Accrington Web - 2018/19 Prediction League; Game 13 v Bradford City (home)

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Bratfud City

2018/19 Prediction League; Game 13 v Bradford & Bingley BS (home)

William Claude Dukenfield, better known as WC Fields, is said to have coined the expression “Never give a sucker an even break” as an aside in a stage show in 1923; twenty years on, in 1943, it was used as the title of one of his films .............. Fields is also the originator (apparently) of

1. “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullsh1t” (my byword every week when I sit down to write the opening thread for the PL), and of

2. “Fell in love with a beautiful blonde once. Drove me to drink. And I never had the decency to thank her”

Step forward, then, Michael Collins; 32 at the time that Bantams’ Chairman Edin Rahic promoted him from Manager of the u18s to Head Coach of the Club in June 2018 ................. youngest manager in the EFL, he clearly didn’t read the Writing on the Wall (“Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin” – “Thou Hast been Weighed in the Balance and Found Wanting”) ........... he lasted six League games, winning two for a 33% win record – actually, better than lots of “famous” managers (but he also lost to Macclesfield 4-2 on penalties after a ½-Desmond in the EFL Cup) - before getting the bullet, and being replaced by David Hopkin, who became the club’s fourth manager of 2018 (fifth if you include Greg Abbott as Caretaker) and who they’d signed as a player back in 2000 for £2.5 million from Leeds ........... Announcing The Inevitable Termination of Michael Collins, Mr Rahic expressed both sympathy and appreciation (not!), saying

“The decision is based on an unsatisfactory start to the season and performances not being good enough. We anticipated a much better start and the results have not matched expectations"

Doesn’t ask for much, does he? And should we ask, do you think, who appointed the other three full-time (a contradiction in terms in this case) managers over the previous year? Bet you it was Edin Rahic! Unfit for purpose? Like putting Herod in charge of the crèche ....................

A propos de rien, then, this week’s Starter for Ten; Bradford City has played in European Competition in the last 20 years; true or false?

14 players left in the Annual West Yorkshire Summer Cull; two – GK Colin Doyle and CB Matthew Kilgallon – went to Bonnie Scotland (well, Bonnie Hearts and Bonnie Hamilton); MF Nicky Law joined Exeter; French DMF Romaine Vincelot and NotFrench striker Dom Perignon – sorry, Dom Poleon – went to Crawley; three Germans went to Germany (Brexit Plus); Charlie Wyke went to Blunderland; Paul Taylor went to Donnie; Timothee Dieng – yes, THAT Timothee Dieng – joined Sarfend, and a couple went to the Dole Office ......... to replace them, Bradford signed 14 more (one-for-one like-for-like policy obviously), including CMF Hope Akpan from Burton, RB Kelvin Mellor from Blackpool, RB Joe Riley (I knew his Old Mother!) from Man U, PNE striker Eoin Doyle, Luca Colville, a RMF from Huddersfield, and – three weeks back, CMF Jim O’Brien from Ross County ....... Loans Out – as you’ll have seen – include one Shay McCartan to table-topping Lincoln, and Loans In include Jack Payne from Huddersfield ............ things must be quiet on the Big Band Scene - that said, Jack is leading goalscorer, with 3 in the League and one more for luck ........ not bad for an Oldster!

Preseason wasn’t a resounding success; they beat Bradford Park Avenue 2-1, but lost 2-1 at Guiseley, 1-0 at York, 2-3 at home to the Blades, 0-1 at Carlisle, and 7-2 at Harrogate of the Bananarama (did I mention the writing on the wall?) Once the SeasonProper began things improved – briefly – with 1-0 wins at Shrewsbury and at home to Burton (4 games, 6 points), but of their last 8 League games they’ve won one (1-0 at the Wombles), drawn one (goalless Desmond at home to BrizzleRov) and lost six ............... If the other side score, Bradford don’t win, and they’ve managed to score nul goals four times already. They’re joint 3rd in the Numpty League; Oxford have two points from their last possible 15, the Wombles have 3, Bratfud, Plymouth and Gillingham have four, and Brizzle, Burton and Rochdale have five; they’re currently 22nd with a record of P12 W3 D1 L8 GF9 GA17 for 10 points – below Brizzle on GD (-8 plays -3), a point behind The Wombles, Gillingham and Burton and two points behind Shrewsbury and Wycombe ......... 17 conceded is only 9th worst (Rochdale have let in 25, The Iron 24, Oxford 23, Gillingham and Plymouth 20, Peterborough – surprisingly, since they’re second – 19, and Wycombe and Charlton 18 .......... head of the Duck’s Arse League is Barnsley with 7, and Blackpool (7 draws in 11 games) and Pompey, each with 10 ............so all in all – they’ve only scored 9 in 12 – it’s not looking reet thrillin’ ............. If I were David Hopkin (whose League record must be W1 D1 L4) I’d be looking for another job!

Bradford City was formed in 1903 as a result of a series of meetings arranged by James Whyte, a sub-editor of the Bradford Observer, with Football Association representatives and officials at Manningham F.C., a local rugby league side. The Football League –who obviously saw the chance to promote association football in the rugby league-dominated West Riding of Yorkshire - duly elected the new club into Division Two of the Football League in place of Doncaster Rovers (which I bet went down like a lead balloon in Donnie). In 1911 they won the FA Cup (1-0 in a replay against Newcastle United), and it was only 102 years before they made their next Wembley Cup Final, losing the 2013 Football League Cup Final 5-0 to Swansea. They spent 77 years from 1922 outside the top tier, but won promotion as Runners-Up in the 1998/99 season, managing two years before Greasy-Poling-It back to the Championship (which wasn’t called that then!)

Their record League win is 11-1 over Rotherham in 1928; record League defeat is 8-0 by Man City in 1927, and 9-1 by Colchester in December 1961; “most appearances” and “most goals” records are both held by Ces Podd (574 and 502 respectively): most goals in a season by one player is 36 in 1961/62 (held by David “Bronco” Lane, of whom I’ve written before); in March 1929 one Albert Whitehurst scored seven times in a game against Tranmere ........ famous ex managers include Jimmy Wheeler (“Aye aye! That’s yer lot!”), Ray Wilson, Chris Kamara, Terry Yorath, Frank Stapleton and Bryan Robson ..................former players include Paul Jewell, Chris Kamara, Roy McFarland, David Niven (between films – oh, sorry, David McNiven) and Dean “Don’t Sign, Lad” Windass. And they did play in Europe in 2000, in the InterToto Cup (no idea what Dorothy or the Tin Man thought of that!), beating FK Atlantas 7-2 on aggregate and then RKC Waalwijk 3-0 before losing 4-0 to Zenit St Petersburg ................ I’d have given you recent head-to-head but for the fact that Sky made sure that my old broadband was switched off on Monday, and then completely failed to activate the new one I’d arranged with them! They may be hearing from my Solicitors!

Deadline for entries, then, is – as always – scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 13th October, which may well be unlucky for some ........ hopefully, it’ll be a Bad Bantams Day! Let’s see if we can regain a (playoff-bound) Top Six spot! AND – please – can we keep 11 players on the field?

Good luck to everyone! ................ Keep the Faith! .............. And thanks for playing!

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