BfB

So what plan is this?

This week all we’ve talked is is Plan Bs and tactics and about fans and other fans and in about ten minutes everything that had been talked about had come to a head.

I was worried that Stuart McCall had listened to the moaners and because he had no Peter Thorne who I guess is injured went for a packed midfield with Dean Furman in it and Barry Conlon leading the line with Michael Boulding on the bench. It was Stuart doing something to counter a team that had scored seven at home I hoped and not Stuart trying to prove that he did know his tactical arse from his elbow.

Barry Conlon is more loved away from home where you get to watch him chasing balls all afternoon long trying to make feasts of scraps. I’m not saying that everyone who goes away loves Barry but they seem to appricaite him a bit more than the VP crowd who look at goal tallies more than effort. When you’ve come all this way as most of us do week in week out then you like the fact that someone is going to run around.

The Barry buzz was still going and people were still talking about it when Shrewsbury scored although after that the week was totally forgotten. The ball came in and Rhys Evans seemed to punch it but as he did Graeme Lee and TJ Moncur went up for it and both went down after having smashed heads against each other. The referee was the same guy who allowed Oldham to carry on when Steve Schumacher was poleaxed three years ago and the result was the same as Shrewbury’s Ben Davies whacked the ball in.

Great game this football. Davies was wheeling away cheering while our guys were on the floor injured. Moncur stood up and went down again and people said he had a fit but soon he was off for Kyle Nix and Lee Bullock was at right back.

So no leading forward, goals going in when players are fitting, a lot of possession for the start of the game and a good shot by Furman that troubled the keeper. I have to wonder what non-niave tactics should Macca use now and what the Hell plan letter are we supposed to be on now?

The game settled into a pattern but the City players and fans seemed a bit quiet and someone aid that Moncur was off to hospital and it didn’t look good but we hd no idea what that meant. Grant Holt buzzed through and had a shot that dribbled wide. By half time Nix and Paul McLaren were dipping crosses around the keeper and just as half time was supposed to come City were on top but we played minutes added on my J. Singh to allow Shrewsbury to score while our player was down. Omar Daley had one cleared off the line and we were still playing at four when everyone else was kicking off and at half time we had been robbed cause while I’m sure that we will hear that Davies didn’t know about the injury and that Singh should have blown his whistle again but seems to be getting closer and close to his aim of seeing a goal scored when their are dead bodies on the field. We felt robbed by someone and maybe the Stockport manager can tell us who.

And down was the word. Everyone was down but everyone was together in being a bit worried about TJ Moncur and less about what was going on on the field. Even in the second half when Joe Colbeck slammed his custom right foot blast from the wing across the keeper which went over and Lee and Grant Holt battled away. Bullock moved back to right back but came off injured agian with Michael Boulding coming on and went up front with three at the back or was it four and this was Plan D or perhaps it was Little PLan Zee and after that comes Vroom? Boulding joined the forward line and we all wondered who was going to be left to play Luton next week but this week seemed lost with Shrewsbury basically keeping the ball from us and Paul McLaren ending up at right back.

The game got scrappy with an stupidly named midfielder going close for them and the much tidier Kyle Nix having a shot for us but from that scrappiness City started to get something together and started to control the ball a bit better. By the time five o’clock came City were giving as good as we got from the team that will use today as some kind of indication that they are more promotion bound than us but to be honest the difference between the teams came when we had two down and as it happened one badly hurt and I guess we will never know if the home team would have got a goal against City without the injuries but the rest of the game where Graeme Lee and Matt Clarke pocked Grant Holt while the rest of the plan, the tactics, the sodding game was in chaos says to me that they would not.

But like the guy said if you moan about a Ref they come back to haunt you and you have to wonder what sort of stink City kicked up about J. Singh last time and how much that played on today. Barry lashed one wide in stoppage time before they took a second goal while we were trying for an equaliser and that was that.

But in a week about plans this was City without one. It was freak football and the most important man on the field was an Referee who I think we can all agree at BfB and on the OMB and on the terraces at VP and in the hushed tones around pubs in Bradford should not be allowed to Referee football matches because of his dangerous policy of letting games carry on when players are hurt.

Probably won’t agree for the same reasons though.

Sitting from my seat up high in the Kop I look down and right and can’t understand why Kyle Nix is on his on seat the bench. I accept that a winning formula shouldn’t be changed and so far this season Bullock and McLaren have done a fine job but at the same time I wonder what has Nix done wrong?

To me, at this level anyway, Kyle seems to be almost the complete central midfielder. If you ask yourself the qualities you look for in this position high on the list would be; passing ability, bite in the tackle, work rate, composure on the ball, and a knack for finding the net. Then ask yourself who ticks these boxes? Kyle certainly has a ferocious tackle, he is judging on pre season tests in the top three fittest squad members and last season he got himself more goals than most.

Still, however, he gets overlooked.

He is versatile and the reason he got so many games last season was his ability to ‘do a job on the left’ but although he is no slouch I don’t think he has enough pace to be a winger. The fact he can play left side has probably worked against him being able no nail down a first team spot in the middle. It meant that he was always first port of call to fill in should one of the winger become injured, even if he’d been having a run of games in the middle before that. He got the majority of his goals while being played down the middle because he seemed to be able to ghost into the box unmarked, much like a young Paul Scholes would of done.

McCall has his reasons, the big factor appearing to be his size. McCall has said that he likes to play big men in there so we don’t get outfought. You certainly can’t argue that Nix is a bit on the small side, but he’s not scared of being kicked or, for that matter, kicking anyone!

Towards the end of games when we need a creative spark Nix continues to be overlooked. Even against Leeds, he was the one who got us the goal, although if it did get credited to Conlon who didn’t know much about it. Then he is taken off despite being the one who is threatening them the most and was probably our man of the match on that night.

Constantly Kyle Nix comes into the side does a good job and then someone comes back and he’s straight back out. Dean Furman has come into the squad on loan and has done well, but what has he done to be thought of above Nix? Then we still have Chris Brandon to come back and that makes me worry Kyle will be pushed even further down the pecking order and the player is likely to become increasingly frustrated with life at the club.

Understand I’m not saying he deserves a place in the starting eleven but I have much more confidence seeing him coming off the bench and unlocking the defence for Boulding or Thorne, than big Baz coming on and taking the place of one of these two prolific scorers.

McLaren is 31, Brandon is 32, Dean Furman is only on loan, while Nix is just 22. A young, talented player with a future, but soon he will be wanting first team football and Bradford’s loss would certainly be another side’s gain.