From July, 2007
Stuart McCall and Wayne Jacobs will stand next to a football field taking charge of their first Bradford City game tonight as the Bantams campaign for League Two and beyond begins at Harrogate Town on this sunny Monday night.
McCall has been squad crafting and like the managers before him at Valley Parade has scrambled for signings. Chris Brandon is a no-no as Huddersfield want money for him - the T&A read this as a confirmation that “Internet rumours” linking City to the Tong born midfielder were wide of the mark - as so it is for the new City manager picking up players where he can.
Two strikers have joined the Bantams - Barry Conlon and Peter Thorne - and Paul Heckingbottom joins Paul Evans as a returner from the teams of before. One time BfB player of the season Heckingbottom has signed on loan from Barnsley until 2008 and shows the priorities that the new City gaffer has filling shirts with trusted character rather than potential flair. Do not expect Robert Wolleaston to be given a call any time soon.
A host of other trialists will feature for forty five as City get going and Tom Penford and Craig Bentham are expected to be given a chance to play together in the middle as McCall looks for a partnership. Evans - keen to impress on his return - will make a case for his inclusion as well in Harrogate on Monday, Farsley on Wednesday and North Ferriby at the weekend.
Good character is what is required. McCall looks for it not for a successful League Two campaign but beyond. The club so often peopled by Bobby Pettas and not run by the man who epitomises the opposite is looking for now looking for the impossible dream - a team of Stuart McCalls.
There has always been a bit of a nasty niff in the air when an east winds blows in from Beeston, but of late it seems to be blowing a cloud that matches something from the James Herbert novel “The Dark” in terms of it’s noxious smell and taste.
True, we’ve never viewed Leeds Urinals as the best of neighbours, but somehow that could always be written off as jealousy at their status or ability to compete, and yes we’ve viewed the recent footballing downfall with a bit of amusement.
However, over the last few weeks, things have turned decidely ugly at Elland Road. The smell that permeats from the board room leaves little room for any sympathy to be extended to the owners, but a good deal to the genuine fans who stand to lose their club. A club most have supported long before the current lunatics took over the asylum.
In short, what has happened at Beeston Utd is not far short of criminal. In facts it’s not disimilar to the 1960’s “Long Firm Fraud” made famous by the Krays - where goods were ordered from suppliers, sold off cheap and a runner was done before the invoices became payable.
The Beeston Boys have ordered the goods in, sold them off and now expect the suppliers to accept 8% of the cost.
Now coming from a club who have been in this situation twice, it might seem a bit of pot calling kettle a rather off shade of brown (to be policitally correct). However it has to be said that neither of our administrations were manufactered to a time that suited BCFC, this can not be said of the one at Elland Road, and neither of our rescue packages can be seen as a cynical way of duping creditors in order to dump debt.
I hope Leeds survive, if only for the sake of their fans, but they must realise that they can not be allowed to walk out of administration and straight back into a position where ther pay transfer fees and high wages to buy promotion - forget the 10 point deduction, administration should come with a 5 year embargo on paying transfer fees and and a 5 year salary cap.
If Leeds do survive, and at present that is very much an if, then for the good of football they must be barred from immiedate investment in players and come out with completely new owners.
It’s time for the football league to give the two fingered salute to Mr Bates.
And so the signings commence. After what seems like a age, Stuart has made his first pair of signings and the promise of more to follow, but what of the new boys and does it signal anything in terms of what we can expect from Stuart in terms of style?
Peter Thorne is relatively well known, a bit of an Ashley Ward lookalike, same town of birth and similar size! Barry Conlon, I’ve got to admit that I know diddly squat about other than he seems to be a deadringer for Jimmy Nesbit, and (if the message boards are to be believed) comes with the tag of being a bit “washed up”.
Both are six footers. Both have been around the block and, judging from the stats, should present us with something in the region of 30 goals between them. Thorne is the more prolific. His strike rate is around 1 in 3 over a career that has been primarilary at Championship level. He’s also commanded transfer fees that total around £2.5 million over his career. Compares well to the man he will be seen to replace, one Mr Windass, who has a career rate of 0.32 goals per game. However, Deano’s most prolific period was by far his second period with us at approaching 1 in 2. Take this out and he’s dropping down to nearly 1 in 4 elsewhere.
Thorne stacks up very well and is a good buy.
Conlon is a legend in Darlington! He’s had more clubs than Tony Jacklin, but still comes with a strike rate of better than 1 goal every 4 games, which whilst worse than the career average of Ashley Ward, is around the same as his strike rate with us. The difference is Cashley didn’t have a one in 3 man alongside him. If he had he would have created and ben a BCFC legend.
Conlon is washed up and Irish (allegedly) but remember our last washed up Irish striker and his mid 30’s strike partner - John Hawley. Nuff said.
So what of formation? This remains to be seen, but with an attacking pair in place, an aggressive midfielder ready and champing at the bit in the shape of Eddie Johnson, a flying winger in Omar Daley and the potential that Joe Colbeck has to realise this season, and we could be in for something akin to the 1985 team that Stuart flourished in. What we are short of now are two flying fullbacks and a playmaker in midfield and that’s the team sorted. All the rest will be squad players.
That 1985 team had followed an pretty good one that exited Division 4 in 1982, albeit with a bit of surgery, and if Stuart can deliver league one football by 2008, followed by Championship football 3 years later then he can be judged a success.
Bring it on.