Match Report 2001-2002

Saturday 13 October, 2001, Division One

Wolverhampton Wanderers At Valley Parade

City lose at home but the real deal is yet to come

There are three reasons that Bradford City lost comprehensively to Wolves.

Firstly, and let us not over stress the point, was a Mr T.P. Danson, City's refereeing adversary from way back. Memory seems to recall him once adding a full eight minutes of injury time when City lead 2-1 against Burnley some years ago, time enough for the home side to equalise. Put simply Danson is a poor referee. Poor for both sides and poor for players. Today's shining example was the straight arm by two goal man Adam Proudfoot across Gunnar Halle. It can only be violent conduct, but Danson, keen to avoid the paper work attached to a red card, likes to hope that such things are accidental and look worse than they are. I'm an sure that if I was writing a Wolves report I would be able to say the same thing about a City player. Danson will never make a big decision.

See also the booking for Gary Locke for a late challenge twenty minutes after a later lunge by Kevin Muscat had left a heap of Gareth Whalley. Locke was booked as Danson tried to get some control of a game he had allowed to become too physical and been guilty of "missing" a serious of late tackles. Locke's crime, it seems, was to be not late enough and unlike Muscat did not benefit from Danson having trotted away. The First Division is big business, too important to allow a monkey like this to decide the outcome of games. No, I probably would not be saying this if we had won 3-0 but that does not mean that it would be any less true.

Secondly in our three reasons was the 442 that Jim Jefferies adopted as the answer to the fact that every team in the division had cottoned onto the holes in our 433. In the week I suggested that City would need the flank two of a striking three to get through more work, JJ's attempts to plug the problem were along a similar tack, making sure full backs and wingers could not double up on City's back line, but where as an the 433 with Benito Carbone and Eoin Jess running their legs off for the whole game would have meant tired players, the 442 meant players out of position.

Gareth Whalley, the left winger for the afternoon, lacked any width in his game and was unable to beat men to get in crosses. He was useful when he drifted inside, but wasted on the wing. Eoin Jess also only really shone when he drifted inside. It is odd that Jim Jefferies decided to go to a wide man formation in the week that Jamie Lawrence was injured, Nick Summerbee rejected and teenage right winger Adam Hardy sacked.

Put simply City do not have the personnel to play the 442 effectively, we can play the 433 very, very well and have done which leads us to the third reason.

The player played badly.

I have seen those eleven players play much better. I have seen Stuart McCall pass better, I have seen Eoin Jess get involved more. I have seen Ashley Ward spend more time on his feet and less getting involved in running push battles with defenders that always result in giving away more free kicks than you win. I have seen Benito Carbone pick out men in the box better. In short I have seen these players doing better.

The slide in City's performances were not the result of some huge change in tactics or indeed on a schedule problem, although the latter has not helped, but rather because the players are not playing to the best of their abilities. Jim Jefferies and co need to remedy this situation obviously, but although they will in the long term be held responsible, the players must take a share of the blame.

City never looked like being able to pass a way through Wolves and the two up front were too often working from long balls to Ward. All of which ignores the large chucks of play City controlled. It is true that at times the Bantams passed the ball well, but the comfort that went with the early games is gone as has the invention in the attacking. Corners came in at a good height from Gareth Whalley but were read easily by Oakes in the visitor's goal. For a spark of the Carbone that terrorised or the Ward of trashing Barnsley City would have gone in at half time comfortable, City toiled in attack.

For the record Wolves took a lead against the run of play just before half time, a Nathan Blake shot being parried by Gary Walsh and swept in by Adam Proudlock in a pretty obvious offside position (see point one above). Second half City had more of the game again and David Wetherall sloppily failed to trouble the Wolves goal when reaching a corner first with his head. Colin Cameron smashed a shot home on 70 minutes via a chunk of a forward's arse that wrong footed Walsh. Proudlock got his second five minutes later.

City showed signs of life, Benito Carbone looked lively and Robbie Blake made his curving runs after coming on as sub but to no avail. Roland Harris warned that City would end up midtable with performances like this, today's showing does not suggest that a promotion place is on.

However six weeks ago City ruled the division, now Wolves do but they are far from the real deal. 3-0 flattered them and they did not look as fluid as City had earlier in the year. Expect the divisional lead to change hands a number of times again this season and despite the recent insipid form, do not rule City out.

Because on the form of early season City would have ripped this top of the table Wolves apart.

Man of the Match

Gary Locke

Provides the thrust in midfield and always willing to try more imaginative balls that have some chance of leading to openings as opposed to shovelling the ball of to those near by Jamie Lawrence style.

City Team:

Walsh
Halle Wetherall Tod Jacobs
Jess Locke McCall Whalley
Ward Carbone

Subs: Robbie Blake for Gareth Whalley