Match Report 2002-2003

Tuesday 18 March, 2003, Division One

Sheffield Wednesday at Valley Parade

City get pegged back unjustly

The words Referee Alan Butler fill any Bantam heart with a deep sense of injustice. Norwich City away in 1998-1999 where he gave a penalty against Andy O'Brien who was closer to the half way line than the "offence" being a fairly accurate mark of his standards. Tonight was no real exception. Chronically poor stewardship by the man in the middle.

Which is to take everything away from the hapless Sheffield Wednesday side who Butler excepted would have gone back to South Yorkshire with what they deserved from this game, nothing.

Butler did nothing to prevent the overtly physical play of the Owls although one would point out that he was especially pernickety when it came to Bantam infringements. Claus Jorgesen was battered up and down the left flank by Owl Paul McLaren yet predictably enough when Jorgi snapped back he got a yellow card. More on McLaren, Jorgensen and the cards later.

City started the game as if they had taken heed of the talk of a poor record against the teams at the bottom of the division. Within fifteen minute Ashley Ward has pinged two off the posts and charged around like Ronaldo winning everything and unsettling the Owls backline. The Owls were second best.

The solution for any team second best is always to get physical and City, with the exception of Peter Atherton, are a team unable to mix it. Butler handed out a flurry of cards to City players but did nothing about the near the knuckle play of the visitors. A simple "Cool it" might have got Wednesday to cap the physical game.

But why should they you ask, dear visiting Owl? Why should Sheffield Wednesday not be allowed to be as physical as the like even if they do go to the edge of the laws of the game? Isn't it the job of the Bantams to respond within said rules and that of Butler to enforce those rules.

Oh but that were so.

Ashley Ward set Claus Jorgensen away in the box, the Dane jumped two meaty challenges before being felled clean through on goal by Danny Maddix. The laws of the game say that Maddix should have been sent off. I think that the rules are fairly poor in terms of presenting a good contest worth paying for but they are the rules and if Butler is going to stick to them for the rest of the game, why not here?

Andy Gray tucked the penalty away and City really should have made more of the fifteen minutes before half time and the ten after before Lewis Emanuel, who like Jorgensen had been victim of some meaty tackles that some Referee's would have booked for this season, limped off. Nicky Law dropped one; he brought Michael Standing on for Lewis and no one quiet new where they were supposed to be and once it turned out Jorgensen was left back, no one was especially impressed either.

Butler gave everything the Wednesday way but that did not seem to be doing the trick for the Owls so he sent Jamie Lawrence off after he contested a header with Paul McLaren and McLaren stayed on the floor. It was a rank decision but not unexpected. The game, and perhaps the man in the middle, got what they were after when Tony Crane popped the ball in in a goalmouth scramble. Crane was booked for over celebrating showing that Butler can be just as pedantic to the Owls as he could to City.

It amazes me how games are refereed. Crane is booked and so is Dean Smith of Wednesday who piled in from behind Ashley Ward who was on his way to goal. Ask yourself the question what do I not want to see at football: Players celebrating goals or player running at goal? Smith got in the way of a bit of exciting football that could have resulted in a goal, how can that be punishable in the same way as a guy getting happy?

Frankly though I could care less that Crane was booked. I'm a simple man. I like my football between twenty two men and my games fair. In a few weeks Crane might be suspended for cheering but that affects other clubs and not us. Their is not a shred of doubt in my mind that City would have beaten Wednesday had Butler not sent Lawrence off ergo Butler perverted the game which is pretty much the opposite of what he is on the pitch to do.

Still Brighton got three points at City without scoring. It's only fair that other clubs at the bottom would get freebies from VP.

Man of the Match

Ashley Ward

Looked like Ronaldo for about fifteen minutes. Looked liek a very good player for the rest of the game.

Bradford City Team

See also:

• The Jonathan Jackson column: Done by the Butler (again)