BfB

As the colourful barge made its stately progress along the dappled waters of the azure canal, sunlight glinted on the gilded decorations that adorned it and the scent of the exotic drifted up from the fertile greenery of the spice trail below. Entering the Citadel through the West gate, I marvelled at the myriad sights and sounds of the great marketplace. Intricately woven fabrics in vibrant colours formed a dazzling backdrop to the stalls offering wares from the four corners of the known world.

Purchases made, I proceeded across the Citadel to the gently eddying shores of the central lake, settled on a sumptuous divan and sipped on a sherbet as the sun played though the fountains forming jewelled rainbows on the sand. Music from a damsel with a dulcimer drifted on the warm breeze that soothed my brow as I waited with others to join the caravan heading for the pleasure dome in the snowy hills…….of Odsal!

A knocking at the door woke me from my reverie and my visitor (not from Porlock) reminded me it was match day. The dream was broken and by the time I could regain my thoughts I feared the vision would be lost.

I needn’t have worried. It seems that the image of the future of the city of Bradford, those computer-generated drawings that promise so much, are safely stored and awaiting the magic moment that will bring them to life. But to some, the future of Bradford City this season also lies in drawing.

Comments overheard on the way out after last Saturday’s game included “That was a must-win game”, “Our season’s over” and “We’re drawing games we should be winning.” Whilst I agree with the final remark, the first two are as way off the mark as some of the plans for the city that remain on the drawing board.

Some games are “must-win”- the Wembley play-off final and David Weatherall’s winner in the end of season game against Liverpool both fall into that category. But to say that our season is over by mid November is pessimism beyond belief..

At this stage we have drawn eight league games but we have only lost * and we remain in contact with the play off spots at least. It’s true that turning our home draws into wins would put right where we want to be, but waht’s done is done and we remain I mid-table. This said, not once in any of the games I have seen – and some that I have heard on the radio – have I felt that City were prepared to settle for drawing. The team is set up to win, creates enough chances to win (and win well in most games) but just haven’t quite made it in the games we have drawn.

The reasons for this include amazingly poor refereeing, an unfortunately long injury list and extremely difficult playing conditions. Some would also say that the manager’s tactics and formations have contributed but, more than ever, this season I feel that Stuart is seeing and making the changes needed as well as coping remarkably well with the changes that a depleted squad has forced upon him.

A point against Bournemouth seemed to satisfy most of the crowd, given the circumstances and the opposition, but could have been all three. A point against Accrington Stanley seemed to satisfy very few, given the circumstances and the opposition, but again could and should have been all three again. But a “must-win game” in mid-November? I don’t think so.

City have “got into the habit” of drawing games. Drawing in Johnstone’s Paint could still bring very interesting outcomes. (Why do I think of Rolf Harris when I write that?) But football matches don’t always have winners. Drawing is an inevitable part of the process. Drawing at home is just as likely as drawing away and in both cases the outcome is just one point.

Now this might seem like stating the blindingly obvious but it’s the reaction to the drawing that puzzles me. Winning, even winning badly if there is such a thing, tends to send people home happy – just ask the French! Losing can still give you a feel good factor as we have seen this season. But drawing seems to bring out the negatives in far too many. Whether it’s a dramatic fight-back to rescue a point or the inability to finish off a team that is hanging on, the eventual reaction is one of two points lost or even thrown away.

Saturday’s inability to accept the gift horse offered should not dampen spirits as much as the weather. Bad days happen. But to say the season is over at this stage is just plain crazy as history has shown us only too well. Drawing may be disappointing but – pardon the pun – it is important to see the bigger picture. The current Bradford City is a work in progress and I firmly believe it will produce a result we will be happy with.

Rolf Harris (that man again) delighted in asking his audiences, “Can you tell what it is yet?” long before the picture became clear. City’s drawing is worthy if the same question. And whilst the outcome may not be as assured as Rolf’s, it is still more enjoyable to watch it develop than to dismiss it before it is finished.

So, as we crawl along Canal Road in the rain, past the Polluted Water signs and the galvanising works, buy sweets from a car boot and take in the scent of burgers and coffee that drift down Midland Road, I accept the reality of the city rather than the computer – drawn dream and I know I will be back at the real pleasure dome… just as long as they don’t move it to Odsal!

As for Coleridge, the images he captured from his interrupted dream became a classic poem – only to be revised almost two hundred years later by that well-known team of architects, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch.

As for me, if the opening references seem somewhat obscure, contrived and more suited to a B.A. than a BfB. I apologise. But for those interested, join me next time when my subject will be “Man of the Match: L.S.Lowry and the early work of Status Quo.”

Enjoy the games – that’s what they’re for.