Match Report 2001-2002

Saturday 20 October, 2001, Division One

Birmingham City Away

No idea too stupid

It started just after half time and continued until sometime on Sunday afternoon. An open house, a free form of ideas. There was one rule in the planning for the 1992 election campaign of Bill Clinton, the one rule that we appropriated. No idea is too stupid to not say it out loud.

To set the scene, Marcelo of managerless Birmingham City had scored, his team mater Danny Sonner added another and after other Boy Form Brazil had added two more to complete a hat trick the questions was poised: what is going wrong at Bradford City. Open forum, no idea too stupid.

Sack Jim Jefferies

Most obviously the murmurs were about. Jim Jefferies, City boss for less than a year, should carry the can for six defeats out of seven and be sacked, either that or be asked to do the honourable thing and resign. A knee jerk reaction which does not hold water. The club are in some financial mess, disposing of manager and a chuck of the back room staff that would follow him not us would be costly. The quality of replacements is very low. Jim Smith does not a promotion campaign make.

Such talk ignores an obvious point. Jim Jefferies sides are not playing badly. Indeed had Robbie Blake had a touch more match fitness he may have latched onto Andy Tod's through ball and given City a lead on the half hour. Crystal Palace, Wolves and more all point to the fact that even though results are not going City's way, performances are good. Perhaps, the open forum agreed, if City were playing as badly as the run suggests then Jefferies should be going the way of Hutchings, but they are not. City are a team that can play good football, but the players do not seem to know that or at least forget it quickly.

Drop McCall

Stuart McCall is the leader of Bradford City on the field. Very little dispute in that. Similar lack of dispute on the notion that City are showing a lack of cohesion and motivation on the field and that City are having some trouble forcing their game on the opposition. Stuart McCall as hub of team and midfield is normally above reproach but in wide reaching review he should not be. Most heads around the table thought that McCall was as valuable both as player and as captain as he ever has been, but a good few did not.

Make Wetherall captain

A variation on the above suggests that City should make David Wetherall club captain as he is more likely to spend more time on the field that McCall should McCall be "rotated" or dropped.

Ward out

Ashley Ward has one job on the field for City, scoring goals. Benito Carbone and, as with the game at Birmingham, Robbie Blake are responsible for creation and should chip in but Ward should be getting 25 goals and is not. With approach play not a problem for City and defending is not perfect then well manned the forward line is where the team breaks down.

Mills in

Lee Mills, City's 25 goal striker of three years ago is available from Portsmouth for £400,000. We know he can score, we know he can work with Blake and we know that Benito Carbone's loan fee would pay for him.

Drop Jess

Jim Jefferies thinks very highly of Eoin Jess, higher than most City fans seem to. Jess has the talent to run games, but rarely the application. His role in the attacking midfield berth often leaves City undermanned in midfield battles. Perhaps a Locke | McCall | Whalley three in the middle would be more solid.

Sign Juanjo, Winters

Spanish attacking midfielder available soon from hearts should be brought in because City need to create more chances, and Juanjo is a naturally gifted creator. Aberdeen's Robbie Winters, who scored twice on Saturday, is a proven goalscorer and has interested JJ in the past.

Give it time

City were fantastic at the start of the season. Now they look poor. The give it time idea suggests that every club goes through bad form and that this is City's spell. Keep bottle with team and manager and things will return, and stay, good for the rest of the season and onwards.

Advocates of this notion point to Ipswich and George Burley or Manchester United and Sir Alex as prime examples of situations where a twichy chairman would have sacked, throwing away riches to come.

Get Beni back

Benito Carbone is our best player, he should be in our team, not farmed out to Derby. Get him back and build the team around him.

Danny Forrest is the new Benito Carbone

City's problem, this idea has it, is that the squad is too old and knackered. The likes of Lewis Emanuel, Danny Forrest and other reserves should be brought in to provide the legs for the experience the rest of the team has. As a result, this idea says, even missing out on promotion would have the up shot of breeding a good team of kids for the following season.

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All or none of these ideas may have merit. Most not probably. Good news is that the 27 points Wolves led the table with, ten ahead of City, is not a stretching margin after Crystal Palace too over at the top. Time is ticking down, but this campaign is not over. 4-0 at Birmingham is a bitter defeat, but let us not forget the 3-0 pounding at Ipswich that Paul Jewell's City suffered six months before promotion.

Which is why something has to be done to turn this around, because if it is then we could cut through this division as we did in August.