Saturday 26th March, 2011last year, at the end of March
Jackson’s hopes hang in the balance as the feel-good factor recedes
The Team
- Jon McLaughlin | David Syers, Lewis Hunt, Steve Williams, Luke O'Brien | Gareth Evans, Tom Adeyemi, Michael Flynn, Scott Dobie | Jake Speight, James Hanson | Darren Stephenson, Leon Osborne
The Byline
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Bradford City 1 Shrewsbury Town 2 At Valley Parade in League Two, 2010/2011
Suddenly the unifying feel-good factor witnessed at the Globe Arena two weeks ago seems like a distant memory. 180 minutes of subsequently apathetic football have loosened Peter Jackson’s grip on pole position for the manager’s job full time. It may be wrong for his chances to fluctuate game-to-game like this, but this afternoon and last week have hardly offered compelling evidence in support of the interim manager’s cause.
Speaking ahead of this disappointing defeat, joint-Chairman Mark Lawn revealed it is likely Bradford City will make a final decision on the next manager around Easter time. Therefore Jackson probably has at least another four games in the hotseat to build a stronger case than his first five games provide. Few would doubt he has made an impact as he reaches his one month milestone in charge on Sunday, but seven points from 15 is hardly a significant improvement on the six points Peter Taylor collected during his final five games.
And therein lies his major issue to date. There just isn’t enough of a difference to the way City are performing with Jackson at the helm when looking at the widening picture. Initially the Bantams were playing a much more appealing passing style of football compared to efforts under Taylor. Yet both today and last week there has been a frustrating reverting back to direct football that sees the ball punted aimlessly in the direction of Jake Speight and James Hanson. Jackson can argue he doesn’t want his players to perform in this way, but this would hardly generate confidence over his leadership abilities.
Amazingly in a game where they were so clearly second best, City took the lead and for 10 minutes looked on course to sneak an undeserved victory. But a very impressive Shrewsbury side demonstrated why they are in the promotion shake-up by coming back to earn a valuable win. Rarely do dropped points look acceptable when you’ve held a lead in a match; and, although Shrewsbury’s winner came with six minutes left on the clock, the fact City had been unable to curtail their opponents’ dominance from kick off reflected badly on everyone.
Sure there were mitigating circumstances. Much of the pre-match focus was on how Jackson would compensate for the injured Luke Oliver at the back, but ultimately the absence of the suspended Jon Worthington was more crucially felt. City’s midfield four were badly out-gunned for much of the game and lacked the energy and drive to function as an effective attacking force. They lacked a David Syers.
Syers himself was thrust into a right back role he at least looked more comfortable performing compared to his efforts in this position against Northampton a week ago. With Lewis Hunt moved over to centre back to cover Oliver and putting in an extremely strong display, Jackson could argue he’d made the right call. But as the midfield already featured two strikers as widemen, there remained a suspicion all afternoon that there were just too many players lining up out of their best position, tipping the balance in Shrewsbury’s favour.
Particularly as Tom Adeyemi was asked to perform a defensive midfield position which appears more naturally suited to Syers and certainly isn’t ideal for the on-loan Norwich midfielder. For the first 45 minutes especially the midfield four were on the back foot and struggled to find time and space to attack, with Michael Flynn very average again. Shrewsbury hunted in packs down the flanks, forcing Gareth Evans and a much more willing Scott Dobie to defend for much of the half. But with so many players forced deep, the front two of Hanson and Speight were left badly isolated.
In other words, it was the same balance conundrum that Taylor had failed so badly to solve.
Were it not for an outstanding display from Jon McLaughlin, Shrewsbury’s dominance would have been rewarded with a 2 or even 3-0 half time scoreline. After getting away with making a hash of a low cross into the box, McLaughlin maintained his confidence and made a terrific double block from the dangerous Matt Harrold and Mark Wright. Just before half time Nicky Wroe was played clear on goal, but McLaughlin stood up well to make a brilliant one-on-one block. At half time all four sides of the crowd afforded the keeper a standing ovation.
City did begin to improve in the second half, with Jackson pushing Adeyemi further forwards so he could link up with Speight and Hanson. Though McLaughlin was still busy, having to tip over David Davis’ long-range shot and later on keep out Wright’s header. Darren Stephenson was handed a senior debut in place of the woeful Speight, and the crowd’s positive reception to his arrival helped the players to temporarily stem the tide.
Midway through the second half Adeyemi took advantage of a woeful punch downwards from Shrewsbury keeper Ben Smith to volley the ball into the roof of the net from the edge of the area; and for Jackson and City it was looking like a good day after all. Yet the wily Graham Turner made two inspirational substitutions – bringing on Tom Bradshaw and opening-day-of-the-season-City-tormentor Lionel Ainsworth – that re-shifted the momentum again.
City switched off from a throw-in, and Bradshaw struck with venom from distance to beat McLaughlin at his near post with 13 minutes to go. The substitute then won the game on 84 minutes after Jon Taylor had got free of Syers on the left – despite a strong suspicion of fouling the makeshift right back – and crossed for him to tap in.
In between City had effectively played upon Smith’s hesitancy in goal by swinging in some decent crosses that left him flapping. The best chance saw Hanson’s excellent run and cross for Dobie to head home thwarted by a defender on the line. On another day and with a bit more luck City could have won it instead of going on to lose, but then again they had benefited from some good fortune in defeating Rotherham and Morecambe.
In the end the day lacked conclusions. City are just about safe from relegation, but another few points are still required. Jackson could have been packing up his desk at full time, but Lawn’s pre-match comments revealed the assessment will go on a while longer. Lawn also claimed that results are what matter, and one has to wonder whether Jackson’s chances are little more advanced than a game of musical chairs. Will his latest result be win, draw and lose when the music stops – and will that determine the outcome?
Almost every manager I’ve known is popular at first – and there’s always that period where we almost believe they’ll be a superhero in what they are capable of achieving, before over time they prove themselves to be human with flaws that drive their popularity downwards. So while the six other managerial candidates can still hide behind their cape and remain superhero in their potential, Jackson – with some questionable team selections, iffy tactics and average performances – is left to reveal his defects that all the while reduce his chances.
Two weeks after looking a shoe-in for the job – for Jackson, you begin to suspect this story isn’t going to have a happy ending.
The Team
- Jon McLaughlin | David Syers, Lewis Hunt, Steve Williams, Luke O'Brien | Gareth Evans, Tom Adeyemi, Michael Flynn, Scott Dobie | Jake Speight, James Hanson | Darren Stephenson, Leon Osborne
The Byline
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Since 2000, City have had, including stand-ins, about 10 managers. Plus the new one, whoever he might be.
In that time, there have been 4 chairmen, Rhodes, Richmond, Gibb and Lawn.
Does it ever occur to the one constant in all this, Mr Rhodes, that annual( apart from Stuart) changes possibly are not really a good thing. Does he look at over-achievers, such as Rochdale, Bury, Accrington, Morecambe, and look at at under-achievers such as City, and think that, just maybe, stability could pay off.
To be fair to Rhodes I think that he, more than any other chairmen alongside him, understands this and has tried to maintain stability with managers. He wanted to keep Nicky Law, for example, while Gordon Gibb did not. He stuck with Colin Todd for a long time when people were calling for him to go (but sadly then sacked him at the wrong time) and it was Mark Lawn rather than Rhodes who drove Stuart McCall away. Peter Taylor is a special case in the sense he was hired on a contract the club couldn’t afford to extend beyond one season unless success was instant.
I agree entirely with your sentiments, but I don’t think Rhodes should be the target of your frustration.
You are, of course, correct. But the comment you make about Peter Taylor surely proves my point. ” Unless success was instant” shows that thinking is too short term.
Agreed – but with Taylor the issue for me is whether it was right to appoint him in the first place if the Board knew they could only afford his wages for one season, thereby making this a ‘promotion or bust’ season. We can keep going round in circles on this, and – at the risk of incurrring wrath from certain people – it all goes back to driving McCall out because success was taking too long to arrive in some people’s view, and we changed the outlook to short-termism.
I feel we need to get back to this long-term thinking with the next manager – if we can’t afford our number one choice for more than 12 months, don’t appoint him; if he doesn’t get promotion next season, it shouldn’t be the end of the world. Sadly, I don’t think this will prove to be the case and it’s unlikely we’ll see the next manager in the hot seat for more than 18 months, unless they are instantly successful.
As a little aside I spoke to some Shrews on the way back to L**ds yesterday and they said that it was a foul on Syers, so some small consolation perhaps. I’d rather they go up ahead of some of the others that are hovering around the playoffs.
Again, there was some booing in the cop, and one fella took literally 10 seconds of gameplay before the first negative comment came out. I thought we gave it a good bash wih a makeshift team and that was enough for me to stand and give a little applause at the end of the game.
Let’s see Stephenson and co given a proper crack of the whip, especially since Mr Speight has done nothing to prove himself worthy of a first team spot.
PS – Thought Dobie was much improved.
To file under: “Everyone sees things differently” but I thought that once Stephenson came on the contribution which Speight made to the way the team played, the importance he has in making the ball stick up front and the trouble he presents for defenders were massively highlighted.
I don’t think there’s many would see it differently, nor the author of the article. Speight does not hold up the ball, nor does he win free kicks, headers, challenges, one-on-ones with defenders.
Also, unless someone with the same sympathetic eyes as yourself takes over I can’t see how Speight can have a future at VP.
So, with that in mind, why not opt for the younger, homegrown option, especially since he made a nuisance of himself for our goal?
There is no sympathy involved. I like the look of Stephenson and I’m always in favour of blooding young players but to my mind is that when Speight came off the ball stopped being in our forward line and started pressing on our backline.
I’m not even hinting that the substitution was not worth making (a negative result does not invalidate a test) or that Stephenson did not do well but for me, Speight occupied the (very good) defenders in a way that proved useful and we missed that when he went off.
I have to say that I agree – I didn’t think Stepheson did very well and am struggling to think of a single good thing he did.
Please note (before the inevitable tirade) that doesn’t mean I don’t think he has a chance, that he isn’t a good player or that I think Speight is the answer. Just in the 30 minutes or so on Saturday the team played better with Speight than they did with him…
Cue abuse…
I disagree that Flynn was poor but I still think that he has yet to get back on form. He did a lot of excellent work in front of the back four and didn’t lose a battle all game. He was hampered by the lack of help in his defensive duties i.e. fowards on the wings and the too often absent Adeyemi in midfield. Shrewbury got nothing through the middle and played everything out wide thus exploiting the lack of defensive support on the wings. He also seemed restricted in terms of supporting the attack where I think he is at his best.
Speight has under-performed in the last two games but this is simply due to the lack of support he has been getting from the midfield. In Jacksons first few games he was holding up the ball and making quick offloads that allowed him to get into the box once the ball had been played back in. This hasn’t happened in the last two games and therefore him and Hanson haven’t had any chances.
The worst thing about yesterday is that it provided a clear comparison between where we are now and how we used to play. I for one want Daley back and for us to bring in real wingers.
Quick note on Daley, Mark Lawn confirmed before the game that City can recall Daley at any time and they would like to talk to him about a contract next season. However, City cannot send Kevin Ellison back unless Rotherham want him. Therefore they cannot bring back Daley and be left with two wages to pay (Daley and Ellison), so it’s all down to the Rotherham management situation and if they’d like Ellison back.
Who signed that agreement? Says a lot about what Rotherham think about Ellison and likewise what we, or our former manager, thinks/thought about Daley. Given our financial constraints unless Rotherham suddenly need Kevin back we are stuck with Ellison. What is interesting is that we were hardly safe from relegation when the deal was struck. Strange indeed. Add this to the fact that we were the only club who kicked off at the same time as Wales-England and you have to wonder at the some of the recent decisions the club have taken.
As regards the Shrews match, I wish we had a side who could pass and attack at pace down the wings like our visitors. The season cannot end soon enough.
Mark Lawn hinted the Daley/Ellison deal was all Taylor’s making as Daley “wasn’t one of his favourite players”. Interestingly Lawn also blamed the City-England clash on Taylor saying he hadn’t wanted to move the fixture, and as soon as Jackson took over they got in touch with Shrewsbury but it was too late. This version of events was backed up by Graham Turner.
After many years Pat finally came to a game at VP and she was hooked, it was interesting to get a different view on the game. She thought we were rubbish in the first half and that Peter Jackson must have done something at half time close to raising the dead. She would give him the job this morning for his passion alone plus the way he coached Darren Stephenson when he was about to come on and when he was playing. Jon McLaughlin was thought to be the best player and she now understands the elation and pain of being a City supporter, but thinks we are all too quick to critise when they are trying their best. It was also pointed out that it was rude to leave early and not to stay and clap them off the pitch. So, there we have it, maybe not my view, but with her plans to see another two games before the end of the season it will be interesting to see how long this take on the game lasts? She even thought the tea and Yorkie bar at half time was good, spoke to a Shrewsbury supporter before the match on the way to the ground, thought he was charming, but face facts he could afford to be, he thought he would win and he did!
More praise please for Jon McLaughlin, who was outstanding on Saturday. For a young keeper, and given he’s been sidelined a little unfairly with the arrival of Pigeley, his confidence always seems sky high and he commands his box better than any keeper I’ve seen at City for a long time. Coupled with shot-stopping not seen since Matt Clarke’s marvel-period, I hope he’s our number one for a long time to come. The standing ovation he got from all sides of the ground at half time was thoroughly deserved and the highlight of the afternoon for me.
I also agree that Flynn has been noticeably poor since his return from injury. I’m all for giving him time to work up his match fitness, but he looks to have lost some of the guile that made him stand out previously. Poorly hit passes all afternoon and showed some nerve to scream at Evans for lashing the ball wide late on following an awful waist-height pass. For me, Evans also deserves far more praise than he gets for his tireless energy, commitment to the cause and occasional flashes of brilliance. If he could borrow some of Jon McLaughlin’s confidence, he could be a real player.
And please, no more “well done Scott Dobie”, who is one of the worst players I’ve seen at City. Okay, he ran about a bit more than usual, but he exposed both full-backs (given he was switching wings) and shirked almost every challenge all afternoon. I don’t see what he offers us and it must be hard on Ellison (when fit), Osborne and Rowe to see someone than non-committal prefered to them in the side.
On other matters, I agree entirely with the need for a longer-term strategy (and that this was the mistake made with Stuart). You don’t have to be a Stalinist to have a penchant for 5 Year Plans and I would like to see us thinking in those terms for change. If we can be challenging in League One in 5 years, then challenging in the Champtionship in 5 years from that, so be it. Otherwise, we face another decade of promotion-or-bust mediocrity that I would argue causes much of the nervousness / anxiety and thus negativity at Valley Parade.
Which is why I found McLaughlin’s confident performance such a joy to watch.
I love the way this game provokes views but i have to say McLaughlin wasn’t that good on Saturday.
He made one good save from the rebound in the first half – although he should never have parried the first shot back into the middle of the goal in the first place. He also saved a one-on-one and a close range header which would have been kicked off the line in the second half.
On the negative side the first goal was clearly his fault – beaten on the near post by a shot from such an acute angle is never good – and that was clearly the turning point of the game. Couple that with nearly costing 2 other goals with his flapping at a first half cross and nearly missing his kick out.
Ultimately it was a performance which was good in parts but nowhere near consistent enough, and sadly in a keeper the number one requirement is consistency,
I don’t think we’ve had a decent keeper since Walsh/Clarke and I think it’s a position we need to fill for next year. Rarely do sides prosper with a poor keeper…
I must, I must, advance the name of Paul Henderson as a decent keeper since Walsh/Clarke. I think the best thing that McLauglin has going for him is that his mistakes are easily forgiven. I’m not joking or casting a slight on him but you have to go back a long, long way for a City keeper who did not get the bird from fans – Walsh suffered the ironic cheer after his swipe at the ball against Manchester United – and if the fans are prepared to actually support a player rather than riding his every mistake until his confidence is chipped away then he has something good in his arsenal.
You’re right – Henderson was a pretty decent keeper !
I’ve always backed Mark Lawn – I don’t think he’s done a lot wrong; most of it just hasn’t worked out. However, this managerial situation is nuts – absolutely bonkers. If Jackson is being judged on these few games, then it’s madness and all Jason & Michael’s criticisms over short-termism would be justified. He has someone else’s squad and has got virtually no room for manouevre. Give the bloke the contract and let’s get on with it.
Another excellent article but can I take you to task on your first sentence ‘…unifying feel-good factor witnessed at the Globe Arena two weeks ago …’. This was certainly not my experience nor one shared by a number of ‘senior’ fans around me. Morecambe was by any measure a poor performance mitigated by 3 important points. Sure there was ‘passion’ shown by the ‘spacial one’ at the end to the adoring masses; but little promise of the required Jacko (job I’ve always wanted?) revolution. I missed the Roveram match so I hoped it was a one off ground out win. Seems it was!!! :(