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Posted by: Hagrid, September 9, 2023, 2:52pm
To a baking car

Feels like 2 points dropped which is seeming a recurring theme. Bradford were excrement and we limited them to 1 speculative effort till the goal.

1st half we bossed the game, played some really good stuff and scored a lovely goal and Bradford were boo’ed off

2nd half they had a rocket up their bottom and came out with a. Flurry of corners but created nothing.

I dont think we sat back as im sure some on the match thread will say, we soaked up the pressure well imo, had some half chances ourselves.

The goal came from our left, im sure some will give Efete grief but he isnt to blame, bloke had time and space to pick his spot on the edge of the box and it was a good finish.

Deserved 3 points in my opinion being the better of the 2 sides. But my only gripe is in 30 degree heat, we only make 2 subs when we looked shattered with 15 to go

Frustrated to not win, more due to how excrement Bradford were but they havent lost at home since March and we just cannot seem to hold a lead

MOM one of our two CB’s who were excellent, Ref was whistle and card happy
Posted by: Chrisblor, September 9, 2023, 3:01pm; Reply: 1
Tweet 1700500588797088163 will appear here...


Efete, Gnahoua, Clifton and Hurst all share blame for the equaliser, even if it was an excellent finish. Efete for being miles out of position in the first place, Gnahoua for turning his back on the ball in his own box and being too slow to react to the pass so he can't close down the shot in time, and Clifton for getting sold a dummy.

Tired decision making from Clifton and Gnahoua who were clearly both exhausted is why Hurst also has to take some blame because he's yet again let an opponent back in the game on a warm day (as he did against Mansfield) when our players have looked out on their feet and it's been very clear to anyone watching that we needed fresh legs on the pitch.
Posted by: It Bites, September 9, 2023, 3:02pm; Reply: 2
Yeah the subs were my only gripe really but if we beat Crawley this will of been a good point . Anything can happen at Wrexham so I’m not going to guess on that one lol
Posted by: barralad, September 9, 2023, 3:03pm; Reply: 3
That is an excellent appraisal of events Hagrid in my humble opinion.
Can't add much other than to say Danny Rose must be a nightmare to play against. We haven't had someone so willing to get in the oppositions faces for years.
Posted by: Maringer, September 9, 2023, 3:05pm; Reply: 4
Watching on telly, it was disappointing to see them equalise as they really hadn't laid a glove on us during the game, even when they won a flurry of corners at the start of the second half. The goal actually came after a rare occasion where Conteh lost possession in midfield - he'd won the tackle, but over-elaborated (for just about the first time in the match), lost the ball and they then broke forward quickly. Probably tiredness to blame, I suppose.

Am I the only one who thought we should have had a penalty about five minutes before their equaliser? Their goalscorer clearly missed the ball when he tried to tackle Rose in the box and knocked him over. The commentators were quick to dismiss it, but it seemed clear enough to me. I wasn't surprised it wasn't given, as the referee was letting them shove Rose around all the way through the game - when he wasn't whipping his card out to book one of our players.
Posted by: Chrisblor, September 9, 2023, 3:11pm; Reply: 5
Quoted from Maringer
Watching on telly, it was disappointing to see them equalise as they really hadn't laid a glove on us during the game, even when they won a flurry of corners at the start of the second half. The goal actually came after a rare occasion where Conteh lost possession in midfield - he'd won the tackle, but over-elaborated (for just about the first time in the match), lost the ball and they then broke forward quickly. Probably tiredness to blame, I suppose.

Am I the only one who thought we should have had a penalty about five minutes before their equaliser? Their goalscorer clearly missed the ball when he tried to tackle Rose in the box and knocked him over. The commentators were quick to dismiss it, but it seemed clear enough to me. I wasn't surprised it wasn't given, as the referee was letting them shove Rose around all the way through the game - when he wasn't whipping his card out to book one of our players.


It was certainly a foul on Rose, but the awful Andy Hinchcliffe needs his eyesight testing as he seemed to imagine the Bradford player got a non-existent touch on the ball before barging Rose over. Wasn't totally sure if contact continued into the area for it to have been a penalty, but at the very least it should have been a town free kick on the edge of the box. Rose flopping about all the time and trying to win free kicks when there hasn't been enough contact doesn't do us any favours though, especially against poor refs like the guy today who was never going to give a big decision like that against him.
Posted by: Limerick Mariner, September 9, 2023, 3:14pm; Reply: 6
Result highlights the limitations of the squad. They were atrocious first half but we didn’t get enough runners ahead of the ball to get their defence turning. There was always going to be a reaction from them and our energy levels started to flag. We don’t have the really big lump up front to hold the ball and give us chance to get support runners. Left side is still a weakness and Holohan needed to come off after having done a decent job for 60 mins at 30c.

That said we look to have quality across the park but not the depth the change things when needed. Give us someone like Akins at Mansfield and we’d be more resilient at holding a lead. But we haven’t got that kind player and we are punching at least our weight and a bit above given that.
Posted by: Rodley Mariner, September 9, 2023, 3:15pm; Reply: 7
I thought there was another shout for a pen for handball pretty soon after that as well. Hinchcliffe seemed to think he was on Radio Bradford.
Posted by: sonofmadeleymariner, September 9, 2023, 3:17pm; Reply: 8
We outplayed a side, but a lack of bite and creativity really hurt us again today which sums the match up.

MadeleyMariner and I were both saying that an equalizer was coming, just because we hadn't put the game the bed you just knew it was going to happen, and then a series of unfortunate events happened RB was out of position while playing LB, a player who was looking knackered got sold a dummy and Gilliead of all players hits a cracker.

You could just see that was how the game was going to go
Posted by: Mayaman, September 9, 2023, 3:21pm; Reply: 9
Quoted from Maringer
Watching on telly, it was disappointing to see them equalise as they really hadn't laid a glove on us during the game, even when they won a flurry of corners at the start of the second half. The goal actually came after a rare occasion where Conteh lost possession in midfield - he'd won the tackle, but over-elaborated (for just about the first time in the match), lost the ball and they then broke forward quickly. Probably tiredness to blame, I suppose.

Am I the only one who thought we should have had a penalty about five minutes before their equaliser? Their goalscorer clearly missed the ball when he tried to tackle Rose in the box and knocked him over. The commentators were quick to dismiss it, but it seemed clear enough to me. I wasn't surprised it wasn't given, as the referee was letting them shove Rose around all the way through the game - when he wasn't whipping his card out to book one of our players.


Looked like it to me , especially in slow motion Defo penalty.
Posted by: grimsby pete, September 9, 2023, 3:36pm; Reply: 10
I thought the ref let a lot go to keep the match flowing but agree he was a bit card happy.

Town dominated the 1st half and deserved a good goal from the impressive Rose.

2nd half was mostly Bradford after sparky changed their formation and to me it was only a matter of time before they would score.   BUT we got to the 89 min before they got one which was fair do's and a fair result based on the game overall.

To make the play offs or even better we need more fire power but we already knew that.

It was very hot out their and we did need fresh players on the pitch towards the end so surprised we did not have another couple come on . I was ok I had my fan on cool and curtains shutting the hot sun out.

Impressed with Conteh who isn't  ;D we are not far away from being a top team lets hope we are blessed with a goalscorer from somewhere come the next window. Eisa, had a quite day so no bombs from him today.
Posted by: DB, September 9, 2023, 4:10pm; Reply: 11
I wonder how many would have taken a draw before the match. The prediction thread showed out of about 44 predictions 12 went for the draw, 20 the win and 12 for a defeat.
Posted by: ska face, September 9, 2023, 4:11pm; Reply: 12
Absolutely fücking criminal to have just made the two subs in those conditions and with players clearly blowing out their arses. Rose in particular kept looking over to the bench only for Hurst to keep telling him to get up and keep going including just before the goal when he was so tired he just jumped into a tackle & got nowhere near it.

Holohan another one who looked like he needed a defibrillator near enough but we persisted and left two central midfielders on the bench. I’m seething John. Even Ainley must’ve been capable of 5 or 10 minutes? Frig me.

Worst Bradford side I’ve ever seen, absolutely hopeless in the first half and we scored a really good goal. A pro-active manager and promotion/play-off team puts three or four past them today & Hughes is signing on Monday morning.
Posted by: MuddyWaters, September 9, 2023, 4:28pm; Reply: 13
Quoted from ska face
Absolutely fücking criminal to have just made the two subs in those conditions and with players clearly blowing out their arses. Rose in particular kept looking over to the bench only for Hurst to keep telling him to get up and keep going including just before the goal when he was so tired he just jumped into a tackle & got nowhere near it.

Holohan another one who looked like he needed a defibrillator near enough but we persisted and left two central midfielders on the bench. I’m seething John. Even Ainley must’ve been capable of 5 or 10 minutes? Frig me.

Worst Bradford side I’ve ever seen, absolutely hopeless in the first half and we scored a really good goal. A pro-active manager and promotion/play-off team puts three or four past them today & Hughes is signing on Monday morning.


Said as much on the match thread. Holohan and Rose were knackered after 70 minutes. Conditions were crying out for using all five substitutes.
Posted by: diehardmariner, September 9, 2023, 4:50pm; Reply: 14
Incredibly difficult to even try and argue against the argument around making more changes.

I love this high press we play, it really suits our players. It's not just about Rose and the midfielders chasing down, it works so well with Rodgers and Maher stepping into midfield to intercept play, complimented by nice relationships formings with Conteh who drops in slightly to give them cover.

But it's demanding and you've gotta keep legs fresh, especially in that heat. Conteh faffs about before the goal, because he looks absolutely copulated. Their sub dominated him in the last 20 and took control of the midfield.

The goal itself saw tired players not sticking to task on the edge of the box.

Ainley, Andrews and Hunt could all have come on and just chased shadows for all I care, as long as they chased them away from our goal.  Yes, options are limited. But that's no excuse for giving sides an advantage by flogging players to the point of exhaustion.

We won't play in that heat every week, arguably not again all season. But if we can continue the way we're starting to press and dominate teams AND carrying it on for longer than 45 minutes, within that making sure we keep legs fresh, then we're not too far away. Add a little bit of cuteness and creativity and it's a very, very good side.
Posted by: HatTrickHero, September 9, 2023, 5:10pm; Reply: 15
Quoted from ska face
Absolutely fücking criminal to have just made the two subs in those conditions and with players clearly blowing out their arses. Rose in particular kept looking over to the bench only for Hurst to keep telling him to get up and keep going including just before the goal when he was so tired he just jumped into a tackle & got nowhere near it.

Holohan another one who looked like he needed a defibrillator near enough but we persisted and left two central midfielders on the bench. I’m seething John. Even Ainley must’ve been capable of 5 or 10 minutes? Frig me.

Worst Bradford side I’ve ever seen, absolutely hopeless in the first half and we scored a really good goal. A pro-active manager and promotion/play-off team puts three or four past them today & Hughes is signing on Monday morning.


And for the umpteenth time the stat for the opposition's Shots on Target reads 1.
Feels like we're already sleepwalking to 'comfortable' mid-table come the season's end.

Posted by: GollyGTFC, September 9, 2023, 5:25pm; Reply: 16
Brilliant first half.

Terrible second half.

Yet Hurst didn’t attempt to alter the match. The 2 subs were more to do with avoiding 2nd yellow cards than for a tactical reason.

I thought Holohan was generally terrible. Poor decision making, dawdling on the ball. Finding a solution in central midfield along side Conteh could be the key to us having a very, very good season.

9 points dropped from winning positions this season. And we’re 5 points from top. It’s starting to frustrate me how we can’t manage matches and see them out.
Posted by: Hagrid, September 9, 2023, 5:31pm; Reply: 17
Quoted from GollyGTFC
Brilliant first half.

Terrible second half.

Yet Hurst didn’t attempt to alter the match. The 2 subs were more to do with avoiding 2nd yellow cards than for a tactical reason.

I thought Holohan was generally terrible. Poor decision making, dawdling on the ball. Finding a solution in central midfield along side Conteh could be the key to us having a very, very good season.

9 points dropped from winning positions this season. And we’re 5 points from top. It’s starting to frustrate me how we can’t manage matches and see them out.




Terrible? What a load of nonsense. Played well and has been a dam sight more consistent than Harry this season and again today. Looked copulated at 75 min but for god only knows what reason, Hurst didnt utilise the bench
Posted by: LH, September 9, 2023, 5:36pm; Reply: 18
The result in isolation was (probably) fair. We had a lot of the ball but didn’t do an awful lot with it in the final third bar the goal, they had a flurry of chances after half time and scored a perhaps a bit too easily. Factor in when they scored and it’s a disappointing result.

Another truly awful team who we’d have expected to be up there along with Salford and Gills. Have we overrated the difficulty of the division or are there a lot of slow starters this season? These dropped points are getting frustrating now but there’s still a long way to go.
Posted by: Limerick Mariner, September 9, 2023, 5:43pm; Reply: 19
Quoted from LH
The result in isolation was (probably) fair. We had a lot of the ball but didn’t do an awful lot with it in the final third bar the goal, they had a flurry of chances after half time and scored a perhaps a bit too easily. Factor in when they scored and it’s a disappointing result.

Another truly awful team who we’d have expected to be up there along with Salford and Gills. Have we overrated the difficulty of the division or are there a lot of slow starters this season? These dropped points are getting frustrating now but there’s still a long way to go.


Gills top. The next 3 will be up there at the end - Notts Mansfield and Franchise

Posted by: MuddyWaters, September 9, 2023, 5:45pm; Reply: 20
Quoted from Hagrid




Terrible? What a load of nonsense. Played well and has been a dam sight more consistent than Harry this season and again today. Looked copulated at 75 min but for god only knows what reason, Hurst didnt utilise the bench


I thought Gav was very good first half but didn’t seem to know what to do second half. Whether that was down to him or the fact we didn’t seem to have an answer to their change of shape, I don’t know.
Posted by: HatTrickHero, September 9, 2023, 5:48pm; Reply: 21
I couldn't knock any of the players today, that heat was intense. It's more the overall gameplan  as we reach 80 minutes. Knock it into the corner if you're running time down but you need fresh legs and willing runners and Rose was shattered so the ball was mostly being worked into our box.
Maybe it's the combined defensive mentalities of our coaching crew,  but the much needed second goal and/or the clean sheet seems to foil us too regularly.
Posted by: LH, September 9, 2023, 5:50pm; Reply: 22
Quoted from Limerick Mariner


Gills top. The next 3 will be up there at the end - Notts Mansfield and Franchise



They aren’t going to be able to rely on keeping a clean sheet to get a win vs any of them. Five 1-0 wins in seven games is quite a sequence really. Mansfield far and away the best team we’ve faced so far.
Posted by: LondonMariner43, September 9, 2023, 5:55pm; Reply: 23
The consensus seems to be that Bradford were rubbish and we should have thrashed them.  There must be a reason why they are unbeaten in 10 or so home games? My read of it was that we played very well in the first half to dominate play but Bradford were still defensively strong and got some important interceptions in.  Second half they came out fighting and we dug deep and did well to get into the game eventually.  Bradford scored a good goal.  

Probably agree about the subs but the sort of player we needed was someone physical to impose more in midfield - Green maybe if he wasn’t injured.  For me the mistake was not having Khouri on the bench - he’s shown he can come on an impose himself at the end of a game - did he pick up a knock vs Barnsley?

It’s frustrating that we are giving away leads but from another perspective we are the only side in L2 that hasn’t gone behind first in a game.  That’s a welcome change from last season where we often went 0-1 down before starting to play.  So far, we’ve shown we can compete against the best teams in the league and as this squad continues to develop and players like Pyke, Wilson, Khan get full fitness, I think we will be contenders.
Posted by: TAGG, September 9, 2023, 5:57pm; Reply: 24
Mr Hurst post match
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gcnl32
Posted by: arryarryarry, September 9, 2023, 6:19pm; Reply: 25
Quoted from LondonMariner43
The consensus seems to be that Bradford were rubbish and we should have thrashed them.  There must be a reason why they are unbeaten in 10 or so home games? My read of it was that we played very well in the first half to dominate play but Bradford were still defensively strong and got some important interceptions in.  Second half they came out fighting and we dug deep and did well to get into the game eventually.  Bradford scored a good goal.  

Probably agree about the subs but the sort of player we needed was someone physical to impose more in midfield - Green maybe if he wasn’t injured.  For me the mistake was not having Khouri on the bench - he’s shown he can come on an impose himself at the end of a game - did he pick up a knock vs Barnsley?

It’s frustrating that we are giving away leads but from another perspective we are the only side in L2 that hasn’t gone behind first in a game.  That’s a welcome change from last season where we often went 0-1 down before starting to play.  So far, we’ve shown we can compete against the best teams in the league and as this squad continues to develop and players like Pyke, Wilson, Khan get full fitness, I think we will be contenders.


Plenty of Bradford fans on their forum saying they were rubbish.
Posted by: MuddyWaters, September 9, 2023, 6:23pm; Reply: 26
Quoted from LondonMariner43
The consensus seems to be that Bradford were rubbish and we should have thrashed them.  There must be a reason why they are unbeaten in 10 or so home games? My read of it was that we played very well in the first half to dominate play but Bradford were still defensively strong and got some important interceptions in.  Second half they came out fighting and we dug deep and did well to get into the game eventually.  Bradford scored a good goal.  

Probably agree about the subs but the sort of player we needed was someone physical to impose more in midfield - Green maybe if he wasn’t injured.  For me the mistake was not having Khouri on the bench - he’s shown he can come on an impose himself at the end of a game - did he pick up a knock vs Barnsley?

It’s frustrating that we are giving away leads but from another perspective we are the only side in L2 that hasn’t gone behind first in a game.  That’s a welcome change from last season where we often went 0-1 down before starting to play.  So far, we’ve shown we can compete against the best teams in the league and as this squad continues to develop and players like Pyke, Wilson, Khan get full fitness, I think we will be contenders.


I know we’ve mostly played the top teams this season but I do think Bradford are the worst team we’ve played so far this season.
Posted by: ginnywings, September 9, 2023, 6:24pm; Reply: 27
Frustrating and annoying to concede so late, but it was a classic game of two halves from two sides who aren't scoring many goals.

I'm not a betting man, but had I been, my money would have gone on a 1-1 scoreline.

Given the difficult start we all knew we had to the season, we've done pretty well I think, and I think we will get better too.

Signs are promising.
Posted by: VinnyGTFC, September 9, 2023, 6:42pm; Reply: 28
My thoughts are. We are more structured than we've been for a long time. We look like a league one side more than a excrement kicking league 2 team
We are still a work in progress. Look how long Bradford have been at this level on a much bigger budget.
Emotionally of course it's 2 points dropped. But wait till this team click. Those draws will turn into wins.
Also a goalscorer in this league is so hard to find, and we do need one but so do half the league.
We have been on a downward spiral for twenty years, enjoy being competitive and seeing players like Conteh it could be so much worse as we have seen.I enjoyed watching us close down and keep possession and defending strongly. It's as much about football as whatever some of you are demanding, go and watch Man City if that's what you want week in /week out but this is a real football club trying to find it's way back and I personally have got a feel a lot more  of pride in  my club.rhan I have for many years
Posted by: VinnyGTFC, September 9, 2023, 6:43pm; Reply: 29
Quoted from MuddyWaters


I know we’ve mostly played the top teams this season but I do think Bradford are the worst team we’ve played so far this season.


Are they the worst or did we make them look average. Massive difference and if you can't see what we did to nullify them I can't help you
Posted by: chaos33, September 9, 2023, 7:04pm; Reply: 30
As a snapshot and a tv spectacle I sort of took a freeze frame pause and thought - how much better things are; being involved in that game and nearly winning compared to a lot of the last few years when we’ve had to go to non league sheds and scratch around for points. The club is in such a better place and I’m really thankful for that. We could/should have won maybe but a good point on paper and some good stuff played in really testing conditions. Must have been so demanding to put in that amount of energy, especially off the ball, in that heat. Proud of all the players and fans today. Top effort.
UTM. Onwards….
Posted by: IlkleyMariner, September 9, 2023, 7:28pm; Reply: 31
First half we were allowed to play like Barcelona

Second half we were like  Grimsby Borough. Not being disrespectful but pretty near the mark

We have the makings of a good squad but stilll some fine tuning
Posted by: The Caterham Mariner, September 9, 2023, 7:36pm; Reply: 32
From my front row front seat at home...
I loved the first half  but waited for changes that would / could /should have made the 2nd half like the 1st half .
To be fair to both sides the heat was a serious factor .Phew . Great to hear town fans clear and proud on the telly I had the front room all to myself funnily enough.
UTM 2023--24
Posted by: pontoonlew, September 9, 2023, 7:51pm; Reply: 33
Fair play to the players playing in that, the walk to the train station killed me off.

We should’ve won but it felt like we gave Bradford a way back in the game by stopping the press immediately in the second half, I get it’s hot but if you start well in that first 10 mins I guarantee we don’t lose that game. The crowd got on side and they dominated as a result.

Really frustrating but it’s another game without a loss in an incredibly tough opening run of games.
Posted by: chaos33, September 9, 2023, 8:03pm; Reply: 34
Massive crowd though. Gotta be a factor. For a minute I watched that game today and thought - this could be a Championship game in front of 20,000. Now, I know it isn’t. But it’s good to be playing Bradford City on Sky rather than Braintree or Maidenhead, when nobody cares. Sure, there’s lots to improve upon but it felt like we mattered again.
Posted by: lukeo, September 9, 2023, 8:05pm; Reply: 35
Watched bits and bobs as im up in Grimsby visiting very elderly family. We looked to he in total domination from what I saw 1st half. 2nd half they took control, a shame we conceded so late but it's a good point away from home.
Posted by: headingly_mariner, September 9, 2023, 8:16pm; Reply: 36
Gutted to leave with a point but convinced we are better than them.

Fully expect us to be top 7. We were really good first half.
Posted by: Northbank Mariner, September 9, 2023, 8:24pm; Reply: 37
Quoted from GollyGTFC
Brilliant first half.

Terrible second half.

Yet Hurst didn’t attempt to alter the match. The 2 subs were more to do with avoiding 2nd yellow cards than for a tactical reason.

I thought Holohan was generally terrible. Poor decision making, dawdling on the ball. Finding a solution in central midfield along side Conteh could be the key to us having a very, very good season.

9 points dropped from winning positions this season. And we’re 5 points from top. It’s starting to frustrate me how we can’t manage matches and see them out.


Sorry Golly but you are so wide of the mark re Holohan. He's given that midfield some bite and played pretty well. Harry Clifton however has not offered much at all this season bar the goal at NC, yes he runs his nads off and is black n white to the core but doesn't cut through defences, doesn't put searching balls into the box and still struggles to pass an accurate ball more than 5 yards..
Kick me as hard as you like but with Conteh and Holohan in the midfield Clifton becomes a passenger. It would be interesting to see if Ainley could offer more creativity in there and give Clifton a break..
Posted by: headingly_mariner, September 9, 2023, 8:37pm; Reply: 38
In addition to me thinking we are class.

I was sad to hear the sectarian nonsense at half time. flipping the pope and the the IRA couldn't be further from our radar.  And the Tommy Robinson chants, you absolute whoppers.

Silly teenagers and adults that should know better.  You show us up, be better.
Posted by: Limerick Mariner, September 9, 2023, 8:38pm; Reply: 39
Harry needs to be making runs into the box a lot more than he has been doing this season, and at 6ft 1 it would be good to see  Andrews doing that as an alternative.
Posted by: TownSNAFU5, September 9, 2023, 8:46pm; Reply: 40
Swop the 2 halves around and we would see the match in a much better light.  We would have improved a lot. In reality we tailed off. When expectations were raised after the first half and goal.

2 good goals.  Is the opposition scoring  from one shot good or bad?  Generally good for us in the long run I think.

More subs would have helped given the heat and more frequent Bradford attacks.  With the new time management rules and a drinks break,  there could easily have been another 8-10 mins added on.  This makes it beneficial to use more subs when players are tired and making more mistakes.

Some criticism of our players for their goal.  The opportunity to score would have been avoided if Conteh had not lost the ball in the halfway line/touchline.  He tried to be too ambitious very late in the game.  I am sure he will learn from this.
Posted by: IlkleyMariner, September 9, 2023, 8:57pm; Reply: 41
I’m a big fan of Harry, but tbh hardly noticed him today
Posted by: IlkleyMariner, September 9, 2023, 9:00pm; Reply: 42
Btw had a chat with Gary Croft today. Nice bloke. JT missed the match due to an op.

I’m old enough to remember his debut for Town.  He is young enough to remember it too….
Posted by: 140381 (Guest), September 9, 2023, 9:10pm; Reply: 43
Quoted from headingly_mariner
In addition to me thinking we are class.

I was sad to hear the sectarian nonsense at half time. flipping the pope and the the IRA couldn't be further from our radar..


Words fail me.
Posted by: pontoonlew, September 9, 2023, 9:18pm; Reply: 44
Quoted from IlkleyMariner
I’m a big fan of Harry, but tbh hardly noticed him today


Or the majority of the season tbf, we really needed his energy today in those conditions and he was nowhere to be seen
Posted by: Kris2, September 9, 2023, 10:06pm; Reply: 45
Quoted from headingly_mariner
In addition to me thinking we are class.

I was sad to hear the sectarian nonsense at half time. flipping the pope and the the IRA couldn't be further from our radar.  And the Tommy Robinson chants, you absolute whoppers.

Silly teenagers and adults that should know better.  You show us up, be better.


It's unfortunate but some of the travelling fans are wannabe Neo-Nazi white power types and it's been going on for a while. Seen the photos of town fans on the road holding up White Power flags and doing Nazi salutes which is hilarious considering the majority of our goals have come from an African player. Clearly not a great deal of white power in our squad, but they can be rainbow coloured for all I care if they do the business on the pitch.

Also you're not bloody Rangers fans, you come from a small town across the river from Hull. You're not from the mean streets of Glasgow and you will never be that hard.  ;D
Posted by: Norseman, September 9, 2023, 11:22pm; Reply: 46
Quoted from LondonMariner43
The consensus seems to be that Bradford were rubbish and we should have thrashed them.  There must be a reason why they are unbeaten in 10 or so home games? My read of it was that we played very well in the first half to dominate play but Bradford were still defensively strong and got some important interceptions in.  Second half they came out fighting and we dug deep and did well to get into the game eventually.  Bradford scored a good goal.  

Probably agree about the subs but the sort of player we needed was someone physical to impose more in midfield - Green maybe if he wasn’t injured.  For me the mistake was not having Khouri on the bench - he’s shown he can come on an impose himself at the end of a game - did he pick up a knock vs Barnsley?

It’s frustrating that we are giving away leads but from another perspective we are the only side in L2 that hasn’t gone behind first in a game.  That’s a welcome change from last season where we often went 0-1 down before starting to play.  So far, we’ve shown we can compete against the best teams in the league and as this squad continues to develop and players like Pyke, Wilson, Khan get full fitness, I think we will be contenders.

The reason they are unbeaten is that at full strength they are a very good side .Today they were severely weakened with at least 5 regular starters missing
Posted by: Tommy, September 9, 2023, 11:40pm; Reply: 47
Only managed to watch the latter half of the 1st half today (from about 20 minutes in until Half Time), so I'm not claiming to be qualified to pass judgement on the game/performance today.

But having watched that period of the game and seeing how completely dominant we were, I'm disappointed we didn't come home with 3pts today.

When I had to stop watching at half time, I thought to myself - Last season we played well away at Bradford first half only to sit back and surrender the initiative in the second and eventually throw away the points. They upped their intensity and their crowd got involved in the game and we wilted somewhat that day. Surely we'd not let the same happen again today is what I thought.

Obviously gutted to check the full time score later today to see that we didn't hold on and read that we maybe could've been more proactive in preventing Bradford getting back into it.

Continues a steady but unspectacular start for us. We're clearly not a million miles off being a decent side but we have to learn from some of these games soon before we drift away to being a midtable side again. Hopeful that we click into gear and become more creative/ruthless in the coming weeks.
Posted by: HarrogateMariner, September 10, 2023, 12:39am; Reply: 48
Overall I thought it was an enjoyable game, not a lot of goal mouth action but the way we controlled the first half is encouraging. You can clearly see the way Hurst wants us to play this season which is a different approach to last season. Taking that into account and all the new players it is going to take a bit of time for everything to click. But I do think we have a squad that can do very well.

Thought no one had a bad game today apart from maybe Eisa who was maybe trying a bit too hard to impress against his former employees. Personally thought Holohan was excellent, especially first half. Maher impressed me as well, think he has gone up a level since last season. Rose very good, right pain for defenders. Rest all good as well, I don't really see a weak link in terms of personal- Amos was targeted after his yellow but up until then thought he had played well.

I just have a feeling this season our home form is going to be far better than our away, so a point at Bradford could end up a very good point.
Posted by: The Caterham Mariner, September 10, 2023, 6:42am; Reply: 49
Quoted from 140381


Words fail me.

Indeed ...
Posted by: aldi_01, September 10, 2023, 8:23am; Reply: 50
Weakened or not, Bradford didn’t look anything spectacular and Hughes’ body language all game, reaction to weird decisions and celebration for the goal said everything. He’s still a bad result from the sack, they just don’t look easy on the eye.

The one time we made a mistake/lost concentration cost us a deserved 3 points but we live and learn, and besides, we’d have taken a point before the game.

As for the morons and the wired sectarian singing, the dripping of fat right ideology into the minds of young football fans, we’ve seen it before, at a point when the country was in a similar position. Football has always mirrored society…
Posted by: Heisenberg, September 10, 2023, 8:37am; Reply: 51
Quoted from aldi_01
Weakened or not, Bradford didn’t look anything spectacular and Hughes’ body language all game, reaction to weird decisions and celebration for the goal said everything. He’s still a bad result from the sack, they just don’t look easy on the eye.

The one time we made a mistake/lost concentration cost us a deserved 3 points but we live and learn, and besides, we’d have taken a point before the game.

As for the morons and the wired sectarian singing, the dripping of fat right ideology into the minds of young football fans, we’ve seen it before, at a point when the country was in a similar position. Football has always mirrored society…


Given the choice I’m 100% Rangers in the Auld Firm debate as I spent my childhood watching the news and seeing with my young eyes the IRA committing appalling atrocities, but where did the need for sectarian chanting come from yesterday?! What was the purpose?

I watched the game on TV and didn’t hear the chanting, but it’s a bit embarrassing to hear these reports.

I did hear the odd muted “scum” being shouted from someone sat near the commentators box so presumably it didn’t go down well with the locals. Weird though, as our fans usually let themselves down with chants about Peter Sutcliffe when in that neck mod the woods, but at least they didn’t resort to tragedy chanting about the obvious - that really wouldn’t be acceptable in any form.
Posted by: barralad, September 10, 2023, 8:53am; Reply: 52
Quoted from Heisenberg


Given the choice I’m 100% Rangers in the Auld Firm debate as I spent my childhood watching the news and seeing with my young eyes the IRA committing appalling atrocities, but where did the need for sectarian chanting come from yesterday?! What was the purpose?

I watched the game on TV and didn’t hear the chanting, but it’s a bit embarrassing to hear these reports.

I did hear the odd muted “scum” being shouted from someone sat near the commentators box so presumably it didn’t go down well with the locals. Weird though, as our fans usually let themselves down with chants about Peter Sutcliffe when in that neck mod the woods, but at least they didn’t resort to tragedy chanting about the obvious - that really wouldn’t be acceptable in any form.


There was no sectarian chanting that I can remember during the game. There was some in the food/drink area at H.T.
Posted by: DB, September 10, 2023, 9:15am; Reply: 53
Quoted from IlkleyMariner
Btw had a chat with Gary Croft today. Nice bloke. JT missed the match due to an op.

I’m old enough to remember his debut for Town.  He is young enough to remember it too….


I hope JT gets over his op soon and is OK. The guy who replaced him on RH with Crofty was useless and partially blind. He reported on a totally different game from what I saw.

Posted by: chaos33, September 10, 2023, 9:35am; Reply: 54
If I’d heard Town fans chanting about the IRA, or Tommy Robinson or any other vile garbage I’d be out there like a shot.
Posted by: denni266, September 10, 2023, 9:45am; Reply: 55
Woud have taken a draw yesterday all day before the game . But it was still 2 points lost because hurst wont put fresh legs on when needed. We played at a higher tempo first half and used a lot of energy in the heat . They did it the other way round and that was probably a good game plan knowing we would get tired and make mistakes. And in the knowlage that hurst wont use subs unless he realy has to injurys etc. Dont care what others think but hurst lost us the points and not for the first time either. Why moan about the amount of subs allowed when your not goin to use them anyway. If he does not trust them why bring them in to the club or put them on the bench. I would never give a job to anyone if i was not confident that they could do it . no point praying that they can
Posted by: LondonMariner43, September 10, 2023, 9:46am; Reply: 56
Quoted from MuddyWaters


I know we’ve mostly played the top teams this season but I do think Bradford are the worst team we’ve played so far this season.


Or maybe we played so well in the first half that we made them looked poor?
Posted by: dapperz fun pub, September 10, 2023, 9:47am; Reply: 57
Quoted from chaos33
If I’d heard Town fans chanting about the IRA, or Tommy Robinson or any other vile garbage I’d be out there like a shot.


You can’t attend many games then cos every large following we’ve taken anywhere in the country in recent times I’ve heard inflammatory singing , for balance though I was on train full of sheff Utd going down south last season and there repertoire of songs included anti ira and feck the pope
Posted by: BobbyCummingsTackle, September 10, 2023, 9:49am; Reply: 58
OK, this was the first time I have seen Town for 90 minutes this season and I was watching on TV.

Bradford were not sh*t, they were very poor going forward but very organised in defence. We struggled to get the telling ball through them in the 1st half and the goal came from a high quality delivery.

They pummelled us for the 1st 15 minutes in the 2nd half but we grappled our way back in to it but couldn't get anything like the dominance we had in the 1st. They were marginally better than us in the 2nd overall.

Hughes' changes at half time changed the game. I agree that we needed to make changes to get fresh legs on as our players were knackered.

I'm surprised anyone says Holohan was poor. He is critical to this team doing the hard yards and the ugly stuff in midfield. He is our water carrier and every team needs a water carrier. Remember, he didn't start the first couple of games but we look better since he has got back in.

Sadly Clifton was invisible for most of the game.

Their goal was a really good finish that wouldn't have gone on another day.

First time I've seen Conteh for 90. Very very good.
Posted by: MuddyWaters, September 10, 2023, 9:57am; Reply: 59
Quoted from LondonMariner43


Or maybe we played so well in the first half that we made them looked poor?


We've not made anyone else look that poor.
Posted by: dapperz fun pub, September 10, 2023, 9:57am; Reply: 60
OK, this was the first time I have seen Town for 90 minutes this season and I was watching on TV.

Bradford were not sh*t, they were very poor going forward but very organised in defence. We struggled to get the telling ball through them in the 1st half and the goal came from a high quality delivery.

They pummelled us for the 1st 15 minutes in the 2nd half but we grappled our way back in to it but couldn't get anything like the dominance we had in the 1st. They were marginally better than us in the 2nd overall.

Hughes' changes at half time changed the game. I agree that we needed to make changes to get fresh legs on as our players were knackered.

I'm surprised anyone says Holohan was poor. He is critical to this team doing the hard yards and the ugly stuff in midfield. He is our water carrier and every team needs a water carrier. Remember, he didn't start the first couple of games but we look better since he has got back in.

Sadly Clifton was invisible for most of the game.

Their goal was a really good finish that wouldn't have gone on another day.

First time I've seen Conteh for 90. Very very good.


Pretty much how I saw it .. and regarding the players you mention gav is indeed the water carrier , Harry I’m afraid is letting games by pass him and if it wasn’t for his local roots he’d be getting sounded out more regular and conteh imo won’t be with us next season he’s to good for league 2
Posted by: Rodley Mariner, September 10, 2023, 10:05am; Reply: 61
Quoted from MuddyWaters


We've not made anyone else look that poor.


We made Gillingham look exceptionally poor and did the same to Salford for a lot of that game. I think we're very difficult to play against. If we can just start making more chances then I think we could be in for all very exciting season.
Posted by: The Caterham Mariner, September 10, 2023, 11:26am; Reply: 62
Quoted from Kris2


It's unfortunate but some of the travelling fans are wannabe Neo-Nazi white power types and it's been going on for a while. Seen the photos of town fans on the road holding up White Power flags and doing Nazi salutes which is hilarious considering the majority of our goals have come from an African player. Clearly not a great deal of white power in our squad, but they can be rainbow coloured for all I care if they do the business on the pitch.

Also you're not bloody Rangers fans, you come from a small town across the river from Hull. You're not from the mean streets of Glasgow and you will never be that hard.  ;D

Well put ..and did this element of crowd support  a certain national team later on in the evening..makes you wonder.
Who's Army has a Jamaican soldier awarded a Victoria Cross by the late HM the Queen and you don't  get them in a "Lucky Bag!"
Please don't sing about the IRA too , Giving them air time ,pound to a piece of "Poo" you have not done a tour to see for yourself , try 5 and half years total out of 22.
Our forefathers fought Nazis so you are able to speak English not German at a football match.

Posted by: Brummie Codfather, September 10, 2023, 11:53am; Reply: 63
I thought we were good yesterday, first half we looked a level above Bradford.  Most players played well, only Eisa looked off it and he was against their RB who would have gotten my MOM.  
We did end up paying for not getting a second when we were dominant but compare this to the 3-1 hammering we got here last year and you can see how we’ve improved.
I think ideally Hurst would have taken off Rose after 80 mins as he was fooked but missing a like for like I can see why he let him on.  Enjoyable game and while a little disappointed not to win, really happy with how we’re shaping up.
I didn’t see or hear any of the sectarian chanting, maybe it was in the other stand?  Not surprised though, wouldn’t be the first time a load of young lads have been chanting about Tommy Robinson or whatever not really knowing why ( they always seems to be led by a mid 40s total weapon who has worrying influence over them)
Posted by: ska face, September 10, 2023, 12:13pm; Reply: 64
Quoted from Brummie Codfather

I think ideally Hurst would have taken off Rose after 80 mins as he was fooked but missing a like for like I can see why he let him on.


This is my main concern. The way we play is dependent on Rose leading the press from the front, winning everything in the final third and providing an outlet. When he’s run himself into the ground, we don’t have any like-for-like replacement to do the same, nor does Hurst change the system to accommodate the fact that he isn’t as effective in the final half hour or so purely because he’s knackered.

It’s like we operate with zero slack and no room for error, like we’re holding on with our fingertips at times - if we hold on it’s great but the moment you start to lose a little grip you’re in trouble.
Posted by: 123614 (Guest), September 10, 2023, 12:31pm; Reply: 65

Well put ..and did this element of crowd support  a certain national team later on in the evening..makes you wonder.
Who's Army has a Jamaican soldier awarded a Victoria Cross by the late HM the Queen and you don't  get them in a "Lucky Bag!"
Please don't sing about the IRA too , Giving them air time ,pound to a piece of "Poo" you have not done a tour to see for yourself , try 5 and half years total out of 22.
Our forefathers fought Nazis so you are able to speak English not German at a football match.



Agreed.  I did 3 years in the province during my 14 year stint in the Army, including 2 years in Londonderry when the troubles were at their worst, 1970/72.  If you haven't walked the walk, don't try to talk the talk, you have no idea whatsoever.

Posted by: The Caterham Mariner, September 10, 2023, 2:13pm; Reply: 66
Quoted from 123614


Agreed.  I did 3 years in the province during my 14 year stint in the Army, including 2 years in Londonderry when the troubles were at their worst, 1970/72.  If you haven't walked the walk, don't try to talk the talk, you have no idea whatsoever.


Beret and medals in the drawer they come
out for a clean once a year
Posted by: lee65, September 10, 2023, 3:34pm; Reply: 67
Well I didn’t hear any sectarian chanting, but did see a load of  shirtless 15 year old tossers “kicking off” near the SIP car park I was in. Just no need for it, no wonder there is such a big police presence.

I do cringe at the “Grimsby fans are on a bender (random name) is a sex offender”
Posted by: Civvy at last, September 10, 2023, 4:03pm; Reply: 68
So, given the police presence, how many Town fans were arrested whilst running riot ?
Just asking ??
Posted by: buckstown, September 10, 2023, 5:29pm; Reply: 69
Such a shame we couldn't hang on for a win yesterday. Just watched the extended highlights and their goal was literally their first decent attempt.
Get the impression Bradford are punching well below their weight under Hughes and we'll look back on this as a massive missed opportunity. Real shame we haven't got a bit more fire power up top and/or strength on the bench
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