BfB

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.