Bradford Report Card

By: Dr Fishy
Date: 03/02/2002

DR FISHY has compiled match statistics and a report card for the Grimsby Town side that lost 1-0 at home to Bradford. The doctor has decided that referee Mike Ryan should be hanged!

Coyne: He didn't have too many shots to save, but showed that is handling from long-range shots was excellent. It was a great free kick that beat him in the end; you couldn't really fault him or the wall.

Grade: C+

McDermott: It wasn't a bad return for the captain but he did look a little short of match fitness. He was brought off late in the game and was replaced by Butterfield. He was very unlucky being adjudged to have fouled to give the free kick that led up to the goal.

Grade: C

Gallimore: Oh, Gally! Why do you do it to us? You look fine one week, then your usual self the next. We saw a return to his aimless balls down the wings - in the first half they found Taylor. Didn't adjust well enough when we went down to 10 men.

Grade: C-

Ford: He ended up marking Ward for most of the match and did very well. It just goes to show that he doesn't need the protection of another two central defenders. He's looking more confident on the ball too.

Grade: C+

Raven: It was only his second start of the season but despite all his injuries he played very well indeed. He was commanding at the back and looked rock solid. He won a lot of headers and the only way Bradford were going to score was from a set piece.

Grade: B-

Campbell: This man is a shadow of his former self from last season. He was closed down very quickly when he was on the ball, which led to him just punting the ball forward. Very quiet game, he hardly came into it.

Grade: C-

Willems: In my Dr Fishy glasses he was the best midfielder. He was playing wide on the left and was often caught being too narrow, but he gave it everything. His free kick nearly beat Combe in goal and his general play was good as well.

Grade: B-

Pouton: Perhaps it was a bit too early to bring him back for first team action, but I wasn't complaining at the full time whistle. He got stuck in as always and commanded the middle of the park. Unfortunately he didn't really get us moving forward and there were none of his driving runs through midfield.

Grade: C+

Coldicott: The battler. Threw himself in where it hurt and he wasn't afraid to ruffle up the opposition. He kept going right up until the final whistle but towards the end his passing became poor. Still, he worked hard and was involved all through the game.

Grade: C

Taylor: He looked good from what I saw of him yesterday. Won headers, held up the ball and brought other players in. Great. His red card wasn't so great. He almost gave us the lead on two occasions and one felt that if he was on the field for the second half we would have won the game.

Grade: C+

Boulding: He really has got the pace but not the service. When we were down to 10 men he had to chase everything. No goal scoring opportunities for him though. Without Taylor he didn't look like he was ever going to score.

Grade: C

SUBS

Butterfield: Replaced McDermott near the end but he didn't have a chance to do anything spectacular.

Jevons: He was brought on too late in the game as well. This substitution should have been made 10 minutes earlier to at least give him a chance of producing a shot.

REFEREE: In this Dr Fishy report I thought I would make a special mention of the referee in this game. Despite the red card, the free kick and failing to see two handballs in the first half, he was still pants. The word 'incompetent' springs to mind, as he had no idea how to referee the game. Mr Mike Ryan, we will not forget you in a hurry. You may have cost us our place in Division One through your inability to referee fairly. The referee was lacking in most departments, but what he was ultimately missing was a Bradford City shirt. To say he was one of the most biased referees in the world would be an understatement.

Grade: F

Best part of Town's performance: Apart from looking like a team, moving forward well and reverting to a more comfortable 4-4-2, I think the best part of Town's performance was not laying out the ref. How they controlled their temper on the pitch I shall never know.

Areas for improvement: 4-4-2 looks OK; with a big man up front it will bring goals. Defensively Ford looks part of the team and not just a youngster thrown in at the deep end. We have enough bodies to cover for four in midfield. Just keep doing what we've been doing of late.

Entertainment scale: The game WAS flowing end to end until HE came in. Bradford won free kicks for Town players breathing on them, they also won free kicks when Town won the ball. They were also allowed to handball in their own area, stamp on Pouton (Lee Sharpe) but I suppose without all this controversy it would have been boring.

6 - because we lost.

Grade Guide

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