By Ron Beaumont
Football is about feelings.
Somewhere on the line between euphoric ecstasy and deepest depression exists the emotions of the committed football fan.
In an age where statistics seem to be pushed forward as essential to an understanding of the game a sense of emotional involvement seems to have been lost.
Fans who develop an affinity with a club that, over the years, becomes ingrained in their daily lives look for some level of shared emotion with their team, manager, club and community and it is this that keeps me, and thousands of others, turning up at Valley Parade.
It is this sense of shared emotion that keeps me reading (and occasionally contributing to) Width of the Post. Here this site allows fans to share feelings and of course disagreements without the petty, personal insults that fly around on other platforms and for that alone congratulations are in order to Jason and the team on its 10th anniversary.
The pieces I have submitted over the years have not been match reports but more attempts to sum up my feelings about the football I have seen and shared with so many others. I admit that some have been rather unusual and my many musical references and “gallows humour” may not be to everyone’s taste but I am always grateful to WOAP for giving a wider audience to most of the things that I have written for friends and for my own “catharsis”.
Although I decided to stop submitting pieces a while ago it seems that, like football, I just can’t give it up when strong feelings have been stirred as happened after the Hartlepool game!
On Saturday, listening to the Carlisle game led to yet another lapse that has resulted in this submission.
Many others, from Gary Jones through to Adam Raj, Jason and the resulting responses have summed up their feelings on the latest listless performance and the comments of the manager.
So, instead of adding any more to the repeated criticisms and to stem this personal outpouring, I would just like to suggest that if anyone is interested they check out the lyrics of The Hoosiers song that is used as the title for this piece.
If Mr A is to remain manager at Bradford City and chooses to continue with his approach to tactics and team selection, whilst he shows no sign of his ability to motivate those players he has available and persists with his dismissive attitude to fans – then something has to change.
So, until then, speaking as one “Ronnie”…
It’s Goodbye from Me until It’s Goodbye from Him.
Categories: Opinion
widthofapost.com 
Personally I wouldn’t give up, Ron. The emotional involvement you speak of means I can’t give up. We have been in worse places than this. I’ve seen us lose by seven goals. and have crowds with fewer than two thousand spectators. We of a certain age remember the Midland Road side suffering subsidence; a floodlight blowing down when we were too poor to replace it; a stand burning down; our expensive goal-scorer having his leg broken by a close rival. And more. Those who currently fret about extraneous items like hand-dryers might not worry so much if they had visited the urinal at the top of the Kop. It consisted of nothing more than a wall. Yes, yes, I hear youth say: that was then, this is now. I mention these because they might perhaps help to get things in perspective. Football is all about emotions. If we give Salford a spanking the world is suddenly a better place. If Jamie Walker were to score one of his worldies in the victory then yes euphoric premonitions revisit us. Success and failure are cyclical in football. The good times will roll again. We of a certain age may not see them but we live in hope that we will. Keep the faith. Forget for a moment the current participants in this drama. Before you know it they will have moved on and be part of our history and folklore. I’m looking forward to seeing Walker on Saturday.
I do disagree Ron, in the last 5 or so years we haven’t really seen a manager do well with the players. Because the recruitment has been so poor. look at bowyer at Salford they stuck by him and finally he’s getting the results. Derek has seen the problems in midfield and finally bagged a no. 10. IF this window goes well (big if) I am expecting a promotion push end of the season.
As others have stated, football is very much about emotions and whilst we are struggling at the moment, the club needs to stick to its longer term plan. Since the club sacked McCall in February 2018, we have chopped and changed way too often. I refer people back to the 2011/2012 season when Phil Parkinson became our manager in August 2011. He struggled in his first (not quite full) season but we stuck with him and the rest is history. His style of football wasn’t always free flowing football either but results count for a lot. Adam’s has proved twice, with Plymouth Argyle and Morecambe, that he can get teams promoted. A good friend of mine, who I’ve been attending Bradford City games with for over 30 seasons, texted me after the recent Carlisle United defeat saying that we were awful at Brunton Park. However, I know that we will be at Bradford City games together sooner rather than later.
Rome wasn’t built in a day as the old saying goes.I remember the days that Mitchell writes about, when Stockport came to VP and trounced us 7-1 I think, about 2 and bit thousand turned up muddy grounds the old bog at the top of the kop.This club really hit the buffers when Phil Parkingson left.and up to press it has not fully recovered yet. But it will, make no mistake,this manager will get in right.He might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he knows what he’s doing. So get behind him back him and let’s get on with it.And stop all these depressing reviews.
I said a few weeks ago to give the Manager and the club a chance to back up there words with actions ,regarding recruitment in January. So lets all give the club our full support and see where we are at the end of January .
Life is a chain of triumphs and disasters.
Now is payback time for all the times we beat Chelsea, 1-0 v Liverpool, two of our Wembley visits.
I, currently, would love entertaining contests, but who knows, they may be just around the corner.
He obviously motivated his players at Morecambe.
What a great artical thank you Ron. I can relate so much to the old days & share your vivid memories, although I have forgotten about those wonderful urinals on the old Kop, or perhaps my mind had just blocked them out? Not nice at all on a bitterly cold windy Saturday afternoon! I even recall the Graffiti on the wall by the Kop turnstiles, appearing to have been placed there by a member of the Ointment, & the wording of which I cannot write here, happy times. I do agree with some others above though, & yes times are pretty bad just now, & feels soul-destroying to keep turning up at Valley Parade to see players who aren’t interested, being lead by a manager who’s passionate only about his own career. Everything in life passes, & so this will pass, & we may not have long to wait. Better time will return, they always have before, we must all keep the faith & always remember, Bradford City is OUR football club. Not the boards, or the managers, or the dodgy centre forwards, so hang on in there Ron, & up the Bantams!!
Well it’s 4 years since we had Road To Nowhere by Talking Heads after we lost 4-0 to Wimbledon and the DJ got sacked. If we lose to Salford then perhaps an airing of The Hoosiers might prompt a similar response with DA