v Bradford City (h) - 12/8/25 - Carabao Cup

[RoverCanada]

Re: a yearly Academy minutes target...: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart's_law And who counts in that regard? Surely Carter, Travis, Wharton, Buckley, etc still count as the Academy paying off (to mixed effect).

The worth/output of the Academy needs to be assessed over 5-10 year windows. Decent players like Travis, Nyambe, JRC, etc should emerge every 2-3 years, while you hope unicorns like A. Wharton or Jones emerge every 5-7 years. (Just pulling those numbers out of my ass, but would be interesting to see how our output compares to other Cat 1 academies, on a per pupil basis of course!)

Expecting/financially imposing that 1-2 Academy lads will break through every year is insane.

[rigger]

5 hours ago, alexanders said:

What I find most worrying after yesterdays game and saturdays game is our inability to create goalscoring chances. 
we don’t seem to have a good plan and look very easy to defend against. 
 

With that said we have absolutely made it super difficult for us by going down in the first minutes. This makes it even easier to defend against, because the teams can just with a low block and we don’t get the space required to create chances. 

We had five guilt edged chances four in the first half, one in the second, we scored one of them. They had four, two in each half and scored two of them.

[M_B]

53 minutes ago, DuffsLeftPeg said:

We only played 3 youngsters, 2 of which got minutes in the Championship last season. The rest of the team are seasoned professionals and/or recent first team signings. There are no excuses for losing, especially with a bench full of our very best players (if you can call them that!).

I’m hoping the new look team can kick on, starting with a win on Saturday which would change everything. But so far the signs aren’t looking good!

After the disastrous start, I thought we actually started playing some good stuff, in a rusty kind of way, and created plenty of chances.

I know subs have to be made, particularly so early in the season, but we definitely got worse after the changes. 

Edited 10 hours ago by M_B

[...]

1 hour ago, DuffsLeftPeg said:

We only played 3 youngsters, 2 of which got minutes in the Championship last season. The rest of the team are seasoned professionals and/or recent first team signings. There are no excuses for losing, especially with a bench full of our very best players (if you can call them that!).

I’m hoping the new look team can kick on, starting with a win on Saturday which would change everything. But so far the signs aren’t looking good!

I think with adage of new players it would seem like youngsters my eyes were darting about trying to figure out who was who! Yea but you are right

✋️✋️

[chaddyrovers]

Nowhere near good enough. A shambles of 4 minutes at the start cost us the game. First goal comes from Henriksson not tracking and marking his man in fact he wanders up from his defensive position. Michalski messed up there, felt for him after signing his new long term contract here. Gutted for him. 

After that we have a few chances and finally took once. Gueye should have scored at least once. 

Second half, I expected us putting more and more pressure on them but until the final 10 mins we didn't. That was disappointed. Ohashi with an excellent chance to score. Good save by keeper. 

Tavares was my man of the match and he looks very good. Wasn't impressed with Henriksson to be fair, passing when he should shot. the lack of quality right winger was very telling last night. Miller look a good signing and I was pleased for Scott Wharton getting there his first competitive 90 minutes. 

8 hours ago, Ricky said:

Take it Chaddy doesn’t post when even he can’t manage to put a positive spin on something. 

was there any spin in my post again Ricky Pal? 

Edited 6 hours ago by chaddyrovers

[DeeCee]

How many more signings do we need Chaddy? How many do you think we will get?

[wilsdenrover]

10 hours ago, Mike Graham said:

We were told it was linked to bonus payments.

Just to come back to this (I’ve a bee in my bonnet!)

In my opinion, the head coach’s bonuses (and KPIs) should be linked only to results on the pitch.

Was any explanation offered as to why the club believes otherwise?

[DeeCee]

4 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

Just to come back to this (I’ve a bee in my bonnet!)

In my opinion, the head coach’s bonuses (and KPIs) should be linked only to results on the pitch.

Was any explanation offered as to why the club believes otherwise?

We're they actually questioned?

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, DeeCee said:

How many more signings do we need Chaddy?

Deffo another right sided attacking midfielder. Should have been sorted by now. 

Would like another forward, Travis and Pears replacements if they leave. 

Ismael has said we can replace anyone who leaves. We just 1 space for right sided attacking player. 

 

1 hour ago, DeeCee said:

How many do you think we will get?

Can't predict the future Dee. If I could I won the Euro millions by now

 

Edited 4 hours ago by chaddyrovers

[DeeCee]

Chrystal meth?

How many do we need, not what you would like?

You've watched the games I guess?

(Chaddy edited his post to make my attempt at a joke meaningless).

Think meaningless might be my word of the season 🥴

Edited 4 hours ago by DeeCee

[SpaceBarSlam]

Burnley getting drawn against Derby in the second round. I laughed out loud. 

[KentExile]

13 minutes ago, DeeCee said:

Chrystal meth?

 

 

[JCRovers]

Seen the game now after much hesitation, my ratings:

Michalski (4) - wasn't at fault for the first goal but the second one is schoolboy error stuff. Looked like he learned from it and started playing less risky afterwards. Still, he gives me no confidence being no.2 behind Toth and needs to go out on loan.

Wharton (4) - first 90 minutes after a long-term injury. His first touch was poor many times which resulted in him getting caught out of position when losing the ball. Not a starter for me at this moment.

Miller (5) - A bit up and down performance-wise. Showed again his prowess with the long throws which led to our goal but struggles a bit with athleticism. Would much rather see him playing at center back than right back, however.

Pickering (6) - did fairly well. No real mistakes from his part. Provides good competition with Ribeiro at left back.

Montgomery (1) - kinda brutal to throw this kid in and tout him as the next big thing coming from the academy. Was partially at fault for the first goal as he took Miller's position and marked a player centrally in the box when the cross came in. Several misplaced passes and robbed off possession in dangerous areas as well when moved into central midfield from right back. I would say his current level is National League (5th tier). Needs to be loaned out.

Tronstad (5) - clumsy challenge for the booking as he should've dealt with the situation better. Otherwise quite anonymous.

Tavares (7) - our best player for the night. Looked composed on the ball, played with one touch, good drive and vision as well. Bradford saw this though and starting fouling him with a couple of late challenges. Hopefully he came out of it unscathed after being substituted on the 70-minute mark. Definite starter for me against Birmingham.

De Neve (6) - frustrating to watch at times. Has decent pace and engine, a willing presser as well but his crosses and set pieces are poor. One cross in particular looked more like a powerful shot that went straight to Gueye's head. Wasted an opportunity when trying to place the shot but later took his goal well when taking the ball past his marker inside the box with one touch. A starter but he seriously need to work on his end product.

Henriksson (2) - this signing scares me for all the wrong reasons. His mobility on the pitch and lack of vision is reminiscent of JRC. Was partially at fault for the first goal for not scanning/checking for opposition player arriving at the far post. Looks clumsy, lacks technique and his overall movement/agility is slow. Mixed two decent passes forward to Gueye with several other misplaced passes as well. Not a starter for me. 

Tyjon (5) - looked out of his depth at times and didn't seem to have confidence in his abilities. One moment in particular in first half during a transition where he had the chance to go for goal but decided to turn and play a backwards pass instead. Not the quickest but made some intelligent moves on the pitch. Decent first touch and technique as well for his age but made some passing errors as well. Would like to see him sign a professional contract with us (and not Arsenal) to then send him out on loan to perhaps a L2 side.

Gueye (3) - frustrating as hell in this game. His timing in the aerial challenges where at times poor, often even static leading to being outjumped by opposition centre backs. Even more frustrating is he constantly drops deep or drifts out wide to the flank to receive the ball, even in final third leaving no aerial presence inside the box. Just wonder if this is coming from Ismael's instructions or if he feels he needs to be involved at all times? His strongest abilities aren't being used at this point. He needs to play with his back towards goal, hold off challenges, win aerial duels, play simple passes and attack the box when ball is in final third.

Subs:

Alebiosu (6) - wasn't as effective/influential as in the game against WBA. Still, a clear starter for me at right back.

Cantwell (6) - showed his class a couple of times with his technique, tempo and passing skills. Clear starter as he's a key player for the team.

Kargbo (3) - more convinced than ever that he's being used on the wrong flank. One particular transition moment with Cantwell on the ball (centre), Gueye (out on the right flank for some reason) and Kargbo on the left; Cantwell opted to pass it to Kargbo, he then stops his run, cuts inside and immediately loses possession. Underutilized just like Gueye. A starter but only as a right winger.

Ohashi (N/A) - came in relatively late, had a great opportunity to level the score but sent his header straight at the keeper from close range.

Overall assessment: thought our pressing was poor and unsynced in the first half. Upped the tempo a bit in the second but quality in final third was lacking with keeper rarely tested. Worrying that a lot of players meant to be backups or competing for a starting spot weren't up to standards. Squad is looking fragile at the moment.

Edited 2 hours ago by JCRovers

[Herbie6590]

[Ghost7]

Agree with many of the player reviews but it's worrying for the new boys, Henriksson in particular isn't looking great... Some really poor first touches considering he should be match sharp. I didn't get the hype from the highlights reels either before signing him. Hopefully our scouting team are confident........... first impressions... Not sure why he's been prioritised as a signing ahead of a right winger or a decent striker.