Match Report 2001-2002

Tuesday 16 October, 2001, Division One

Crystal Palace Away

Two games until the Wee Mon

I do not want Jim Jefferies to be sacked as Bradford City manager, but in my campaign to keep the Scot, who is a very talented manager, in the hot seat at Valley Parade could do with some help from the man himself.

Jim brought out a 532 formation to plug the holes in City's backline and, predictably and in my opinion wrongly, Benito Carbone was the man to step down.

Carbone, dropped for Robbie Blake. Let it roll off your tongue a few times. It was the sort of thing we used to joke about in the promotion season. "That Benito Carbone aint bad, but he is no Robbie Blake". It was not meant to be taken seriously.

Nevertheless Blake asks for a first team start, and Blake receives. His pay back, just before half time was to be through on goal and have the Palace keeper save his drive. Not the deadly finish that you would drop a Beni Carbone for.

Pehraps Blake's greatest contribution over Carbone was the fact that his team mates did not feel the need to feed the younger forward as they do the Italian. With Blake City get a de facto balance which, to put glibly, is that there is less on both sides than when Carbone's skills rend the team lopsided.

City played well, better than we have away from home for sometime, but came up with nothing despite the lion's share of the possession, the best moves of the game and the shots on goal, if not on target.

Matt Clarke will enjoy the result, and the fact that he frustrated the Bantams on the occasion that shots became shots on target. Blake's chance just before half time was followed immediately by a fine save from an Ashley Ward header that was bound for the top corner. Clarke saved well from David Wetherall at corners twice having been beaten by Ward's head only to see the foot of the post save him.

Clarke had more to do than his opposite number Gary Walsh who once again was beaten by a deflected shot. Jamie Smith powered a drive on 18 minutes which struck Clinton Morrison and swelled in. All this after Robbie Blake had been dispossessed needlessly.

After that, indeed for most of the game before that, City had Palace on the rack. We stroked the ball around better, we controlled the pace of the game better and we should have had more but we lacked the spark to take us around or through the home side's massed ranks. All this with Carbone sat on the bench until seven minutes from time. Three points ebbing away, possession without penetration once more. It was reminiscent of the days Premiership pre-Collymore (and for much of the time with and post Collymore). Everything good, but pointless.

Clinton Morrison grabbed a second six minutes into injury time and the scoreline looked harsh on City. Much murmuring about needing luck or an even break but the truth was that what City needed was for chances like Eoin Jess's miss midway through the second half minutes to be put on the right side of the post. Jess seems unmovable in the team. When Jess put a chance that should have been an equaliser wide your eyes could not help but find Beni on the bench.

It would be a great shame if City were to get rid of Jefferies, and rumour has it that the Scot was given four games to turn the season around, because above everything else Jefferies has fashioned a half decent team at City. An injection of funds could turn the half decent team into a full version, the much lauded "real deal", but football has never been about marks for merit and always been about result.

Jim Jefferies has failed in that one thing, getting results for City. If the rumours are true JJ has two games, away at Birmingham and Millwall, to get results or Gordon Strachan will be taking his job.

City Team:

Walsh
Halle Tod Wetherall Molenaar Myers
Locke Jess McCall
Ward Blake

Subs: Whalley on for at half time, Carbone with seven minutes left.