Bradford Home - 1st Leg Saturday 9th May

[ianofcleveleys]

20 minutes ago, Lt. Aldo Raine said:

Cissoko was a bit hit and miss last night but they were so wary of him that we likely wouldn't have scored if he wasn't playing

He dragged so many of theirs towards him that when he hit it across their penalty area for our goal, ACD had so much time and to take his shot

He was his usual hit and miss self first half, improved second half, tried hard to contribute when we lost the ball and stuck at it well till late on in a physical game. Once he'd worked out how to shift it on when he'd drawn them to him he made quite a bit happen

[bolton va va]

15 minutes ago, Lostock Whites said:

He's shit as well, was awful there few weeks ago at their place.

Don't care if he's had a good season, but if Sarcevic is your best player it tells you something.

Let them come onto us 2nd leg and the gaps will be there to exploit.

Also, they keep bigging up their own gaff, which is fair, but we went there 2 weeks ago when it was packed out, on the remembrance day too and like all the other games we've played them this season, we were the better side.

Their fans btw are incredibly quiet considering the numbers they bring, both home and away at their place I felt.

Our players are used to playing in front of bigger and louder crowds all season and I have no doubt our away fans will be up for it again.

We only need to match that result we got there 2 weeks ago and draw like we love doing.

Bratfurt fans are odd........for the recent game there, the city centre. the pubs & fanzone things, on the way up to & around the ground, the atmosphere was great & felt like the build up to a really big game ( miles better than round the Reebok ) but inside the ground they were so quiet until their goal near the end......Bolton's support made far more noise.

Same thing last night, considering it was a big game for them, they hardly made a sound !!

[paulhanley]

Naturally we are all focused on the process of the play offs and how this result leads us in the second leg and (god willing) beyond. Had this been a normal game I suspect more of us would have been welcoming an increasingly rare clean sheet and going ahead in a game without then conceding an equaliser (lost count of the amount of times that has happened since Christmas, especially at home). 

Kenny being absent is a big, big blow. However we have other attacking threat. As much as anything I think our fortunes rest upon the ability of our defence to concentrate and avoid dizzy moments and SS's ability to pick the right balance in midfield.

We can emerge from Thursday night with a Wembley showdown in our sights... but Bradford have been a different proposition at home all season. Work to do.

[Dr. Feelgood]

2 hours ago, Dennis Peacock said:

I do have feelings, you know!

You'll have dropped them if you have.

[Dennis Peacock]

😂😂

[frank_spencer]

My lad was clearly absolutely delighted with the win! 😄

I was watching on my phone using the ropey hotel WiFi.

[Dr Faustus]

2 hours ago, bolton va va said:

Bratfurt fans are odd........for the recent game there, the city centre. the pubs & fanzone things, on the way up to & around the ground, the atmosphere was great & felt like the build up to a really big game ( miles better than round the Reebok ) but inside the ground they were so quiet until their goal near the end......Bolton's support made far more noise.

Same thing last night, considering it was a big game for them, they hardly made a sound !!

It was shite last night. It was a night clamouring for proper old boozers; we’ll never have that again. Would love a Mary Ds type place, but guessing Horwich and Beswick are a million miles apart

[W.cramp]

Thought sheehan was great last night,  last few games he looks to me as though he has decided to take the game by the scruff of the neck and control it.  

Erahon looked very rusty, 3 times in the first half he gave the ball away in our half,  I understand he will likely be starting on Thursday but simons looked more upto speed when he came on.

[Arrested development]

15 minutes ago, W.cramp said:

Thought sheehan was great last night,  last few games he looks to me as though he has decided to take the game by the scruff of the neck and control it.  

Erahon looked very rusty, 3 times in the first half he gave the ball away in our half,  I understand he will likely be starting on Thursday but simons looked more upto speed when he came on.

I actually thought Ethan had a good game considering he's been out for a while. I'm not his biggest fan but yesterday he did the job that needed doing. Him and Sheehan dominated that midfield. 

[desperado]

23 minutes ago, Dr Faustus said:

It was shite last night. It was a night clamouring for proper old boozers; we’ll never have that again. Would love a Mary Ds type place, but guessing Horwich and Beswick are a million miles apart

Nam Ploy was great 😁

[Ani]

Has anyone mentioned the ‘you’re not fit to referee chant’ ? 
 

Good work. 

[ianofcleveleys]

12 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

I actually thought Ethan had a good game considering he's been out for a while. I'm not his biggest fan but yesterday he did the job that needed doing. Him and Sheehan dominated that midfield. 

Where I was with EE, haven't been over enamoured with his season but he did well as first half wore on, after that initial rustiness, looked after the ball well and made some good interceptions

Sheehan was tremendous, not for the first time recently, prompting, running and dictating things in the middle in the sort of manner someone like Tugay did years ago for Blackburn 

[Johnnyrotten]

15 hours ago, ianofcleveleys said:

A post width from Wembley. Two might have been enough and it not going in changed the whole dynamic of that last 25 mins.

Two down in 3 mins and they'd have been ship steadying mode for a while after. They were emboldened to come for us late on

Badly missed Kenny’s pace and harassing. With him we'd have buried them.

Forino's the best defender in the league on form this calendar year 

 

Just been reading the comments through and you're the first to single out Forino.  Our group of 6 had him hands down MOM by a mile.  Yes Toal and Johnston were at their best (Tutu less so) but CF was not only a rock, winning all his duals in the air and on the ground, but outstanding in possession.  I can't remember one occasion he did anything that I thought he could have improved.  As near to a 10 out of 10 as I've seen from a Bolton player this season.

SS didn't pick him for about 3 months.

[Johnnyrotten]

15 hours ago, kent_white said:

Dominated them for 90 minutes. If Bradford play like that on Wednesday, they're knackered. But I can't see them being this poor twice. 

Also - their fans seemed quiet seen as they had the whole upper tier and had been drinking all day. Very strange. 

That is just not the game I watched.  The ball was in our half for most of the first 15 minutes.  We were undoubtedly the better team for the last 30 minutes of that half, without creating anything at all.

In the 2nd half we got a great goal, might have got a 2nd, but spent loads of that half trying to stop them getting into our box (and getting near Bonham who was scary), I fail to see how we dominated at all, it was exhausting watching so god knows how nackered the players were.

Thought their crowd gave decent backing too, bearing in mind only 2k, hope our's can make themselves heard as much on Thursday.

[Lt. Aldo Raine]

1 hour ago, frank_spencer said:

My lad was clearly absolutely delighted with the win! 😄

I was watching on my phone using the ropey hotel WiFi.

A resourceful use of the crisp packet as an emergency glove there

[Johnnyrotten]

15 hours ago, masi 51 said:

Sarcevics legs have gone........Would not get on the bench for us

He didn't play well tonight and missed a bit of a sitter (should at least have got it on target) but a bit kind to our midfield to say he wouldn't get on our bench.  He might not, but his 11 goals from midfield would come in handy and its fair to say Bradford wouldn't be in the play offs if they didn't have him.

[masi 51]

6 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

He didn't play well tonight and missed a bit of a sitter (should at least have got it on target) but a bit kind to our midfield to say he wouldn't get on our bench.  He might not, but his 11 goals from midfield would come in handy and its fair to say Bradford wouldn't be in the play offs if they didn't have him.

We play a midfield two,,,,,,,His legs are shot to take either RR or Sheehans place . I give you he plays further forward and last night we had Erhahon and Sheehan.....RR took the 10.......And a fully fit squad we play two up top Kenny Dalby

Looks ok in a bad team that did ok in a bad league.

[Johnnyrotten]

14 hours ago, Dr Faustus said:

Why?

When did a goalkeeper not worry you? Genuinely ask yourself if you felt comfortable with Jussi? Great if you did- cos then we have a starting point

Baxter didn't worry me (till his form fell of a cliff), it felt safe when he was around.  

Every keeper since has worried me, I just don't want the ball to go near them either in the air on the ground.

[Leyther_Matt]

1 hour ago, desperado said:

Nam Ploy was great 😁

Think it depends on where you sit as on the far side it was taking ages for drinks to arrive (though food was rapid). We reserved a table of 6 but ended up split over two tables and had to down our last pints because they took over 25 minutes to arrive.

1 hour ago, Ani said:

Has anyone mentioned the ‘you’re not fit to referee chant’ ? 
 

Good work. 

Genius, that. 

[Stig]

17 minutes ago, Leyther_Matt said:

Think it depends on where you sit as on the far side it was taking ages for drinks to arrive (though food was rapid). We reserved a table of 6 but ended up split over two tables and had to down our last pints because they took over 25 minutes to arrive.

Genius, that. 

Anywhere where you have to wait for table service beers isn't for me. I'd get too impatient. 

Would probably stand up queuing the same length of time and be happy mind

[Underpants]

Forino & Johnston excellent last night. Johnston screaming in the faces of their players even scared me.

Didn't fill the place so we aren't massive.

[Tombwfc]

45 minutes ago, masi 51 said:

We play a midfield two,,,,,,,His legs are shot to take either RR or Sheehans place . I give you he plays further forward and last night we had Erhahon and Sheehan.....RR took the 10.......And a fully fit squad we play two up top Kenny Dalby

Looks ok in a bad team that did ok in a bad league.

 

He's got the same number of goals (slightly fewer appearances, slightly more minutes) as our player of the season. One fewer than Burstow and more than everybody else in our squad.

I doubt he'd start every week, but he wouldn't be out of his depth quality wise. And Bradford finished above us after 46 games so presumably someone there must be quite good.

[Farnywhite]

4 hours ago, bolton va va said:

Bratfurt fans are odd........for the recent game there, the city centre. the pubs & fanzone things, on the way up to & around the ground, the atmosphere was great & felt like the build up to a really big game ( miles better than round the Reebok ) but inside the ground they were so quiet until their goal near the end......Bolton's support made far more noise.

Same thing last night, considering it was a big game for them, they hardly made a sound !!

I was same they made more noise outside the ground than in it for there home game 

[Farnywhite]

6 minutes ago, Underpants said:

Forino & Johnston excellent last night. Johnston screaming in the faces of their players even scared me.

Didn't fill the place so we aren't massive.

Can they do it again though ? the inconsistency as been the problem we can look good at the back then next game complete lack of concentration and sloppy goals Luton was only the previous week 

[CumbrianWhite]

1 hour ago, Johnnyrotten said:

Just been reading the comments through and you're the first to single out Forino.  Our group of 6 had him hands down MOM by a mile.  Yes Toal and Johnston were at their best (Tutu less so) but CF was not only a rock, winning all his duals in the air and on the ground, but outstanding in possession.  I can't remember one occasion he did anything that I thought he could have improved.  As near to a 10 out of 10 as I've seen from a Bolton player this season.

SS didn't pick him for about 3 months.

Getting to the point where he’s our best player. We don’t win that game without him last night. I think he’s one of the few who could comfortably step up into championship football.