Comments on: Believe your own eyes not a person on a message board

By: Wayne

Wayne — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:25:13 +0000

Totally agree with you Roland on this subject. I posted a comment on a similar article the other day (on this website) regarding the ‘tatical naive’ statement. I agree McCall does have a plan b and probably has a plan c and d too. The problem is that he is still learning his trade and tactically, he isn’t there yet.

However, he is our manager and is doing a great job. He will make mistakes as his career develops, but I want to see him develop into a top manager at my club, not somewhere else.

On Saturday, he noticed we were getting out-battled in midfield and came down to pitch side to address it. Did he bring on an extra midfield as we were crying out for? No, he swapped one midfielder for another. We were still getting out-fought in the middle. Come his next change and he takes off a centre back and throws on another striker. What for? We weren’t getting the ball to the 2 strikers already on the field. We needed another midfielder and, yes, he was right to sacrifice a defender, but it should have been for another midfielder. It was a game crying out for Nix’s battling qualities. Only McCall and Jacobs didn’t see it.

This is why fans have been saying they are tactically naive. I don’t agree with comments that he hasn’t got a plan b, but I do agree he is sometimes naive with tactics. However, he is learning and has done a fantastic job so far.

The calls on the numerous websites this week are sickening and I spent most of my week responding, in vain, to these ’so-called’ City fans.

A win on Saturday and it will all be forgotten about… until the next loss!

By: Bingley Tom

Bingley Tom — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:19:17 +0000

I feel that Bournemouth played superb. Executed their game plan flawlessly! We created a couple of chances and were unlucky they didn’t go in, but you have to look at some of the defending for all of their goals, especially the third. Are individual errors the fault of McCall & Jacobs? I personally don’t think so. As McCall said ‘A bad day at the office’.

We have had an excellent start to the season, a credit to all the staff and players hard work so far!

By: Simon Long

Simon Long — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:41:51 +0000

You’re right Roland, the Official Message Board is a joke. Not only because of your points in this article but the way they act in general, it’s an embarrassment to the club and needs closing down.

There’s nothing worth reading and the amount of dross on there after a loss is unbelieveable. There are other Bradford City message boards like ‘The City Gent’ and ‘Claret and Banter’ which are much better and the opinions of posters on these sites should be respected much more than those on the Offcial site.

By: Ben Jones

Ben Jones — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:05:19 +0000

Good article. I also feel people hide behind Crackers to have a go at McCall. Either that or they are oblivious to who really rules the roost. I am not one of those.

McCall is a legend and a lover of the club, of which we have very few. I would not want another manager. Our start to the season has been brilliant. The second half display last week was a joy to watch.

However, get many a City fan in the pub and get them speaking in hushed tones and many will tell you that Macca is tactically naive at times.

Many of the message boards today say he has no Plan B. I am paying attention. This sadly, on evidence, appears to be true. He is learning and will get better, no doubt but the fact is he struggles to swap and change when it is needed.

He also seems to favour certain players. Conlon is open to debate, but the fact remains that he is played and played as a sub. Why not give a chance to Willy Topp or Rory Boulding?

Long live McCalls reign at City, but lets not live in claret and amber tinted specs.