Bullock finds Bradford City rejection hard to take (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

A true honest man, not a phrase I would use too often with the modern day footballer.

I felt bully was worth another contract , hes so versatile in a number of positions , worked hard and a terrific role model for the younger players to look upto.
Parky really must have irons in the fire .

Stating the bleedin' obvious - but I'm sure there are a couple of thousand season ticket holders, myself included, who are looking at their renewals, thinking of the cash, and waiting for something positive to come from the club.
For now - more negative vibes.

Bully is a great 2nd replacement for anyone who is injured. shame to see him go and hope we see him a Valley Parade once next season. Top Lad Bully.

Morning O. P. I am not a man normally to tell anyone what to do with their brass. However if you can afford the season ticket and you want City to have a better attempt at escaping from this hell hole of a division, what do you gain by not purchasing a ticket. This is not having a go at you persenally as there have been other posters with the same mind set and i am trying to understand it. What positive can come from this delaying tack tick. Every thing you desire for and from Bradford City, requires the financial oxygen that the club needs right now. To me, delibarately denying the Club of such funds can surely only result in, more of the same or even worse. Come on give the club something to work with, to atract new players witth and to retain the best of what we've got. All the best to Lee and thanks for all yourr efforts for City.

Bllock, along with Flynn and williams are the last remnants ( bar ramsden and Johhny Mac) of maccas signings and were probably on the high end wage structure that he introduced so it would seem that cost cutting is the main reason for the departure.

MAYBE for Bullock a reduc ed salary could have been offered along witha coaching role to enhance the baddges he is taking but.................
............. then maybe we can get two or three players for the wages saved.

Bully has been a great professional much like Flynny was, and these type of guys are few and far between in football these days.

However, Bully has been here for a number of seasons now and we have never been anywhere near the top, and he will never play a big role in getting us promoted as he's just not quite good enough. Yes he's OK to come in for a few games here and there and won't let you down, which is why he is a decent player for a bottom half team like we have been, just not an instrumental player in getting a team promoted. No disrespect to Bully but if we want to get out of this league we need to be looking at players capable of a little bit more than he can offer, which hopefully is what we are doing.

So like Flynny who's standard had dropped over last couple of seasons I think its the right decision.. if we get better replacements in.

On another note I see Gary Thompson has been released by Scunthorpe...He took us apart one season when playing for Morecambe...right winger (I think) Think Stuart went in for him at the time.

total90 wrote:
Morning O. P. I am not a man normally to tell anyone what to do with their brass. However if you can afford the season ticket and you want City to have a better attempt at escaping from this hell hole of a division, what do you gain by not purchasing a ticket. This is not having a go at you persenally as there have been other posters with the same mind set and i am trying to understand it. What positive can come from this delaying tack tick. Every thing you desire for and from Bradford City, requires the financial oxygen that the club needs right now. To me, delibarately denying the Club of such funds can surely only result in, more of the same or even worse. Come on give the club something to work with, to atract new players witth and to retain the best of what we've got. All the best to Lee and thanks for all yourr efforts for City.

Total90, I know what you are saying - in reality, no I can't afford the money, but I would find it. Re ; your comments about escaping this hell hole, that's part of the problem - without massive changes, we won't (IMO) get out of this rut, and I don't think the problem is always money. I've followed this club for over 30 years, and there is something wrong, and I'm not seeing anything positive coming out.
So, I am seriously questioning whether I want to put myself through another year of expectation, only to see us drop even further down. Bookies have us at 16/1 for promotion next season, they rarely get things wrong..........

Old Peculiar wrote:

total90 wrote: Morning O. P. I am not a man normally to tell anyone what to do with their brass. However if you can afford the season ticket and you want City to have a better attempt at escaping from this hell hole of a division, what do you gain by not purchasing a ticket. This is not having a go at you persenally as there have been other posters with the same mind set and i am trying to understand it. What positive can come from this delaying tack tick. Every thing you desire for and from Bradford City, requires the financial oxygen that the club needs right now. To me, delibarately denying the Club of such funds can surely only result in, more of the same or even worse. Come on give the club something to work with, to atract new players witth and to retain the best of what we've got. All the best to Lee and thanks for all yourr efforts for City.

Total90, I know what you are saying - in reality, no I can't afford the money, but I would find it. Re ; your comments about escaping this hell hole, that's part of the problem - without massive changes, we won't (IMO) get out of this rut, and I don't think the problem is always money. I've followed this club for over 30 years, and there is something wrong, and I'm not seeing anything positive coming out. So, I am seriously questioning whether I want to put myself through another year of expectation, only to see us drop even further down. Bookies have us at 16/1 for promotion next season, they rarely get things wrong..........

Tell that to BetFred who paid out on Man Utd a month ago!!

Afternoon O. P. You sound like a man who's put time into supporting the club and you're grinding to a halt. I hope you hear in the next few weeks some thing that will re vitalise your support for the club. I am trapped into supporting City, in that I would never leave the club if we were winning every thing and equally I can't turn my back on them laeving it to others to change things round when we are struggling. If you abandon ship now you will probably feel that you have not been part of the evolution that could possibly take place over the next season or two. You might, like others dip in and out of Valley Parade in the forth coming better times but it won't feel the same, a bit like at a party where you don't know anybody.

I just love the rose tinted optimism of City Fans. This has been done to save the wagebill. Better players coming for a promotion push - please have a reality check, all the hype of the previous close seasons haven't papered over the cracks that City are in decline and its not going to change. Look where they are. Season ticket sales down, City down simple as...

I was really sorry to see that Lee was not being offered another contact, he deserved another year. Before the start of the Swindon game he was working with the younger players and I did think at the time that he could move over to the coaching staff. But what do I know, am only a woman. Good luck Lee, wherever you go and whatever you do in the future.

Flabbermouth wrote:
I just love the rose tinted optimism of City Fans. This has been done to save the wagebill. Better players coming for a promotion push - please have a reality check, all the hype of the previous close seasons haven't papered over the cracks that City are in decline and its not going to change. Look where they are. Season ticket sales down, City down simple as...

Leeds fan?

Look at the teams that have come down into the championship, along with the teams coming into the championship. A lot of big clubs in the champoinship next year, with bigger budgets and better players.

Bates wouldnt give a door a bang so im afraid your just stuck in midtable for ever.

I'm 50/50 over Bully. Having quantity rather than quality has been our problem in recent years and his versatility could have been useful in a numbers-reduced squad. However we really do need a stronger squad than last year in order to make progress, so as long as we sign the right players we shouldnt miss him. Time will tell.

Having Bully as 'one extra' reduces the need for a CH and CM cover so in effect if we could get him a deal on reduced terms it would save us adding extra to those positions. He has rarely let us down, apart from one woeful game at RB and is a professional of the highest order when it comes to doing his job proficiently and quietly.

Prisoner Cell Block A wrote:
Having Bully as 'one extra' reduces the need for a CH and CM cover so in effect if we could get him a deal on reduced terms it would save us adding extra to those positions. He has rarely let us down, apart from one woeful game at RB and is a professional of the highest order when it comes to doing his job proficiently and quietly.

Have to agree with you. If Lee is prepared to drop into non league he must have been prepared to accept reduced terms. He has always given 100% and never let the team down although he has never or will never be an attacking midfielder.His versatility must be welcome in what will surely be a smaller squad next term. I hope we don't live to rue this decision as i'm sure Lee will find another League club. All the best Lee where-ever you end up and thanks for your efforts.

MrsAngryofRidd wrote:
I was really sorry to see that Lee was not being offered another contact, he deserved another year. Before the start of the Swindon game he was working with the younger players and I did think at the time that he could move over to the coaching staff. But what do I know, am only a woman. Good luck Lee, wherever you go and whatever you do in the future.

me too.gud luck lee with where ever you get to play next.

Bullock as back up for CB (Oliver) and CM (Jones,Syers,Ravenhi
ll)...

Or...

Another 3 centre backs and 1 more centre mid?

Imo if we kept Bully as 4th choice CM/CB, then we'd only need 2 CB and no CM. That would save us a little bit of money which could be used to get a better quality right winger.

Since Bullock joined city, as a whole team as gone backwards. Bullock wasn't solely to blame for this decline, but very importantly he was part of it. As a player, he never made the grade, although i wish him all the best in the future.

Prisoner Cell Block A wrote:
Having Bully as 'one extra' reduces the need for a CH and CM cover so in effect if we could get him a deal on reduced terms it would save us adding extra to those positions. He has rarely let us down, apart from one woeful game at RB and is a professional of the highest order when it comes to doing his job proficiently and quietly.

This was my thinking, also. Based on the standard of some of the players PP brought in during the season just finished, I'm not sure we'll replace him with anything better.

I'm sure I read in the T & A about two weeks ago that PP was going to offer Bully and Ramsden new contracts. I guess the dearth of season ticket sales may have dictated the change of decision.

I certainly wouldn't criticise anyone stalling on renewing their season ticket. After all, if a restaurant continually presented lukewarm and undercooked food, would you continue to patronise the place? Add in the difficult economic times we live in and you find yourself in the situation the club currently finds itself in.

To be honest, I thought 'Bullie' was a few years older than 30. Surely, he's 'worth' a year's deal, in the circumstances.

northyorksbantam wrote:
Bully has been a great professional much like Flynny was, and these type of guys are few and far between in football these days. However, Bully has been here for a number of seasons now and we have never been anywhere near the top, and he will never play a big role in getting us promoted as he's just not quite good enough. Yes he's OK to come in for a few games here and there and won't let you down, which is why he is a decent player for a bottom half team like we have been, just not an instrumental player in getting a team promoted. No disrespect to Bully but if we want to get out of this league we need to be looking at players capable of a little bit more than he can offer, which hopefully is what we are doing. So like Flynny who's standard had dropped over last couple of seasons I think its the right decision.. if we get better replacements in. On another note I see Gary Thompson has been released by Scunthorpe...He took us apart one season when playing for Morecambe...right winger (I think) Think Stuart went in for him at the time.

I am yet to be convinced that the manager/directors actually know what they are doing..Bullock/brans
ton are good players and find themselves looking to work elsewhere, Bully isnt flash, he goes out and does a solid job-when others fail...PP is included in the "fail" issue, his success at VP can so far be measured on a small scale..we all want success-BUT can the club really get better players for less than will turn this club into promotion contenders? if not, and we will know in a matter of months, then the faithful will be "baying for blood"!! what then? assuming we start/finish as bad as this next season as we did this last one

Sorry to see him go, but to be honest he,s an average centre back & a less than average midfielder. If we want to be challenging at the right end of the table we need better quality than the old bull??

Bullock has one great skill that few lower league players have, ball retention. He rarely gives a stray pass, he may not knock it 40 yards and sprint to get the return but he is appreciated by his team mates as he does the job solidly and steadily. In my opinion it puts him just above average as he also wins his fair share of tackles and aerial challenges in centre mid.

His performances at centre half really surprised and impressed me, once again, I don't think I hardly saw him lose a challenge and did a very good cover job.

I agree we could do with better 'legs' in CM and to move forward we obviously need something different to what we have had but to be able to call on someone with his experience and steady ability is an asset we shouldn't discard lightly.

Too many players at L2 level look useless when played out of their usual position. Bullock could cover in almost every position when need be. He wasn't the best by any means, but was a useful squad player when called upon and always put in a solid shift. I totally agree with those who see this a useful contribution to the squad.

He was one of those players who never complained when he lost his place.

Rambo wrote:
Too many players at L2 level look useless when played out of their usual position. Bullock could cover in almost every position when need be. He wasn't the best by any means, but was a useful squad player when called upon and always put in a solid shift. I totally agree with those who see this a useful contribution to the squad. He was one of those players who never complained when he lost his place.

I think nearly everybody would agree he is a useful squad man, particularly for his versatility and experience. Everybody likes the guy, and ideally if we could afford him in the squad then he would be good cover for injuries suspensions etc. When we look at the facts he is 4th in the pecking order for his preferred position in midfield, maybe more if PP brings in another. I would think by the time the defence is sorted out he would probably be about the same for CB as well.

You yourself say "he wasn't the best by any means" and Bully himself is considering "playing non league football". Surely if we have any sort of aspiration to get out of this league we need to rise above this sort of level, and acceptance of mediocrity?

Danstarr69 wrote:
Bullock as back up for CB (Oliver) and CM (Jones,Syers,Ravenhi ll)... Or... Another 3 centre backs and 1 more centre mid? Imo if we kept Bully as 4th choice CM/CB, then we'd only need 2 CB and no CM. That would save us a little bit of money which could be used to get a better quality right winger.

I'm not sure how you work out those sums fella. A few seasons back, Bully agreed to take a pay-cut in order to stay at City. The rumours, at that time, was that his new wage was around £900 per week.
.
Now, supposing those figures were accurate how do you suppose we sign as many players as you suggest, from his wage saving?
.
Bearing in mind, most 'promising' players, such as Rowe, Burns etc, will earn as much as £300 per week, I'm not sure we will get 2 average players out of the money saved by Bully leaving.
.
Instead of releasing Bully, shouldn't we have offered him a deal up to £800 per week? Afterall, signing two players to cover at centre-half and central midfield is going to cost at least £500 per week each....!

Re:northyorksbantam,


Unless PP has managed to really work some miracles behind the scenes with players out of contract, I don't think we're going to get a squad of 22 high quality players. I'm concerned that as in previous years our main targets will go elsewhere, leaving us with 2nd, 3rd and 4th choice scraps.

I don't know if there will be any money to spend on transfer fees - I'm assuming the money from the George Green sale and other young players has probably gone straight into the black hole of Gordon Gibbs pocket and VP overheads.

I'm also expect more loans on a regular basis when we get a few injuries or suspensions.

Can take your point Rambo and I wouldn't be against Bully stopping if he was offered something, I just think with so many players out of contract this is a good opportunity for a proper clearout, of players that have not even managed a mid table finish in the last 2 seasons. As much as I like Flynny and Bully they just haven't been good enough to get us anywhere near promotion.

My only reservation is that it is PP that has control of who's coming in and out, as I dont have a great deal of faith in the guy. The majority of players he has brought in were poor or not needed, the football he played was dour, the decisions mystifying...

Interesting to see whether this 100k we allegedly had will be made available if the right player/s comes up. Theres no reason why we shouldn't be able to compete with other L2 clubs on budgets even if we are a down on season tickets from last year..these are clubs getting gates of 3-4k after all. If we can't entice players to come to us over say Accy its a poor do,although I cant imagine our reputation in the industry can be to great with our total disregard of player contracts .

Must admit I was surprised by the news. Bully is a good pro, who has shown his versatility, and never let anyone down. I wish him all the best.

Waynus1971 wrote:

Danstarr69 wrote: Bullock as back up for CB (Oliver) and CM (Jones,Syers,Ravenhi ll)... Or... Another 3 centre backs and 1 more centre mid? Imo if we kept Bully as 4th choice CM/CB, then we'd only need 2 CB and no CM. That would save us a little bit of money which could be used to get a better quality right winger.

I'm not sure how you work out those sums fella. A few seasons back, Bully agreed to take a pay-cut in order to stay at City. The rumours, at that time, was that his new wage was around £900 per week. . Now, supposing those figures were accurate how do you suppose we sign as many players as you suggest, from his wage saving? . Bearing in mind, most 'promising' players, such as Rowe, Burns etc, will earn as much as £300 per week, I'm not sure we will get 2 average players out of the money saved by Bully leaving. . Instead of releasing Bully, shouldn't we have offered him a deal up to £800 per week? Afterall, signing two players to cover at centre-half and central midfield is going to cost at least £500 per week each....!

I'm not saying Bully is worth 3 players. I'm saying if he stayed we would only need to sign 2 players instead of 4 because of his versatility of playing in defence as well as midfield.

With the money saved from not getting a 4th choice centre back and 4th choice centre midfielder, we might be able new offer a new winger a bit more money.