The School Report

As the Bantams, reflect on a week returning just one point.

Name ..Bradford..City..FC……………………………………………….    Class……LG2

                                            Term Ending……8/3/12……………….

Group Marks.

A – Very Good               C – Average

B – Good                         D – Poor

Goalkeeping	B+	Matt Duke failed to live up to his expectations; replaced by Mclaughlin who has performed admirably.
Defence	B	Bolstered by the arrival of head boy Davies this group has shown marked improvement since the start of the academic year.
Midfield	C	An overall patchy performance by this group as some are performing to a higher standard than others; but a lot of potential to be found here.
Attack	C	Exam results poor must contribute more to lessons to improve schools standing in the league table.
Manager	C+	Demonstrated ability and character but must improve league tables.
Signings	B-	Satisfactory in particular the capture of Davies.

                                                                   Signed….J.Storrie……

I have to admit I didn’t attend the match on Tuesday night against Accrington and subsequently  it would hardly be fair to offer my thoughts and opinions specifically on another disappointing draw at Valley Parade. Seventy five miles away from the comfort of my living room I was quite happily watching the Arsenal vs. A.C Milan game and hardly speculating at all on the events taking place at Valley Parade. It seems I was not alone in this, as reportedly it was the lowest turnout of the season from the VP faithful.  The reasons seemingly behind this occurrence hardly require the great investigative skills of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes to fathom them out. It was reported that City have yet to beat Accrington at home in fifty years and one recalls the horror shows such as the three null drubbing of Stuart’s first season as been one of the lowest points of recent times. So it was as Arsenal had finally succumbed to defeat that I flicked onto ‘Sky Sports News’ to see that City had conceded a last minute equaliser and snatched what felt like a defeat from the jaws of victory yet again. Coming on the back of a poor result at lowly Dagenham and colliding with the start of the launch of next year’s season ticket sales; it hardly seems like a recipe for great sales no matter how great the offers may be.

So Instead of reflecting on solely the week’s events   it may be a fruitful time to look at the overall impact of the players efforts this season by categorizing them into their respective positions.

Firstly the Goalkeepers, which has proved to be the making and undoing of reputations this season. The loan signing of Martin Hansen by a mixture of Jacko and Christie was the first to try his hand as the heart of the Bantams back four. I recall watching Hansen at the pre- season game against Hull City and being suitably unimpressed by him, as he chucked a couple of shots into his own net whilst warming up beforehand. Next came Oscar Jannson who was a massive improvement on the shaky Dane, his penalty shootout heroics in the JPT a particular highlight. With the arrival of Parkinson came Matt Duke billed as the experienced permanent signing the club needed; this turned out to be a huge anti-climax as Duke proceeded to produce some amateur displays which made him a liability. He has since been farmed out on loan to improving Northampton. The form of Mclaughlin has seen the issue of who will fill the VP sticks moved to a backburner in the manager’s mind. Still relatively young in goalkeeping terms he will be staying at the club for a while yet, one would assume.

The defence is one that has shown clear progression since the start of the season and is now the polar opposite in terms of experience and personnel as it was on the opening day. One player who will not be impressed is former skipper Guy Branston who arrived as the summers marquee signing and after playing below his abilities early in Jacko’s reign never found favour with incoming manager Parkinson. The form of duo Davies and Oliver has been nothing short of outstanding and are inevitably the first players banded about in talk of the player of the year awards. The ever dependable Marcel Seip has proved to be an astute signing and it could only be wished that his fullback partner Simon Ramsden could stay fit and take his place in what would be one of the strongest backlines in the league.

The midfield area is one that provides the manager with plenty of options and no little ability, with the standout players so far arguably being Ritchie Jones with his composure and passing skills and recent signing Ricky Ravenhill adding a ‘bite’ to the Bantams play. Jack Compton was coming into the best spell of his city career before rejecting a loan extension and moving on. His left wing counterpart Kyel Reid whilst providing excitement and frustration in equal measures has proved to be an asset to the team with a good figure of both assists and goals to his name.

Up front, much ‘lauded’ signing Craig Fagan has on the main not quite delivered up to the clubs billing in terms of an expected goals return. Looking through his past record with other clubs he has enjoyed a similar sort of return in his career at VP to present. On a side note he seems to relish the role of the lone striker and is very clever in his link up play. James Hanson has continued to develop and improve in his play and one wonders if he would be rivalling league’s top scorers if he had stayed injury free as he was in December/ January.  The rise to prominence of Nahki Wells has been one of the great success stories of the season and has come from the clubs fifth choice striker to one of the first names on the team sheet adding a different option to the frontline through his dynamic play and skill.

Whilst this season was not billed by figures at the club as one where City will be challenging at the top instead it was labelled as a consolidation season. It has become a sorry sight to see, how much the club is struggling down at the bottom of the table. The team needs to start converting draws and performances into points. Fast.