end of the season, having managed the team for about half the games, we finished in the giddy heights of 15th. (Sorry about the stats). Let’s also remember, we invested in January with players like DMH and Guthrie replaced by better ones like Vernam and Cook. We were supposed to be buying players who could take us out of the division. Assessing this as the whole would not get them the authorisation to carry on into next season.
Let’s come to some amicable arrangement before we double down on this setup and risk it getting messy with T&S, and City wasting another season treading water in the basement division while burning through players and losing supporters’ goodwill.
Speak with Trueman and Sellars and see if they will stay within the first team coaching set up. Then, if so, employ an experienced manager willing to work with them. That way there is continuity to some degree with experience kept within the club – but a manager that takes the reins over from them. A manager that is appointed within one month and that comes out and states that City want to emulate Cheltenham, Cambridge and Bolton. Once appointed and all press interviews are done then put season tickets on sale in Mid June.
Richie Wellens??
Derek Adams??
I have supported, watched and followed City since 1949 so think I have a right to express my views.
I shall think very carefully during the next 10 weeks about whether we shall go to Valley Parade next season.
This season has been dreadful apart from the honeymoon period in mid-season.
I am embarrassed when I tell people whom I support.
I am ashamed of Bradford City.
The end of Stuart McCall’s regime saw my faith in City’s future at its lowest since probably 1963 (apart from the existential threats of administration). Sparks, Trueman and Sellars ended that fear.
But the last 8 or so matches have been dire, and a waste of £10 on ifollow.
McCall, Bowyer, Grayson, Hopkin…..all decent managers…..all unsuccessful at City.
Good players signed like Doyle……no good at City.
Apparently minor injuries turning into long-term ones.
Don’t blame the absentee owner….Manchester City have those.
I don’t know the answer but just hope that there is one.
Sorry.
Well said, sir.
I am pretty much on the fence but just to put the counter view when are we going to give someone time to succeed? Are we going to attract a Richie Wellens if we are seen as a club who just sacks managers constantly.The experienced lower league managers with a decent CV (Flitcroft/Hurst) who were available in January are now in work. At some stage you have to trust your original judgement and give it some time
The performance at Morecambe was dreadful. Anyone would think the players were playing to get away not to get a new deal. Absolutely no passion, no fight and no sweat. Most importantly, no leadership and I mean on or off the pitch.
I’ve said it before. Joint “leaders” just don’t work in most walks of life and I include football management. If it did, there would be more of them maybe?
A change is inevitable. If it doesn’t happen now it will happen mid season by which time the remit for the new management will be the same as it was for T & S. Save us!!!!
Much better to do it now and give the new management an opportunity to influence the players list and set the parameters for new players.
T&S should resume their previous roles.
Sparks must appoint a credible manager as soon as possible to oversee summer squad rebuilding.
Recent form has been a complete embarrassment and is totally unacceptable.
If the current set-up is retained we risk another wasted season which we cannot afford.
We need to see clear evidence that the club is seriously planning for promotion.
If Cheltenham and Cambridge can do it then Bradford City can do it.
Every year we are told that season tickets are going to nose dive and the fans defy the prophecy. Yes there are reasons why sales might be difficult this year with the pandemic and uncertainty but I am confident that providing there is no massive hike in prices we will sell a decent amount.
As for T&S I hope they are kept in place with an improved background staff supporting them. Especially in the fitness department to many players over the last few years have picked up unnecessary soft tissue injuries and are slow to return. And towards the end of this season to many players have looked out on their feet when we should be high pressing.
In my opinion we shouldn’t be getting back on the roundabout of previously failed managers which has rarely worked for us instead let’s help the two lads we have reach the true potential they have shown they possess.