Monday 15th March, 20102 years ago, mid-March
The Boulding brothers leave Bradford City
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Michael and Rory Boulding have both left Bradford City by mutual consent after nearly two years with the club.
Michael Boulding’s was signed despite competition from Cheltenham for his signature and scored sixteen in fifty nine games for the Bantams. Boulding’s talent was obvious to all when spinning to finish off chances but his limitations were also all too apparent with the former Mansfield Town striker a great player on the counter attack for a team that seldom got the chance to play in such a manner.
Towards the end of last season The Bantams bested Gillingham 2-0 at Preistfield with Boulding instrumental in the victory that had seen the home side play the kind of high line the striker had face week in week out when a Mansfield player at a team who were sinking out of the league.
Few clubs would come to Valley Parade – or face City at their own grounds – which such a ploy and so Boulding – a player who likes to have pitch to run into – often ended up struggling to retain and maintain possession between two lines of four.
His heading goal against Exeter in a 4-1 win last term and his single in the 2-1 reversal at Lincoln City both proved his ability to get into positions and finish, but such play was not best suited to his game.
Nevertheless Boulding agreed – with other players – to take a wage cut when asked by the Bantams in the previous close season and as a willing worker for the squad.
Peter Taylor’s team does not feature a player in Boulding’s best role and the City gaffer is keen to have big strikers rather than skilful ones. When Michael Flynn is playing up front rather than you then it is – no doubt – time to move on which Michael Boulding does.
Peter Taylor allowing Rory Boulding to leave is a surprise though and one can only imagine the torrent of supporters piling anger and ire onto the manager for ignoring a player of such obvious talent that Taylor’s predecessor ruthlessly refused to give a game to.
More seriously Rory Boulding leaves with a whimper having never done enough to suggest he was capable of stepping up to the first team. He played twice with little effect but – not four months ago – a refusal to play Rory Boulding was a damning indictment of a manager’s ability.
Peter Taylor obviously agrees with Stuart McCall’s assessment of the player who – should he want to continue his career as a professional footballer – needs to apply himself so much more.
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Somewhat sad to see him go; he was a quality finisher but not a Malcolm McDonald/James Hanson type – yet we used to lump the ball up to him.
Does the end of the January transfer window mean he can go to another club?
Farewell Michael, thanks for the memories and sorry it did not work out.
I’m pretty sure you need to be a free agent within the transfer window to move to another club. If you come a free agent after it then you must wait until it reopens?
I have a sneaking suspicion that Michael will find another club and surprise, surprise – he will start scoring goals again on a consistent basis. For a number of reasons he never quite made the impact we anticipated at VP.
I also suspect that it will be at a club like Grimsby or Mansfield – maybe where expectation is not quite as great.
I wish him good luck wherever he ends up – as for Rory, the skys the limit!
I think Boulding can find another club if City release his registration. It was probably in the terms of his release, and i think that this decision probably didn’t cost us that much money.
It was clear that Boulding wasn’t going t be offered a new contract and he needs to be playing regularly if he wants to prolong his career.
As for scoring goals consistently his record isn’t amazing where ever he’s been except for the one season at Mansfield, so we’ll see.
I find this fascinating to be honest. Michael is a great bloke but it was clear to us all that PT would look for pace and power rather than Michaels less physical approach.
Why settle up now? Why not use him if we need him.
It smacks of another appearance fee saving measure and maybe Michael has been told he won’t play again and as such has decided he wants to leave.
As I understand it he can’t sign for somebody until the summer under the legislation that deals with transfers etc.
Anyway, it will all come out in the wash, good luck Michael and Rory, all the best.
P.S Thorney is on his way as well as I understand it.
“It smacks of another appearance fee saving measure and maybe Michael has been told he won’t play again and as such has decided he wants to leave.”
On page 16 of the latest City Gent, McCall tells the story of M Boulding offering to ‘take his appearance money from his fee’ so it seems that can’t be the case – I wonder if the club have come to an arrangement on a percentage of his wages being paid?
Always a shame to see a talented player leave. I am a Michael Boulding fan, I was at Gillingham to see him at his very best when he was absolutely brilliant, and I don’t think he received the consistent service he deserved last season. However, Boulding is a ’4-4-2′ striker. He is not a winger (Barnsley used him on the wing and he wasn’t suited to it), nor is he a lone striker in the modern mould. Therefore he won’t fit into the emerging template of this team and I’m not surprised to see him go. Taylor had great success at Hull using two ‘winger-strikers’ either side of a hard-working centre forward. Admittedly he had very good players like Stuart Elliott, Barmby and Fagan to play in those positions, but his comments about Omar being the sort of player who should score a goal every three games make me think that he has a similar idea here: find attacking players who can make an all-round contribution to the game and carry a goal threat either side of Hanson.