No reason to panic but little reason to be optimistic about Bradford City starting pre-season with defeat

By Jason McKeown

Don’t panic. Of course, don’t panic. Why would you panic? Chill. It’s pre-season. No points were lost. There was nothing at stake. Instead, relax. Smile. Drink. And don’t dwell too much on this poor defeat.

Don’t panic about how easily Bradford City were beaten in their first round of pre-season. Big hole in the Bantams defense that allowed Chorley’s Tom Carr to open the scoring in less than a minute. The awful goalkeeping that made it 2-0 for Carr just before the half hour mark. The fact Chorley are a semi-professional National League North outfit and Bradford City should be a club with realistic hopes of promotion to League One.

Don’t panic. But worry if you will. In the pre-season, nothing can be proven or disproved. Confirmation bias flourishes. If you’re feeling optimistic about Bradford City’s prospects this season, you can shrug like a no-nonsense friendly and keep your bubble of positivity. If you’re worried that Stefan Rupp’s commitment to investing more hasn’t yet resulted in a palpably better team, this tepid performance is a flashing red warning light on the scoreboard.

Choose your own truth. I do not judge. No one really knows how significant this result is. And so no one is right or wrong to feel how they feel now.

What we can all agree is that losing football games is not a good habit to get into, so it wasn’t an afternoon to provide much encouragement. City have been hampered by the unavailability of Tyreik Wright, Brad Halliday, Calum Johnson, Calum Kavangh, Aden Baldwin, Colin Doyle and Kevin McDonald. With Graham Alexander keen to limit each player to 45 minutes of action, City’s youngsters and a three-man goalkeeper have been used to make up the numbers. Some attracted attention, others had a hard time walking. It’s harsh, but the old maxim that you’re only as strong as your weakest player rang true.

In the first half in particular, City looked more like a group of united individuals than a united football team. Mr A. Trialist – rumored to be Spennymoor Town’s highly-rated former Middlesbrough trainee Brad James, but who knows – generally struggled. Couldn’t do much about Chorley’s first goal, but some unconvincing attempts to catch crosses gave the home side reason to smell blood and they quickly resorted to launching the high ball into the box, which caused several snarls from the Trilist keeper and finally a second Chorley. gate.

Mr Trialist made a very good save and in the end, not helped by a shaky defense in front of him, youngster Max Murray endured a tough first half. At times it felt like City’s 3-5-2 formation was working like a 4-4-2. Full-backs Alex Gilliead and Adam Wilson were stationed too far up the field – basically operating as insides with little interest in tracking back. This led to wide centre-halves Murray and Ciaran Kelly splitting too wide to cover the gaps. This left centre-back Neill Byrne exposed, prompting Richie Smallwood to drop in support on some occasions. Byrne set up well but the vast spaces left by City were regularly exploited by an enthusiastic Chorley side.

Where Chorley attacked with vigor, City toiled in the final third. Vadaine Oliver is still here, still trying to carve out a bigger role for himself at Bradford City than a man on the sidelines, but his struggles have continued. Jake Young lined up alongside Oliver and was better, however, he was largely off the ball. Antoni Sarcevic showed some nice touches but he and Bobby Pointon were forced to operate deeper than they normally would. It just didn’t flow front to back.

All the changes since the break have resulted in improvements. Second half Bradford City took control of the game. Attacking with greater frequency, if lacking the sense of urgency and edge that surely would have surfaced if there were real stakes in the outcome of this game.

For what it’s worth, Tyler Smith forced two good saves from Matt Urwin – the former Bantam number three who was on the bench that famous afternoon at Stamford Bridge. Jamie Walker seemed to be trying to replicate Cristiano Ronaldo vs Slovenia in how many free kicks on goal he attempted. The Scot was as unsuccessful as Ronaldo in finding the back of the net, but at least he didn’t cry.

Indeed, the only real emotion shown by the players was a beaming smile from a very frail-looking Andy Cook as he blasted an effort over the bar and over the tiny stand behind the goal. And there was some anger from Alex Pattison too after he was fouled in the box only for the referee to award City a free-kick instead of a penalty. The players tried, but gave off the body language of not being unduly concerned about their losing position. Fitness was what really mattered.

It was undoubtedly a more fluid Bradford City XI compared to the first half team. Gabe Wadsworth looked a revelation at right back. Fellow youth prospects George Goodman and Leon Brookes showed promise. Pattison breezed past defenders to remind us all what a huge loss it was to be injured for 90% of last season. There was an excellent link between Pattison and Jamie Walker which promises a lot for next season. At the other end of the scale, Sam Stubbs was shaky at the back and Clarke Oduor struggled to affect the game. Those imperfections ensured that – although Chorley hung on a bit – the hosts were good value for the win.

Don’t panic. Of course, don’t panic. Why would we panic? And yet, this was not a sign of intent. There is no great demonstration of City’s quality and credentials. There was a chill in the air more than the Lancashire wind. And for Graham Alexander, it means the journey home would have felt less comfortable than the journey there. Restful sleep a little harder to achieve in the following days.

Just as a convincing City thrashing of Chorley would have been no guarantee they would be entertaining promotion this season, losing like this doesn’t mean they are doomed. However, this performance shows that there is still work to be done. Gaps to fill. Improvements to be made. Ultimately, they have a ways to go if they’re going to be ready for when things get really serious.

Categories: Match reviews

Tags: 2024/25, BCAFC