Bradford City (A) April 23rd, 3pm

[SuperDon]

it looks like losing pennington was just as bad as losing evans :( but that's what you have to put up with when you pin your hopes on loan players

On the bench today at wembley. Fair play.

[chunkster]

it looks like losing pennington was just as bad as losing evans :( but that's what you have to put up with when you pin your hopes on loan players

On the bench today at wembley. Fair play.

i hope the lad gets to play and we get him back. his confidence would be sky high :)

[coop63]

Not being negative and not being defeatist but just being honest.....

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Dreadful by the sounds of it today - why didn't we have a motivated team turn up?

Mr Whitney better not try to put a +ve spin on today - bad idea if he does

Let's be fair - apart from the Gills game we have been relatively poor for quite a few weeks - lucky at times and denied possession by other teams when they choose to play against us.. Swindon were the better team on Tuesday ..

My biggest worry us that our form and confidence going into playoffs will be awful if this result affects the team... If we don't win 2 of the last 3 then frankly any of the other playoff contenders will swipe us aside.. Millwall, Bradford and likely Barnsley have all made us look average this season - that coupled with low confidence could prove to be our downfall as we approach the business end...

Ok Mr Whitney let's see what you are made of!!!

UTS

[chestersaddler]

I'm not sure Ancient Moaner will ever recover from this. If he does he will remind us of the defeat for years.

[Acuman]

Bit of a disaster,
We don't even get to send the Shrews down. The fat lady isn't signing yet but is clearing her throat!
We need a reaction Tuesday and 3 points, then remember
Gillingham need to win at Burton to maintain playoff chances, they have Millwall at home last game.
Doncaster look like they will need to beat Burton at home to stay up, they have Crewe away next week.

Win Tuesday and it keeps the pressure on Burton, let's see if they can handle it or drop a few points, it could still be written that Andy Butler sends us up.

If not three wins needed to go into the play offs with some regained confidence and momentum, I don't fancy us against, Barnsley, Millwall, or Bradford atm

[Guest]

sloppies won't be an easy game. they beat gillingham 3-2 away today

Puts our win against the Gills into perspective. They've now lost their last three home games.

[Fish]

Not being negative and not being defeatist but just being honest.....

Auto promo obviously gone

Dreadful by the sounds of it today - why didn't we have a motivated



Mr Whitney better not try to put a +ve spin on today - bad idea if he does

Let's be fair - apart from the Gills game we have been relatively poor for quite a few weeks - lucky at times and denied possession by other teams when they choose to play against us.. Swindon were the better team on Tuesday ..

My biggest worry us that our form and confidence going into playoffs will be awful if this result affects the team... If we don't win 2 of the last 3 then frankly any of the other playoff contenders will swipe us aside.. Millwall, Bradford and likely Barnsley have all made us look average this season - that coupled with low confidence could prove to be our downfall as we approach the business end...

Ok Mr Whitney let's see what you are made of!!!

UTS

Motivation isn't the problem. If you don't play your best players or don't play them in the right position you don't win anything. Playing Henry in front of Taylor just doesn't work.

[ToeJoe Jnr]

Since the start of the year we have only won one game by a margin of 2 goals or more. Therefore the 7 goal swing today is effectively like losing 4 points to Burton. In my mind that is automatic gone as I just can't see us making the goal difference up and making up the points gap. So much for the games in hand!

Have we got the mentality and the legs for the play offs, that is the concern. Our current aggregate scores against our competition in the playoffs are as follows:

Millwall - 1-3
Bradford - 2-5
Barnsley - 3-3

My backside is twitching and in the space of a week the positivity is seeping away at a rapid pace. This is the first time all season I have thought we've blown it and looking at the facts above are making it worse.

My hope is we do it the Walsall way, make it hard for ourselves and go up against all odds.

[coop63]

Bit of a disaster,
We don't even get to send the Shrews down. The fat lady isn't signing yet but is clearing her throat!
We need a reaction Tuesday and 3 points, then remember
Gillingham need to win at Burton to maintain playoff chances, they have Millwall at home last game.
Doncaster look like they will need to beat Burton at home to stay up, they have Crewe away next week.

Win Tuesday and it keeps the pressure on Burton, let's see if they can handle it or drop a few points, it could still be written that Andy Butler sends us up.

If not three wins needed to go into the play offs with some regained confidence and momentum, I don't fancy us against, Barnsley, Millwall, or Bradford atm

There's the problem mate - we all know playoffs us all about confidence and momentum and if we don't finish with a flourish we run the risk if being low on both...

Hope I'm wrong but the lads we e m to react badly to certain players being absent - after Evans left we blipped big time - if we do t he same with Pennington going then frankly it could be a bad end to a great season...

UTS

[coop63]

Not being negative and not being defeatist but just being honest.....

Auto promo obviously gone

Dreadful by the sounds of it today - why didn't we have a motivated



Mr Whitney better not try to put a +ve spin on today - bad idea if he does

Let's be fair - apart from the Gills game we have been relatively poor for quite a few weeks - lucky at times and denied possession by other teams when they choose to play against us.. Swindon were the better team on Tuesday ..

My biggest worry us that our form and confidence going into playoffs will be awful if this result affects the team... If we don't win 2 of the last 3 then frankly any of the other playoff contenders will swipe us aside.. Millwall, Bradford and likely Barnsley have all made us look average this season - that coupled with low confidence could prove to be our downfall as we approach the business end...

Ok Mr Whitney let's see what you are made of!!!

UTS

Motivation isn't the problem. If you don't play your best players or don't play them in the right position you don't win anything. Playing Henry in front of Taylor just doesn't work.

I agree motivation is less important on a general (in regular season) game by game basis and god knows why he changed it to that formation because it clearly dent work against any team..

Where I maintain momentum is everything is in playoff territory - its competition football and momentum and confidence ARE critical .... Even your best players won't get you over the line if you don't believe it will happen..

UTS

[Acuman]

One thing that didn't help today, we evidently planned to go three at the back, Downing Oconnor, Pennington , we had to change that at the last moment, having trained all week, worse still we didn't plan three at the back and changed it at the last moment, our prep was shot to s**t but we should have coped better.

[Gripper]

Listened on the radio, could've gone but the cost stood in my way...was going to be £60 before I had got there...That'll be an away I save for the play off's I think..

The comms made out as if we got absolutely battered all game and seemingly got what we deserved.

We've gotta win 2 of the last 3 or else that would make a huge difference to our confidence what happened today I reckon.

Dawned on me how well Burton have done from scoring so little goals, absolutely outstanding, I take my hat off to them.

[chunkster]

if only hiwula's shot had gone in. i think we would have been talking about a different game. it sounded like we played ok first half. but like i said before, how many times have we hit the woodwork? it's bad luck like that, that can define a season :(

[SWS1]

Not chuffed to say the least but, look, we'd all have taken our current position in August. It's been a great season so it's sad that it's probably going to be ultimately disappointing, but it's only disappointing because hopes have been so high so often. Come on. We'm Worsul, ay we? And, you never know, miracles do happen. Ask Darren Byfield and the rest of Walsall on that great day....
:D :( :D :( :D :( :D

[scott_powell]

Toothless bottlers

Play offs it is.

[m&m]

I like John Whitney.I do agree with jimmy walker on wm though.
For those that didn't hear it Whitney was basically saying that certain players bottled it and they need to take a look at themselves.
Walkers retort was that they didn't bottle it in the first half and should have employed better tactics and had a go at Bradford in the second half instead of seemingly being happy with the draw.
I want to see our best starting 11 on Tuesday. This means playing our leading scorer(not pumping long balls at him though) and also playing the most talented left back we have ever had at err...left back.
I'd also be more positive and start Morris.i really hope that Demitrou has overcome his fatigue for Tuesday.

[cumbria-saddler]

90 minutes of just hoofing it up to their wall of defenders. Having got to half time 0-0 I thought we might have changed tactics second half, but didn't.

Etheridge - few good saves, but flapped for one of their goals, cant remember which.
Kinsella - wasn't strong enough against them today, but to be fair we had no one else to play right back with Demetriou out.
Downing - to be fair, he had a good first half defensively, blocked a couple of certain goals. Far too many pointless long balls.
O'Connor - solid first half, but him and PD couldn't win a header in our box second half.
Taylor - average.
Chambers - did what he could, but he cant do the work for two midfielders (both defensive or attacking)
Mantom - didn't have a good game, gets in positions to win the ball but then doesn't put a foot in.
Forde - works hard when we don't have the ball, but when we do seems to be 5 yards from where he should be to receive a pass.
Sawyers - our best player by a mile. Seemed to have the bit between his teeth at one point too.
Henry - no chance against their defenders twice the size of him.
Hiwula - he looked frustrated first half when we were playing long balls over his head. I don't remember a good ball played through for him to run on to apart from the one he hit the bar with (very unlucky), Also unlucky with the long range effort in the second half.

[Fish]

I like John Whitney.I do agree with jimmy walker on wm though.
For those that didn't hear it Whitney was basically saying that certain players bottled it and they need to take a look at themselves.
Walkers retort was that they didn't bottle it in the first half and should have employed better tactics and had a go at Bradford in the second half instead of seemingly being happy with the draw.
I want to see our best starting 11 on Tuesday. This means playing our leading scorer(not pumping long balls at him though) and also playing the most talented left back we have ever had at err...left back.
I'd also be more positive and start Morris.i really hope that Demitrou has overcome his fatigue for Tuesday.

I was really impressed with Walker's analysis and understanding throughout. It's a pity that he was behind the microphone and not sat alongside Whitney.

The selection and tactics were inexplicable. And as Wakka asked why was the more mobile and dangerous Henry taken off and Sawyers shunted wide instead of where he is most effective?

If anyone bottled it, sad to say Witters did.

[PT]

We were bullied and allowed ourselves to be bullied.

I'm not sure how we can "believe" when the manager doesn't.

If, as someone stated above the plan was to go with three at the back then why not "believe" in Matt Preston who at least might have laid a glove or two on Hansen?

If we genuinely "believe" in the way we play then why go back to the consistantly unsuccessful Taylor/Henry thing? Henry at left-back plus Kieran or Milan is a "believe" statement, Taylor and Henry isn't.

If we "believe" that "we play football the way it should" then why not do that rather than do a crap impression of our more direct opposition?

OK, rant over. We're a decent side but we're soft. Onto the play-offs, which is a phrase I didn't dream I'd be saying last August.

[pumajaguar]

Where to begin? Just so, so, poor.

First half was relatively even but Bradford edged it, putting a lot of dangerous balls into the box. We looked like we could caused them problems on the rare occasions where we tried to move their defence around with the ball on the ground, see Hiwula's unlucky effort against the bar, but in the main we just lumped it long and were thus playing the game exactly the way Bradford wanted it played.

So many balls were coming into our box that it was inevitable one would go in. When it did we crumbled. Downing was so weak for their second goal and seemed to have given up for the third.

We finally started to play some decent passing football when we were 4-0 down and Bradford had put their feet up ready for their next game.

Bradford asked serious questions of us and were really up for the fight, like at Sheffield and Oldham, we opted to lie down and let them walk over us rather than raise our game as needed.

Very disappointed tonight.

[Ancient Moaner]

You were too kind on them PT, what you REALLY meant to say was that the whole team to a man were utter and total shite!! (Particularly Mantom & Downing)
We are going nowhere other than another season in the 3rd Division
I am utterly ashamed that we actually will make the play off's, cus we will be embarrassed out of them at the first hurdle.
The team (if it could be described as such an animal) was an embarrassment to the fans today, only a few hardy souls stayed to the bitter end, we all wanted the ground to swallow us all up as the Bradford fans made our misery complete with their mock applause at our feeble attempts to get out of our own half, when the home side switched off in the last ten miserable minutes.
Worst day of the season, when our dreams went up in smoke, inept & passionless, no guile, no commitment, no organisation, no penetration, devoid of any ideas at all, we were utter crud. Should have been 5 or 6-0 easily, we put forward no defence against Bradford's clever, direct approach.
When was the last time a Walsall forward scored 3 goals? Indeed when was the last time we scored 3 goals in total?
The bantams thoroughly deserved their biggest home win of the season in front of their biggest gate of the season, they will probably win the play off final against Millwall.

[hullsaddler]

Obviously massively disappointing. Thought we had done well to hold them to a goalless first half & who knows if Hiwula's shot had been an inch lower. They were much the stronger combative side. It was more of the same in the 2nd half but this time they scored the goals that their superiority deserved. I never normally leave early but I left with 7 or 8 minutes left as the attraction of getting a train home an hour earlier was overwhelming. Was waiting for the roar as a 5th went in as I walked away from the ground. Thought Mantom was a weakpoint & Forde was ineffective. I also am very strongly of the point of view on UTS that if Henry plays then he should be played at full back.
Think we are going to struggle in the play-offs. Desperately hope I'm wrong, I have been at 5 of the 6 games we have lost away from home in all competitions so perhaps I shouldn't go. I would have happily settled for where we are now at the start of season, but now feel it's going to be a 'what might have been season'. Perhaps momentum can be created over the last 3 games but I'm not expecting it. God I feel depressed at the moment.

[PT]

You were too kind on them PT, what you REALLY meant to say was that the whole team to a man were utter and total shite!! (Particularly Mantom & Downing)
We are going nowhere other than another season in the 3rd Division
I am utterly ashamed that we actually will make the play off's, cus we will be embarrassed out of them at the first hurdle.
The team (if it could be described as such an animal) was an embarrassment to the fans today, only a few hardy souls stayed to the bitter end, we all wanted the ground to swallow us all up as the Bradford fans made our misery complete with their mock applause at our feeble attempts to get out of our own half, when the home side switched off in the last ten miserable minutes.
Worst day of the season, when our dreams went up in smoke, inept & passionless, no guile, no commitment, no organisation, no penetration, devoid of any ideas at all, we were utter crud. Should have been 5 or 6-0 easily, we put forward no defence against Bradford's clever, direct approach.
When was the last time a Walsall forward scored 3 goals? Indeed when was the last time we scored 3 goals in total?
The bantams thoroughly deserved their biggest home win of the season in front of their biggest gate of the season, they will probably win the play off final against Millwall.

Good to see you and Belge today. You're right -we were shite. The manger got it wrong but that's no excuse for some of the players who quite obviously just didn't fancy it today.

[JonnyOwen]

Just back in.

Feel terrible, what a cack day.

Paul Downing is a joke of a footballer. Sam Mantom yet again did one of his disappearing acts.

Sorry Whitney but that was a SOD esc line up, SOD esc tactics, SOD esc mentality and guess what we ended up with... a SOD esc performance.

Hiwula up top on his own isolated. Sawyers in behind him, also isolated whilst Forde and Rico played carer to their full backs which made them... isolated. The central midfield had no grip on the game and when we managed to get it out of our defence everyone upfield was isolated thus resulting in us (usually Downing) playing hoofs up to Jordy to give them the ball straight back.

Lastly, how is Paul Downing a vice captain? He was completely spineless and put in YET another terrible performance - Preston is thrice the player he is.

[Ancient Moaner]

I'm not sure Ancient Moaner will ever recover from this. If he does he will remind us of the defeat for years.

Hope you were not there to witness that debacle Chester, you would have given up on footy and moved into a monastery!
I had to ride home with a devastated, un-consolable Belg! two not very happy souls!! :?

[tinned]

Bunch of bottlers that believe their own hype that we deserve promotion.

Too much fannying around with going nowhere passes and then a big punt up to Mr fudge Invisible.

I like Whitney but there's more to football management than beating your chest.

[chunkster]

what i can't believe is the fact that we are stature wise a small team that play some fantastic passing football. so why oh why to we persist in hoof ball ????

[Cully]

Yet another weak uninspiring insipid performance. We have now failed to match our opponents week after week home and away for the majority of our games since Christmas and by matching our opponents I mean effort and determination not skill. We're weak in the tackle when we get around to making one which in itself is a rarity, we don't have any sense of urgency and quite frankly far too laid back. It's no wonder with the 'situation sensitive' and 'don't say how it is because I might upset someone' Whitney in charge. Who's idea is it to randomly hoof the ball to our non existent strikers? Terrible tactics.
The players need to be told in no uncertain terms that they have not performed, they have let themselves, the club and more importantly the fans down. To a man that was a disgraceful performance, starting with a casual approach to the first five minutes and finishing with a can't be bothered attitude at the end. Jon Whitney's 'believe' team talks should be consigned to the bin.........what a load of bullshit!

Tuesday - Replace Downing with Preston, Rico at left back, Morris starting with Jordy and Bradshaw upfront and drop Manton.

What a complete waste of a season this is turning out to be.

[Mazza01]

Mantom and Downing can fudge off and not come back for all I care, the so called spine of the team completely spineless!

Kinsella completely out of his depth against one of the better players in league 1, why oh why!

Also bringing Taylor back into the side?? Also fans crying over Pennington?? He's not our bloody player FFS if we want players of such quality then we need to spend a few quid!

Said it before the game you play your match winners in big games , unfortunately for us 3 were sat on the bench whilst the likes of Forde trotted around :twisted:

That's the season over for me I have no belief in this set of players.

P.s fair play to Bradford and certainly Burton Albion enjoy the championship you deserve it. What a complete and utter balls up by the club a little Investment would of gone a long way !!

[chunkster]

if i have worked it out right i think we need 1 more point to make the playoffs?