More About 2007/2008
Bradford City 4 Shrewsbury Town 2 - League Two 2007/2008
He is a stocky character - this Barry Conlon - and his has broad shoulders.
Those broad shoulders carried a lot of weight after his signing from Mansfield at the start of this City’s supposed promotion season and when his “fight in an empty room” style of bustling forward play lacked it’s foil in the then injured Peter Thorne he needed those shoulders to carry the criticism he was loaded with.
He worked hard - this Barry Conlon - after missing a penalty on his debut and his reward is ours. His name is sung loud after he - this Barry Conlon - shoulders the responsibility of a penalty that made sure a game that should have been sure five minutes from time.
This Barry Conlon chips low his penalty given after Darren Kempson had stopped David Wetherall scoring and the win is as sealed as it is deserved. This Barry Conlon hears his name sung loud.
That Conlon’s spot kick had to make the game sure was a criminal offence of a decision by the latest in a long line of appalling officials with a linesman allowing a goal for Marc Pugh after his headed was rather randomly powered into the hands of City’s latest on loan goalkeeper Scott Loach but Paul Heckingbottom. The ball was nothing less than a foot on the right side of the line and moving forward.
That the appalling and newest “worst decision ever” was made pulled the blinkers over an excellent save from Loach who has joined from Watford to replace QPR bound Donovan Ricketts. Loach performed well in goal for sure but his mouth open fearless style that saw the 19 year old shouting the sort of instructions that mad Gary Walsh a better keeper than Matt Clarke was more noticeable. He signed as many autographs as he could after the game too. Good kid.
Ricketts is no doubt getting his feet under the table in West London - good luck and thanks for the memories to him - although had he been at Valley Parade he might have wondered how the Referee could see troublesome striker Guy Madjo “make a gesture” to the home supporters and not be called to book on it. Ricketts might have wondered why he was sent off for such an offence at Southend and Madjo was not. He might wonder if Madjo had the same provocation. He might wonder many things and he will probably hope that at his new club the rules are applied more even handily.
In the end that is all I, dear reader, want from officials. Evenhandedness.
Peter Thorne played for QPR - they paid £2,990,000 for for him than they have Ricketts - and it is not hard to see why people thought highly of the striker who from the tail end of his career looks like he should have made more of himself. Sharp, he was, as he finished off a deflection following a pacey run up the field from Omar Daley as City pushed out from a corner which came too soon after a former Bantam Dave Hibbert’s header that put the visitors back into the game after half time.
Hibbert took his header well looping it past Loach but Matthew Clarke will hope to make his aerial clearances more decisive in future. City’s upturn in performances - all but undefeated since Christmas - coincides with Clarke displacing Mark Bower in the side. In the last month City have grown in confidence and now the side can assimilate changes and maintain direction. Tom Penford arrived in the place of Paul Evans in McCall’s holding role and performed well all evening.
City’s upturn also has much to do with Stuart McCall getting the best out of Omar Daley who has moved from central figure to a more suitability less involved player in the Bantams side. McCall has given Daley a remit of using pace and sticking to the flank and then the solo Reggae boy cut past the left back and across the box firing a shot that took a huge deflection to go in from it struck one that Omar is play finisher and not playmaker.
Playmaker.
Let the word float in the air. Think about what it means. Savour it like wine around the mouth. The playmaker.
Seven minutes in and it is the strength of the man, the turn that left three - four maybe - blue shirted defenders chasing shadows. Willy Topp skipped to the box and found Kyle Nix to allow the Aussie to finish superbly and while Nix deserves every plaudit thrown his way it was Topp’s show.
This Willy Topp - who played 55 minutes before being replaced by Barry Conlon as the Chilean builds match fitness - has a clutch of attributes that picked him out at this level. His touch is superb giving him time and space which he uses well so far and his strength is impressive. This Willy Topp knows how to use his body to keep the ball and when he has it he knows what to do with the ball.
And he wants to make play and he has he scope to be the most exciting player at Valley Parade since Benito Carbone and he can go far - further probably than Bradford City and he can hear his name sung loud as long as he follows the example of the balding Irishman with the broad shoulders.
Amazing Paranoid Fantasy Column: #2
Garth Crooks was getting excited. He cheered as Havant & Waterlooville scored their second goal at Anfield after dubbed Liverpool’s concession of a single goal at home to the non-leaguers as acutely embarrassing. It is comments like this that show why in the case of football management those who can do and those who can’t become pundits.
Havant & Waterlooville’s success - limited by the fact that in the end they did get beaten - is being celebrated as a glorification of the FA Cup and the way it levels the mighty and the minnows and of course in headline terms that is a nice way of selling the story but there was no magic about the non-leaguer’s performance at the Premiership side and very little to do with the big hearts and bold spirits that are being talked about.
In fact Havant & Waterlooville were - on the whole - a triumph of head over heart and of smart over spirit. They arrived at Anfield with a determination to stick to a well drilled game plan and rather than roaring into the game as mice against lions they took the approach that Liverpool were no different a proposition than Braintree Town or Bromley and should be met in the same way.
Back fours flat and well marshalled they went out at Anfield. Fullbacks supported by wingers coming back and midfielders protecting the back four they got the reward for an understanding that while they could do little to match the skill and fitness of Liverpool the majority of the battle of a football match is in approach and team discipline.
Who knows how manager Shaun Gale stopped his players from being phased but somehow he put them on the pitch drilled into a formation and with the belief that while Liverpool might - and did - possess the fitness and odd bit of skill to beat them if they could match the twice in three years European Champions League finalists for effort and keep to the tactics then they would make an account of themselves.
This is far from embarrassing for Liverpool - at least in the sense that Crooks intended - and such comments come from a gross misunderstanding of the nature of the game. The belief that being a “better” player in a “better” team means that you can utterly nullify the opposition is country to the experience of watching football week in week out and far too close to the increasing Pro Evo/FIFA inspired view of football that seems to have gripped terraces to the determent of the game.
Teams that keep to a disciplined formation and have self belief will always play well and likewise very skilful footballers will - when regiments are forgotten - look disjointed and ramblous. Be it Havant & Waterlooville or Manchester United the embarrassing thing for Liverpool - if such a term should exist in top class football - is that the non-league team were for much of the game more committed to a tactic and an ethic of belief than the Premiership side.
The wife is unlikely to agree, but I can be something of a romantic. Nothing to do with possessing the thoughtfulness to buy flowers or watch Hugh Grant films without complaining; but some events do tug at the heart strings, such as the re-crowning of Kevin Keegan as King of the Toon Army.
Keegan’s return to manage Newcastle United is a great story that may inject some much needed interest into an increasingly tedious Premier League. He brings back memories of a more golden period of English football in the 1990s where his attacking principles, as enthralling to watch as they were naive, almost saw Newcastle crowned Champions of England. Compared to the style of football some of the top teams now bore us with, take a bow Chelsea and Liverpool, it’s no wonder this attack-minded philosopher’s return has prompted jubilant scenes on Tyneside.
At City, we can understand how those Newcastle United fans are feeling after our own hero returned to Valley Parade. The fact that Stuart McCall’s appointment came during the summer meant our celebrations were more muted, but no less ecstatic. Compared to the situation a year ago at the end of Colin Todd’s reign, we fans are largely united in our support of Stuart and any future success will taste all the sweeter with him leading us.
Whatever the outcome of this season, and on the evidence at Gigg Lane on Tuesday it’s less likely to feature a trip to Wembley, there will be some success to build on. The level of support this season has been astounding at times. The season ticket initiative has seen huge crowds at every home game and we are on course for our highest season average attendance since the days when the term ‘administration’ held little meaning. Away from home the support has been equally notable and on a cold, wet January night we took 1,056 supporters to Bury – who would have expected that a year ago?
The disappointment of two points dropped meant that, not for the first time, the atmosphere in the away end was the highlight of the evening.
All of which is leading to a special atmosphere around the club and, while the support at Gigg Lane was outstanding, it’s become the norm on the road this season as we fans travel in large numbers to back our team. On the field, things are also slowly improving and there are signs that things might belatedly be coming together.
Not the team assembled can quite match the support just yet. There were some positives to take from the draw with Bury; we’ve heard plenty recently about the need to become a more physical side and Bury, enjoying the rejuvenation that sacking a manager can bring, offered a stern test. In difficult conditions tackles were flying in and long balls booted into our box. City struggled at times to clear some dangerous deliveries, but largely stood strong with David Wetherall particularly outstanding.
Going forward we didn’t quite enjoy the same fluidity as the previous two games but, in Omar Daley and Joe Colbeck, possess a pair of in-form wingers. The ink drying on a newly signed contract, this was the sort of evening where Daley might previously have disappeared. Not everything he tried came off, as ever, and his defensive abilities still need some work, but his pace and dribbling skills frightened the home defence and he was always the likeliest City player to break the deadlock. Keegan would surely approve.
Up front Barry Conlon toiled hard again and was wholly effective at holding up the ball. He was exactly the type of player needed in such a physical encounter and his goal, widely appreciated by his growing fan club, appeared to lead us on the path to victory. City were far from their best though and Bury came back strongly. It was unfortunate that Matt Clarke’s error allowed the home side back into it, though it’s testament to the outstanding recent form of our centre back that his mistake came as such a shock.
It was left to City to find the initiative again and, while our attacks often had more purpose than the struggling Shakers, the familiar frustrations of poor use of the ball were evident again. If only our players would be prepared to take their time and work the ball around, instead of feeling the need to punt the ball into the box following a few passes. The quality we do possess was evidenced by Kyle Nix’s brilliantly taken goal 12 minutes from time, superbly set up by Daley, but Bury deserved the draw which was earned by Dale Stephen’s screamer three minutes from time.
It was frustrating that City couldn’t hang on and we were never able to gain a grip in the centre of the park. Fingers are firmly pointed at Paul Evans as the Welsh midfielder is suffering a disappointing run of form.
My memories of Evans’ first spell at City are of a player who would have one brilliant game followed by a succession of average performances. Once again we’re looking for consistency from the 33-year-old. We know he is capable of delivering a match winning pass, but we also need to him to play the simple ball when appropriate and stamp his authority on a game. Eddie Johnson’s presence on the bench, returning from a long lay off, was welcome. Stuart must be considering his inclusion into the first eleven at Evans’ expense. Alongside Evans, Lee Bullock quietly impresses. Hopefully, with Hartlepool announcing he can leave, a deal can be agreed for a player out of contract in the summer.
The disappointment of two points dropped meant that, not for the first time, the atmosphere in the away end was the highlight of the evening. The last time we played at Gigg lane, on route to the Premiership in 1999, we had more fans than Bury and it wasn’t far off again last night. The sheer numbers and passionate singing around me left a tingle down my spine. The standard of football isn’t the best, but our stature and size has made our first season back in League Two a memorable one.
At the time Keegan was on the brink of bringing the title to Tyneside before imploding in 1996, City were embarking on a superb late run of form that lifted us from mid table to promotion via Wembley. Newcastle won’t go 12 points clear this season, but history could yet repeat itself for City. For that to happen the passion and enthusiasm City fans are displaying home and away will play its part.
A quote from a Newcastle supporter during the Tyneside hysteria last week should also ring true for City fans, “The louder we scream, the faster we’ll go.” Us City fans are certainly screaming loudly on our tour of League Two and, despite dropping points at Bury, now’s not the time to quieten. Our noise cannot be matched in this division and may yet inspire an unlikely play off push between now and May.
And I would just love it if that happened, love it.