By Adam Raj

At least there was one positive to come from today. The will he/won’t he Jake Young situation finally has a definitive answer after his second half cameo ended any doubt about who he’d be playing for come February 1st.

But that’s where the positives end, because this was a rancid afternoon for Bradford City. Like seriously bad.

Swindon, fresh from sacking former Bantam Michael Flynn, had come into this game with one win in eight. Likewise, City’s form read no wins in six. It may have been a matchup between the worst form sides in the division but it was still a fixture where City were comprehensively beaten.

And if that doesn’t set alarm bells ringing, I don’t know what will. The hosts were full value for their victory and clean sheet despite being in disarray off the field and in wretched form on it. City were swept aside like a part time side in a pre season friendly. It was that bad.

Supporter’s anger towards Stefan Rupp and Ryan Sparks seems to be at an all time high, but this defeat felt particularly damaging for Graham Alexander.

Eyebrows were raised before a ball was even kicked with the news of Alexander’s starting eleven. Jon Tomkinson dropped, Tyler Smith recalled, the continued roles on the periphery for Bobby Pointon and Harry Chapman and the continued and curious absence of Matty Platt. It was a lineup that threw up more questions than answers, with the reason for a glaring absence of any creative players in that team being top of my list.

It will come as a surprise to absolutely nobody that notoriously slow starters Bradford City once again started on the back foot in Wiltshire. Town had City penned into their defensive third, unable to escape and unable to wrestle any semblance of control in the game. Swindon’s play was bright, crisp and energetic whilst City’s was laboured, aimless and devoid of any ideas.

Neat play between Udoka Godwin-Malife, Rushan Hepburn-Murphy and Paul Glatzel saw the latter get wrong side of Ciaran Kelly and in an attempt to rectify his error, the Irish centre half clumsily fouled Glatzel for a stonewall penalty. As the clock ticked past 16 minutes, veteran striker Charlie Austin duly dispatched his eighth goal of the season.

City were behind early in a game yet again. They have a number of bad habits that they cannot get out of but this might be the most damaging.

Swindon played some excellent football in that first half. They played with real flair and athleticism which City could not cope with in the slightest. It was exactly the sort of display you’d expect to see a young side have against a team with a core of veterans. Town midfielder Saidou Khan was the best player on the pitch by some distance, dominating that midfield on his own with his mobility but also his quality in possession.

In contrast, City were about as bad as you could imagine. Swindon played through a half hearted press with ease time and time again and the aimless yet constant long balls forwards were meat and drink to their back line.

And on the brink of halftime, things went from bad to worse. Austin, with some clever build up play, sent a ball over the top of City’s defensive line which played through Glatzel 1v1 with Sam Walker. Sam Stubbs had recovered, but the Town number nine sat him down and squared for Dawson Devoy to score his first for the club. It really was amateurish defending – Kelly and Ash Taylor just ball watching, admiring Austin’s touch, turn and pass, allowing Glatzel to run past them without any difficulty.

Swindon must have been licking their lips when they saw Tomkinson had been benched. Dropping the only centre half with an ounce of pace and mobility played straight into their hands as Stubbs, Kelly and Taylor were all repeatedly exposed with balls in behind and in the channels. The decision to play three immobile centre halves against this Swindon side made no sense at 2pm and makes even less sense now.

Richie Smallwood’s display was not particularly pleasant. Ignoring his woeful set pieces and infuriating lumped balls forwards, you would be forgiven for thinking he was trying to get sent off. He spent the first 45 minutes smashing into people like a petulant child, got booked in the second half for a stray elbow and should’ve conceded a penalty and been sent off when he dragged Glatzel down in the box.

Fortunately, things didn’t get even worse for the Bantams. The goals conceded remained two which was the best they could hope for in the circumstances. Things didn’t get any better in the second half though, despite a triple change at half time. Smith, Andy Cook and Liam Ridehalgh all hooked with Young, Chapman and Lewis Richards their replacements. Alexander switched from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-3, but the changes had no effect. City went from lumping the ball to Andy Cook to lumping the ball to Jake Young.

“Jake Young, he wants to come home” sang the home fans. He probably does to be fair, but then again so did the 450 travelling Bantams. In all seriousness, he must wonder what he’s come back to. He’s walked into a side devoid of ideas, creating little, if anything, in games and in a style that involves booting the ball at his head as many times as humanly possible. It’s no wonder that the sharpest and brightest player in white this afternoon was the man who hasn’t been at the club for the past six months.

And that leads us back to Alexander. There’s no doubt that he talks a good game, he says all the things we want to hear and that may be a factor as to why some fans are still very hesitant in laying criticism at his door. That and the fact that there are greater problems than the manager at this club.

However, in my opinion, he is getting away with murder. The style of football Alexander has us playing is a horrible watch – long ball after long ball, defensive heavy team selections, the ostracising of flair players and the perseverance with his favoured but underperforming players. I’m watching the product on the pitch and there’s absolutely nothing to get excited about. I cannot think of any redeeming features about this brand of football. Sparks’ recent claim labelling this as ”exciting” football is nothing short of ridiculous.

Alexander’s reasoning for dropping Tomkinson this afternoon was simply that he didn’t play well in midweek against Salford. Fair enough in principle, but Taylor, Ridehalgh, Oduor and Smallwood have had multiple poor/ineffective performances under his leadership and they haven’t been discarded at the first opportunity. And what about Chapman and Pointon? The pair had excellent games at Derby but after one quiet game against Colchester, they were dropped, and neither have started since.

And for a manager who often quotes metrics and statistics in his interviews, his distrust of Pointon is hard to understand. No City player has averaged more chances created or made more successful passes into the final third than the youngster and he is also the club’s second top assister. For a team struggling with creating clear cut chances, how does Alexander justify giving him just 14 minutes of action in the last two games?

Sorry, but it doesn’t add up Graham.

Quite where City go from here is anyone’s guess. Whilst these forums and social media do not speak for all supporters, it does seem the general consensus is that both Sparks and Rupp have lost the trust and support of the Bradford faithful. The players were booed ON to the pitch for the second half this afternoon which goes to show how little affinity the supporters have for this group of players and the manager’s indefensible decisions and style of football make it hard to put any trust in him for the future.

What a mess.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2023/24, BCAFC, League Two, Swindon Town