By Alex Scott

Last Saturday’s 3-0 reverse at Morecambe probably represented the worst day of Mark Hughes’s Bradford City career, so far. The latest in a series of unbalanced and ponderous performances, his rickety three-at-the-back system and suddenly anonymous talisman up front threatened to derail his team’s promotion run before it had even started.

They needed a result today, and almost as much they need some hope and light in the performance to cleanse the palate after a chastening opening month.

The long past week was always going to lead to some frantic speculation around the club, and this culminated on Friday with (well-founded) speculation that captain Richie Smallwood – singled out by fans after a series of casual performances – was to lose his place.

Hughes had to make a change after last week and the dropping of his captain represented probably the key change both symbolically and substantively. Smallwood has underwhelmed throughout his City career, especially to begin this season, and as captain has come to embody a fragile and hesitant team who should be much better than they are.

He was replaced in the team by former Scottish international Kevin McDonald, with the captain’s armband passing to centre half Sam Stubbs.

Hughes needed this change to have an effect, not yet in ‘must-win’ territory but not far away. Enter Lee Bell’s Crewe Alexandra, who came to Valley Parade with an impressive unbeaten record, but without things going entirely their own way, implausibly recovering from two goal deficits to draw 2-2 three times already this season. Their defence was their undoing last season and this had yet to be remedied so far this term, sitting dead last in expected goals conceded. City could hardly have asked for more.

The game began – after a surreal beginning – in a similar pattern to previous games with City looking a little lost in their new configuration.

In the seldom few sequences where they managed to keep possession, they never looked like doing much with it and Crewe quickly began dictating the tempo. City’s lack of control has been such a theme of the first few games of this season, it appears like an intentional shift from last year’s reliable – if often inert – control from the City midfield.

The best teams often look like they are playing with twelve men. Manchester City have pioneered the inverted full back, and are embracing the fly keeper this year to create this effect of looking like they have an extra man, keeping control with the ball, without ever seeming vulnerable on the counter.

Hughes’s City team have seemed the opposite this year: they never seem to have many people forward, yet are often left with gaping holes in front of their defence on the counter. They’ve looked all season like they’re playing with ten.

As the first half wore on, Crewe had the balance of the possession and the chances, with the best coming from Chris Long who tested Harry Lewis from outside the box after the returning Jamie Walker was caught in possession. Lewis spilled the chance, before Elliott Nevitt stumbled on the rebound, claiming a foul to no avail.

City’s lumbering performance rightly began to elicit frustration and impatience from the crowd, as the day began to show the potential of turning. City made a minor tweak in their structure to try and get more support to Andy Cook which improved things marginally, though Crewe were still on top.

Then, against the run of play, some good link play between Kevin McDonald and Daniel Oyegoke found the Scottish midfielder in acres of space outside the corner of the area. Under no pressure he picked out a great cross to the on-running Walker who had lost his man and slotted the ball under Harvey Davies.

One nil, not entirely deserved, but they will definitely take it. The goal seemed to immediately lift the crowd, and the players, who finished the half with more energy and confidence.

City continued their momentum into the second half as they began exploiting the counter attack. They haven’t had much opportunity to counter attack this season having so seldom held a lead, but they looked smart in the second half through Walker and Alex Pattison running from midfield in transition.

Just shy of the hour they might have doubled their lead on the break when an Andy Cook run into the box led to a bit of a scramble before wing back Oyegoke had a very public nosebleed as the opportunity opened up in front of him. So obviously gifted, the Brentford loanee is certainly worth persevering with, but he gives off mildly chaotic vibes any time he is near the ball.

On the other side of the field, fellow summer recruit Lewis Richards was far more assured, and had a few promising runs of a very Meredithian ilk up the left. They’ve clearly tried to become more dangerous in these positions, and this new pairing certainly seem more promising going forward than their predecessors.

City switched to a back four half way through the second half after a muscle injury to Ciaran Kelly chasing a loose ball in the defence, with Captain Smallwood returning to join McDonald in the centre of midfield (immediately retrieving the armband from Stubbs lest anyone forget about his status), Brad Halliday and Liam Ridehalgh emerged as more traditional full backs.

This change in formation led to probably City’s most impressive and balanced spell of the season, looking dangerous on the counter and comfortable in defence. They were higher up the field which finally brought their much ballyhooed ‘high press’ into play. It also stopped them retreating too far into themselves as they preserved their 1-0 lead.

McDonald was probably the pick of the City players, and showed glimpses of the quality Hughes clearly saw in him over the summer. He was on trial at Valley Parade before joining Exeter on a short-term deal and it is hard to watch him now and not think about how City would have looked in the second half of last season with him at the base of midfield rather than fall back option Adam Clayton. He could well have been the difference.

As the second half wore on, City continued to look dangerous on the counter and had a couple of half chances spurned by Pattison who looked very dangerous in a more advanced position off Andy Cook. Tyler Smith had a goal disallowed for offside as his search for an opening goal in claret and amber continued. Smith’s comparison with the banished Jake Young (four goals this afternoon, seven so far this season) is growing starker by the day.

Barring a few minor alarms in injury time, it was a relatively comfortable ending, with City looking the more likely of the two sides to score. Overall, it was certainly an improvement over recent showings, if still a long way short of where they will want to be.

The promising final half hour, along with the injury to Kelly, will likely trigger a shift back to four at the back for next week, and that feels like a good thing for Hughes and City at the moment. He may have found his hope and light alongside the points today.   

The memories of the first half, and the first month of the season will not fade just yet, however. Despite an improved second half, the story of this season seems on track to follow the story of Mark Hughes’s time here. However promising they look, you can’t help but think that there’s a better version of this team that is eluding him. They are not yet, and have never been throughout his tenure, the sum of their parts.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2023/24, BCAFC, Crewe, League Two