More About Barry Conlan
Accrington Stanley 0 Bradford City 2 – League Two 2007/08
Being of a more cynical nature, I find the hopes and promises made which coincide with the turn of the year bemusing. Vowing to stop smoking or start exercising is commendable, but expecting things to suddenly change just because we start using a new calendar is unrealistic. It’s traditional for the last City matchday programme of the year to be filled with contributions about how we should hope that the year ahead will be better for City and, of course, that the home form will improve; but not everyone’s life can change for better or worse on the same day. It may happen at any point during the year ahead, but January 1 and what this signifies isn’t on January 1 for all of us.
For City, New Years Day was really Saturday 11 August and events since will dictate what sort of year 2008 will be. According to an ever honest Stuart McCall after Saturday’s defeat to Hereford, it’s unlikely to include a trip to Wembley. This is due to the efforts of the first half of the campaign, or since City’s New Years Day. Results over the last couple of months have been largely decent, but it’s the infamous five successive defeats of September/October that have cost us and may predetermine what sort of a year 2008 is for City.
In my heart, I’m quite angry at hearing Stuart effectively write off the season with five months to go. Stuart’s post match interviews are notoriously honest but, when I think back to Stuart the player performing heroics, I don’t recall him ever giving up. In my head though, I grudgingly know that Stuart is correct in stating it’s highly unlikely City can make the play offs and is looking to the future. After years of treading water, City have the stability to build again and we need to be patient. Stuart the player had a brilliant football brain and it is his judgement that we now trust in carrying out that rebuilding.
As if to emphasise that the turn of the year doesn’t instantly herald change, City’s opening 45 minutes of 2008, at Accrington, were as average and frustrating as ever. We have the basis of a decent side, particularly at the back, but going forward we often fail to attack with purpose and provide our forwards with decent service.
Midway through the half City worked the ball into the penalty area but the home defence cleared. We picked up the loose ball and worked it back to Darren Williams, who then booted the ball aimlessly up the pitch and through to the keeper. Why is it that, the further we go up the pitch, the more the ball is treated like a hot potato? It’s as if the players are wary that, after stringing together four passes, they must be looking to test the keeper. Donovan Ricketts made a couple of easy saves in the mud, Peter Thorne and Paul Evans went close, the referee Barry Knight went off injured and that was the first half.
Straight after the break City took the lead. If the scorer was notable, Matt Clarke’s first in a City shirt, so to was how it came about. All season our set plays have been shocking but, when Stanley keeper Ian Dubavin weakly punched Evan’s corner kick, Joe Colbeck cleverly lobbed the ball back and David Wetherall headed it into Clarke’s path to stab home.
The goal lifted everyone’s spirits and from there City took control. With new signing Lee Bullock adding much-needed presence in the middle and catching the eye with some decent passes, City pressed forward at will. Two decent penalty appeals were rejected while Omar Daley should have done better after a brilliant mazy dribble left him with just the keeper to beat. Daley tried to be too clever and only succeeded blasting over. Barry Conlon, who received brilliant Andy Cooke-esqe backing from us fans all game, was played through one on one with the keeper and produced the tamest of shots which was easily blocked. As Accrington pushed forward towards the end, the fear was that City would pay for their wastefulness.
Then in the second minute of injury time, Daley broke away after City cleared an Accrington corner. With everyone in the City half, Daley was left with just the keeper to beat, he tried to take it around only for Dubavin to block, but Colbeck was on hand to gather up the loose ball and coolly slot the ball home. Cue wild celebrations behind the goal.
Colbeck walked off the pitch at full time still receiving congratulatory hugs from team mates and had City fans chanting his name. Since returning from the loan spell at Darlington he is looking a much more confident player. He was excellent all afternoon and his crossing caught the eye. In this sort of form Colbeck can have a big future at City and Stuart will no doubt be telling him to keep it up and not to get carried away.
City’s star performer was on the opposite wing though. Daley has begun performing much more effectively in recent weeks and he was in scintillating form against Accrington. I don’t get to every game, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him play so well for City. He terrorised the Stanley full back and, crucially, is aware of what’s going on around him and doesn’t just run the ball down blind alleys. His work rate was equally outstanding and he helped the defence out on numerous occasions. I think we are belatedly seeing what a good player the Jamaican international is.
Indeed the second half performance left me thinking we’re a decent side at this level. There are areas to improve on, but the main failing in general this season is lack of consistency. If City could play like they did in the second half every week the play offs would still be a possibility. The problem is they probably won’t; I think well enough to enjoy a better second half of the season but, as Stuart said, the teams currently in the play offs are a long way ahead in terms of points.
In the programme, Accrington manager John Colman wrote that he thinks Stanley can make the play offs this season, so to see City easily beat such a poor side who believe they can go up is frustrating. If only City could have started the season better we could now be looking forward to 2008 with more relish. Instead the rest of the season will seemingly be about building for the next one and ensuring that, for City’s next New Year’s Day in August, we hit the ground running.
Bradford City 2 Lincoln City 1 - League Two 2007/2008
For as long as I have been going to watch Bradford City, there have been two basic types of player adorning Claret and Amber.
The first type is the hard working and committed footballer. Always giving 100% to the cause and battling to the end. They may not be the most talented often possessing limited skill, but when the chips are down they can always be counted on to give their all.
Then there’s the second, more skilful type of player. On their day they have the ability to decide a match with the quality to do things that others cannot. They can have you on the edge of your seat, but unfortunately are invariably less consistent and liable to underperform in some games. They frustrate as often as they excite and can’t be trusted to always try their hardest. Are they as committed to the cause as the other type of player? And why do they seem to think they’re above tracking back?
The fortuitous Boxing Day win over Lincoln was ground out by a mixture of both types of players and showed that, as much as most of would prefer to have 11 players sweating Claret and Amber blood to the cause, not selecting players who can produce those moments of brilliance will only get us so far.
Omar Daley is undoubtedly the second type of Valley Parade player. It’s just short of a year since he joined from Charleston Battery and received the huge build up before his debut, but the Jamaican winger has so far flattered to deceive. We know he has the ability to be a match winner for us, but it’s not seen often enough. Daley was largely disappointing during the second half of last season and his miss in that vital game against Leyton Orient still makes me feel angry. He has improved this season, particularly of late, but his inconsistency leaves some fans wishing we could replace him with someone who will always give their all.
Against Lincoln Daley was both typically brilliant and typically terrible. Not everything he tries is going to work and it is frustrating when he loses the ball, but he’s often behind our best attacking moves. He stretched the Lincoln defence and regularly beat defenders; but also largely knew when to pass the ball and bring others into play, even if the ball doesn’t always reach its target.
Midway through the second half Daley had a fantastic opportunity when he broke clear and had two players to square the ball to in the penalty area, but his pass found neither player and the ball was cleared. Then as the match moved to injury time, Daley had an opportunity to charge forward again after been brilliantly found by Joe Colbeck. Again he was running at a back peddling defence and again there were City players rushing to get into the area. On this occasion Daley took his time, slowed down the ball before beating and twisting the defender one way and then the other. With others now in better positions, he delivered an excellent ball across the area which substitute Barry Conlon was able to bundle home at the far post.
It was this piece of brilliance that made the difference and earned City the unlikely win. On an afternoon of high emotion which saw unforgettable scenes before kick off, it was a fantastic way to end the day. Over the last few weeks results and performances have improved, but there have been too many draws and progress up the league table has been slow. Once again it seemed that City’s huff and puff wasn’t going to be enough after Lincoln’s Lenell John-Lewis had cancelled out Peter Thorne’s early opener. Passing moves broke down too easily and corners and free kicks were wasted, service to the front two was again not great and a winning goal seemed beyond City. Cue the moment of brilliance.
More of the hard working but limited players are Joe Colbeck and Kyle Nix, who also both played equally significant roles in earning the victory. Making his first Valley Parade start for three months, Joe got off to a flyer wonderfully setting up Peter Thorne to fire home the opening goal in less than a minute. Ask supporters around the stadium for their views on Joe and you’re likely to receive largely negative responses. Joe is certainly a confidence player and has struggled in front of the Valley Parade glare in the last 18 months, but I don’t think he can ever be criticised for effort.
Joe began this game in flying form although predictably struggled with his final ball. Watching him perform by the Midland Road stand during the second half, it was noticeable how aware Joe seems to be of the crowd. You can seem him glance up when he’s receiving criticism and it seems to affect his game. I believe Joe can become a very good footballer for this club, but he needs to find that mental steel to block out the reaction of the crowd.
Joe’s return to the team has enabled Nix to move into the centre of midfield where he looks a better player. The former Sheffield United midfielder is not the quickest and struggles to beat full backs for pace when whipping in crosses on the wing, but his work rate and ball winning ability is admirable. Moved into the centre, his battling abilities were hugely effective and his passing also really caught the eye. Nix will soon be out of contract at City but there seems to be no question he will earn a more permanent deal. The centre of midfield has been a problem area all season but Nix’s recent performances mean Stuart might prefer to concentrate on improving other areas of the team when he can make new signings in January.
City’s flying start to the game allowed some comfort against an industrious Lincoln side who performed much worse than the Sincil Bank meeting earlier in the season. They did put some pressure on City and forced Donovan Ricketts into two fantastic saves, but City could and should have grabbed a second with only the final ball or weak finishing spoiling some decent moves. It was no surprise that Lincoln came out strongly in the second half but, disappointingly, we conceded a soft equaliser within five minutes, although otherwise our defence was excellent with Matt Clarke comfortably slotting back.
City struggled to pass with any fluidity and lacked quality in the final third, Guylian Ndumbu-Nsungu was hugely disappointing and it wasn’t until he went off and Daley moved up front that we can began to threaten again. Thorne was then replaced with Conlon and, with the 11 players left on the field having managed just six goals between them all season, a winner looked improbable. At least until Daley set up Conlon.
There’s no prizes for guessing which type of player Conlon is considered and it was fantastic for the hard working striker to finally net a goal for City from open play, but it was the delivery of a skilful but not always fully committed player that made it happen. If only Daley could produce like this more often because he is the type of player who makes the difference, but I know that in a few weeks time he will be causing me to tear out my hair in frustration as he disappoints once more. On those occasions it will be down to ever dependable players such as Nix to help City earn something. We certainly can’t manage without this type of player, but also need match winners like Daley to deliver.
Ultimately; the more good days than bad he enjoys, the higher up the league City will climb.
Bradford City 0 Tranmere Rovers 3 - FA Cup Second Round 2007/2008
At 3-0 down and on the way out of the FA Cup nothing seems good.
Stuart McCall had seen his Bradford City team come second best in almost every department to a Tranmere Rovers side managed by Ronnie Moore - a man who further from McCall in the affections of City fans it is hard to imagine - and doing well in the division above.
That thought is mulled around the mind for a while. The visitors are a good distance apart in the league table than City for a reason and those reasons are easily apparent and not only in moments when the loathsome Chris Greenacre is isolated with David Wetherall and exposes the older man’s lack of pace cruelly.
For it is not just the physical aspects of the game in which Rovers obviously superior - and more handsomely rewarded - squad best City in.
Moore’s team is drilled on hard work, learned in the fussless big man/small man pairing up front and in Ian Goodison have a rock of a defender cleaning out all with efficiency.
Contrast this with fellow Jamaican Omar Daley who madly tries to run the ball away from goal at forty yards only to be - once again - easily robbed. Within seconds and without attention from City’s right winger who believes winning the ball is something that the other players do Tranmere had fired into a lead that while threatened by Wetherall hitting the bar and Peter Thorne having a shot cleaned off the line was never overhauled.
Hard to imagine what Moore would make of a player like Daley who seems wear lack of effort like a badge. Hard to imagine what Paul Jewell would make of him but fairly easy to picture the reaction of Jewell’s skipper at City. Why, one is forced to wonder, does McCall allow just a lack of effort to become endemic in his own team? The apathy of Daley is mirrored in GNN and results in heads sinking down and only a handful of players worthy of a place in a ten next to Stuart let alone picked by him.
Stuart has let the bar go so low for effort in his Bradford City team that anyone with the bit between their teeth or the whips of a forceful manager at their backs will who with ease.
Give me the effort of Joe Colbeck, Barry Conlon, and Craig Bentham et al any day for it is not the battles we lose that are a problem at Bradford City - Tranmere deserved the win on their own merits - it is the inability to suit up for the good fight.
Watching the effort put in by Paul Evans go unrewarded as games are lost to malaise as typified by Daley’s could not care less performance, by GNN’s comments about wanting to sign for the club because his own contract at Gillingham is finishing rather than for our club’s benefit, by the sudden increase in minor injuries and illness at the club.
I think of Stuart McCall the player and doubt he would stand alongside it, I look to Stuart McCall the manager and hope that he does not stand for it.