Now we have made it to twelve league games mark, I can prepare some grades for the players on their season so far. I have decided to do it in a kind of school report format, with old GCSE grading being used from A to F (and U for ungraded which only applies if you have been part of the squad for long enough). I have added a scale out of ten rating for those who might be a bit confused by how the whole old GCSE grading system worked too.
This is a bit of fun with a serious side to it as well to give my views on how the first few months of this season have panned out for players. It is based on the period from the start of this season to the 2-1 win against Gillingham, and I am starting with the goalkeepers and defenders in Part One and will move on to the midfielders, attackers and manager in the final part.
Goalkeepers:
Sam Walker – (C+) Gets good grades but still room to improve.
Overall Sam Walker has been one of the best keepers we have seen at the club in recent years, and he has stepped into Harry Lewis’s role and many fans would argue he is a definite upgrade. Yes he dropped a clanger against Carlisle United, but the clangers are few and far between. But you could still argue that Sam Walker could have done better with some of the goals he has conceded, and he could still improve on his distribution. But in general it is hard to argue that he has had a decent season so far.
Grade: C+
Rating: 7.5/10
Colin Doyle – (E) – Not sure why he is still at school at his age.
Unlikely to see any League action Colin Doyle is at the back end of his career and is limited in his ability. But when called upon in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy he has done a good job. But unfortunately much like a player rating on FC25 for him, it is hard to really give him a decent grade because of his limitations in general.
Grade: E (But B+ for effort).
Rating: 5/10
Defenders/Wing Backs
Brad Halliday – (D+) His grades have started to slip since last term.
Last season’s head and shoulders above the rest Player of the Year Brad Halliday has failed to live up to expectations this season. However, I do think there is a reason for that, and in terms of his defending he can still be the player he was last season. It was his defensive ability that stood out for him last season, even though later in the season he was being asked to get forward more in the wing-back role. This season I believe that tactically we aren’t utilising Halliday to his full potential and the expectation of him to push higher up the pitch than he would normally be expected to as as full-back is causing him to get back to his defensive duties late and catching him off guard.
With Jay Benn at the club I felt rather than dropping Brad Halliday, we might just get the best out of him if he was playing as a wide right centre-back. And on Saturday he played this role when we beat Tranmere Rovers. The role plays to his strengths as a defender and pushing up the field just the right amount rather than being totally stretched as effectively a winger. My hope is that Graham Alexander will recognise this as well and start Brad Halliday as a wide right centre-back because there is no reason Jay Benn and Brad Halliday cannot co-exist and bring the team to a new level.
It is his last two performances that have improved his grade though as he is starting to look a bit more like the Brad Halliday we all know and love.
Grade: D+
Rating: 6.5/10
Lewis Richards – (D+) Improvement on last term, hard work paying off.
Last term Lewis Richards looked badly off the pace, with there being a big question mark over his fitness. But so far on the occasions we have seen him play, his all round game looks much sharper. He might still have a bit of a way to go to convince us that he is the answer to the question about our left wing-back position, but he did make a good account of himself when he replaced the injured Tyreik Wright at home to Gillingham. Given the choices we have in that position, and he did put in a very good shift! So I’d expect to see more of him in the coming months and weeks.
But being sharp and fit will be vital to him if he wants to make a claim for getting his position in the starting line-up back.
Grade: D+
Rating: 6/10
Neill Byrne – (D+) – Has underachieved but recently shown he could be a model pupil.
In his first few performances he barely looked like an upgrade on Ash Taylor, but he did show signs of improvement even when there were a lot of questions being asked about his concentration and overall ability to defend.
But unlike Ash Taylor, Neill Byrne seems to be turning the fans opinions of him in his favour. His performance in his last match at home to Newport County certainly did his reputation and no doubt his morale a lot of good. Unfortunate to have missed a few games with injury he was taken off late in that game with what turned out to be cramp, the jury may still be out with him though, as he missed the Tranmere Rovers match with an illness at the last minute. He put in another decent performance when he returned against Gillingham and even bagged himself his for goal for the club which is a bonus.
He is certainly making strides to put some of the early doubts about his ability behind him.
Grade: D+
Rating: 6/10
Aden Baldwin (D-) – Looking forward to seeing him when he returns to class.
Warned by Notts Country fans that Baldwin is prone to the occasional blunder, we haven’t seen any of that and instead saw a defender that looks like a decent replacement for Matty Platt. However, you do have to ask why Notts County let him go in favour of Platt as an upgrade. But early doors he has looked decent quality, and in fairness we haven’t seen enough of him for him to make that occasional blunder we have been warned about.
Sadly an injury has prevented him from seeing much action and getting a better grade, with the injury significantly dragging that grade down. It is worth noting that injuries do play a role in the gradings because it is not just about performance on the pitch but also availability, and just like if you have a poor attendance record at school, or work for that matter, regardless of whether it is your fault or not, it just doesn’t look good on your records. But the good news is he will hopefully be back soon and it will be interesting to see what his next report will look like.
Grade: E+
Rating: 4/10
Tyreik Wright (F) – Must do better next term, on report.
How do you write a report without sounding too harsh? Tyreik Wright really isn’t making it easy for me is he? Where do you start? Let’s start with forgiving him and saying the whole “but he isn’t really a wing back” thing first. And there is some truth in this. And he can be forgiven for tracking back and blocking crosses not really being his thing. Hey, if you’re a winger you want to get forward and expend all of your energy on beating defenders and putting in crosses, hell, even cutting inside and taking a shot from time to time when the opportunity presents itself.
But that’s the problem. He doesn’t. So it is hard to forgive his shortcomings as a defender, when he rarely beats his man and has spent most of the season playing the ball sideways and backwards. There’s no bursts of pace, no dropping the shoulder and going past his man, none of it. And we could even forgive him for that to some degree if it was not for the fact we saw all of this in his first spell with Bradford City which made him such an exciting player and at the time such a big loss when he left to sign for Plymouth Argyle.
So the big question really is why on earth did we sign him? Some people say he doesn’t look interested, and although I don’t agree with that, there is something really lacking in his game that only he knows how to put right. Barring a couple of crosses this season, he hasn’t had much to offer going forward, let alone defending. Sorry to sound so harsh, but I’ve got to call it as I see it.
Grade: F
Rating: 2/10
Ciaran Kelly (E) – Some work seems sloppy and rushed, but know he can do better.
He is a player with obvious strengths to his game but is more a player of moments than consistency, which has been frustrating this season. You can watch him one day and most of what he does is fine, but on another, like with his passing, it can be all over the place.
That is the reason I have graded Kelly so low, I like my central defenders to at least be consistent with what they do. If he was just a head it kick it centre back, he would have fallen short there too, and that’s my problem with him. Has he had good matches? Yes of course, but I want to see more from him, either be a head it kick it defender that wins those duels and gets the ball to safety, or improve your passing accuracy pronto. Let’s hope we see the issues ironed out and his next report improve.
Grade: E
Rating: 4/10
Jack Shepherd (B-) – Settled in very well.
In general his performances have improved and he looks to be settling in well to life at Bradford City. He has had some dodgy moments especially early on in a City shirt, but in his defence he was called upon twice at times when you wouldn’t have expected it, so maybe the early problematic times were down to that more than anything else. But even then, he had already put in a standout performance so things bode well for this one and as things stand he could find himself keeping his place when our injury crisis clears its self up.
He managed to excel himself in his most recent match where it wasn’t his defending that stood out but his striking. He would have opened the scoring had it not been for Calum Kavanagh, but he managed to restore the goal he should have had with a sweet strike just before half-time against Gillingham. It was a strike any forward would have been proud of, and showed a footballer playing with a lot of confidence.
Grade: B-
Rating: 7.5/10
Joe Adams – (N/A) – Looked Promising
Unfortunately an injury has put him out for what looks like the season and his time playing for us was too brief to fairly grade. He is a loanee so cannot be judged by his injury either, and besides it happened in game.
Jay Benn – (B+) – Star pupil so far, keep it up.
Ever since I first saw him in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, I just knew he would be an assist machine. And since getting into the first team he has made a huge impact that has transformed the Bantams into a team that does look like it might just have enough there to win promotion this time around.
The only disappointment is that he is not a permanent signing and just a loanee, because he is the type of player we should be signing on a permeant deal if we really do have any sort of ambition that is in keeping with what we are told by the club.
His defensive work is excellent, but it is attacking where we have seen the best of him, with his crossing being some of the best we have seen at this club for years. Those low crosses he pings across the six yard box are going to cause many a defence, many a problem. So my message is just carry on as you are doing.
Grade: B+
Rating: 8.5/10
Cheick Diabate – (C-) – Struggles with concentration but some solid work.
What do we say about Cheick Diabate? It is so hard to know what to make of him right now. Since I’m supposed to be writing a report, I will use a kind of school analogy to sum it up. He is that very clever kid in school who is always talking and messing around. The teacher will shout his name and ask him to answer the question that was just asked, whilst other classmates are sat eagerly with their hands up. Most of the time he doesn’t even know what the question was because he wasn’t listening, but on other occasions he will surprise everyone by responding with the correct answer. And that perfectly sums up the defending we have seem from Cheick Diabate so far.
Early doors he looked amazing, sure he had a bit of a stuttering start in his first appearance but he was starting to look promising and his performance in the 0-0 draw with AFC Wimbledon looked like we had found an undroppable centre-back. But then everything went south, making fans shake their head in frustration at his mistakes and ability to give the ball away and turnover possession to the opposition more than he found his own player. Defensively he looked all over the place at times.
But there have been occasions where he has shown tremendous pace to get back when balls have been put behind the defence, and invaluable ability he has there. But sometimes that has been coupled with some rash challenges that again frustrate you when you think he could have better achieved the aim of preventing an attack by jockeying the player and waiting for numbers to get back.
So grading him has been really difficult, but I think more often than not he has been pretty solid.
If he can remove the erratic side of his defending, and concentrate a bit more, especially when he is on the ball and passing it, he could be a fantastic defender for us. He is another player I will be watching closely keen to see which way things go for him.
Grade: C-
Rating: 6.5/10
Paul Huntington (N/A) – Looking forward to seeing him next term.
Not seen enough action to grade him. Came in late after the transfer window so does not get a report card.
Callum Johnson (U) Get Well Soon
Unfortunately he still gets a grade, even if you think it is unfair, because the reports reflect all signings at the club, regardless of who the manager was when they were signed. And unfortunately injury has precluded him from making any appearances and it is unlikely we will see him kick a ball for the Bantams in the near future. But all the same, the signing needs to be graded because he has been at the club long enough to get one. And that means my hands are tied so he has to be graded as ungraded. Just like you would have been had you not turned up for a Maths exam, regardless of whether you were ill on the day or not.
Rating: 0/10
Grade: U