By Adam Raj

Well here we are again. The charity case that is Bradford City have made yet another donation to a side who couldn’t buy a win prior to facing the Bantams. This time, in the shape of Sutton United.

Sutton had lost 12 games from 15 in the league, conceding 35 goals in the process. They were and still are rock bottom of the Football League. Unlike MK Dons, Sutton are not a good side in a false position. They are struggling and 24th in League Two for a reason. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but this was a must win game.

But win we did not and win we never looked like doing.

Aside from a ten minute spell in and around Andy Cook’s 57th minute equaliser, this was bad. Really bad. Not MK Dons bad, but that’s hardly saying a lot given that was City’s worst performance for many a year.

There was nothing positive to come out of that game this afternoon. The fact that a second successive desperate performance and result will no doubt pile the pressure on Ryan Sparks to actually make a decision on the managerial vacancy may be a small plus point. But it shouldn’t take a hiding and a loss to the worst team in the country to inject some urgency into the process.

Of course, caretaker boss Kevin McDonald had been providing good results in his first four games. But it feels, to me at least, that Sparks has been riding his own managerial bounce. I’m not sure Sparks knows what he wants and had maybe hoped that McDonald would make the decision for him just as Trueman and Sellars had done back in 2020. One thing is for sure – it’s patently clear that there is no succession planning at this football club. Otherwise we wouldn’t be waiting three weeks and counting for a new manager to arrive.

It becomes particularly frustrating when you see a young, talented coach in Mike Williamson be appointed by MK Dons almost immediately after they despatched of Graham Alexander. A manager who I had as first choice for the hot seat at Valley Parade but a manager who was not even approached by the City hierarchy. Two wins from three, seven goals scored in two games and one of the most impressive opposition performances against City that I can remember. Early days of course, but it looks like a shrewd appointment.

For balance, Tranmere Rovers and Gillingham are in the same boat as the Bantams and without a permanent manager. But I’m not sure the club second bottom and the lowest scorers in the division are comparisons that would hold any credibility.

Talking of a new manager bounce, I think we can say McDonald’s is most probably over. The last two performances have been night and day from the opening four and the “reaction” that McDonald craved this afternoon failed to arrive.

He was boosted by having Richie Smallwood and Jamie Walker back and available and also elected to bring in Matty Platt to replace Ash Taylor. Bobby Pointon was unfortunately rested as Clarke Oduor got the nod on the right.

As it turned out, this mattered very little. Neither Smallwood or Walker could have any influence on the game in a contest that failed to see any City player reach the levels they had done last weekend. Platt, to his credit, was very good against an awkward Harry Smith. That was until his afternoon was cut short through injury. It is to be hoped that the injury is not serious as he would be a significant miss.

Taylor deputised ok this afternoon in a game that suited him perfectly. As he did last week, he coped with the aerial bombardment that Sutton threw at us and defended his box well. However, as we saw on Tuesday and on the opening day at Crawley, it’s a different story when the opposition actually play football.

In an uneventful first half, the damage was done with only four minutes on the clock. Liam Ridehalgh was outmuscled on the initial throw in and Josh Coley got caught on Smallwood’s blind side and played in behind City’s defensive line. One on one with Harry Lewis, he squeezed the ball home at the near post.

City’s response was non existent. In fact, the hosts could have gone further ahead if Omar Sowunmi’s free header had some direction to it. The first half ultimately ended with City failing to register a single shot.

The second period brought about a marginally improved performance. Cook, who up to that point, had another quiet afternoon met Clarke Oduor’s corner at the back post to head into an empty net as home keeper Dean Bouzanis was caught flapping.

With the momentum in their favour, City then began to put some pressure on their hosts. Cook latched onto Ben Goodliffe’s short back pass but was indecisive when facing Bouzanis and the Aussie keeper eventually managed to grab a hold of the ball. Cook then saw a fierce volley come rattling off the crossbar following a spell of pin ball in the Sutton box.

But that spell of pressure was short lived as the contest returned to a scrappy affair soon after. Undoubtedly that suited Sutton, whose style of play is very much about making the game a battle rather than a footballing contest. Ultimately City paid the price for failing to maintain an attacking mentality. Five minutes left on the clock and Harry Beautyman leapt over substitute Bobby Pointon to nod home Craig Clay’s right wing cross.

We all know that goals are the hardest thing to come by in football and it seems for Bradford City, it is the same tale every year. This season, City have scored just 17 goals in 16 games, with four coming in a single game. Take the Newport game out of it and it’s 13 goals in 15 games – less than a goal a game. Only twice in those 16 games have City scored more than one goal. That is a truly pitiful record. Effectively it means that if City concede, the best they can hope for is a draw. They aren’t the hallmarks of a successful side by any stretch of the imagination.

So where does that leave us? Each passing game throws more credence to the opinion that this City squad isn’t good enough for promotion. There’s far too many holes and far too many squad fillers who just aren’t up to it. We don’t need to name names, I think we’re all unanimous in who they are. Stephen Gent is coming in for plenty of flack on social media for his part in assembling this squad. As the Head of Recruitment, the responsibility ultimately lies with him and it’s hard to argue against. “Leaner and meaner” was the phrase used by Sparks in pre season. A squad of 30+ is not leaner and I think we can all agree it certainly isn’t meaner. His latest comment in the press that certain City players see themselves as League One level or higher is laughable.

I do feel for McDonald. Signed as a player, he stepped up when the club needed him but is now the only one fronting questions about City’s current state and lack of permanent manager. This isn’t what he signed up for. There is a growing discontent with Sparks on social media and most of the criticism is not without merit. It would be unfair to ignore the strides made on the commercial side of the business by him and Commercial Director David Longo, but his footballing decisions have not worked out. If we include the contract extension he handed to Stuart McCall, all four that he has appointed have failed in their objective of promotion.

His reputation hangs on getting this one right because I’m not sure he can get away with a fifth failure.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: BCAFC