Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by GhostoftheBok » Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:15 pm

We are miles ahead of where I thought we'd be. Loads to like and plenty to dislike. This is how I saw it:

The back three will look a lot better IF Baptiste is just short of fitness. He looked half dead in the training pictures and at 34 it'll take him a while. Santos looked to step in and cover Baptiste at times and it threw us off, partially because Santos looks dozy. He's decent on the ball and he can see a pass in front of him, but he needs to concentrate. Santos and Taft are in there not because they're great defenders, but because they can defend a bit and play some football. We need someone who can read the game in the centre to tie it together.

Jones is a kid and has potential. Good touch and wants to play, but he favours his left foot too much and that makes him predictable. If he can play off his right more and learn to read the game he'll do well. Jones looks a solid, dependable player. No flash and can't beat a man, which isn't ideal in our system, but nothing I'd argue with in League 2.

Sarcevic struggled, for me. He took his goal real well and obviously has ability; but Bradford saw him as the main danger and gave him no space. White saw a lot of ball and played well, but he's not a dangerous player. It looks like he could be really good for us and I like his awareness when he receives the ball - he recycles really well and we will need that. Comley could be good if he can improve his body position and distribution. He sees what needs to happen, but he failed to execute it well. The lad is 24, so he had time.

Delfouneso understands how we need him to play and I rated him. He and White gave us the energy we needed and kept the ball moving. Doyle doesn't get it yet and I am worried about how he will fit into an Evatt team. He needs to be in the box consistently and he spent way too much time out wide.

We got the changes entirely wrong and that has to be a concern. Evatt forced us to go long when he went three up top and the strikers didn't know who was supposed to do what. Bradford must have loved that last 15 minutes. It was absolute garbage. It makes you wonder what we will do if plan A doesn't work in games.

All in all I'm pleased. We didn't disgrace ourselves with an entirely new 11 and we played some good stuff.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by officer_dibble » Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:21 pm

Baptiste looked like a man who hasn’t played a lot of football in 2 years - hopefully he is fit enough. If he is then he will be absolutely fine at this level.

Santos looked decent on the ball but definitely caught ball watching off it.

Taft will be fine I think.

There is Delaney and the other lad as well.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by brommers95 » Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:35 pm

Not a lot to say that hasn't already been said. A bit miffed as to why we didn't get the ball wider and deliver dangerous balls into the box, I'm struggling to remember one cross from open play. When we did have the ball out wide it was normally Doyle who ended up out there. He's going to struggle to get 20+ goals if we play like that.

Probably a blessing that the first two games are (almost) meaningless cup games, I'm sure this will have given Evatt plenty to think about and I'm sure he'll rotate as much as he can against Crewe, giving players who didn't play today an opportunity to stake a claim to a starting spot. I'm sure if the likes of Mascoll, Delaney, Tutte impress he won't hesitate to start them against Forest Green.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by LeverEnd » Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:41 pm

I thought Baptiste was given the main defensive responsibility and stuck at it, but he did struggle. Hopefully just fitness and sharpness. The other two centre halves look like they'll be leaving big holes. Comley will need to step up massively.
Like the look of Jones, Delfouneso and White and Crellin looked good too.
Obviously want to be positive but there were some gaping deficiencies too.
What's the most goals a promoted team has conceded? 😁
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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by BWFC_Insane » Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:41 pm

officer_dibble wrote:
Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:21 pm
Baptiste looked like a man who hasn’t played a lot of football in 2 years - hopefully he is fit enough. If he is then he will be absolutely fine at this level.

Santos looked decent on the ball but definitely caught ball watching off it.

Taft will be fine I think.

There is Delaney and the other lad as well.
The system demands one of two things from the two wide centre backs, either tremendous speed on the recovery or an ability for the team to rarely lose the ball high up the pitch leaving them exposed. I’m unconvinced that the second is realistic for a league two side and therefore it’s a worry that Taft and Santos both look ponderously slow in a few ways.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by DJBlu » Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:59 pm

It could be worse. Imagine Jack Hobbs in the middle of that back three.

I think people have to realise Evatt is going to take time to learn and adapt as much as the team.

Carabao cup. Mickey Mouse.

I can see changes on Tuesday as we go into another pointless match. Get the fitness up and they'll get better.

Sep 12th is what is important.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by GhostoftheBok » Sat Sep 05, 2020 6:02 pm

DJBlu wrote:
Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:59 pm
Carabao cup. Mickey Mouse.
We are a League Two club.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by Harry Genshaw » Sat Sep 05, 2020 6:06 pm

LeverEnd wrote:
Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:41 pm
I thought Baptiste was given the main defensive responsibility and stuck at it, but he did struggle. Hopefully just fitness and sharpness. The other two centre halves look like they'll be leaving big holes. Comley will need to step up massively.
Like the look of Jones, Delfouneso and White and Crellin looked good too.
Obviously want to be positive but there were some gaping deficiencies too.
What's the most goals a promoted team has conceded? 😁
That's pretty much how I saw it LE. Baptiste looked as though he was having to cover poor positional play from Santos and poor distribution from Comley too often. That can be ironed out on the training ground. The 4 you've named though were the stand outs.

I expected us to lose today but I must admit, that last 15 minutes has left me feeling pretty flat.

On a positive note, that's 11 new players up against a side who were challenging last year and will be up there again this. We're not miles away.

iFollow stream was surprisingly good and Mrs G was grateful to the commentator pointing out it was raining. She was able to nip out and bring the washing in. Not an option from the North Lower!
"Get your feet off the furniture you Oxbridge tw*t. You're not on a feckin punt now you know"

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by officer_dibble » Sat Sep 05, 2020 6:08 pm

I’d play the same team Tuesday. Certainly Crawford shouldn’t get a look in on that showing. Interested to see what amoateng offers from the bench - hopefully raw pace. Need a better plan B...

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by GhostoftheBok » Sat Sep 05, 2020 6:10 pm

"“You can talk about tactics all day long but it’s one v one, 11 v 11, and we didn’t win enough of our battles."

An Owen Coyle quote from Evatt's mouth :whack:

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by officer_dibble » Sat Sep 05, 2020 6:10 pm

Agreed HG but I think Bradford finished 11th last season. Am curious as to how many changes they have made - my general impression is sides at this level have a more transient playing squad, but nobody will have as many new players as us.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by brommers95 » Sat Sep 05, 2020 6:22 pm

Crellin – made a couple of nice saves in the first half, can’t really fault him for either of the goals. Looks like he’s got good reflexes and agility as you’d expect from a young lad but his high ball ability and command of his area leave something to be desired in my opinion. Seems comfortable playing out from the back. I think he’ll be good enough for this level.

Santos – very good running forward with the ball at his feet. Unfortunately his positioning let him down today, lost his man for the second goal. Coming into the game I thought he would be our best defender this season, I still think that, I’m just slightly more sceptical now.

Baptiste – Doesn’t look 100% fit to me. Dare I say it, maybe he’s just a bit too old and wasn’t a good signing? I won’t write him off just yet though, but at this point in time I’m very much Team Delaney. Also every time he plays one of those aimless cross-field balls that go straight to the opposition, a part of me dies.

Taft – again looked good on the ball and it was great to see him and Santos pushing forward deep into the Bradford half. But he looked slow and cumbersome going the other way. I think the defence will improve with a bit more organisation and it has to if we want to have any chance of getting promoted.

Jones – Steady Eddie. Solid defensively and tidy enough on the ball but didn’t offer anything going forward.

Gordon – Extremely quiet, apart from winning a free kick in the first half in a dangerous position out wide I can’t remember one positive thing he did. Would like to see him use his pace to stretch teams and get behind the defence.

Comley – A quiet display. Pressed well and broke up Bradford play but not as accurate with his passing as he would have liked today, but I think he’ll get better and prove to be a shrewd signing.

White – MOTM and I don’t think it was even close. Calm and collected with the ball when under pressure. He’s great at making that little turn away from the opposition player when he’s closed down. Looked to make things happen and play penetrating, forward passes.

Sarcevic – Took his goal well but I though he was slightly sloppy on the ball and didn’t really seem to impose himself on the game. You’d expect more from a player of his experience.

Delfouneso – Showed a spark up front. Made some runs behind the defence and generally tried to cause a problem for a Bradford defence that was largely untroubled. Not everything he tried came off but without him we could have played for three hours and not scored.

Doyle – Just wasn’t provided with the service he needs. Was dropping too deep and too wide when he needs to be in the box. Was painful to watch Baptiste lumping balls up to him at the end. He’s not a target man. Get him in the box and get him some service.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by GhostoftheBok » Sat Sep 05, 2020 6:29 pm

brommers95 wrote:
Sat Sep 05, 2020 6:22 pm
Doyle – Just wasn’t provided with the service he needs. Was dropping too deep and too wide when he needs to be in the box. Was painful to watch Baptiste lumping balls up to him at the end. He’s not a target man. Get him in the box and get him some service.
This may prove to be an issue all season. Barrow had that out-ball when they needed it, up to Quigley. Every team needs a way to clear from pressure and reorganise, no matter how pure they want their play to be. I don't see where that is for us at the minute. There's nobody in midfield who is so good they can take the ball in any position and no out-ball. It'll need resolving.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by DJBlu » Sat Sep 05, 2020 7:14 pm

GhostoftheBok wrote:
Sat Sep 05, 2020 6:02 pm
DJBlu wrote:
Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:59 pm
Carabao cup. Mickey Mouse.
We are a League Two club.
And?

Mickey mouse, fixture filling and pointless.

FA Cup now there's a cup.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by GhostoftheBok » Sat Sep 05, 2020 7:32 pm

DJBlu wrote:
Sat Sep 05, 2020 7:14 pm
And?

Mickey mouse, fixture filling and pointless.

FA Cup now there's a cup.
In comparison to the League Cup we are Mickey Mouse at this stage. A run in that competition would have meant more exposure for the club, positive vibes and much more likelihood of sponsorship next season. The FA Cup is great, but a League Cup run matters for a club in our financial position.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by DJBlu » Sat Sep 05, 2020 7:38 pm

We are never going to go on a League Cup run to the stage we would attract a big gate or TV revenue. I doubt we would give the resources required for the push as the League is number one priority this season.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by GhostoftheBok » Sat Sep 05, 2020 7:40 pm

DJBlu wrote:
Sat Sep 05, 2020 7:38 pm
We are never going to go on a League Cup run to the stage we would attract a big gate or TV revenue.
Can't argue with that given we went out in first time.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by officer_dibble » Sat Sep 05, 2020 8:07 pm

Ian Evatt did say we could win it though 😂

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by GhostoftheBok » Sat Sep 05, 2020 8:21 pm

officer_dibble wrote:
Sat Sep 05, 2020 8:07 pm
Ian Evatt did say we could win it though 😂
Evatt'll have 10 quid on BWFC winning the next world cup.

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Re: Closed Doors - Episode One: The Bantam Menace - Bradford C (H), 3:00pm, 05/09/20 (League Cup)

Post by nicholaldo » Sat Sep 05, 2020 9:07 pm

I don't have any problem admitting that we weren't very good. There's nothing I can add that hasn't already been pointed out but here's my two penneth:

Taft was caught upfield for the first goal, which will happen occasionally given the way Evatt is asking us to play, but they wouldn't have scored if Santos was switched on and on the right side of the player he was marking. The same point, unfortunately, could be made for the second goal too. Despite me thinking he played quite well, with two centre-backs pushing forward I can't help but think it's a risk to have Baptiste play on his own behind them, especially if we get hit on the counter.

My first concern is that, as has been pointed out, our three centre-backs were slow, too slow, and that's something which Evatt can't improve on the training pitch. Delaney and Greenidge might be the answer, but we'll have to wait and see. The second thing I'm worried about is that our wing-backs weren't able to get in behind high up the pitch, particularly as doing so is supposedly such a hallmark of Evatt's teams. The result was that we were very cramped once we got into the final third, probably also a consequence of being so dominant in possession, and we also seemed to lose our shape as the second half wore on.

I thought Crellin had a very solid first match though, and I agree with pretty much everyone else that White put in the best performance. He regularly showed for it, and was impressively busy and compact in the centre. I like the look of him.

All in all I think we have a lomg way to go but I'm not despondent. Clearly, we're a work in progress and it would be unreasonable to expect us to be anything else. We played some nice football and, given time, there was enough there to suggest we will get bettter the more we play.

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