Just Back (Bradford)

Hewitt MOTM for me but there were four or five candidates. Didn’t think much to Bradford at all but they had one decent chance amongst many wasted ones and bagged it (possibly offside but can’t tell from iFollow angle). That sort of stuff is the difference at the end of the season.

Whilst it’s disappointing to lose Rose I thought Ogbu looked like the sort of player I’m going to enjoy watching this season. It’s good that we have some real physical presence all over the park now. The front three must be an average of 3-4” taller than anything we’ve put out whilst being back in the league and possibly beyond. When you think we’ve fed off scraps like dead balls this was another thing that needed addressing by MJ and AL  it’s been sorted.

Overall I’m very impressed by the business we’ve done this summer. Hopefully the Waterfall deal can be completed this week as Öhman looked like he might miss a game or two with his head injury (and probably more than that with suspensions!). Would like an attacking midfielder too but efforts need to be concentrated on the CB.

Just catching up on things after coming back from a Talbot Scottish Cup game in Fife.

A number of folk have said they thought Bradford weren't up to much, or expected more from them. Give credit where it's due folks, perhaps that's all down to the managerial planning and nothing else? It's great to read about a genuine buzz and excitement around BP again.

Quoted from grimsby pete

Just like to add the scunts are bottom of the league.

What an enjoyable game that was. Even in the conference days, I cant remember a town team play with so much purpose, and for periods in the second half we dominated. I actually don't think Bradford are a bad team and will be up there this season, and few teams will attack them like we did and still defend so resolutely when needed. Apart from the double save and the last 5/10 minutes, I don't think we looked too troubled.

If the first two games are anything to go by, teams will struggle to cope with our work rate. Dare I say my expectations have risen.

Cracking game of football to watch, work rate of every player to a man at 100%, thought Hewitt was immense and Hanson will cause defenders a multitude of problems.
Special shout to Ogbu who I thought was pretty impressive if a little unpredictable and made their players think twice about what he'd do next...
Have to say if Bradford were favourites to go up then our odds have to have shortened on that performance, early in the season I know but if we keep this kind of work rate up I do believe we'll be in the mix at the end of the season....my god, for once I think we are force to be reckoned with ..massive UTM tonight...👍👍

well done all round. I like the positive feeling I'm getting. UTM

Looked to me that we are closer to getting a system which suits the players rather than suiting the players to a system. Our hand was forced by the substitution especially the early one, and we did well to overcome not being able to make the normal second-half subs to freshen the front players. We did fade a bit and needed Macca to make two excellent saves.

Overall positive and a big improvement on FGR last season which broke the spell of pre-season optimism in 45 minutes.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Cracking game of football to watch, work rate of every player to a man at 100%, thought Hewitt was immense and Hanson will cause defenders a multitude of problems.
Special shout to Ogbu who I thought was pretty impressive if a little unpredictable and made their players think twice about what he'd do next...
Have to say if Bradford were favourites to go up then our odds have to have shortened on that performance, early in the season I know but if we keep this kind of work rate up I do believe we'll be in the mix at the end of the season....my god, for once I think we are force to be reckoned with ..massive UTM tonight...👍👍

Yes it is obvious from this early stage that we have a much better team than last season.

To have three quality players up front is a massive bonus; last year with just Thomas up there one loose pass and nobody was near enough to put pressure on or win it back. Hanson as the focal point wil be a big plus.

Like others I was very impressed with Hewitt; Whitehouse added a lot of bite and attacking intent and the whole team looked together and worked as a unit.

We will see after a few more games whether our optimism is justified but certainly very encouraging.

Just a word about Bradford. How they managed to escape with a draw is beyond me. They were very poor on the day and although a big club for league 2 they will struggle if they continue to play like that.  

Both our fullbacks were very good today. Much impressed with the whole of the defensive unit.
A little bit of guile is missing in midfield but it certainly contains plenty of tenacity

Went to the game today with a Bradford fan (who sat with me in the upper). He was on his best behaviour!

But it was interesting watching the game and getting his perspective on it. Firstly, he was a huge fan of Hanson and texted me on the day he signed for us to say we had a cracking player for this division.

He bemoaned the fact that their defence lost him for the goal. He was frustrated that Doyle - playing in the hole behind Donaldson and Vaughan - was totally ineffective, and that their manager did nothing to change it. For that reason, he said our MOM was Jake Hessenthaler 'by a country mile' and basically nullified their creative outlet.

He was impressed by the defensive triangle of Ohman, Davis and Hessenthaler in the centre. He was intrigued by Ogbu, thought Green was excellent and, basically, felt our side had everything in terms of mentality and determination that he didn't see in his City side.

As he put it, 'there's no one in a Bradford shirt showing that they want to take the game by the scruff of its neck and win it. Just a bunch of talented individuals thinking someone else will do the magic'.

I think that Bradford team will click - and when it does, they might enjoy a really good run of form. I fully expect them to be a different proposition at Valley Parade later this season as I think they've got too much quality for this division not to be challenging at the top eventually.

He also reserved a mention for Whitehouse, who he thought had the opportunity to push higher up in the second half as their midfield didn't know how to track him, but he never quite did it.

Anyway, lots of positives to take from the game. I don't get to many these days but it was the most enjoyable one for me since the Notts County game when we secured our safety.