City fans turn on Todd

Bournemouth 0

Colin Todd faced up to the boo boys calling for his head - and even offered to meet one in the tunnel.

An afternoon which began with Dean Windass totally taking leave of his senses ended with a section of the home crowd baying for the City boss.

Chants of "Todd out" and "Time to go" boomed from the Kop as the winless run continued against the relegation-threatened Cherries.

Holding on for 0-0 was an achievement in itself, given that City played all but the first 12 minutes with only ten men after Windass got sent off.

But the critics in the crowd thought otherwise and let Todd have it with both barrels.

The trigger point was his decision to take off Jermaine Johnson with six minutes to go.

The Jamaican, playing in a central role by that point, was not having his best afternoon but he still looked the only realistic chance of City breaking the deadlock.

Todd thought Johnson was out on his feet after all the running he'd done and threw on Joe Colbeck. The Valley Parade crowd - nearly 3,000 up on the last league gate because of the cheap-ticket offer - were not happy.

Todd was booed to the final whistle - and threatened afterwards by one angry supporter who ran to the front of the Sunwin Stand to confront him. Stewards got involved as the pair exchanged words.

It was similar to the incident at Gillingham last season and Todd was not prepared to back down, even asking the fan if he wanted a proper "chat" in the players' tunnel.

"I asked him if he wanted to talk to do it in the correct way but he looked and decided not to bother," Todd said. "He was swearing and using abusive language and if I did that, I'd get arrested.

"But fans can say what they want to me. As soon as you have a go back, you become the guilty party - I've said it many times.

"If they want to take it out on me, then let them. You have to make strong decisions as a manager.

"I took David Graham off because he worked his socks off and JJ because his legs had gone. I know he's the supporters' favourite but I just felt at the time it was the right thing to do."

Todd's relationship with the City fans has been fractious at times, particularly since the clash at the Priestfield Stadium in April. But he remained unrepentant and revealed that the players become just as frustrated with what they see as a negative attitude from some sections in the stands.

He added: "The players are saying what have we got to do?'. We're getting a 0-0 with ten men and they want blood.

"People have got to understand the situation and have to respect that. I don't care what anyone says, we gave it our best shot to play with ten men for 80 minutes. We lacked a bit of cohesion but there was no intention to go out there and sit back.

"It could have been worse, like Huddersfield who lost 3-0 at home. We've got a point and we're still moaning but this is the culture of football."

Todd may have been the target for supporters who have not seen a league win for over two months now. But the real guilty party was Windass.

City's winning hopes did not disappear the moment Johnson's number 12 was flashed up on the substitution board. It was the split second their leading scorer launched both feet at Bournemouth defender Neil Young.

Windass was never going to win the ball in the corner of the box but went for it anyway and connected powerfully. The outcome was inevitable as angry Bournemouth players swarmed around him.

It took place right under the assistant referee's nose and Windass tried to argue with him after the red card had been shown.

Fortunately, David Wetherall was over there as the red mist set in and dragged his team-mate away before he could get himself into even deeper trouble.

Windass can have no complaints. The foul looks worse with every TV replay.

As Windass slunk away, so did City's hopes of landing that elusive first victory since September.

They had started so brightly, with Graham, back in for hamstring victim Eddie Johnson, looking particularly sparky and testing Neil Moss with a powerful snap shot. It was to prove the keeper's only real save of the afternoon.

Bournemouth's confidence, on the floor following an even worse run than City, was boosted by the numerical advantage. Without Windass, it became a war of attrition.

A better team than the Cherries would have made City pay for their striker's stupidity. The silver lining in the black cloud parked above Valley Parade was that at least the home side pocketed some reward for their endeavour.

City's depleted ranks beavered away but were grateful to the athletic efforts of Donovan Ricketts, who ensured it stayed goalless at the break.

Stephen Purches got plenty of purchase on a thunderbolt from the right which Ricketts superbly batted away and then the big fella got enough in the way to keep out a close-range header from Simon Gillett.

Kevin Bond, still without a league win in six weeks as Bournemouth boss, sensed his duck would be broken. His players exploited the room out wide with wing backs Purches and Ryan Bertrand trying to stretch City to breaking point.

The chief resistance at the other end came from Johnson's quick feet - too quick at times as he twice almost tackled himself at the start of the second half.

Ricketts saved again from Danny Hollands before Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Colin Healy combined to set JJ off and running again.

Twisting inside and out, the Jamaican slipped through the challenges before whipping in a shot on the turn that didn't miss by much.

It briefly lifted the crowd but Ricketts left Matthew Connelly beating the ground with another agile save and defied Bournemouth again with a tip-over at full stretch from Jack Cork's rising rocket from 30 yards.

City's problems continued when Bridge-Wilkinson hobbled away following a strong challenge as he shaped to shoot.

Todd opted not to bring on Tommy Black, relegated to the bench after his Oldham horror show, and instead went for Ben Parker, whose enthusiasm created another chance for Johnson.

As his shot flew over the bar, Todd summoned Colbeck to take over and the bile began.

It would have got worse when Hollands looked odds on to score after Steve Fletcher had climbed above Wetherall to put the opportunity on a plate. The midfielder fired for the top corner but Ricketts not only got to the ball in the nick of time but managed to hold on.