More About Atmosphere
Like 13,197 other City fans I left Valley Parade in a bad mood on Saturday. I spent the journey back to the car complaining with my friend Steve about certain aspects of City’s display and our mutterings were in unison over the tactical changes which appeared to work against the team. “That’s the play offs ruled out,” I hastily concluded, thinking back to only a couple of hours ago where, walking from the pub down Manningham Lane to the ground we half-joked about going to the Mexican restaurant we always pass to celebrate after we got back from Wembley in May, having witnessed City go up. How stupid did we now feel even to kid about it?
We listened to Stuart McCall’s interview on the radio as we drove back, faintly satisfied, at least, to hear that Billy Topp had been taken off due to flagging fitness. I wanted Stuart to be asked why he took off Peter Thorne, our best player, and replaced him with the lightweight and ineffective David Brown, who barely touched the ball. Or why, despite playing below standards and suffering some utterly abysmal abuse from so-called supporters, Omar Daley was hauled off when he at least looked as though he could do something, which couldn’t be said of Kyle Nix on the opposite side. The calm and honest words of Stuart at least made me feel better and, while I wasn’t impressed with his changes, I felt confident they were mistakes the manager will learn from going forward.
So gradually I calmed down, watched a bit of the Man U v Arsenal game with a beer at home. Seeing the own goal again on The Championship the following morning was difficult viewing but, sharing opinions with other City fans I bumped into that day calmed me down further and, while I was still in a bad mood back at work Monday morning, I began to look forward to the trip to Notts County on Saturday which I hope can only be better.
I appreciate it’s not the same for everyone and that anger over the two recent performances is still high, but I’ve found some of the opinions posted on various City-related websites difficult to read calmly. It appears we’re back to the blame game, where some folk seem determined to pick on players and declare everything the club is doing is wrong. Just over a week ago we were excitedly talking up the play offs with our chances looking increasingly better, now we’re back to describing the season as dreadful.
There are the usual targets for criticism when it all goes wrong. When Wayne Jacobs returned to the club during the summer I remember thinking he might be the easy target for some. 12 years service as a player, but he was never universally popular. Now a very slim minority have decided the last two defeats are entirely down to our assistant manager. When I read these views I struggle to find the reasons for why it’s Jacobs fault, probably because those making such comments don’t know either.
Then there’s our training which is prehistoric, dated and nothing like as good as Rochdale’s, a small insignificant club we should be thrashing. I’m not sure if the people criticising City’s training methods have actually witnessed them to know they are bad as they make out, and I’m even less certain they will have seen Rochdale’s to compare.
Of course it’s down to Stuart’s failure to pick certain players which is to blame. Have a quick scan through our reserves team, choose a couple of names who are been ‘disgracefully’ ignored, Alex Rhodes and, of course, Luke Medley on this occasion, and tell the world they should be playing. It doesn’t matter that the players keeping them out of the side have recently gone on a six match unbeaten run – that was two weeks ago, why haven’t they been sacked yet?!
Last but not least, after every player, member of management team and coaching method has been blamed; let’s have a go at the Chairmen for not backing the manager and hoarding all the cash. What a joke of a football club we really are, from top to bottom.
Among the message board comments and views added below T&A website stories, there is a lot of sense spoken. It’s just unfortunate that a lot of it is diluted by the strange and nonsense views of others. They who should loudest are usually heard, but that doesn’t mean their views make any sense.
The reality of the situation is that, after showing some real promise in recent weeks, we’ve suffered a set back. There are things that need to be improved about the team clearly; the first half against Rochdale was embarrassingly one-sided. Yet after grabbing an underserved equaliser the team improved considerably in the second. For all the feelings of disgust we all had about the performance Saturday night, we nearly won the game. When Peter Thorne cracked the outside of the post with that long range effort with five minutes to go it wasn’t only nearly a winner for us, with the beautiful way Barry Conlon back-heeled the ball into Joe Colbeck’s path and marvellous through ball to set up Thorne’s volley, we were agonisingly close to witnessing one of the best Valley Parade goals seen in years. Rochdale won it through our mistake, but for how bad that left us feeling we could easily have been celebrating a win.
And now, rather than carve the team up and start everything again, we face three presentable-looking games in a week where a decent points haul is achievable. Stuart will have seen a lot of things he didn’t like during the performance and certain players have some making up to do, but while changes will be made the progress from the team since the turn of the year should not be forgotten.
The players and management made mistakes on Saturday, but anyone among the 13,198 City fans that witnessed them who says they have never made mistakes in their career and life is lying. The key is to accept and learn from mistakes, so that you move on and develop. No football manager gets their tactics correct all the time. We, as fans, now need to forgive and hope Stuart never forgets.
As for our own contribution, well it was hardly great was it? 10 minutes to go, an enthralling end to end game that is clearly a battle; where are we making noise and backing the players? We’re sat glumly in our seats groaning everytime something goes wrong and hammering on individuals’ mistakes. We have the biggest crowds in the division, but where’s the advantage we give to the team from it?
But we move on, get over these defeats and back the players for the next three important games. We probably won’t win them all and we almost definitely won’t make a late play off surge now, but there has been some progress made this season which we all hope will be more visible next season.
Me and Steve might not get chance to enjoy that Mexican after Wembley, but we might just go for it anyway on the journey back from Wycombe May 3. If you can see the positives and don’t believe everything should be considered a failure just because we’re unlikely to bounce straight back up this season, I invite you to join us for a Corona or five. The rest may as well get off home and inflict their usual moaning all over our City cyber world.
Bradford City 1 Brentford 2 - League Two 2007/2008
If you want to read about which players were to blame for yesterday’s defeat and who we should ‘get rid’, you’d be better advised reading the numerous City message boards instead of this. Most of these will be filled with views of who is the biggest disgrace, which players aren’t fit to wear the shirt and how it’s also Stuart and the Board’s fault. A lot of these opinions will be hysterical rubbish, but are likely to satisfy the need of the many fans who consider everything disgusting.
They’re right of course; Saturday was indeed disgusting. I left Valley Parade feeling appalled and pessimistic about the future. However, it wasn’t the performance and attitude of the players that left me feeling angry – it was those in the stands.
What happened? To date the efforts of supporters has been largely fantastic, but on Saturday I felt it was us who didn’t turn up. From the moment the teams came onto the field and Donovan Ricketts, back in the team after his four game ‘rest’, failed to receive a good reception, the atmosphere felt odd. The game kicked off but there was no chanting, no cheering and little support offered towards the players. The place felt flat and at one stage I could hear the players shouting at each other on the pitch - I sit close to the back of the Midland Road stand and I’m half deaf! In a ground with 13,000+ supporters that simply isn’t good enough.
I’m sure you’re backing will be fantastic again. I can’t ask for any more than that – Stuart McCall’s programme notes
The fans in the Kop have been fantastic this season, but only seem to find their voice when the players kick off towards them in the second half. Why don’t you start chanting from kick off? The support in the Midland Road stand was even more pathetic, save for a handful of fans in C block attempting to start chants. As fans, we expect the players to show 100% effort and commitment for the cause - yet we can’t even be bothered to sing a few chants.
No one was getting behind the team, who after a slow start began to get on top and created some decent chances. Everyone appeared more happy to moan and find fault with the team’s efforts, no matter how tedious their complaints were. After a few good passing moves into the Brentford area didn’t quite result in a goal, City played a long ball which went through to the Brentford keeper. “You see!” said one fan a few rows in front of me, “all we do is launch long balls up, we’re so predictable!” Yes, of course that’s all we do.
I wouldn’t argue City were fantastic in the first half, but we were the better side and desperately unlucky not to take the lead. Then Brentford scored with a wonder strike. At half time the boos came down from all three stands, undeserved in my view. Walking around the concourse with steam coming out of my ears, one fan decided to helpfully tell me that City were going to be relegated this season. Thanks for this insightful knowledge, now I know not to bother with the rest of the season. Maybe we should tell the players and management this so they can give up on the season as well?
In the second half City came out all guns blazing and fans finally started getting behind the team. Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu hit the bar with a header and Barry Conlon wasted the rebound. When Conlon missed another easy chance minutes later, the boos started again. At one stage there was the ridiculous situation of Conlon being booed while in possession, as it appeared he was about to lose it. The Irish striker then did well to keep the ball and play it to another City player, the silence from these fans was deafening! Where’s the “good play Conlon, come on City!”?
They were soon booing him again when he was subbed though, which I thought was completely unfair. Conlon was guilty of missing some excellent chances and didn’t play well, but he gave everything and hardly meant to miss.
After Brentford scored the second, again against the run of play which most fans chose to ignore, we had more boos and anger. A friend in the main stand told me that a couple of fans in the Kop threw their season tickets onto the pitch in disgust. At the final whistle, despite City almost coming back after Mark Bower scored, there were more boos from the fans who hadn’t already left. Some stayed back to wait until the players had shaken hands with the Brentford players and began walking over to applaud the fans, so they could boo the team again. The players just turned away and walked off and who can blame them?
Let’s put this into perspective. I think City were very unfortunate to lose this game. It wasn’t a great performance, but they were on top for large spells and created some excellent chances. The ball just wouldn’t go in, while Brentford created two chances and scored them both. The only time I thought the players were poor was in their response to going 2-0 behind. Their heads dropped and they looked beaten, despite there been 30 minutes still to play. But as supporters had given up – on both the game and the season – who can blame them?
I’ve seen worse performances from City this season and to receive such a high level of abuse was unjustified. We’re on a really poor run of form and confidence is low. Understandably we’re all really frustrated, we expected to be around 4th in the league – not 4th bottom! But for how bad our recent form is I really don’t believe we should write off the season like this. There’s a long way to go and I still think we can sneak a play off spot this season.
Fans demanding we get rid of certain players are being simplistic. Should City really throw money away cancelling contracts of players not performing? Where do they think this money will come from? More than likely it would be from whatever transfer budget Stuart has for improving the ability of the playing squad. We can demand some of the younger players come in, but would they have the mental strength to cope with the boos from 13,000 people? It could destroy them.
I continue to be both astounded and humbled by the level of support both at home and away and I can only hope your patience is rewarded eventually – Julian Rhodes’ programme notes.
The simple fact is that, until January, we have to persist with the playing squad we have. Of course changes have to be made for Tuesday and Stuart will do so - a recall for Paul Evans is surely a must. This current squad can do much better than present form and we should get behind them in attempting to do so. There’s no magic wand to make it all better, they need to keep working hard and give their all and eventually our luck will turn.
As fans, we have a huge role to play. I really think that the reaction and atmosphere on Saturday harmed the team far greater than Conlon’s misses. It felt like the day the fans wrote off for the season but this shouldn’t be the case. On Tuesday we should be getting behind the players from the first whistle to the last. Players will make mistakes and there are times we all groan but, if we stick with them and save the moaning until half time or the pub after, our support can make the difference.
We’re all sick of losing and being where we are in the league, but everyone needs to take responsibility in turning the situation around. That especially includes us supporters.
Bradford City 0 Darlington 0 - League Two 2007/2008
It was not feeling miserable when leaving, that was the best part about Saturday.
After four weekends where City have lost, not to mention the midweek Accrington debacle, that empty feeling that stays with you most of the week and leaves you not wanting to think about football had become all too familiar. I walked down Midland Road after the game feeling a little disappointed that City had failed to turn their superiority into a win and felt worried about the lack of goals and decent service running through the team, but I also left feeling much more positive about City’s prospects for the season and had renewed belief that happier times were not that far around the corner.
A lot of people came out of Saturday with credit. Stuart McCall and Wayne Jacobs have clearly worked hard on the training ground at lifting sagging spirits and raising confidence. Stuart has recently commented that it’s going to take a while to build a team that he is happy with, but the one assembled so far competed much better to belatedly demonstrate that fourth bottom of the entire Football League was a false position.
There wasn’t much different about the way the team lined up against Darlington than in previous games and Stuart resisted the urge to make wholesome changes. He was rewarded by those he kept faith with and seems to have a clear vision of how he wants his team to play. The sight of a second place team clearly time wasting and settling for a draw in the closing stages showed just how effective that play had been.
Credit also to the supporters who got behind the team. I was partly dreading Saturday’s game for fear of another defeat, I also feared the reaction of supporters to another loss. After the first 20 minutes there was barely a moan to be heard among supporters, apart from at the officials anyway, as everyone seemed to recognise that the 11 in claret and amber shirts were giving their all. The atmosphere felt a bit flat in the first half, but those in the Kop again got suitably behind the players as they attacked towards them in the second.
Having the biggest crowds in the division can be an effective weapon, but it can also be a hindrance. 12,000 moaning and complaining is a lot louder than 7,000 and we’ve already seen certain players disappear into their shells when the grumbles get louder. It’s hard to stay positive at times, but it was heartening that the crowd really got behind the players and encouraged them to keep going forward. It’s extremely rare for a 0-0 draw to be recognised with a standing ovation and it seemed clear the players really appreciated the support, by the way they held back to applaud the three stands. I don’t think they could have got off the pitch quicker at the final whistle against Accrington!
But credit most of all should go to the players. Their performances and general attitude have been openly questioned in recent weeks and deservedly so. We all know they can do better than five defeats in a row, but the criticism must have hurt. Only a year ago a couple of defeats became a crisis and performances got worse, as those paid to represent City struggled and failed to handle the pressure. Stuart spoke before the Darlo match of expecting no one to hide and every player responded well. It was hard to find fault with anyone’s performance, if only one of the numerous chances created could have been put away.
I arrived at Valley Parade expecting little, I certainly didn’t imagine I would witness City’s best home performance of the season so far. To an uninformed observer, it would have been easy to be confused over which team sat second in the league and which was near the bottom. The quality of the final ball still leaves a lot to be desired and I can’t remember a City side who have ever put in so many awful corners, but we weren’t far away from giving Darlo a real spanking.
Perhaps the most heartening thing about the display was the work rate from everyone, something lacking in recent weeks. Omar Daley has excited and then frustrated all too often, but has barely tracked back into his own half during the last few defeats. On Saturday he was helping his defence and getting up and down the pitch really well. We know he has plenty of skill and pace, but it’s the end product and desire to work hard when City don’t have the ball that’s been lacking.
Omar was often back in the City penalty area on Saturday helping out Darren Williams, who was outstanding, while he also looked a threat going forward. On the other winger Kyle Nix looks a really impressive player and a winger who can also tackle. He’s not the quickest, especially compared to Daley, but his dribbling is excellent and he showed a cool head to work the ball into good positions and find a team mate.
Up front, Barry Conlon has looked a different player the last two games. Yes he should have scored at least twice and he does seem to hesitate when a chance comes his way, but as a target man holding up the ball he was phenomenal. Players could clear the ball up to him, when under pressure, and the ball would stick there. He helped lay on some excellent chances and also has a reasonable first touch.
It’s hard to imagine Conlon reaching double figures for us this season, but if he can get a goal from open play his confidence will surely go up another notch. The challenge for Conlon is to maintain and perhaps better his last two performances. Should he keep it up, he will be a regular name on the team sheet regardless of how often he finds the net.
Defensively City were much better and, while Mark Bower and David Wetherall have performed much better the last three games, the protection the whole midfield gave them also helped. Watching recent games, to me it has felt too many forward players were expecting the defence to win the ball back and waited up field for a pass. Against Morecambe we often appeared outnumbered when the home side attacked so it was good to see Nicky Law and Eddie Johnson working hard in both boxes. Paul Heckingbottom also bounced back well after a series of poor displays.
Ultimately it’s down to the players to turn around the slump and get City into winning ways. Saturday was a great start and hopefully confidence and belief will have returned. The performance was heartening and we should have won, but it’s important the result becomes something to build on rather than a high point. It’s worth noting that Saturday’s failure to find the breakthrough means it’s over 300 minutes since City last scored at Valley Parade.
On Saturday City travel to face a Grimsby side which has lost four on the bounce and so won’t be feeling too confident themselves. It’s important City stand up to the challenge and come away with something. After our own dismal run it’s fair to say that our players will know how Grimsby will be feeling right now - and also know why we shouldn’t underestimate them. Hopefully Darlo will be the turning point but, for how well City’s players performed against the high flying Quakers, it’s a level of performance and effort required every week.
So we left Valley Parade much happier than we arrived, with more confidence about our season and the hope that the slide has been arrested. After four Saturday’s in a row feeling miserable, let’s hope we’ve had our quota for a while and can enjoy the rest of our weekend once more. Surely it’s time the footballing gods started sharing out the misery, starting with that lot t’other side of Pudsey.