More About Omar Daley
Aldershot Town are on of those “When we were…” teams. They look at their current surroundings - back in League Two - and compare and contrast with City’s time in the Premiership. “When we were in the Vauxhall Square Third Division West this lot were in the Premiership.”
It is motivation and it is true. Teams like Aldershot and Morecambe have risen as we have fallen and to do so they have by in large been organised and managed correctly much as we were on our accent to the top flight. They look at our high watermark and compare it to their low and it gives them spirit which we must overcome.
Aldershot’s return is welcomed. They are a club who suffered at the hands of disinterest and bad chairman but sorted themselves out and went the long route back to the League. The results thus far have been a win, a draw and a defeat at much fancied Shrewsbury and they are becoming known for a dogged resistance. They did have former Bantam Ben Starosta on loan but he has left the club. His name aside they are a squad of honest names many of whom have risen with the club.
Looking to rise with Bradford City is Dean Furman who signs on loan from Rangers but is not expected to start the game with Paul McLaren recovering from his dead leg to partner Lee Bullock in midfield. Expect Furman’s debut after an hour or so to bolster the often flagging midfield. Joe Colbeck and Omar Daley keep places on the flanks but as Chris Brandon returns to training Daley will feel the breath of a replacement on his neck.
The back five of goalkeeper Rhys Evans. Paul Arnison and Paul Heckingbottom as full backs and Matthew Clarke and Graeme Lee in the middle is immutable as is the strike two of Michael Boulding and five goal Peter Thorne although Barry Conlon’s five in one game in the reserves will see him sit on the bench with confidence.
Good teams, and the season so far suggests City are one, pick themselves.
Aside from the Huddersfield Carling Cup debacle, it’s been a very encouraging start to the season for Bradford City. Maximum points collected and only one goal conceded in the league leaves the Bantams among the early pace setters. There’s still a long, long way to go and no one, not least manager Stuart McCall, will be getting carried away; nevertheless a good start is better than a slow one and already high standards have been set for the team to maintain over the coming months.
For us supporters, it’s clear the squad Stuart has assembled for this campaign is stronger than the last. Injuries and suspensions have yet to significantly affect plans, but there is confidence with what is in reserve to cover such occurrences. The test of how the team reacts to a set back has been met once and is probably the only positive to take from the Huddersfield thrashing. It’s a long season, but confidence this can be our year looks justified so far.
Most City fans seem to be positive about our chances, but the feeling of excitement at the prospect of a memorable season isn’t fully there yet. Perhaps stuck in familiar behaviour patterns or too eager to fear the worse, there’s still a degree of negativity around Valley Parade.
Despite some promising team performances so far this season there remains doubts about certain players, not over some of the new faces who are still unfamiliar, but two of those who have never won over the Valley Parade faithful. One of them is Jamaican winger Omar Daley, who seems to remain a figure of hate for some fans. Daley has made a very encouraging start to the season and been a real threat in the games so far. When on the ball running at defenders there aren’t many more exciting sights, but all too quickly the boos will come his way when things go wrong.
With open-mouthed wonderment, I watched fans around me scream abuse at Daley on the opening day of the season against Notts County. City were 2-1 up but hanging on against some strong County pressure with the game in it’s closing stages. In some people’s eyes, the team’s struggle was all Daley’s fault and he suffered some fearsome abuse about not tackling, not passing, passing when he should have run and crossing when he shouldn’t have. A normally mild-mannered man who sits near me was on his feet screaming so much his face turned a shade of purple. It seemed totally unjustified given Daley was defending reasonably well and had put in a decent, hard working performance.
Towards the end of last week Daley was interviewed in the T&A, which gave his detractors another opportunity to abuse him. Daley was quoted saying, “Defending is not a problem for me but you don’t expect me to make a 60-yard run to attack and then make a 30-yard run to defend. I think I’m doing much better in defence than last season and I’m trying to concentrate and hopefully bring an end product to my game.” Underneath the story came angry comments from fans, ignoring the beginning and end to the quote, stating is was a disgrace Omar said he should be above making a 30-yard run back to defend.
To me at least, what City’s number 7 said made perfect sense. He is in the team to attack and set up chances, he will defend when he needs to but he’s playing in front of a full back who’s primary job it is to defend. Why is Paul Arnsion not expected to race forward 60 yards and dribble past three defenders in the process? Should Daley charge back in the manner people expect and City win possession, he will not be in a position up the field to be fed the ball and then charge forward on the break in the manner he has so far this campaign.
Such attacks reveal just how unrealistic the expectations are of Daley. He is expected to charge at defenders and never lose possession (meanwhile City’s full backs are expected to always win the ball when opposition wingers run at them). He should always play a good pass, but never backwards. He should race to the byeline and whip in a delicious cross, then charge back to the other corner flag and prevent a goal. I wish Omar could do all those things and more, but I know we’d be saying goodbye to him pretty soon as such an ability level is far greater than League Two.
I must admit to being seething with anger when I hear the abuse Omar is subjected to by fans. He’s made a great start to the season and the challenge is for him to keep it up until May. He’ll have bad games and hopefully have better ones than he’s enjoyed so far, but when on form he’s an asset to this club and doesn’t deserve the abuse he’s receiving.
He has his faults; aside from the obvious his decision making needs to be better in the final third of the pitch, his brain needs to somehow keep up with his legs better, his temperament can be questionable and he needs to be tougher mentally when things go against him. But this can be improved on and as Stuart selects Joe Colbeck on the other wing - a player vastly improved over the last 12 months - he can be confident that by continuing to develop Daley he can produce a more effective team player.
It seems a section of City’s support has already judged Daley from his poor second-half of last season form and have no time for him now. Looking through the City squad, Daley would rank at the top end of players who let their emotions get the better of him, so barracking him when he struggles is the worst thing we can do. No one should be blinded to his short-comings and three good performances don’t make him a star, but if we supporters can get behind him better he could enjoy a great future with this club.
Rivaling Daley in the abuse stakes is Barry Conlon. At Macclesfield a week last Saturday, some fans chose to boo him as he warmed up on the touchline nearby. When a chant of “Barry, Barry” was started up by some fans, other people became very angry towards them. There are reports that Conlon was booed in some parts of the ground when coming on as sub against Rochdale, while the various City-related message boards wouldn’t make pleasant reading for his family.
Is such abuse justified? The recent criticism has stemmed from Conlon’s poor performance against Huddersfield, yet he was in good company that night among those wearing Claret and Amber. If Omar Daley is criticised for having ability but not showing enough effort, it seems Conlon is criticised for opposite reasons. His detractors argue that all he does is try, but when on form there is so much more to his game. Thinking back to last season some of his best games - Morecambe, Bury and Darlington - all came away from Valley Parade. The majority of City fans have arguably not seen him at his best, with his lack of consistency his biggest failing. He certainly isn’t the most composed in front of goal, but on form he is an excellent target man at this level.
One supporter added to a message board a countdown of how many days Conlon’s contract had left to run, as though life couldn’t possibly be filled with happiness until the day comes to wave him off. It’s quite possible Conlon will be looking for new employment come January and it will probably be justified, but it’s not a forgone conlclusion. Unless Willy Topp or Rory Boulding prove themselves as back up strikers, and/or another forward is signed, it’s likely Conlon will find a six month contract extension in his Christmas stocking.
Such a scenario will no doubt agast some. It’s obvious Conlon has shortcomings and in an ideal world a better replacement will be brought in, but if Conlon can prove himself an adequete back up to Peter Thorne and Michael Boulding over the next few months Stuart may be foolish to cut ties. The five-goal haul in the reserves this week will no doubt help his confidence, but it’s the reception he gets from supporters everytime he plays in the first team which will really matter.
I’m not Conlon’s biggest fan, but I can at least see qualities he brings beyond mere effort. Booing him isn’t going to help him display them more frequently and while he is likely to leave sooner rather than later, why can’t we get off his back in the meantime?
City are no different to clubs up and down the land in that there is always some negativity amongst supporters; but the danger, as we’ve seen in the recent past, is it can undermine the players efforts on the field and hold the club back. No one is asking for blind support and to get behind the players no matter what, but there is a big difference between fair-minded criticism and over the top abuse and to much of the latter is heading in the direction of Daley and Conlon and it’s highly questionable what good it is doing.
Given the lack of success over the past decade, it’s inevitable that most City fans think of the 1998/99 promotion team when they think of the last good City team. Certainly that season players were not exempt from abuse and some, such as our current assistant manager, needed to be tough mentally to block it out. What should also be taken from that team was how well organised it was, with everyone knowing their own role and ensuring they do it. The need for strength and depth was also obvious and while Gordon Watson’s contribution to the promotion was less than Lee Mills and Robbie Blake his goals were no less significant when they came.
Omar Daley is currently in the team and doing his own role, which includes tracking back and helping the defence when needed, very well so far. Conlon was always going to be a back up striker this season and we hope he can make an impact coming off the bench and when starting when others are injured. Just like the rest of the squad, they deserve to receive more support from the stands.
The objectives this season of both players will be similar to us supporters and if we all channel our efforts in the same direction we can all achieve something very special this season.
City’s highly impressive start to the league season continued as they maintained their 100% record to cast aside last season’s playoff finalists Rochdale.
This was the sort of clinical win that really gives us justified hope that City are real contenders this season.
Rochdale proved to be very sticky opponents. In fact they dominated much of the play in terms of possession and threatening attacks. But they critically lacked the killer instinct in front of goal, with £60,000 ex Halifax striker Jon Shaw really disappointing, and justifying Stuart’s unwillingness to part with any funds to secure his signature.
A quick glance at the statistics from the game shows that Rochdale had plenty of shots at goal, but failed to get even one of them on target.
Omar Daley had a good early chance as he took possession of the ball with plenty of space on the left hand side of the penalty area, cut inside to the centre, skipped past a defensive challenge, but blasted straight at Dale keeper Russell. But if truth be told, Rochdale had much the better of the early exchanges.
Their build up play was excellent attacking the Kop , and forced City into one or two hairy moments the back. Too often did Arnison allow crosses to come in from the left hand side and threateningly cross across goal. But Dale failed to deliver the goal that their possession and build up play probably deserved.
City edged in front on 20 when Daley released Peter Thorne on the right hand side of the box. The veteran striker then whipped in a perfectly executed pinpoint cross right onto the head of Micheal Boulding, who headed firmly down to celebrate his first Bradford goal.
Unperturbed by conceding, Rochdale continued to press for the following 15 minutes, but again lacked cutting edge. And they were stunned when Paul McClaren whipped in a brilliant free kick from the left that was nodded in perfectly at the back post by an unmarked Peter Thorne who doubled City’s advantage with a header from close range. The irrepressible Thorne has had a stunning start to the season and is already establishing himself as a legend among the City faithful.
There was still much work to do in the second half, and City did it extremely well defensively. Clarke and Lee grew in stature in the second half, and both Heckingbottom and Arnison carrying out their defensive duties admirably. Heckingbottom in particular had an excellent game – and nearly scored a collectors item goal with a brilliant run in the first half!
Joe Colbeck and Omar Daley didn’t have their most productive games offensively, but in the second half, both showed a desire and willingness to track back defensively to help out their full backs. Their effort did not go unnoticed.
Lee Bullock didn’t really get involved enough for my liking – he had very much an “Eddie Johnson type” game. McClaren seemed to stroll through the game in a pedestrian like fashion without really impressing (apart from the excellent free kick) before going off with a knock.
In a rare second half counter attack, Micheal Boulding raced clear with intent. With Conlon lurking at the back post, Boulding ignored the big Irishman and struck a brilliant low left foot shot that beat the keeper, hit the inside of the post, and rolled across the goal line out for a goal kick. Desperately unlucky was the impressive Boulding , who was always willing to run beyond the defensive back four and produced numerous excellent flicks for Thorne to feed on. Their newly formed striking partnership is looking extremely promising.
With time ticking on , McCall basically extinguished any chance of City scoring again by leaving Barry Conlon on his own up front. TJ Moncur came on as part of a five man midfield that was the kill the game off as a contest. Not even the player that outdid City twice last season - Adam Le Fondre, could change the course of the game. He was unlucky late on with a strike that bounced off the cross bar.
But in truth, on reflection over the 90 minutes, City were comfortable and had quite convincingly cast aside the much fancied Rochdale.
They say the makings of a successful team is how they react to defeat. That hellish rainy night at Legoland has not impacted our team and what we are setting out to do in the league. We have followed up that crushing defeat with 2 wins, 4 goals and 2 clean sheets. And even in the game against Huddersfield, we more than held our own for 60 minutes.
The way the team have battled back at Macclesfield, and now against a very good Rochdale team proves that we really are worthy of the League Two hype this year. We have been excellent in every department, and if we can keep that up consistently this season, there is no doubt we will end up as Champions. Inside of sulking about losing to our local rivals we have put on two excellent displays.
Can we keep it up? I think so. City are the real deal this time round and, given the evidence of our nearly fully fit team so far, you would be foolish to bet on them finishing outside the top three.
The important and exciting thing this season is that every position seems to be covered squad wise so that even if injuries become a factor, we have good players who can step in. If Thorne or Boulding are injured, Topp, Boulding (R) or Conlon (or maybe not?!) can step up. If Omar Daley is showing inconsistent form, Joe Colbeck can step in on the right. If Lee Bullock is out injured again, the hungry Luke Sharry wlll want to grab a first team opportunity with both hands. If Matt Clarke’s decision making is called into question at the back, Mark Bower will slot in bringing his experience at the club to the forefront.
These are the type of advantages and options that we have not had since 1999.
This is our season.
It has to be.