BfB

For some it will be Benito Carbone reverting to type. The temperamental Italian finally showing his true colours and leaving City in the lurch following his refusal to take a place on the bench for Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat by Preston.

For others Beni will have been justified in walking out of Valley Parade within two hours of kick off after being told that he would be sub to a defender who had a few decent games up front. Certainly there are few other than Nicky Law who would have thought that Andy Tod represented a better striking solution than Benito Carbone.

Whatever the justification for Beni’s walking out the effect on the team was clear. City were insipid in a game that was easily winnable. Carbone’s departure had obviously effected the players, although for what reason is unsure. Did they play bad because of the upset of seeing Carbone go, was it some parting shot that the striker made on his way out of the door or was the little Italian so popular that a wound to him was felt by the team.

Whatever it does seem that Beni had blotted a perfect copybook at City where he has been a model pro. The solution for Beni was to cool his heals on the bench for an hour and then burst back onto the scene. By walking away Beni seems everything that they have told us he is and more. He seems uncommitted, he seems to not give a damn and what’s more, he seems small and petty.

Benito Carbone is not manager of Bradford City, just like when Stuart McCall and Jim Jefferies were at loggerheads, McCall was not the manager. Nicky Law is and he has the right to pick the team as he sees fit and like Jim Jefferies he lives and dies by that selection. If Nicky Law, who watched Carbone trudge around a Middlesbrough reserve game lifelessly last week before deciding not stick with the team that scored two in eight minutes at Barnsley, decides that Beni is not worth a place in the starting line up that decision must be respected by the player.

Carbone will probably be hell bent on getting out of Valley Parade now and perhaps that is best. In so many ways he represents what we tried to be. If we are to get back to the Premiership then we will do it the same way we got there. By building a team and making the right buys. Beni is a superb player and yes he can take defences in this division apart on his own but as his walk out proves, too much store is put in a player like that. We need to spread the danger in the forward line (Peter Beagrie, Lee Mills, Robbie Blake and Jamie Lawrence), not isolate it to a simple approach be it the skills of Carbone of Tuesday night’s long humps to Tod and Ward.

Carbone will face a two-week fine, which gives Nicky Law an unexpected £80,000 to play with. My advice would be to add it to the bid for Breckin and Burt. Should Carbone go soon then that with the money raised for Robbie Blake should be used to bring in more players of the Burt/Breckin mould: Young, talented, eager to get on.

City need a reboot. Jim Jefferies made it his mission to take on the squad and bring down the age separating wheat from chaff but the Scot failed in that. There is still too much overpaid chaff at City. Carbone is not wheat and on his day he is worth every single penny of his £40,000 a week, but driving away from Valley Parade before kick off he is worthless, especially as he leaves his team mates only five points off the relegation zone.

One would have thought that City could do with a player like Carbone in that situation, but this morning, the morning after Beni walked away from Valley Parade, the phrase “A player like Carbone” has the same ring for City fans as it does in many other areas of football, and that sort of player we can do without.

If Benito Carbone can be brought back to the fold then all the better, but he will be forever tarnished at the one club in football that thought he was something other than they said he was. Benito Carbone the troublesome Italian? You betcha.