Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2017 2:48 pm
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Location: In the Armchair.
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THE CAZBAR BIG GAME PREVIEW – BRADFORD CITYI don’t know about you but I’m still wondering how we managed to turn the game around on Saturday and come out of it with 3 points after we looked so awful for well over half the game.
You could argue that Nolan did well for Accy to sidestep three challenges as he made his way in from the touchline and take a shot which took an unfortunate deflection to take it past the reach of Marschall, you could equally argue what the hell was the defence doing to allow him unrestricted access to the edge of our area…but it’s done, we can only hope we learn from it.
Now the dust has settled I can see that Accrington never offered a great deal going forward, and perhaps if they had tried to build on the lead it might have been a different story at 10 to 5, but they seemed content to frustrate us with irritating fouls designed to break up our play.
With that in mind I think it’s fair to say this “anti-football” strategy was probably their downfall in the end as the bookings that mounted up restricted them when making a challenge and you could see Payne and Gilbey getting more and more into the game, also the introduction of Wearne and Harrison changed the game in our favour, Harrison in particular I thought was superb.
It took a superb freekick from Payne following one of those frustrating fouls to give us parity, and I’m sure many of us rolled back a couple of years thinking of those freekicks from Healey and Twine, you have to say there were plenty of similarities.
I did think that we had missed our chance as the momentum grew but time was our enemy, and then Tommo fired home through a sea of players spurred on by the collective “Shoot” from the fans.
It could have been more as Accy became ragged at the back, but it was great to hear the final whistle after such a frustrating afternoon.
We played poorly and got away with it, yes we finished strongly, but it could well have been too late by then if we had been playing a more adventurous team…but we move on.
On Tuesday we make our way “Up North” to Bradford and Valley Parade in what will be the Alexander grudge match, as I’m sure he will be itching to get a bit of payback.
Below is the current record of both teams, plus the home form of Bradford and our away record.
Bradford (14th) – P 31, W 10, D 10, L 11, GF 36. GA 39, Pts 40.
Dons (6th) – P 30, W 15, D 6, L 9, GF 49, GA 38, Pts 51.
Bradford (H) (19th) – P 14, W 4, D 7, L 3, GF 15, GA 16, Pts 19.
Dons (A) (11th) – P 14, W 5, D 3, L 6, GF 21, GA 22, Pts 18.
Adding a bit more detail to that, below is a closer inspection on the Bradford results at home this season, with as always the latest game listed first.
Bradford 0 AFC 0
Bradford 1 Salford 1
Bradford 2 Crawley 4
Bradford 0 Stockport 0
Bradford 2 Morecambe 2
Bradford 1 Accrington 0
Bradford 1 Barrow 2
Bradford 1 Wrexham 1
Bradford 1 Swindon 0
Bradford 1 Walsall 3
Bradford 1 Harrogate 1
Bradford 1 Grimsby 1
Bradford 1 Crewe 0
Bradford 2 Colchester 1
Trying to make sense of football results is of course not a perfect science, if it was the bookies would quickly go broke, but never one to shy away from a task, I will give it a go.
There are one or two notable results in amongst all those draws, none more so than the Stockport draw, in fact they also drew away at the league leaders a few months ago. Then we have the 1-1 draw against Wrexham, and only last weekend they travelled to the Racecourse Ground and stole a winner at the death despite having only 37% of the ball, but what they did have was quality in front of goal, hitting the target 8 times from 10 attempts, and if you want me to rub it in further they also knocked Wrexham out of the EFL Cup.
Saying that they have not won at home since November 25th and that against Accrington, and they have had a tough time lately and it’s been a love hate relationship with the former Dons gaffer who had a similar start to life at Valley Parade as he did at SMK. In the beginning he could hardly do any wrong, but until last Saturday they were sliding down the table…..sound familiar?
Top scorer for Bradford is 33 year old Andy Cook with 12 goals, the last of which was again versus Wrexham, and you have to say his strike rate is impressive for the Bantams with 51 goals from the 115 times he has pulled on the shirt for them, he’s a big lad, and is sure to keep our defence on its toes and he can also provide valuable assists, and yes he tops that stat as well with 4 to his name, but the likely danger could come from Jake Young who was scoring goals for fun alongside Dan Kemp at Swindon. Young scored 16 goals and 4 assists for the Robins until recalled in January from his loan spell, he is yet to score for Bradford.
I know some fear the returning Don, so this week it’s Daniel Oyegoke but I would think it’s a big ask for him to even play as he is currently out following shoulder surgery. For us he played 18 games on loan from Brentford and failed to score from his right back berth, and it’s a similar story for the Bantams, he’s still on loan and also played 18 games, and you’ve guessed it….he still hasn’t scored.
The gaffer is of course no stranger to us, Graham Alexander appointed in May 2023 at SMK, and he lasted 16 games before being sacked on October 16th.
It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, top of the table with 12 points from 5 games, an EFL LG 2 Manager of the Month award tucked under his belt, but some saw the warning signs and were even less happy about Alexanders tactics, style, and substitutions, to some it looked like an accident waiting to happen, and sure enough it did.
His account was closed at SMK following a 2-2 draw against Barrow conceding two goals in two minutes in the 93rd and 95th minute, the result was sickening for us, but it was a long time coming for Alexander.
I’m not going to bore you to death with his career details but instead wrap up our look at him with a few stats. For us his record stood at P 16, W 6, D 4, L 6 giving him a slightly above average 37% Win Ratio, surprisingly with Bradford who he joined on November 6th that is 10 spots better at 47% with a record of P 19, W 9, D 5, L 5, and while I’m at it his career stats cover 479 games with 206 wins, 119 draws and 154 defeats giving him a career Win Ratio of 43%, and I have to say it at this level that is pretty good over a 13 year career.
Historically against Bradford we have a poor record, the full details of which can be viewed below with Dons scorers.
2004/05 – Dons 1 Bradford 2 (McLeod)
2004/05 – Bradford 1 Dons 4 (McLeod 2, Small, Harding)
2005/06 – Bradford 2 Dons 0
2005/06 – Dons 2 Bradford 1 (Harding, Lewington)
2007/08 – Dons 2 Bradford 1 (Andrews, Swailes)
2007/08 – Bradford 1 Dons 2 (Stirling, Dyer)
2007/08 – Dons 1 Bradford 2 (FAC) (Johnson)
2013/14 – Dons 2 Bradford 3 (Bamford, S Williams)
2013/14 – Bradford 1 Dons 0
2014/15 – Dons 1 Bradford 2 (Lewington)
2014/15 – Dons 2 Bradford 0 (LC) (Afobe 2)
2014/15 – Bradford 2 Dons 1 (Alli)
2016/17 – Dons 1 Bradford 2 (E Upson)
2016/17 – Bradford 2 Dons 2 (O’Keefe, GB Williams)
2017/18 – Dons 1 Bradford 4 (Ebanks-Landell)
2017/18 – Bradford 2 Dons 0
2023/24 – Dons 4 Bradford 1 (Tomlinson, Payne, Gilbey, Dean)
That totals up at P 17, W 6, D 1, L 10, GF 26, GA 29.
The last time we played Bradford was just over a week after Alexander was sacked and Mike Williamson’s home debut and it was a very one sided affair with the Dons winning comfortably 4-1 with 57% possession, 18 shots, and 11 of those on target, and no Dons players were booked.
Betting wise I wouldn’t touch this game even if you gave me a £5 free bet, it is far too unpredictable, so no prediction from me, I’m just going to sit behind the sofa and hope we get something out of it.
If you do fancy a bet good luck, the current prices are below.
Bradford 13/10, Draw 13/5, MK Dons 21/10.
That’s it, if you are travelling to Bradford, safe travels, and I hope you bring back the points.
See you soon for the build up to the Swindon trip.
Until Then, Beware of Imitations.  WD
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Read the MELTDOWN after every game, no bullshit, just giving it straight
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