last year, at the start of October
Now it begins for McCall as the Bantams look to rebound
Thomas Moncur does not remember much of the Shrewsbury match and frankly neither do we.
The right back was left sparked out before a goal that sent City to a second defeat on the bounce but while the AFC Bournemouth defeat hung around in the air for the week the loss at Shrewsbury Town was quickly folded into debates on Referees and head injuries.
Moncur is not allowed to play for two weeks as a result of the knockout blow and the Football League are not up for answering any questions about Jarnail Singh’s performance that day of his abilities going forward – I know because I’ve asked them – leaving City fans to talk about the man in the middle and not the men on the other end of a two goal deficit.
No one had much of a positive thing to say about the Bantams in Shropshire until Dean Furman – hoping to cement a role in midfield at the expense of long term injured Lee Bullock and Chris Brandon – chipped in with the idea that City could take something form the game that while over shadowed saw good exchanges in the second half.
Furman did not talk about collapsing probability matrices or Schrodinger’s Cat but perhaps the mood in the dressing room is that without losing Moncur and then Bullock the Bantams might have been able to give the home side more of a game.
Certainly there is much talk now of rebounding and a look at the table shows that at five on Saturday the Bantams could be back top of League Two but even if results did not go our way following a win the confidence that is so brittle amongst supporters would return.
Some believe that the nervousness of the Valley Parade crowd gets to the players – certainly Nicky Law believed so – but the truest test of a team I’ve ever seen came when all were silent and the supporters had all but given up. I talk about Wolves in 1999 and the fact that after the home side’s early goal it seemed to me that only the player’s believed and it was that core of belief in the players that saw us promoted.
Building a similar core – unshakable and solid – in the current side is Stuart McCall’s task and it is his test this weekend.
October 2nd, 2008 at 17:18
We will win on Saturday I am sure of that - and by as many a 3 goal margin - nothing to do with doing Luton an injustice by under estimating them - more to do with the belief that this squad of City players have the mental edge that others have lacked over the last 6 years.
October 2nd, 2008 at 18:55
I’ve never thought about going 1-0 down at Wolves in that way, but you’re spot on. We were all quiet, fearing our dreams were over when we should have been cranking up the volume. Hopefully like that brilliant team, this lot can develop that same inner steeliness.