Mugged in Manningham

It had been an interesting pre-season for Bradford City, what with new striker Jake Speight’s conviction for assault and old winger Gavin Grant’s conviction for murder. (I’ll come back to these convictions later.)

Having had the odd experience of a summer with more interest in the court appearances of our players than in the possible comings and goings inthe transfer market, our first home league game of the season saw another crime – in which fourteen players conspired to mug a Stevenage side.

Stevenage Borough would have been worthy winners yesterday, and can consider themselves very unfortunate indeed to have come away with nothing. Stevenage can perhaps console themselves with the thought that they will surely play worse and win at some point in this season. The summary on the front page of the Stevenage Stevenage website says:

Stevenage were unfortunate to come away from this encounter without at least a point as a penalty decides the game.

I think that’s putting it mildly. Statistics in football are often debatable – what counts as a shot on target? – but I think the stats on the BBC’s report accurately reflect the state of yesterday’s game. The away side managed 17 shots [5 on target] to City’s paltry 3 [1 on target]. With more clinical finishing (or just a little luck) Stevenage could have won convincingly.

Players looked like they were either tired or ring-rusty, with passes going astray all over the pitch, defenders putting Jon McLaughlin under pressure with terrible back passes, and the City midfield stuggling to get a grip on the game.

We created almost nothing and Hanson and Evans huffed and puffed for little reward. Without the award of a penalty when Lee Bullock tumbled in the box (converted by Gareth Evans), City might have played all day and not scored.

I’m not too worried about the way the side performed yesterday. I think that this was just a bad day at the office for City – and expect to see an improved performance when I next go to see the Bantams play.

The main positive to take from the match is perhaps that City, for once, have managed to play badly and win. Being able to play that badly and win perhaps bodes well for the rest of the season. It was in stark contrast to some of the matches I watched last season.

The Crewe game that City lost 3-2 last season was one of the most exciting matches I’ve seen at Valley Parade for many years. We dropped three points that day, but I think it was the first time I’ve ever enjoyed watching Bradford City lose. The work-rate and entertainment levels that day were absolutely first class.

That the same could not be said for yesterday’s match may explain the smattering of boos that rang out at the final whistle. Despite the victory bringing us our first three points of the season, some were so disappointed by the performance that they chose to express their displeasure.

I think Stuart McCall is a manager more likely to entertain the fans, but perhaps Peter Taylor will prove to be a manager more likely to pick up vital points. He might even be able to drag us into the play-offs this season. We will have to wait and see…

Convictions

I was shocked when I heard that Gavin Grant was in court on a charge of murder. When I watched him play for Bradford City last season, I had no idea that he had killed a man. The quote from Det Insp Steve Horsley makes for uncomfortable reading: “Gavin Grant thought he had got away with murder. He carried on his footballing career while, all along, he had blood on his hands.”

Having been shocked at the charges faced by Gavin Grant, I was horrified to finally find out today the details of Jake Speight’s arrest (I stopped reading about football during the summer and missed BfB’s take on the situation).

The Daily Star reported on Speight’s ex-girlfriend’s story. Speight is reported to have bitten, grabbed, and whacked Kathy Mugglestone.

I don’t care how good a player Jake Speight is – I for one will not be chanting his name. For me heroes need to be more than just good players – they need to be good men. Men of the character of Wayne Jacobs, David Weatherall or Stuart McCall.

Advertisement