Neilson issues new challenge after unbeaten run bites dust (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

If Neilson had been on from the start we would still be unbeaten in 11. Shocking decision by McCall!! as I said in earlier posts Neilson should not have played in the PaintPot Trophy...........
Great game though!! Hats off to Dario, who I bet couldnt believe his luck when he heard City would play so narrow!! Then when Neilson came on we carved them open at will.

what we missed on saturday which was pace as shown when neilson came on but think if neilson can do that week in week out when omar is back plus next week we have evans back with his pace and effort i still feel optimistic and a play off berth is ours

I totally disagree Shaun. I think if you look at what personnel Stuart had available on Tuesday it would have been foolish to leave Neilsen out. It's so easy to blame the manager for everything isn't it? if you're going to point the finger why not do so at Chris Brandon and Michael Boulding? Brandon is a more experienced player than Neilsen, so bringing him in shouldn't have been an issue. Brandon was awful and failed to perform a role he should easily be able to master (he did well in it on Tuesday). Boulding too was poor playing wide right, yes it's not his best position but he should have just got on with it instead of almost acting like he was sulking. mid way through the first half he seemed to give up doing what he was asked and stayed up front with Hanson, the result was no width on the right and the team were reduced to knocking long balls to Hanson. If I were Stuart i'd have had a go at both Boulding and Brandon at half time.

There's no doubt that when we switched to 4-4-2 we were much better and I agree it should have been adopted sooner, half time for me. But Stuart tried the 4-3-3 formation which has worked so well in recent weeks and he was let down by two senior players failing to take responsibility to continue that success.

I agree with most of the postings. Brandon's performance was shocking and left OB with two men on numerous occassions. He just didnt track his man... and im all for playing the ball backwards and building but it seemed thats all Chris had to offer. Its almost like he thinks hes too good for VP and just waits for his team mates to do the work and pass the ball to him. Only to dither around and ultimately pass backwards..

Come on Omar then we can leave Brandon on the bench. Neilson and Omar on wings should tear teams apart

jmck there is no point telling shaun the sheep not to blame stuart,thats all he ever does.He has been quiet of late with the unbeaten run and has been obviously frustrated at not being able to have a go at stu. As for saturday i believe Scotty looked great when he came on but anyone who had seen him on tuesday would have to agree he looked shattered and was in need of a rest.Stuart did take him off also on tuesday night and hinted that if it wasn't for the rules of playing 6 first teamers he would not have played.We can't afford to pick up needless fines so what alternatives would he have had as Thorne was not 100% evans was injured he had already rested Zesh and Willo who himself was tired.Even if the rules had not been there if Stu had fielded a weakened team and lost we would have some on here saying it was Stu's fault fornot trying to keep the run going,it affects confidence etc.Look at the facts on Saturday Brandon was extremely poor i agree but not Boulding,Boulding may not work like evans and hanson but he is 10 years older and that is not his game,does berbatov worl back like rooney,does defoe work like Keane NO they are different types of players and Boulding never once looked like he was sulking to me,just because he didn't waste energy chasing lost causes.I can't defend Brandon his most attacking pass of the game was to help crewe as he only seems to be able to pass backwards or sideways.Luke Ob played fantastic and was often left to face 2 on his own and defended well as well as driving forwards,he still needs to learn to use the ball better but i'm sure that will come.Flynn although class looked a bit jaded and also the other OB,Williams made a rare mistake and Rehman at times stared nervy although he improved,Rambo was strong defensively and offensively like young Luke.So in my opinion McCall didn't make mistakes in team selection most players played well and 9 out of 10 times we would not only get a draw but would win that encounter.Evans is now available again and although i defended Boulders i would still drop him to the bench to allow Evans back especially away from home at Dag.

The defense is a huge problem, you will never win a game when you ship in 3 goals. Our goal difference is terrible. Everybody has been getting excited recently, but we are 12th in the league and our points to games ratio is not very healthy. We need to sort ourselves out at the back, it seems that going forward we can beat anybody on our day, so get the back 4 sorted and we will start to push up the table.

there wont be many games where a team as nearly 30 shots 16 corners and ends up losing the game performance wise we cant complain.
how many times did they clear the ball within the 6 yard box with shots bearing down on them at least 6 times thats not just down to bad finishing but good defending on crewes part then there was the double save off neilson and the penalty incident we didnt get we just didnt get the rub of the green if we make half as many chances as that in most games we will get the right results 95% of time it just wasnt to be on saturday thats football.

macca1969 wrote:
jmck there is no point telling shaun the sheep not to blame stuart,thats all he ever does.He has been quiet of late with the unbeaten run and has been obviously frustrated at not being able to have a go at stu. As for saturday i believe Scotty looked great when he came on but anyone who had seen him on tuesday would have to agree he looked shattered and was in need of a rest.Stuart did take him off also on tuesday night and hinted that if it wasn't for the rules of playing 6 first teamers he would not have played.We can't afford to pick up needless fines so what alternatives would he have had as Thorne was not 100% evans was injured he had already rested Zesh and Willo who himself was tired.Even if the rules had not been there if Stu had fielded a weakened team and lost we would have some on here saying it was Stu's fault fornot trying to keep the run going,it affects confidence etc.Look at the facts on Saturday Brandon was extremely poor i agree but not Boulding,Boulding may not work like evans and hanson but he is 10 years older and that is not his game,does berbatov worl back like rooney,does defoe work like Keane NO they are different types of players and Boulding never once looked like he was sulking to me,just because he didn't waste energy chasing lost causes.I can't defend Brandon his most attacking pass of the game was to help crewe as he only seems to be able to pass backwards or sideways.Luke Ob played fantastic and was often left to face 2 on his own and defended well as well as driving forwards,he still needs to learn to use the ball better but i'm sure that will come.Flynn although class looked a bit jaded and also the other OB,Williams made a rare mistake and Rehman at times stared nervy although he improved,Rambo was strong defensively and offensively like young Luke.So in my opinion McCall didn't make mistakes in team selection most players played well and 9 out of 10 times we would not only get a draw but would win that encounter.Evans is now available again and although i defended Boulders i would still drop him to the bench to allow Evans back especially away from home at Dag.

If we get promoted, and its a big IF, it will be inspite of Stuart McCall, not because of him!!
He is a very poor coach, NOW THATS JUST FACT!
He has however unearthed a few gems from non league and I have commended him on that!
Our defence is a shambles, and has been all season......somethin
g he cant seem to sort!!!
Frankly without Flynn heaven knows what league position we would be in!!

But hey, it was a great game on Saturday............ and we lost?! Says something about us City supporters I suppose!!

shaun from richmond wrote:
If Neilson had been on from the start we would still be unbeaten in 11. Shocking decision by McCall!! as I said in earlier posts Neilson should not have played in the PaintPot Trophy........... Great game though!! Hats off to Dario, who I bet couldnt believe his luck when he heard City would play so narrow!! Then when Neilson came on we carved them open at will.

It wasn't a 'shocking' decision. Stuart explained the reasoning behind his thinking. It was a fantastic game to watch. I thought Lee Bullock was immense and deserves praise for his efforts. Flynn and Boulding were off their game slightly. I think some of Boulders play is very clever and not always appreciated by the crowd. Some supporters can see what he's trying to do at certain times e.g. let the momentum of the ball do the work. Both Scott and Leon did OK when they came on. The quality of the pass or cross and making the 'right decision' can make all the difference. You hope that young players new to the team can keep learning. Has pensioner Waynus and his merry crew of wreckers not been on yet? The team lost! They cannot let an opportunity like this go by without reminding us of the tactical shortcomings of the manager and how hopeless the team are. Plus we would have to be told once again how their vast knowledge of football allows them to spot each and every mistake. I mean, they are quite happy to criticise City even when they are just listening on the radio, so all being equal it is absolutely right that they too are held to account. Namely, that they are tactically inept and their solutions would invariably be ridiculous and nonsensical when applied to professional football.

If we hadn't played Neilson in the JPT we would have run the risk of being fined. To be frank he was nowhere near his best in the JPT match and did look jaded. It's a big step up from the non-league and he may well be feeling the pace. It's not a given that he would have played like he did for the entire match, we simply don't know.
For folk to say McCall is a poor coach after ten matches unbeaten, and his inspired summer signings, is a joke.
The manager and team are on a steep learning curve. They need our support. Apart from a few execptions they are getting it this season and doesn't it feel better? We moaned and groaned for the best part of a decade and where did it get us? Have a look at the support that comes from the Bradford End and ask yourself whether you'd rather be like that or be a whinger? And which one do you think might help the players win a match?

Peter300 wrote:

shaun from richmond wrote: If Neilson had been on from the start we would still be unbeaten in 11. Shocking decision by McCall!! as I said in earlier posts Neilson should not have played in the PaintPot Trophy........... Great game though!! Hats off to Dario, who I bet couldnt believe his luck when he heard City would play so narrow!! Then when Neilson came on we carved them open at will.

It wasn't a 'shocking' decision. Stuart explained the reasoning behind his thinking. It was a fantastic game to watch. I thought Lee Bullock was immense and deserves praise for his efforts. Flynn and Boulding were off their game slightly. I think some of Boulders play is very clever and not always appreciated by the crowd. Some supporters can see what he's trying to do at certain times e.g. let the momentum of the ball do the work. Both Scott and Leon did OK when they came on. The quality of the pass or cross and making the 'right decision' can make all the difference. You hope that young players new to the team can keep learning. Has pensioner Waynus and his merry crew of wreckers not been on yet? The team lost! They cannot let an opportunity like this go by without reminding us of the tactical shortcomings of the manager and how hopeless the team are. Plus we would have to be told once again how their vast knowledge of football allows them to spot each and every mistake. I mean, they are quite happy to criticise City even when they are just listening on the radio, so all being equal it is absolutely right that they too are held to account. Namely, that they are tactically inept and their solutions would invariably be ridiculous and nonsensical when applied to professional football.

Another week and yet more boring rants from Peter File.

Give it a rest you old tw4t!

macca1969 wrote:
jmck there is no point telling shaun the sheep not to blame stuart,thats all he ever does.He has been quiet of late with the unbeaten run and has been obviously frustrated at not being able to have a go at stu. As for saturday i believe Scotty looked great when he came on but anyone who had seen him on tuesday would have to agree he looked shattered and was in need of a rest.Stuart did take him off also on tuesday night and hinted that if it wasn't for the rules of playing 6 first teamers he would not have played.We can't afford to pick up needless fines so what alternatives would he have had as Thorne was not 100% evans was injured he had already rested Zesh and Willo who himself was tired.Even if the rules had not been there if Stu had fielded a weakened team and lost we would have some on here saying it was Stu's fault fornot trying to keep the run going,it affects confidence etc.Look at the facts on Saturday Brandon was extremely poor i agree but not Boulding,Boulding may not work like evans and hanson but he is 10 years older and that is not his game,does berbatov worl back like rooney,does defoe work like Keane NO they are different types of players and Boulding never once looked like he was sulking to me,just because he didn't waste energy chasing lost causes.I can't defend Brandon his most attacking pass of the game was to help crewe as he only seems to be able to pass backwards or sideways.Luke Ob played fantastic and was often left to face 2 on his own and defended well as well as driving forwards,he still needs to learn to use the ball better but i'm sure that will come.Flynn although class looked a bit jaded and also the other OB,Williams made a rare mistake and Rehman at times stared nervy although he improved,Rambo was strong defensively and offensively like young Luke.So in my opinion McCall didn't make mistakes in team selection most players played well and 9 out of 10 times we would not only get a draw but would win that encounter.Evans is now available again and although i defended Boulders i would still drop him to the bench to allow Evans back especially away from home at Dag.

I agree with the majority of this post.

McCall was right to leave Neilson out and I am sure Stuart would have been hoping that he didn't have to introduce him at all. Unfortunately, because of the poor performance from Brandon, McCall had no choice but to throw Neilson on.

I agree that J O'Brien and Flynn also looked a little jaded. It it any wonder when they are closing down and aharrying players for 90 minutes, they just never stop. Which proves why Boulding shouldn't be coming in for so much criticism. He is never going to be chasing down lost causes and so reserves his energy for when he has the ball. It isn't his fault we don't play the ball to him when he finds space. If you watch him closely, he makes good runs but by the time we release the ball, he is either offside or the defender has tracked back.

Personally, for me the defence didn't look as tight because we didn't have the protection in front of it as we have been used to. Bully was lost for their throw, when it was delivered over him, into space for Zola to hit the wonder-strike. Nothing anybody could do for that.

However, Bully spent a lot of his time in the left-midfield position covering O'Brien's runs and Brandon drifting inside. He didn't offer protection to Rehman/Williams and that is where we kept getting unstuck. Zola was excellent in dropping into the space vacated by Bully, and driving at our central defence.

This isn't a criticism of Bully, more an observation of where we could improve next time out. We need J O'Brien covering centre midfield and our left side when we don't have the ball, allowing Bully to sit in his deeper role tidying up the pieces.

A great game of football and a super advert for League 2 footie. Shame we couldn't get the 3rd (and 4th) goals our play deserved.

keep it going city and stuart watched the game on the website match count down great to see thees lads doing so well thay mostley are still young but doing very well whot moor can eny one expect