The second part is the following seven games of the season. Overall we are back to where we started, if you considered in the last part I talked about a glass half full or empty situation. However, this does lean more towards the glass being half full rather than empty, with a mark of 5 out of 10 for the period. This means I am giving it a C- which is the same as the C- from the opening games in part one of this review.
To anyone reading this off of the back of a decent streak, only stopped with the disappointing result at home to Doncaster Rovers, I just want to point out that this report begins with our poor performance at Harrogate Town, and that is taken into consideration. So although things may be a lot rosier now in terms of our league position, grouped with the terrible start to part two, it perhaps will read a bit more negatively than the reality of the last five or six matches. Even with the disappointment of the Doncaster Rovers defeat, it is certainly not the end of the world and based on the run we put together and our current league position, Our promotion hopes are very much alive and well, and as things stand, if we just repeat this form good and even the bad, it will be enough to keep us in the play-off’s in May.
How Did Graham Alexander Get On?
Graham Alexander is a respectable C Grading, but there are nagging issues around team selection that concern me. I will return to that in a moment, but for now it is worth saying that under his guidance the team do seem to have a lot more spirit and are much better under adversity than we have seen for many years. Valley Parade has become much more of a fortress giving home fans more to cheer about than we have been used to.
The team are also playing a more dynamic style of football than we saw under Mark Hughes, but that also leaves some question marks over what he wants from his wing backs. Brad Halliday has struggled in his more attacking role, often finding himself getting caught out when attacks break down. Tyreik Wright has been a mainstay in the team much to the consternation of fans who are struggling to understand what exactly he has to offer the team. But it seems very much like the back three are expected to deal with the defensive roles once expected of the wing-backs, and also push up the field and start attacks. In effect it means the wide centre backs are playing the role of the full-back, and the wing backs are more out and out wingers, which explains why Graham Alexander signed Tyreik Wright, even if it doesn’t explain why he keeps picking him.
And this is the main concern about Alexander, which was shown up badly in the 2-1 defeat at home to Doncaster Rovers. Having performed well recently, Lewis Richards made way to a returning Tyreik Wright and there was a good argument that Brad Halliday could have started again after Jay Benn had been out for the last two matches, and, perhaps Calum Kavanagh deserved a bit more of a run out up front with Andy Cook, rather than him giving way in the starting line-up to Tyler Smith. I have argued that maybe in this system Jay Benn and Brad Halliday could co-exist with Brad Halliday having shown his competence as a right centre back in a previous match.
Although Graham Alexander has shown that he isn’t afraid to drop players when performances drop, we haven’t seen chances for players who have shown that the break has done them good and instead persevered with players, Tyreik Wright being the best example, who are under performing. On Saturday, had we seen the players who made an impact as substitutes start, maybe the result would have been different. There is also a small issues that he is leaving his changes too late, as Saturday also highlighted. Had we made the changes earlier we might not have ran out of time to get the equaliser.
Overall Performance Grade C+
Manager Graham Alexander – C-
Harrogate Town 2-1 Bradford City (EFL League Two)
We repeated our habit away from home of being dominated in the first half an hour. Had it not been for Sam Walker the home side could have been out of sight by the time the referee blew the whistle to bring that half to an end.
It was a repeat of Walsall only worse. Instead of being 1-0 down before we scored a first half goal, we were 2-0 down. This time Olly Sanderson was anonymous and Andy Cook scored a goal that gave us some hope.
Away from home it is the off the ball work where we again fell way short. It was best summed up when Richie Smallwood looked for a forward pass but nobody was offering themselves up in the right spaces ahead of him. This lack of options forced him to about turn after throwing his hands in the air in frustration and make a firm backwards pass, with him not hiding his frustration. Another feature to the game was again how often we were being beaten to the second ball.
Match Performance: 3/10
Manager Performance: 6/10
Morecambe 1-1 Bradford City (EFL League Two)
Morecambe away typified a lack of any ability to learn from our mistakes. So it came as no surprise to anyone when once again we found ourselves 1-0 down to a club in crisis that is expected to go down. Derek Adams forced into a similar tactical change to us due to a lack of numbers took the game to Bradford City and the fact they didn’t score four goals is exactly why they are second bottom of the league and not a reflection on any of our qualities, except maybe our goalkeeper on occasions.
Graham Alexander tried to convince us that the performance was an improvement on what we have seen in previous matches, but that fails to take into consideration the lack of quality in the opposition. If it wasn’t for the fact the home side couldn’t hit a barn door, we made look like promotion contenders. Anyone watching us get our point with a late equaliser from Jack Shepard will realise that we didn’t really deserve it.
And it is based on the position Morecambe were in, or more accurately the lack of quality of the opposition that made this worse than the Harrogate Town defeat.
Match Performance: 2/10
Manager Performance: 4/10
Bradford City 3-1 Newport County (EFL League Two)
After two awful performances a lot rested on the return to home action. By now two new players had been signed to provide cover, one at centre back, 37 year old Paul Huntington and centre midfield Corry Evans, both on short term deals until January. The latter brought in as cover for Richie Smallwood who seems to be beginning to feel the effects of playing all but 25 minutes of matches in all competitions, but also due to an injury to Alex Pattison.
Unrest among the fans had started to rumble and a win was vital to stem that unrest and turn things around.
Reverting to a favoured three at the back seemed to make a big difference to the Bantams, with Neil Byrne deserving a lot of credit for his performance overall in this fixture. It was refreshing to see Bradford City having the best of the opening half an hour and deserved the 1-0 lead at the break from Andy Cook.
Although the second half saw the visitors look like they would go on to win, especially when they equalised unsurprisingly with a header from 6 foot 9 inches striker Hudlin, manager Graham Alexander freshened things up with a double substitution which changed the course of the match. Clark Odour was withdrawn after he had seen a lot of the ball but done precious little with it, with his replacement Bobby Pointon making an impact as both provider and goal scorer. The assist was a cut back that fell invitingly for Jamie Walker to put City back into the lead in the 75th minute. And Pointon in danger of getting the tag “impact sub” bagged himself a goal ten minutes later to add some extra gloss to the scoreline. From then on it was pretty much plain sailing for Bradford City as all hope had gone for the Exiles.
All in all the scoreline was more like what we should be expecting from Bradford City against a team overachieving in League Two so far. But it was an important home win and another game undefeated at home to build on.
Match Performance 7/10
Manager Performance 8/10
Tranmere Rovers 0-1 Bradford City (EFL League Two)
Neil Byrne was set to start again but was hit by a mystery illness before kick-off so was replaced by Brad Halliday at the right of the back three. And to be honest this is a role I’ve wanted to see filled by Halliday since the arrival of Jay Benn as the wide right sided centre back role is one that should suit the team and play to his defensive strengths.
And so the big question was whether Bradford City would be any different in terms of performance than, well, all of our other away matches this season. And on the evidence seen in the opening half-an-hour it was a resounding yes. It was an end to end feeling affair but the Bantams this time were getting their fair share of second balls and we’re much more proactive in their endeavours. This was rewarded in the 23rd minute when Checik Diabate laid off the ball from a Bantams corner, to Andy Cook in space, and Cook did what Cook does and added to his tally of goals against Tranmere Rovers and, his sixth league goal of the season, putting him joint to leading goal scorer in League Two.
It’s worth also pointing out that Checik Diabate showed an amazing amount of pace at the back, which is something we have lacked recently. He picked up a yellow card after a recovery where he played the man before the ball, but regardless it was excellent defending. But that was followed later with a bit of a reckless challenge, which is part of the issue with his game at the moment.
Overall it was a good first half performance from the Bantams and they were good for the half time lead.
Tranmere Rovers made three changes at the break in an effort to turn things around, and the second half started at a frantic pace. Bradford City had an early chance when Clark Odour showed confidence in beating his man on the edge of the Tranmere box.
Former Bantam Omari Patrick came in for some stick from the Bradford City fans, and at times provided some danger for the Bantams, but his defensive work wasn’t too shabby either as he frustrated a few Bradford City attacks.
It was a challenge on Patrick in the first half that seemed to be the start of problems for Jack Shepard who limped off in the 55th minute and was replaced by Lewis Richards, another full back at centre back and more defensive injury concerns for manager Graham Alexander.
In the 58th minute we finally saw a bit of the Calum Kavanagh from last season when his shot was well saved by the Tranmere Rovers keeper. Having had an early first half effort blaze over the bar, it’s just good to see his shots on target ratio improving again.
City did have to soak up quite a bit of pressure from Tranmere, but in the 72nd minute Richie Smallwood broke up a Tranmere Rovers attack and Kavanagh surged forward with Andy Cook unmarked in front of him. The choice to play the through ball was a no brainer and Andy Cook put Bradford City 2-0 up and take his tally to 7 league goals.
The 83rd minute substitutions by Graham Alexander made sense as the Bantams looked to see the match out with a clean sheet. Paul Huntington making his debut to replace Tyreik Wright which saw Lewis Richards pushed into his more natural position of left wing-back. And Corry Evans securing midfield by replacing Jamie Walker. It was easy to see the sense behind it, although you could still question whether he could have done it earlier and get some more important game time into two players that need it most.
Tranmere Rovers certainly look stronger than the teams we have failed to beat on the road. But it was a professional performance under pressure to turn things around after those away matches that have gone before it. So for that reason, and the clean sheet, the performance rating deserves to be high.
Match Performance 7/10
Manager Performance 7/10
Bradford City 2-1 Gillingham (EFL League Two)
A good game to see where we were in terms of competing with the top teams in League Two, this was an opportunity for the Bantams to make it three wins in a row.
From the outset both teams looked up for the battle of trying to impose themselves. But Bradford City should have taken the lead through Jack Shepherd had it not been for a selfish attempt to claim the goal from Calum Kavanagh who’s touch over the line ruled out the certain goal for offside.
Minutes later a shot from Kavanagh quickly turned into a counter attack by Gillingham and with 11 minutes on the clock and Byrne and Smallwood having to fill the gap left by Tyreik Wright saw the visitors go 1-0 up. In the aftermath Graham Alexander could be seen berating Kavanagh, possibly reminding him that his selfish actions have real world impacts, and instead of it being 1-1, the Bantams were now behind.
Tyreik Wright was replaced by Lewis Richards after he had gone down injured minutes earlier. Why these injuries seem to be happening in the same positions is still a big question for Bradford City.
Kavanagh had clearly taken note of the earful he got from his manager with a few good moments after that in the first half. One of which lead to Bradford City’s equaliser as he sprinted to get to a loose ball to start a move that ended with centre back Neill Byrne opening his Bradford City account having returned from the illness.
Overall by half-time Bradford City would have been good value for a 2-1 lead, and Jack Shepard decided to reset things by scoring a classy side footed volley from outside the box, a difficult technique to pull off, especially when back peddling to set himself like he did. That was 2 minutes into first half injury time. He wasn’t to be denied this time and City went in 2-1 up at half time, and a well deserved lead.
In the end Bradford City were good value for their 2-1 win and deserved all three points. Gillingham may have been struggling for form, but they are certainly a good side and showed some real quality in periods.
Match Performance 8/10
Manager Performance 9/10
Cheltenham Town 1-1 Bradford City (EFL League Two)
Yet again there was early goal drama, which has become a theme of this season. Again it was disallowed but this time it was Cheltenham who had it ruled out.
The poor refereeing in this one impacted both sides, and the first big call was deciding not to award a penalty to Bradford City for a foul on Lewis Richards that brought him down in the box after the initial incident began outside it. If the referee was blowing for the initial foul, it was questionable why he didn’t blow for it straight away.
Bradford City did take the lead, again through Neill Byrne, and looked like they could get more until things turned and Cheltenham equalised.
Bobby Pointon carved out a few good chances in the second half in a game that failed to live up to early expectations.
But it is a point away from home even if Cheltenham Town will most likely finish the season in the bottom half of League Two.
Match Performance 6/10
Manager Performance 6/10
Bradford City 1-2 Doncaster Rovers (EFL League Two)
The starting line-up saw Tyler Smith make his first start in the league this season and Jay Benn return to replace an unfortunate Brad Halliday who had done little wrong in his last three games but Graham Alexander opted for the better attacking option.
The first half saw a fairly disappointing performance from a Bantams point of view with the visitors looking dangerous from set pieces and on the counter. Cheick Diabate had the standout moment when he got back to put a challenge in that lead to a few looks at the referee, because when you make last ditch challenges from behind in the penalty area, accuracy is absolutely key, and that accuracy is why this moment stood out.
The second half looked promising with the Bradford City fans feeling it too as they were in full voice. Andy Cook was full of endeavour and had a couple of chances to put the Bantams ahead. But it was that danger on the counter that came back to haunt Bradford City as Diabate made a soft clearance that went straight to a Doncaster Rovers player, and instead of tracking the runner he drifted inside with a centre back already covering. The ball was duly slipped to the runner who put the visitors 1-0 ahead.
City then seemed to collapse and Doncaster Rovers went 2-0 up, and they sensed blood as City were all over the place. Graham Alexander had still not made any substitutions by the 70th minute when Doncaster had yet another chance to go 3-0 up, and Rovers had had corner after corner and the Bantams were well and truly on the ropes. Nobody was covering themselves in glory as the manager had five substitutes waiting to come on. Tyler Smith who had done nothing to impact the game was replaced by Calum Kavanagh, Diabate who was being caught out a lot by now was replaced by Brad Halliday. and Tyreik Wright had deservedly been subbed and replaced by Lewis Richards who in reality should have started. Vadaine Oliver came on for Jamie Walker who failed to make an impact, with Jay Benn who also had a poor game replaced by Corry Evans.
City took a few minutes to adjust to the changes and Doncaster Rovers continued to dominate the game and attack the Bantams at will.
But City have shown a bit more character under Graham Alexander and a move that started with a Vadaine Oliver head down to Calum Kavanagh ended in an excellent cross by Richards that was headed home by Andy Cook pulling a vital goal back. A minute later Shepherd put in a cross that was perfectly on the head of Oliver, but he headed wide when he really should have scored.
It had taken until the 80th minute for the Bantams to finally come alive. City did find the back of the net again but Calum Kavanagh’s bad luck stuck again as he was offside when he poked home from 7 yards out.
Bradford City threw the kitchen sink at getting the equaliser but it wasn’t to be. In reality it was too little too late, and you have to ask questions about the team selection when you consider the recent performances of Lewis Richards, Calum Kavanagh and Brad Halliday.
Graham Alexander did make five changes when needed, but he left it very late, and in the end Bradford City ran out of time. Had he got some of the selections right in the first place, maybe there would have been a different result.
Match Performance 3/10
Manager Performance 4/10
In Conclusion
It is just a shame this period had to end with a negative and started so awfully failing to take all of the points in games we should have been winning. But the in-between offers us a lot of hope because we are well and truly in contact with the top three and as I stated at the top of this article, should we maintain this form, however streaky, we will be in the play-off’s in May. We are hopefully starting to see players who have struggled for form, like Calum Kavanagh, start to show shoots of improvement. We are still over-reliant on goals from Andy Cook, but defenders popping up to score goals is a good sign. The longer term is the more concerning issue with it being the loanees who are mainly standing out, Jay Benn of Lincoln City and Jack Shepherd of Barnsley would be real shining lights if they were our own players.
Aside from Gillingham, and of course Doncaster we have yet to really be tested against a promotion contender, you could argue we caught MK Dons at the right time on the opening day of the season, and Gillingham were struggling for form when we beat them, and it was concerning how easily we came unstuck against Doncaster. If we really are serious about a top three finish, we are going to have to move things up a gear against the better teams in the league.
Graham Alexander has given our team a backbone, but a lot depends on the performance of Richie Smallwood, because when he isn’t at his best, neither is the team. However, when he is on his game, the team looks like a decent side capable of beating most sides in League Two. Our runs are streaky, and we could do with a little more consistency against teams we should be beating if we want to make the top three, but the good news is I am talking about what the team needs to do in order to make the top three. As things stand, as I’ve said a few times, if we carry on as we are doing, positives and negatives, we will certainly make it into the play-off’s.
A few changes I’d like to see. I want to see Brad Halliday given a permanent role as the right sided wide centre back, as I think him and Jay Benn can compliment each other in this side. But Tyreik Wright is not doing enough to justify his place in the starting line-up, but this will mean that Lewis Richards really needs to sort out his fitness issues, otherwise it is definitely a position we need to look at in January, which makes the signing of Wright even more frustrating considering we have already paid money and given a player a permanent contract in that position.
Bobby Pointon might be worth trying as a partner for Andy Cook up front, he has struggled with the defensive aspects to his game and I personally think his real talents are in utilising his attacking talents as he would make the perfect foil to Andy Cook, not only with his ability to create opportunities for players around him, but his own eye for goal. This role would provide him with an opportunity to pin down a place in the starting line-up rather than being stuck with the frustrating tag as an impact sub.
Overall Graham Alexander is doing a very good job, he has changed the mentality of the team, which you no longer write off if they go a goal behind. Sometimes he has left changes a bit too late in the day, perfectly highlighted at home to Doncaster Rovers, but hopefully he will recognise this and be a bit more proactive in making changes when the game requires it. But there’s a lot of good reasons to feel confident about the future of this season, and hopefully in the next part I can give a much higher grade to the team.