From September, 2007
Preview: Bradford City vs Wycombe Wanderers
When asked what the problem with his light blub was Thomas Edison remarked that after some use the Damn thing stopped working but he was sure that American ingenuity would fix that some day. In the years since the everlasting light bulb has yet to be invented.
Likewise ask any football fan what the problem with their team is and the majority would say the word “Consistency”.
Consistency is craved by football fans - consist winning that is - and with City losing 4-2 at Hereford last week and failing to get three wins on the trot Stuart McCall’s Bantams stand accused of lacking it. Indeed no manager ever got a sideways glance for suggesting consistency was required.
Considering the average number of points for a club that finishes top of a league is two a game pointing to a win one, draw one pattern through the season. Dipping down any league shows that most of the time clubs take about one and a half points a game. Inconsistency - I would suggest - is the nature of the beast and the beast is rarely tamed. Ask any man (or his dog) the problem with Liverpool over the last few years and the will say the C word but the 1.65 points a game suggest that they win more than they lose. Even Manchester United’s title romp last season was done with over 25% of games not being wins.
Like Edison one is sure that at some point the perfectly consistent football team will be made but until them we all just pick up the points where we can.
City have two home games in four days with Wycombe wandering into Valley Parade on Saturday and Accrington Stanley coming on Tuesday night. Stuart McCall has already showed his hand backing his defence despite last week’s blundering and one hopes that confidence boost from that may help fix any holes although Darren Williams’s not featuring in the reserves 2-1 defeat to Huddersfield in the week suggests that he may replace Tom Harban at right back alongside David Wetherall, Mark Bower and Paul Heckingbottom in front of Donovan Ricketts. Paul Evans sits in front alongside Eddie Johnson who continues to impress in midfield. One of Omar Daley and Joe Colbeck faces the chop to allow Alex Rhodes back into the side and Kyle Nix is unlucky to not be featuring. Daley gave away goals last week but offers more going forward than Colbeck who frustrates but less that Daley who can beat a man better than Colbeck who can cross a ball and sometimes passes unlike Daley and so on…
Peter Thorne and Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu start up front with Barry Conlon on the bench - Conlon seems to attract a lot of attention for a guy who is not what one would call a first teamer. BfB understands that there is a chance that Willy Topp will be offered a contract and recruited at some point this weekend and should he then he will no doubt feature on the bench.
My concern this season is as to Stuart McCall’s men and if they have the X-Factor.
I’m no Simon Cowell, but I’m sure that the majority of the long suffering City fans will back me up when I say that no manager or a complete team, since Jewell and his men, have had the X-Factor.
Many men have tried: Chris Hutchings, Jim Jeffries, Nicky Law, Bryan Robson and Colin Todd but all have failed to come close to the bar that Jewell raised at Valley Parade.
Now that finances have improved and there’s even talk of paying a transfer fee - a novelty for BCFC fans - this is surely the best chance to the good times back to Valley Parade.
When Colin Todd was sacked - I wanted McCall appointed. When I heard that the Ginger Messiah was to return I was ecstatic.
Following his return everything coming out of the club was positive and when McCall said “non Promotion season is failure” I was filled with optimism. However, I think that Stuart should have kept his ambitions to himself until he had his squad together. Stuart didn’t think about anything other than winning as a player and he takes the same ideas into management.
However good a manager he may become the most important part of his masterplan is his squad. Some of the signings over the summer have been good captures and excited many fans. The return of Paul Heckingbottom and Paul Evans have, in my opinion, been vital in adding quality to a side that McCall hopes will climb to league one this season. Signings that have added much needed youth and desire to the squad, are that of Kyle Nix, Alex Rhodes and Scott Phelan who McCall will want to mirror the desire of our savior.
The most talked about signing was obviously the addition of Peter Thorne on a free transfer. Everyone realised that if Thorne could capture the goal scoring form he once showed, then this could be a vital part of the “Bradford City Promotion team” jigsaw which McCall and sidekick Wayne Jacobs are trying to put together. While concerns were cast over the fitness of a player who has only played two games in as many years, judgment is yet be made over Thorne as he has only made a couple of starts. Let’s hope he can impress the judges. The one player that has had no trouble winning over the fans is Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu, also known as Dave or “G”.
A much traveled player that is causing the opposite reaction is the Irishman Barry Conlon. Now, I can see why Stuart has made this signing but I don’t see this as the best of the lot. Yes, he is experienced, yes he can hold the ball up and yes he can occasionally bring players into a move but he is being paid to score goals and as of yet he hasn’t earn’t his pay cheque.
It is still early days but when the aim is to build a promotion winning side, I’m not sure Conlon is a striker that is going to have a big impact on results. Time will tell but I don’t think the auditions have gone well.
Generally the start to the season has been OK - could be better - could be worse but the problem is a lack of consistency. One week we are traveling back from Barnet after a poor result but the next few we have two wins on the bounce against a consistent play off finishing team and one of the most fancied in the league. Things start looking good and we hope the team has fully jelled but then we head to Hereford and all is out of tune. Individual errors and a poor performance- from apparently our strongest unit- the defense, bring down the confidence and optimism once again as City crash to defeat at Edgar Street.
In my opinion the X-Factor includes: Desire, Passion, ability, strong heads, quality and consistency.
Desire and passion are there and expected under McCall. Ability is at a good standard. Strong heads were evident against Peterborough, quality is there or there abouts but the consistency is the key and as of yet the team are not showing this.
It’s only early days and let’s hope Stuart and his team can show League Two what the X-Factor is.
Hereford 4 Bradford City 2 - League Two 2007/2008
Facts of football. You don’t go away from home and let in three soft goals and win. It is just that easy and everyone who saw City 3, City 2, Hereford 1 at Edger Street this weekend knows that the Bantams beat themselves and if they can get over that habit then this division will be over with soon.
Hereford are second in the table after this win and that says everything you need to know about League Two. Not tat they are not a decent side but that is all they are. Decent. Not good and not great and not stunning and they are considered to be some good and if City can stop the silly goals then games like this will be good away wins.
Which all comes down to Stuart McCall stopping the silly goals of course. McCall knows this too and barks it from the side of the pitch and every time Donnie Ricketts, Omar Daley or very oddly Paul Heckingbottom did a wobble then McCall would throw his arms away and turn to Wayne Jacobs as if to say “Didn’t we just sort that out during the week?”
Up front Peter Thorne and Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu are showing signs of a good partnership. Thorne is a class above the League and when he gets a goal loads more will follow and Ndumbu-Nsungu grabbed two today that should have been enough to win the match and would have been if it was not for some rubbish defending.
It was Omar Daley fannying around with the ball in his own penalty area, when does Joe Colbeck cost goals? that cost City the first and then it was Ricketts pushing the ball into his own goal for a second. Ricketts is a great keeper having a bad time of it and the bad time is cause by the chaos that erupts in front of him too often.
Heckingbottom pulled down someone in the box after Gee had pulled one back and at the end Theo Robinson got a goal that Hereford deserved to give the two goal lead back after a bit of a good goal by Gee but by then the trip back was looking long and not too bright.
Following City is normally great fun and has been for a good few fruitless years but when the lads could win but throw it away it gets annoying. This is not being outplayed by better sides it is shooting ourselves in the foot and it needs to stop if we are going to go forward.
Back to back homers against Wycombe and Accrington give Stuart the chance to get six more points and things back on track. Keep the faith but work on this Macca.