Bradford City: Tide turning on Graham Alexander at Valley Parade

Key Takeaways

• Bradford City have had a poor start to the season under Graham Alexander.
• Supporters are unhappy with the lack of recruitment and squad injuries.
• Supporters are starting to question Graham Alexander’s tactics this season.

After a summer that promised so much, results on the pitch to date could be best described as disappointing, which has seen some pressure start to rise for Bradford City manager Graham Alexander.

If the defeat to local rivals Harrogate Town over the weekend, a somewhat bogey team for the Bantams, wasn’t bad enough, Alexander’s men struggled against Morecambe last night, having to steal a point late in the game, leaving fans on social media questioning if he is the right man for the job.

A 1-1 draw with Morecambe isn’t good enough, but it is far from a disaster. Although Bradford did manage to get the point away from home, a quick improvement in performances and results is needed if Alexander wants to keep the majority of supporters on board and get the minority back on his side over the next few weeks.

Injuries have hit Bradford City’s ‘cheap’ summer recruitment hard

Now, without going too much into recruitment, it’s worth noting that five of the ten summer recruits are currently out with long-term injuries.

These include Callum Johnson, who hasn’t even kicked a ball for the club yet, marque signing Antoni Sarcevic, who has failed to impress when fit, and names such as Aden Baldwin, Neill Byrne and Joe Adams.

Supporters should be mindful that Alexander is currently operating with a makeshift defence and limited midfield options, but it could be argued that the club, the manager, and the recruitment team are responsible for the club’s lack of options.

At FLW, we discussed the need for improvements to key positions, notably in defence and midfield, and fans across social media highlighted these positions where reinforcement was needed.

The club seemingly ignored these calls at the time, with Alexander stating he was happy with the squad despite there clearly being a lack of options that anyone could see. However, Alexander has stated in an interview with The Yorkshire Evening Post that the club may look to the free agent market for central defence reinforcements.

Supporters will be glad that Alexander stuck to his word with experienced defender Paul Huntington, who joined the club officially yesterday after training with Alexander’s men for a couple of weeks. Reinforcements are good, but at 37 years old, questions will be asked if Huntington is a good signing – only time will tell.

However, it’s worth noting that the loyal Bradford City supporters feel like the club operated on the ‘cheap’ this summer. This has come back to bite the club, and if performances don’t improve, supporters could ultimately turn fully on the manager, with some already unhappy with how things are going on the pitch.

 

Graham Alexander’s instance of shoehorning players into poor tactics

As we have covered, the club is suffering from several injuries, but this is no excuse for using poor tactics, and Alexander’s use of players in their least effective positions is holding the club back on the pitch.

Although players like Jamie Walker have a history at previous clubs of playing out wide, at this stage of his career, it’s clear to anyone with any sort of knowledge of football that the hard-working and passionate midfielder is best utilised in a more central position.

Currently, Alexander seems to have forced Walker to play on the right of a classic midfield four, and this has seen the fan-favourite Scot isolated and unable to do what he is best at, which is closing down with a strong press, harassing the opposition’s midfielder, adding creativity in the middle of the park, and also chipping in with goals.

Equally, Bobby Pointon is being utilised on the wing, where he is also wasted, and the club are yet to find the best position for Clarke Oduor, who doesn’t know if he wants to be a central midfielder, a wide midfielder, a left back or a left wing-back.

In recent weeks, the club has resorted from a 3-5-2 formation variant to a classic 4-4-2, which has completely nullified the midfield. This means the most creative players, including Alex Pattison, who has struggled in this formation, can not do what they do best. Surprisingly, Pattison was completely left out of the squad at Morecambe, which has equally left fans baffled.

After picking up only five points in the past six Sky Bet League Two league games, supporters are becoming annoyed with the poor tactics and poor performances on the pitch, which Alexander is responsible for and will likely take the blame for unless things change quickly.

Now, it’s worth noting that Alexander was responsible for the great run towards the conclusion of last season, where he managed to get everything to click. Hopefully, he can do this once again to get the season back on track; it’s still very early doors.

Sacking a manager this early into the season is always questionable, and Alexander probably has enough credit in the bank to see out through Christmas.

However, supporters know the real problems lie way above Alexander’s head at the top of the club. The board, including owner Stefan Rupp and CEO Ryan Sparks, are trigger-happy – just ask Mark Hughes – and Alexander could find his position under threat over the next few weeks, with the Bantams only looking likely to slip down the table rather than up it.

The tide is certainly turning.

 

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