Bradford City 1 York City 1 (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Fleetwood, Rochdale and Exeter all slipped today. It's looking a wide open league aside from the Gills and we're still in the mix.

Mr P-the CITY faithful may be wondering if at some point U are going to prove ME wrong...No i wasnt at the game, I live 200 miles away...But this result doesnt prove that U are right for this job...I for 1 dont want to be in that "lottery" they call the "play offs"...U brought these guys in...Now show us that i am WRONG by winning automatic promotion...with YOUR side...those who were at the game, i guess must be disappointed

Poor first half. Not that difficult to work out how we couldn't score.. No wingers,no width, no creativity from anywhere. That along with a midfield of Doyle/Ravenhill/Atki
nson who have not actually scored any goals between them all season...

Seems to show a lack of faith Parky has in any of our wingers other than Reid, though when Thompson and Hines came on and we looked much better 2nd half. We could have won in the end, but as the home team surely we need to be more positive than playing 2 holding midfielders and Atkinson. Ritchie Jones was ignored in favour of Atkinson/Ravenhill, could argue he would be more of a threat, box to box and nimble than either. Admittedly he has been injured but is fit now and he surely must deserve consideration. Would start with him and Thompson next match if Gary Jones still unfit.

Also give a mention another pathetic referee.

lost a bit of respect for Parky today. I am all for trying new things out but the system we played in the first half was awful. he should have changed it after 20 mins and been man enough to admit it. it was a mess

another poor performance by hanson,parky get someone in to replace him or use thompson as a target man because he couldnt direct traffic never mind a ball the guy his total garbage

Victor Clayton wrote:
lost a bit of respect for Parky today. I am all for trying new things out but the system we played in the first half was awful. he should have changed it after 20 mins and been man enough to admit it. it was a mess

This is one thing i totally agree with if its clear things arent working. I remember reading an interview with Mourinho and he said a manager has to realise things are wrong before the fans can see it, and if means making changed after 20mins so be it.

I fear PP doesnt know what his best set up is, just like PT and SMC before him.

Please Mr Parkinson I do not come to watch football with players who have vey little talent,poor attitude,can,t tackle or shoot! Yes I am refering to Will Atkinson why not try giving him to Park Avenue?

Forget the playoffs, least we can hope for is a midtable finnish. I Cant belive this team isnt winning games and is struggling to score goals, already this season is slipping away, pleae mr parkinson prove us all wrong and fast..

Rambo wrote:

Victor Clayton wrote:
lost a bit of respect for Parky today. I am all for trying new things out but the system we played in the first half was awful. he should have changed it after 20 mins and been man enough to admit it. it was a mess

This is one thing i totally agree with if its clear things arent working. I remember reading an interview with Mourinho and he said a manager has to realise things are wrong before the fans can see it, and if means making changed after 20mins so be it.

I fear PP doesnt know what his best set up is, just like PT and SMC before him.

its a bit worrying that he feels he has to change to a system that we were clearly unprepared for. presumably because Jones is out. are we a team of mainly mediocre player with 2/3 great ones?

This was a beautiful autumnal day for football with the sun shining down on the Valley Parade pitch at kick off and throughout the match. With a big York following inside the stadium,anticipation was high on 'both sides of the fence.'

Sadly, for Bantams fans it was York who played the better football in the first half and I believe in most of this contest. For some reason(s) (perhaps the lack of Reid/G Jones) City didn't look the same side as that which has 'fired us all up' at times since August.

In truth it was the York forwards who looked more dangerous and the 1-0 lead did not flatter them! In fact they could have increased their lead which could have been game over!!

The fact Zavon Hines came on (good sub. from 'PP') and executed a brilliant indivdual run, dribble and goal-scoring shot should not mask City's shortcomings (teamwise) today. York played as a team and could have won-City rescued a point (and were somewhat fortunate to do so.) Fair play to York too, unlike Port Vale they never 'shut up shop' and kept trying to score more goals, not settling for a point either, after City's equaliser, which made the last 20 mins. the best part of the game. (as City finally 'stirred')

City? They lacked 'something' though I am not entirely sure what exactly!!??? The early season 'zip'/'straight -out -of -blocks' energy was just not there in the team which looked, dare I say it..jaded! Okay, there's been a LOT OF of games recently, nearly every midweek incl. extra times. Certainly City will benefit from a free Tuesday this week, and they will need to do better than this next Saturday v Cheltenham. Some of the City supporters' anger/moaning was heard from the stands and more performances like this will go down like a lead balloon!
Yes, it's still early and the joke in the 'City Gent' about supporters being negative ie' acorns falling on
our heads (bad results) is not the same as the whole sky falling down IS apposite. Luckily, other 'promotion-seekers' faltered too, though the Gills seem to be leaving 'dust in their wake.!!'

Victor Clayton wrote:

Rambo wrote:

Victor Clayton wrote:
lost a bit of respect for Parky today. I am all for trying new things out but the system we played in the first half was awful. he should have changed it after 20 mins and been man enough to admit it. it was a mess

This is one thing i totally agree with if its clear things arent working. I remember reading an interview with Mourinho and he said a manager has to realise things are wrong before the fans can see it, and if means making changed after 20mins so be it.

I fear PP doesnt know what his best set up is, just like PT and SMC before him.

its a bit worrying that he feels he has to change to a system that we were clearly unprepared for. presumably because Jones is out. are we a team of mainly mediocre player with 2/3 great ones?

The JPT is the place to try out new things, not important league games. 50min we wasted today and gave York a goal head start before we started playing.
We still could have won but we should not find ourself in that situation.

Two points down the drain, but York deserved the point following their performance. It took them time to get going but after 20 mins they played well.

I thought it was a bit of a **** tease on Connell. Sending him out for second half for what? Was it about 5 mins?

Connell looked pee'd off when substituted and who can blame him? When reverted to 2 up top any 1 of the 3 could have been taken off, but most of the ground will have known it would be Connell.

The 2 short young kids for York think it was number 9 Walker and 28 (or 29) they linked up well playing some tidy football moving forward. Would put both of them in our side tomorrow based on what I saw.

Heard people say Wells was unlucky when 1 on 1, my **** he tried to be too clever. Now Thompson was unlucky.

Although he has been better this year, still can not see us going anywhere too fast with Atkinson been relied on as a 90 min man.

A very frustrating afternoon all in all but still better then last year.

Atkinson is turning into Parkys love child like Osbourne was to Taylor! When reverting back to 4-4-2 why not go with 2 natural central midfielders! Either 2 from Doyle, Ravenhill or R. Jones! Crazy to keep Atkinson on!
Peach from Hines although he looks like he needs a rocket constantly up his arse! He has the ability but does he have the focus or hunger? Up to Parky to get that out of him! A good manager will motivate and get the best out of his players!
No complaints about Connel coming off. He looks off the pace and gets knocked off the ball too easy just like Hanson today! Wish we had another big centre forward like that kid at Torquay! Howe is it? playing at Bradford now not Swindon! He will not get the same time on the ball he did there. Next game lets start with 2 wingers and try to be positive!

Cityman23 wrote:
This was a beautiful autumnal day for football with the sun shining down on the Valley Parade pitch at kick off and throughout the match. With a big York following inside the stadium,anticipation was high on 'both sides of the fence.'

Sadly, for Bantams fans it was York who played the better football in the first half and I believe in most of this contest. For some reason(s) (perhaps the lack of Reid/G Jones) City didn't look the same side as that which has 'fired us all up' at times since August.

In truth it was the York forwards who looked more dangerous and the 1-0 lead did not flatter them! In fact they could have increased their lead which could have been game over!!

The fact Zavon Hines came on (good sub. from 'PP') and executed a brilliant indivdual run, dribble and goal-scoring shot should not mask City's shortcomings (teamwise) today. York played as a team and could have won-City rescued a point (and were somewhat fortunate to do so.) Fair play to York too, unlike Port Vale they never 'shut up shop' and kept trying to score more goals, not settling for a point either, after City's equaliser, which made the last 20 mins. the best part of the game. (as City finally 'stirred')

City? They lacked 'something' though I am not entirely sure what exactly!!??? The early season 'zip'/'straight -out -of -blocks' energy was just not there in the team which looked, dare I say it..jaded! Okay, there's been a LOT OF of games recently, nearly every midweek incl. extra times. Certainly City will benefit from a free Tuesday this week, and they will need to do better than this next Saturday v Cheltenham. Some of the City supporters' anger/moaning was heard from the stands and more performances like this will go down like a lead balloon!
Yes, it's still early and the joke in the 'City Gent' about supporters being negative ie' acorns falling on
our heads (bad results) is not the same as the whole sky falling down IS apposite. Luckily, other 'promotion-seekers' faltered too, though the Gills seem to be leaving 'dust in their wake.!!'

I think Meredith deserves some credit for the goal also. Hines was good when he came on, but faded PDQ. A few, like Doyle played their usual game but for me it was the system. Maybe an injury to Oliver and McArdle away, played their part. but PP saying on the radio that the system in the first half was not the problem simply wasn't correct. did anyone else think Hanson was reluctant to shoot?

Spenvalleyspartan wrote:
Atkinson is turning into Parkys love child like Osbourne was to Taylor! When reverting back to 4-4-2 why not go with 2 natural central midfielders! Either 2 from Doyle, Ravenhill or R. Jones! Crazy to keep Atkinson on!
Peach from Hines although he looks like he needs a rocket constantly up his arse! He has the ability but does he have the focus or hunger? Up to Parky to get that out of him! A good manager will motivate and get the best out of his players!
No complaints about Connel coming off. He looks off the pace and gets knocked off the ball too easy just like Hanson today! Wish we had another big centre forward like that kid at Torquay! Howe is it? playing at Bradford now not Swindon! He will not get the same time on the ball he did there. Next game lets start with 2 wingers and try to be positive!

We were wondering why Jones didn't replace Atkinson, it seemed so natural. however, listening to Radio Leeds on the way home they thought that Jones was not fully fit yet. so why have him on the bench?

I have always said give this manager time. ie till Christmas. However things are not going well at the moment,indeed on the form of the last 4 games we will finish in the bottom half of div 2. I still have faith in Mr parkinson but oh it is a little faded. Come on City get us out of this division

Some clown behind me was having a pop at Meredith in the first half, he changed his tune when he clicked on after 40 minutes that he was marking two men for most of the first half. I agreed with Parkinsons choice for the starting line up and the system, it didn't work so he changed it, good management, in hindsight it's a system that is probably best suited for away games. Thought the official was truly appalling, i actually thought the clown was just short of wearing a blue shirt. Having said that we should have won the game with two great second half chances missed.

**
We shout with pride, we never hide.....Claret and Amber...

The system was tried in the JPT. 4 days ago. We are missing our two most influential players. York didn't 'go for it'' we were unlucky not to win.



Thompson, Wells chances If taken would not have over flattered us in the 2nd half. We weren't as 'zippy' with our passing but improved in the last 30mins.

Derby games never go to plan, and all teams come with the same attitude as we do to make it hard for the ops. Give em a break. We are 2pts short of our tally on boxing day last year, a win next week takes us beyond that.

And the home team were ? i summised they played in blue, because of the way that all the players looked more positive in their quest for a result.

oh wise one, apart from the shot that went wide in the 1st minute when did Hanson have a decent opening? Did he have a clear header point blank with the keeper? Did anyone else miss a clear chance from 8 yards out, having plenty of time to make a decison in the approach to that chance? Was the correct decison made? The fact we didn't score a second would indicate not. Answer will resemble more than one artesian.

Period Drama wrote:
oh wise one, apart from the shot that went wide in the 1st minute when did Hanson have a decent opening? Did he have a clear header point blank with the keeper? Did anyone else miss a clear chance from 8 yards out, having plenty of time to make a decison in the approach to that chance? Was the correct decison made? The fact we didn't score a second would indicate not. Answer will resemble more than one artesian.

if you are saying Hanson didn't have a clear chance to score, I am not sure that is the best way to stick up for a striker. I can think of 3 times he could have shot but didn't. the last one, near the end of the first half, he lofted it back across the goal mouth when he could have shot. not an easy chance to be fair, but worth a go, IMO.

Somebody please tell me, why would Avenue want Atkinson (city fan over 40 years). We are doing very well without him thank you. Look forward to beating you in the F.A.CUP.

Over 40 years watching City...why would Avenue want Will Atkinson when we are doing very well as we are, thank you. We look forward to possibly meeting and beating you in the first round of the F.A.Cup

Wells will be having nightmares about the 1 on 1 that he should've buried, but overall it was a fair result. Credit to York though, who didn't come here to sit back, and actually tried to win the game.

Must admit I was surprised that Parkinson started with the 4-3-1-2, after 4-4-2 has served us so well at home in the past year, and it wasn't till we switched to it, that we started to give them something to worry about.

Great goal from Hines, and with Thompson making as impressive impact, then surely they've got to be our wide players next week.

mmmmm. a blip in form. yes but all teams have oe in a season so let's hope we get over it soon or,put another way, get Garry Jones back in although , I fear, we may not see him many more times because of a niggle in his back.

I think peoples are being unfair on hanson, if the defenders,goalkeeper
s and corner flag hadn't all been doing their jobs after 30 second, that screamer of a left foot would surely if put us in front. Seriously though he does have a role to play but needs a break, his lack of confidence is there for all to see. All strikers have a dip in form and this is James now. He needs taking out for a game or two just to recharge and build his confidence up a little.

macca1969 wrote:
I think peoples are being unfair on hanson, if the defenders,goalkeeper

s and corner flag hadn't all been doing their jobs after 30 second, that screamer of a left foot would surely if put us in front. Seriously though he does have a role to play but needs a break, his lack of confidence is there for all to see. All strikers have a dip in form and this is James now. He needs taking out for a game or two just to recharge and build his confidence up a little.

agreebut can we ctually afford to take him out given tha connell is not exactly worrying teams too much?

It could be argued that better service wil enhance his game and that his luck will beak soon.

My main concern is Jones: let us hope he is not going to be another sick note from Rochdale.

Awaiting howls of derision LOL

And there is the rub Victor, as that happened I turned to my son and said 'nice bit of thinking by Hanson there' his decision was the correct one and the ball, having already beaten the keeper needed knocking home. He is also not having the best time in front of goal and would've been wary of taking that chance.

i feel hanson should be having a bit of 1 2 1 in training the last few games i feel he has not been up2 the task of scoring.i think todays match the men in black should have had blue shirts on they were very 1 sided.nahki should have buried his 1 on 1 chance instead of trying to be clever.and dont get me started on atkinson he is terrible .time for a change mr p please the fans can see he crap why carnt you.

Vic, I wasn't 'sticking up' for him I was pointing out to Mr Wells(I'm guessing it's his dad) that at no time during the game did Hanson have as clear cut a chance as Wells did. At this moment in time I'd say if that chance had fallen to Jimmy the outcome would have been the same. A miss.

Period Drama wrote:
Vic, I wasn't 'sticking up' for him I was pointing out to Mr Wells(I'm guessing it's his dad) that at no time during the game did Hanson have as clear cut a chance as Wells did. At this moment in time I'd say if that chance had fallen to Jimmy the outcome would have been the same. A miss.

fair comment. different points of view.

Very poor IMO how Parky can defend that formation baffles/scares me so wrong on so many levels and chuffing obvious to everybody 10 mins in barring Parky.
This obbsession with Atkinson has to STOP!!! hes bl??dy useless although i fear the more we complain the more stubborn Parky will be in picking him every game.How can anybody justify picking him in front of players like R.Jones Thompson Hines taking doyle off and leaving him on is beyond me.Some say R.Jones isnt fit then why is he on the bench! im sure hes got 45 mins in him personally.
Never been Hansons biggest fan but he started of pretty well but seems to have a problem at the mo confidence? doesnt make sense when he started off the season well carrying an injury seems more likely to me.
Oliver was obviously carrying an injury im afraid our trimmed down better quality squad is being stretched already bit worrying.

It's no coincidence that four league games have gone by without a win and we are without Reid and Jones senior.
However, injuries are part and parcel of a football league season and it is the mark of clubs with aspirations that they can carry such setbacks. The evidence of the last four games suggests that the management team cannot find a positive response to those two injuries and this is worrying if Jones is out for a long period.

Fans' frustration is understandable after such a promising start, but there must be questions asked about formations, match day tactics and the obstinate commitment to some players who have shown quite categorically that they are not up to a starting slot.

If the pre-season euphoria about the best squad we've had is to be justified, then decision making by management is very much under scrutiny over the next three games.

Current form is sufficient only to a league position slightly better than the past three seasons.

Shoot Me Im a City Fan wrote:
Forget the playoffs, least we can hope for is a midtable finnish. I Cant belive this team isnt winning games and is struggling to score goals, already this season is slipping away, pleae mr parkinson prove us all wrong and fast..

Are you Totally insane???? You Quote that the season is already slipping away from us and the best we can hope for is a mid-table finish? I would like to remind you that, we are 1pt off the play-offs and 4pts off 3rd place. Now, this crap about Atkinson. What did he do wrong yesterday? There were lots of 6/10 performances and for me everytime Atkinson plays he gives 100% and so far IMO, he has been one of our better players upto now. It's down to the gaffer which formation he plays, and for me 4-3-1-2, at home was wrong. He should have started with 4-4-2. and keep the width. On the subject of Jimmy H, I have to agree that he seems low on confidence and so I suggest he is rested on the the bench for a few games and let's start with Connell/Wells up front and bring on Jimmy as an impact player.

ALEXIMO.56. wrote:

Shoot Me Im a City Fan wrote:
Forget the playoffs, least we can hope for is a midtable finnish. I Cant belive this team isnt winning games and is struggling to score goals, already this season is slipping away, pleae mr parkinson prove us all wrong and fast..

Are you Totally insane???? You Quote that the season is already slipping away from us and the best we can hope for is a mid-table finish? I would like to remind you that, we are 1pt off the play-offs and 4pts off 3rd place. Now, this crap about Atkinson. What did he do wrong yesterday? There were lots of 6/10 performances and for me everytime Atkinson plays he gives 100% and so far IMO, he has been one of our better players upto now. It's down to the gaffer which formation he plays, and for me 4-3-1-2, at home was wrong. He should have started with 4-4-2. and keep the width. On the subject of Jimmy H, I have to agree that he seems low on confidence and so I suggest he is rested on the the bench for a few games and let's start with Connell/Wells up front and bring on Jimmy as an impact player.

I can see where you are coming from with regards to Atkinson. however with the play being far too narrow, i do think it showed him up a bit. he was a bit slow to pass and move and seemed to get caught in possesion. also, when we did change it around a bit and other player immidiately improved, he was too slow to close down. IMO Ravenhill is getting away very lightly!

Victor Clayton wrote:

ALEXIMO.56. wrote:

Shoot Me Im a City Fan wrote:
Forget the playoffs, least we can hope for is a midtable finnish. I Cant belive this team isnt winning games and is struggling to score goals, already this season is slipping away, pleae mr parkinson prove us all wrong and fast..

Are you Totally insane???? You Quote that the season is already slipping away from us and the best we can hope for is a mid-table finish? I would like to remind you that, we are 1pt off the play-offs and 4pts off 3rd place. Now, this crap about Atkinson. What did he do wrong yesterday? There were lots of 6/10 performances and for me everytime Atkinson plays he gives 100% and so far IMO, he has been one of our better players upto now. It's down to the gaffer which formation he plays, and for me 4-3-1-2, at home was wrong. He should have started with 4-4-2. and keep the width. On the subject of Jimmy H, I have to agree that he seems low on confidence and so I suggest he is rested on the the bench for a few games and let's start with Connell/Wells up front and bring on Jimmy as an impact player.

I can see where you are coming from with regards to Atkinson. however with the play being far too narrow, i do think it showed him up a bit. he was a bit slow to pass and move and seemed to get caught in possesion. also, when we did change it around a bit and other player immidiately improved, he was too slow to close down. IMO Ravenhill is getting away very lightly!

I would start with Connell/ Thompson and see how it goes.

Not a bad result, City have played alot of football, more than most of the teams in this league. Many of the top teams also slipped up today. City are missing key players, and any team at this level or the division above would likewise suffer with such a loss. In credit to Parky, he made the right adjustments in formation, and brought on player that made all the difference. On another day the near misses would have been goals. It will be interesting to see if Parky brings in any loan players, and who he might sign come January. In Parky we trust.

Come on you Bantams, CTID

Scoular's left boot wrote:
Over 40 years watching City...why would Avenue want Will Atkinson when we are doing very well as we are, thank you. We look forward to possibly meeting and beating you in the first round of the F.A.Cup

Avi Avi wont get to the ist round sad stan, now remind me of that cricket scoreline last season in the FA cup... was it 10 - 1 lol

We need to look at the bigger picture here guys. We are still only 1 point off the play offs and 4 points off 4th place so we're still in a strong posistion despite this 4 game blip. To go through a blip and still be in the mix is a good outcome. We are miles better than last season. In this 4 game blip we outplayed both Port Vale and Rochdale and were unfortunate to come away with only 1 point, outplayed Dagenham for a whole half but paid for the poor first half performance, and despite being poor yesterday could still have won the game. So two and a half games out of four I would say where we have played well and deserved more than we have got. We are obviously missing Reid and Jones and their absence is a big contributory factor in this blip but we are only 12 games in and both those players will be back before we even get to the halfway stage of the season so there's still lots to look forward to. As long as we can stay there or thereabouts over the next few games we will push on once those two return. As for today's game. Parkinson got it wrong with the formation first half. He said afterwards that it wasn't the system but the lack of tempo and intensity from the players that was to blame. I agree there was a lack of intensity and tempo from the players but the main contributory factor WAS the system, as was proved when he brought the 2 wingers on. Managers will try different things throughout a season and get things wrong. On this occasion Parky got it wrong. But balance this against how much he has got right so far this season and I think we can forgive him. Keep the faith everyone! We're still on course for a promotion tilt!

I know Atkinson didn't have a good game but ravens hill was absolute garbage ? Don't think he touched the ball?

Dont go blaming Jimmy for Parkinsons tactics we were far too narrow and negative!!
We have prob the best centre half pairing in the league so why insist on playing 2 holding midfielders??????
We should let them do their job and this way we would get more bodies in te box.
In football you need the rub of the green if we had that thomos shot would have gone in!
In home games we have to go at them and not the other way round

Agree Dave, if playin 2 holding midfielder the full backs should the licence to bomb on and still leaves 4 to defend and still gives us some width.

Lets be totally straight here, we should be beating teams like this if we are so called promotion contenders, what was PP expecting out of his first half formation? sadly a clueless and wasted 45 mins IMO
personally i feel that we still need mr right up front, im not too convinced with what we have at the moment, 4 game blip? i cannot understand the justification in these statements when clearly we just weren't up to beating an average York side

Sme old city, same ol deluded rubbish on here. you fall for it every year. 'Quality signings' 'Budget better than most in th league' The reason you are where you are is cause you are a basement club and your signings can't get a better deal elsewhere. Wise up

tactics tactics tactics 1st half all wrong you cant play with a big man and no wingers hines changed that but for me thompson was the difference he looked hungry and awesome he must start next game him and hanson wells for performance should be benched but yet again another team comes to valley parade and shuts up shop very negative e cant break teams down like that come and attack also as then the games are much better

There is a long way to go in this division we are only quarter way through the season and some on here are writing us off already. we have 18 points with 3/4 of a season left if you multiply the 18 points by 4 we have 72 but we will do a lot better once we get into the second part of the season. I have seen many times before teams going great guns and then going through a bad patch to get caught. Look at Rotherham where they are now. We have Cheltenham next win that we can move quite away up if results go right. Next quarter we will pick up more points than we did this. 72 points last season was the play off zone so we are not out of it yet remember where we were last season.

Another frustrating show but thankfully the weather was good. Agree formation all wrong in the first half. Don't agree with criticism of Mr Hanson. The poor fella hardly ever receives a decent ball, certainly not on the ground. Great goal from Mr Hynes after a pass ON THE GROUND from Mr Meredith. Can't remember him receiving another pass after that. No creative midfield whatsoever as the ball repeatedly ballooned from defence to Mr Hanson. Watched Mr Atkinson closely and felt a bit sorry for him. Must be a good reason why he wasn't replaced by Mr R Jones very early on.

Shoot Me Im a City Fan wrote:
Forget the playoffs, least we can hope for is a midtable finnish. I Cant belive this team isnt winning games and is struggling to score goals, already this season is slipping away, pleae mr parkinson prove us all wrong and fast..

what planet are you on,we,re 12 games in one point off play offs and three points off third place.get a grip

doubledigiter says...
1:27pm Sun 14 Oct 12

We need to look at the bigger picture here guys. We are still only 1 point off the play offs and 4 points off 4th place so we're still in a strong posistion despite this 4 game blip. To go through a blip and still be in the mix is a good outcome. We are miles better than last season. In this 4 game blip we outplayed both Port Vale and Rochdale and were unfortunate to come away with only 1 point, outplayed Dagenham for a whole half but paid for the poor first half performance, and despite being poor yesterday could still have won the game. So two and a half games out of four I would say where we have played well and deserved more than we have got. We are obviously missing Reid and Jones and their absence is a big contributory factor in this blip but we are only 12 games in and both those players will be back before we even get to the halfway stage of the season so there's still lots to look forward to. As long as we can stay there or thereabouts over the next few games we will push on once those two return. As for today's game. Parkinson got it wrong with the formation first half. He said afterwards that it wasn't the system but the lack of tempo and intensity from the players that was to blame. I agree there was a lack of intensity and tempo from the players but the main contributory factor WAS the system, as was proved when he brought the 2 wingers on. Managers will try different things throughout a season and get things wrong. On this occasion Parky got it wrong. But balance this against how much he has got right so far this season and I think we can forgive him. Keep the faith everyone! We're still on course for a promotion tilt!”

Seems to me one of the more even handed & balanced postings on here.

We are also only 2 pts short of our tally on boxing day last season. 4th round of one cup and the lowest placed team out of 92 so no mean feat considering 2 of those wins were against teams in higher leagues and the 3rd round of the JPT which gives scope to get the fringe players games.

Yesterday was a derby, always hard to call, we had the better chances but didn't take them. The worry comes when we create no chances. Of course I'd love us to be in the auto spots but the overall status of the club is better than it has been for years, let's not forget that.

Can't believe some of the hysterical reactions here to yesterdays draw against a team who are amongst the better we'll face this season...they've all obviously been waiting to pounce once the team had an indifferent spell ..muppets.
For the record...we have exactly the same number of points we had after 12 games the last time the club achieved a promotion.

spleen ventor wrote:
Can't believe some of the hysterical reactions here to yesterdays draw against a team who are amongst the better we'll face this season...they've all obviously been waiting to pounce once the team had an indifferent spell ..muppets.
For the record...we have exactly the same number of points we had after 12 games the last time the club achieved a promotion.

I think fans are simply making voicing their opinions. nothing more. every team has a bad patch. our problem is we are not winning games in our good patch.

Two more positives, Hines has shown he has something, we just need him to be a bit more prolific and have more confidence. Thompson was involved more and had two good chances.

Victor Clayton wrote:

spleen ventor wrote: Can't believe some of the hysterical reactions here to yesterdays draw against a team who are amongst the better we'll face this season...they've all obviously been waiting to pounce once the team had an indifferent spell ..muppets. For the record...we have exactly the same number of points we had after 12 games the last time the club achieved a promotion.

I think fans are simply making voicing their opinions. nothing more. every team has a bad patch. our problem is we are not winning games in our good patch.

So the four wins on the trot in September were a mirage were they?...I'd call that winning in a "good patch"

Victor Clayton wrote:

spleen ventor wrote:
Can't believe some of the hysterical reactions here to yesterdays draw against a team who are amongst the better we'll face this season...they've all obviously been waiting to pounce once the team had an indifferent spell ..muppets.
For the record...we have exactly the same number of points we had after 12 games the last time the club achieved a promotion.

I think fans are simply making voicing their opinions. nothing more. every team has a bad patch. our problem is we are not winning games in our good patch.

Thank goodness there are some city fans that take note of all aspects of the game and the opposition and not just criticise the team for not winning every game.
Tactics in any game are dictated by injuries to key players and experience. The diamond midfield almost brought us back from the dead against D&R, and got us a result at Hartlepool so why not give it 45 mins on Sat.
It didn't work and Parky changed it and we still could have won the game 3 - 1 on a different day.
Get a grip some of you doubters!

Own goal by Parky......

Alot of away teams conme to condense play and keep it tight for the first 20 at least. York had one striker for goodness sake. So what do we do? Do it for them.

despite some of the indifferent service from out-wide we should at least have had one wide player.

Parky blamed lethargy for that first half but it was totally the system. Jimmy and Nakhi stood in no mans land neither up front or out wide. Connell sat deep but as the central one of the strikers????? Gaps all over the place. the players didn't know what they were doing.

Then theres the team selection. Parky clearly doesn't like Jones. Some have said its merely cos he didn't buy him. I don't think that could be the case but he is worse than Atkinson and/or Ravenhill?
JOnes would have offered the energy levels that our other Jones does. If Parky wants to blame lethargy well Ritchie provides this.

Atkinson comes in for stick and he is an average player but he actually put in alot of effort but doesn't really create anything. However he was far better than Ravenhill who barely kicked the ball. Apart from one crunching tackle he did nothing.

So Hanson has no wide players for an whole half and was playing in no-mans land from instruction by the manager yet is expected to score an hat trick ;-). he was also held throughout the game which the ref seemed to enjoy.....

I mentioned early in the season that our central players will not score many in open play. I actually thought they would have scored at least a couple between them thus far. But i think the 3 on Saturday Doyle, Ravenhill, Atkinson haven't scored any. this is an issue as the pressure is totally on relatively few players to get the goals.

Second half we go 442 and still should have won the game. This suits the players we have. Surely even Parky can see this now. He waited untill they scored before been forced to change it yet anyone could see that it wasn't working. Two points dropped for me.

For me Jones should have entered they game when we went 442 but like i say we still could have won it but was left with effectively one half to do it.

Credit to York they didn't sit back to protect the point even in ijury time which was refreshing to see.

This over cautious attitude will mean we are scrapping for the play-off berths. Whilst this is obviuosly an improvement could this team acheive more? There as been no team i've seen that suggest its an hard division this year. Indeed its a great opportunity to go up automatic. But we must stop making it hard for ourselves.

yorkiebantam wrote:

Victor Clayton wrote:

spleen ventor wrote: Can't believe some of the hysterical reactions here to yesterdays draw against a team who are amongst the better we'll face this season...they've all obviously been waiting to pounce once the team had an indifferent spell ..muppets. For the record...we have exactly the same number of points we had after 12 games the last time the club achieved a promotion.

I think fans are simply making voicing their opinions. nothing more. every team has a bad patch. our problem is we are not winning games in our good patch.

Thank goodness there are some city fans that take note of all aspects of the game and the opposition and not just criticise the team for not winning every game. Tactics in any game are dictated by injuries to key players and experience. The diamond midfield almost brought us back from the dead against D&R, and got us a result at Hartlepool so why not give it 45 mins on Sat. It didn't work and Parky changed it and we still could have won the game 3 - 1 on a different day. Get a grip some of you doubters!

Contradicting yourself a bit there. If he didn’t have the personnel to play with any width, how was he able to change in the second half?
I think he has every right to try things out but it clearly wasn’t working. And they came out the second half playing exactly the same – why?

spleen ventor wrote:

Victor Clayton wrote:

spleen ventor wrote: Can't believe some of the hysterical reactions here to yesterdays draw against a team who are amongst the better we'll face this season...they've all obviously been waiting to pounce once the team had an indifferent spell ..muppets. For the record...we have exactly the same number of points we had after 12 games the last time the club achieved a promotion.

I think fans are simply making voicing their opinions. nothing more. every team has a bad patch. our problem is we are not winning games in our good patch.

So the four wins on the trot in September were a mirage were they?...I'd call that winning in a "good patch"

In comparison to the last few years, all of the season so far has been a good patch. it just my opinion, but it looks to me like there have been games we should have won and haven’t. PP changing the formation on Saturday would suggest he is not happy with the last few games.

Victor Clayton wrote:

spleen ventor wrote:

Victor Clayton wrote:

spleen ventor wrote: Can't believe some of the hysterical reactions here to yesterdays draw against a team who are amongst the better we'll face this season...they've all obviously been waiting to pounce once the team had an indifferent spell ..muppets. For the record...we have exactly the same number of points we had after 12 games the last time the club achieved a promotion.

I think fans are simply making voicing their opinions. nothing more. every team has a bad patch. our problem is we are not winning games in our good patch.

So the four wins on the trot in September were a mirage were they?...I'd call that winning in a "good patch"

In comparison to the last few years, all of the season so far has been a good patch. it just my opinion, but it looks to me like there have been games we should have won and haven’t. PP changing the formation on Saturday would suggest he is not happy with the last few games.

He tried the formation 2nd half v Daggers and then all match v Hartlepool, it isn't anything to do with being happy or unhappy it was to do with personnel available and personnel he trusted to play. End of.

It also allowed Connell a chance to grab a regular start as many posters have clamoured for this intelligent player to do so, he failed to make an impact. If you are given a chance and don't take it you can't then complain as a player you aren't being given chances. Not that Alan C is complaining to my knowledge but a few of the clucking chickens on here have been, hopefully their beaks are now welded shut.

Prisoner Cell Block A wrote:

Victor Clayton wrote:

spleen ventor wrote:

Victor Clayton wrote:

spleen ventor wrote: Can't believe some of the hysterical reactions here to yesterdays draw against a team who are amongst the better we'll face this season...they've all obviously been waiting to pounce once the team had an indifferent spell ..muppets. For the record...we have exactly the same number of points we had after 12 games the last time the club achieved a promotion.

I think fans are simply making voicing their opinions. nothing more. every team has a bad patch. our problem is we are not winning games in our good patch.

So the four wins on the trot in September were a mirage were they?...I'd call that winning in a "good patch"

In comparison to the last few years, all of the season so far has been a good patch. it just my opinion, but it looks to me like there have been games we should have won and haven’t. PP changing the formation on Saturday would suggest he is not happy with the last few games.

He tried the formation 2nd half v Daggers and then all match v Hartlepool, it isn't anything to do with being happy or unhappy it was to do with personnel available and personnel he trusted to play. End of.

It also allowed Connell a chance to grab a regular start as many posters have clamoured for this intelligent player to do so, he failed to make an impact. If you are given a chance and don't take it you can't then complain as a player you aren't being given chances. Not that Alan C is complaining to my knowledge but a few of the clucking chickens on here have been, hopefully their beaks are now welded shut.

So Connell gets no service and thus is effectively out if the game as a deep-lying centre forward. However, you continue to defend Hanson for not getting service...!

Not very fair on Connell fella. He has had a few starts and has scored 3 goals despite the lack of opportunities being created. Meanwhile our main centre forward continues to struggle. He has started every league game and has just 4 goals to his name.

But hang on a minute, he is good as flicking on high hopeless balls from the back, into no-mans land, so lets cut him a bit of slack. Is that how it goes with Hanson?

The above post isn't just aimed at PBCA. There are plenty of other posters suggesting Wells be dropped for missing a 1 on 1. Do they really need reminding that he is still our top goal scorer despite not starting every game.

The fact is, Wells had 4 efforts on goal and only 1 was off target, albeit the one that you would expect him to get on target. How many chances did Hanson create for himself/take? He had an excellent opportunity in the first minute and missed the target. How many saves did he make the keeper make? Yet it is Connell and Wells getting the stick.....!

And as for the formula, weren't many on here moaning about Hines' performances recently and praising Parkinson's for throwing on Connell and going 4-3-3 against Daggenham. Admittedly, it didn't work this time, but how can we question him, days after applauding him for using the same formation and personnel?????

I have not said he needs to be taken out I said he didn't take his chance to shine, he wasn't in a position to receive service, he was one of the players included in the team to create and give service to the front two. I struggle to remember him doing this. I also mentioned that the formation was one that many had asked for and also that Connell be included the team, these things happened people moaned. Did he impress you in the 'provider' stakes? That was definitley his role on Saturday gone and to get in there and support the front two.

I also have mentioned Hanson's first minute miss and that I think he would have missed the CLEAR CUT chance Nahki missed.

I fail to see where I have been unfair. Hanson is in the side as a target man, target men usually don't end up as the team's top scorer as they provide knock downs and hold ups, oddly enough he must have something about him as he has constantly been our top scorer in woeful teams as well as doing the target man role and helping the defence defend set pieces and such.

And if anything your argument works against Nahki as you say he had 4 chances, I'd have thought such a hot prospect would have been banging at least one away eh? Even if he created them all himself, which he didn't he should still be knocking one in being head and shoulders above his partner as a finisher???

Prisoner Cell Block A wrote:
I have not said he needs to be taken out I said he didn't take his chance to shine, he wasn't in a position to receive service, he was one of the players included in the team to create and give service to the front two. I struggle to remember him doing this. I also mentioned that the formation was one that many had asked for and also that Connell be included the team, these things happened people moaned. Did he impress you in the 'provider' stakes? That was definitley his role on Saturday gone and to get in there and support the front two. I also have mentioned Hanson's first minute miss and that I think he would have missed the CLEAR CUT chance Nahki missed. I fail to see where I have been unfair. Hanson is in the side as a target man, target men usually don't end up as the team's top scorer as they provide knock downs and hold ups, oddly enough he must have something about him as he has constantly been our top scorer in woeful teams as well as doing the target man role and helping the defence defend set pieces and such. And if anything your argument works against Nahki as you say he had 4 chances, I'd have thought such a hot prospect would have been banging at least one away eh? Even if he created them all himself, which he didn't he should still be knocking one in being head and shoulders above his partner as a finisher???

How dare you support Hanson some on here will now tell you how poor as a target man Hanson is and supply stats to prove it (think we've been here before) I commented above (although it looks like it has been deleted for some reason) that Saturday was not James best performance and I was not being critical of Naki with his miss, but though after getting onto a one on one with their keeper he made the right decision to chip rather than go for power,but having made the decision to chip the keeper he should have hit the target, you make fair comment re James Hanson IMO but if the manager and board feel we could bring someone into the club and play the "target man" role better than James Hanson I would be in favour of that decision as I want us to get out of the bottom tier of league football as soon as possible if the manager feels that's what's needed I would whole heartedly support him, but until that happens we must get the best out of the players who supply the chances !!.

I'm supporting all 3 of the forwards in question if I'm honest. I know Connell is a good player, I know he could play that 'hole' position very well, I just don't think he did it that well on Saturday. Nahki is usually a very good and instinctive finisher, this let him down on Saturday, I too agree he made the right decision, it just didn't work out. I appreciate both James' strengths and weaknesses, I feel others don't and it is due to this that I appear to be constantly defending him. I rarely come on and make comment on how good he is and what he brings to the team unless it is in opposition to those screaming about him being cr@p.

Prisoner Cell Block A wrote:
I have not said he needs to be taken out I said he didn't take his chance to shine, he wasn't in a position to receive service, he was one of the players included in the team to create and give service to the front two. I struggle to remember him doing this. I also mentioned that the formation was one that many had asked for and also that Connell be included the team, these things happened people moaned. Did he impress you in the 'provider' stakes? That was definitley his role on Saturday gone and to get in there and support the front two.

I also have mentioned Hanson's first minute miss and that I think he would have missed the CLEAR CUT chance Nahki missed.

I fail to see where I have been unfair. Hanson is in the side as a target man, target men usually don't end up as the team's top scorer as they provide knock downs and hold ups, oddly enough he must have something about him as he has constantly been our top scorer in woeful teams as well as doing the target man role and helping the defence defend set pieces and such.

And if anything your argument works against Nahki as you say he had 4 chances, I'd have thought such a hot prospect would have been banging at least one away eh? Even if he created them all himself, which he didn't he should still be knocking one in being head and shoulders above his partner as a finisher???

My argument is with your statement that Connell didn't take his chance. For whatever reason, the formula just didn't work on Saturday and Connell just didn't get enough of the ball. His role was to link midfield with the lads up top, but if he is starved of possession, how can he do anything about it?

Are you saying Connell is on trial every game, because he clearly took his chance last Saturday?

You say we should persist with Hanson because he is doing his job effectively. Isn't his job to score or create chances from flick ons? At the moment he is doing neither or can you just not see that? Don't get me wrong, it isn't all down to Hanson as to why nobody is getting on the end of his knock downs. Dann has mentioned umpteen times that our midfield just don't get forward enough to benefit from Hanson's knock downs. Either Parkinson plays players that will get on the end of them, or he changes his formation/tactics and leaves Hanson on the bench. It is clearly not working at present

Where did I say we should persist with Hanson? I say he is doing what is expected of him, he is achieving a target man tally season on season, he is performing the target man role as well as anyone could in this side(historically) and I can see that he IS doing just that, not only with his head and body but 3 times on Saturday, took the ball down and laid off three passes, all which went to the intended man.

I can also appreciate what you and others are saying in that the big man/little man combo doesn't seem to be working too well for us but am glad to see that you do appreciate that this is due to many reasons not just Hanson not doing his job, because that is plainly untrue.

He was scoring early season, do you agree we are not playing to the standard we were and are not now creating the same type of chances he was scoring from? We don't have Gary Jones delivering the set plays and due to that the ball into the box has been more flightly, Jones seems to be able to deliver accurately and at speed.

I am not saying Connell is on trial every game or any game, he just hasn't pulled up any trees for me in his efforts to break into the team and nail down a starting spot, he obviously hasn't for PP either, maybe it is he you should be having this discussion with.

Dann stated very early season he didn't think the rest of the team would chip in with enough goals and Andy Davies aside he has been bang on the money. Oh what I'd give for a Dave Syers now, not that he'd get used properly either.

Prisoner Cell Block A wrote:
Where did I say we should persist with Hanson? I say he is doing what is expected of him, he is achieving a target man tally season on season, he is performing the target man role as well as anyone could in this side(historically) and I can see that he IS doing just that, not only with his head and body but 3 times on Saturday, took the ball down and laid off three passes, all which went to the intended man.

I can also appreciate what you and others are saying in that the big man/little man combo doesn't seem to be working too well for us but am glad to see that you do appreciate that this is due to many reasons not just Hanson not doing his job, because that is plainly untrue.

He was scoring early season, do you agree we are not playing to the standard we were and are not now creating the same type of chances he was scoring from? We don't have Gary Jones delivering the set plays and due to that the ball into the box has been more flightly, Jones seems to be able to deliver accurately and at speed.

I am not saying Connell is on trial every game or any game, he just hasn't pulled up any trees for me in his efforts to break into the team and nail down a starting spot, he obviously hasn't for PP either, maybe it is he you should be having this discussion with.

Dann stated very early season he didn't think the rest of the team would chip in with enough goals and Andy Davies aside he has been bang on the money. Oh what I'd give for a Dave Syers now, not that he'd get used properly either.

PCBA

I did recognise that Davies and Oliver will get a few from set-pieces ;-)

I'm worried how the loss of just two players means we have had to attempt to change the system and we have had this loss of form. But it highlights for me how predictable we were e.g. Reid......