Winning Ugly

Bradford City 1 (Evans (pen) 32)
Stevenage 0

Attendance: 10,967

So to the second - and last, short of a playoff final - match report of the season. Those of us that have watched this lot for the past 20 years (or more!) know that the inevitable outcome of a fantastic cup upset is that they'll play like complete idiots the following Saturday. And so given how most of the players could barely move at the end of extra time following the win over Nottingham Forest, it boded ill for the visit of the league newcomers. There had already been some squad rotation for the Forest game, as compared to the lineup that started at Shrewsbury last week. Once again, Taylor shuffled the pack; out went the injured Speight, the disciplined Williams, Rehman, Moult, and Neilson. In came Evans, Adeyemi, Oliver, and Hunt.

You have to wonder whether all the changes from game to game are hindering the understanding of the team with each other at present. Remember also, that the preseason games were all essentially two different teams in each half. What is preseason for, if not to build understanding between the members of the first team? As far as I can make out, the only time the lineup you could consider the first team played together, was the last 30 minutes of a game against Bradford Park Avenue. Not exactly the level opposition we'll meet week in week out. Unsurprisingly, given the changes, City began slowly. Stevenage, buoyed by their first visit to Valley Parade were keen to make an impression and moved the ball neatly from back to front, but were generally limited to shots from distance as they found the Bradford backline hard to negotiate. City were ponderous; Hanson was labouring from a preseason halted by injury and then a long shift on Tuesday. Daley was Daley; a threat occasionally, but lost the ball a lot.

As it was, City took the lead. Bullock miscontrolled a ball from the right, and in attempting to reach the loose ball was scythed over by a Stevenage midfielder. Had he controlled it the first time the shot would probably have been blocked or missed. Evans sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot. City are a team that are often settled by taking the lead, but not this time. Half time came and the only shot on target registered by the home side was the penalty. In the early part of the second half, Daley's slaloming run from right to left gave a chance to double the lead. As the Stevenage defence parted, fearful of his pace, it left him one-on-one with the keeper, but he blazed wide and high with his weaker left foot. This seemed to be a turning point in the game. Stevenage pressed and harried, and the City team couldn't complete three passes in a row. The three central midfielders were seemingly under orders to not move from in front of the back four and not run ahead of the ball. Consequently, the forwards became more and more isolated. Hanson looked shattered but wasn't replaced. Adeyemi looked lost in midfield. Doherty was struggling also. The ball just kept on coming back.

And because the ball kept coming back, the mistakes in the overworked defence started to come. Duff's woefully underhit, blind backpass sent striker Yemi Odubade streaking away; McLaughlin's sprawling block right on the edge of the area foiled him. Moments later, a hesitation from Duff let Odubade in behind him and McLaughlin had to head away well outside the area, levelling the Stevenage forward in the process and ending his afternoon. Taylor had seen enough. Duff's league debut as captain lasted barely an hour, replaced by Zesh Rehman. Rehman has his detractors among the support but he came on and provided more solidity in the back four. Syers and Moult replaced Doherty and Daley soon afterwards. City ground it out, often with eleven players in the penalty area at corners and despite a late Stevenage flurry when a couple of free kicks were driven wide, kept the visitors at bay. That's the one major positive from the game; 90 minutes played, McLaughlin only rarely called upon.

Negatives? They did almost nothing of note in the attacking third of the field. Their only shot on target in the whole game was a free one from the spot. The midfield needs to get more involve, run beyond the ball, and attack balls into the box. Think back to the World Cup: Holland were pilloried for having two deep lying defensive midfielders, at times on Saturday it looked like we had three. Hanson and Doherty are clearly not anywhere near match fit. And the booing. Yes, opening day at home, a win, and booing from the crowd. Peter Taylor has commented about his displeasure at this in the papers today. I can understand both sides; it was an awful performance, but at the same time the team needs encouragement after so many poor home campaigns. But Saturday's fare was never going to get them on the edge of their seats. It had been commented widely upon Taylor's arrival in February that the football might become a little more pragmatic than under McCall. If it results in promotion, I think we can probably say that the ends justify the means. But it won't be pretty if it's like Saturday every week.

Bradford City: McLaughlin: Hunt, Oliver, Duff (Rehman), O'Brien: Bullock, Doherty (Syers), Adeyemi: Evans, Hanson, Daley (Moult): Subs not used: Saxton, Threlfall, Flynn, Neilson.

Stevenage: Day: Henry, Roberts, Bostwick, Laird: Byrom, Sinclair (Boylan), Mousinho: Odubade (Winn), Griffin, Beardsley (Vincenti). Subs not used: Bayes, Wilson, Charles, Foster.

Little Englanders

Something from twitter this evening. I've just read a tweet from the Daily Telegraph's football correspondent Henry Winter bemoaning a debate on Talksport about Everton's Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta, and why he should play for England. Presumably this is because he now qualifies on the basis of residency. Winter's remark is "Madness. England must develop players, not nick them. Just not cricket". This sort of thing comes round from time to time, in the near past, Manuel Almunia used the back pages to issue thinly veiled 'come and get me' pleas. It died a death because he's not actually any good.

Was Henry paying any attention to the German team at the World Cup? Klose, Podolski and Trochowski: Polish. Ozil: Turkish. Khedira: Tunisian. Boateng: Ghanaian. Cacau: Brazilian. Gomez: Spanish. If it's good enough for the Germans, it should be good enough for us. Are we ever going to start to learn from other sides? Or are we going to continue to be fearful of perceived backlashes of the same old stuffed-shirt bluster from 'outraged of Tunbridge Wells'? It's such a lack of openness to change and improvement that has held English football back to the point where it's an also ran at international level.

Arteta is a scheming, crafty midfielder with an eye for goal and technical ability far superior to those that appear for England on a regular basis. He would easily enhance the English midfield, what with $tevie Me's blunderbuss approach and Flat Track Frank. Was Winter outraged when Owen Hargreaves opted for England (born in Calgary to Welsh father, schooled in Germany)? Arteta would be behind Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Alonso and a horde of other equally talented players that litter the Spanish league in the stakes for Spanish selection. If he wants to play for England, why on earth not?

Ghosts

Bradford City 2 (Syers 57, Hanson 100)
Nottingham Forest 1 (Thornhill 36)

Attendance: 5,175

Last night's game was the first of two I'll get to see this year; on paper something of a mismatch. Forest finished third in the Championship and we finished 14th in Division Four, a gap of some 59 league places. In the same round last season, Forest triumphed 3-0, so fans were perhaps worried that after a spluttering start to the league campaign at Shrewsbury, another defeat might have been hard on confidence. Certainly in the first half, it looked pretty much inevitable that Forest would win; they moved the ball around with the skill, precision, and pace you'd expect for a team in last years playoffs. In comparison, the Bradford play was stilted and ponderous and on occasion almost painful to watch, as the back four laboriously played themselves into trouble in constant attempts to bring the ball out from the back. Fortunately, the Forest final ball was generally dreadful, and when they could send lone striker Nathan Tyson clear on goal midway through the half, Jon McLaughlin was up to the job. Tyson was otherwise shackled by the impressive Steve Williams. The barber from Bamber Bridge could be a real player if he cuts out the lapses in concentration.

Nevertheless, when Matt Thornhill's angled drive from eight yards found the back of the net it seemed like the natural order of things was being maintained. The Bradford midfield hadn't got to grips with Forest's at all (lining up 4-4-2 they were constantly outnumbered by the Forest 4-5-1/4-3-3). Even so, outnumbered or not, Omar Daley and Scott Neilson had had games to forget. Daley is still searching for form and fitness after a year out injured and Neilson, while trying hard couldn't do anything right. Peter Taylor had seen enough, and axed both of the above and Lee Bullock at half time. Harsh on Bullock though. On in their place came James Hanson, Simon Ramsden and the summer trialist from Guiseley, David Syers, who had signed non-contract forms that afternoon.

Syers' first contribution was to offer some meaty midfield challenges in the rearranged 4-3-3 formation, and was in the right place to bundle the ball home after Jake Speight and Forest keeper Lee Camp's collision left the ball squirming towards the net. Speight was terrific last night; a constant threat that drew ever more agricultural challenges from the Forest back line. Such challenges went mostly unpunished from referee Ilderton. Given the off-field distractions that have marred Speight's off season - nor am I defending them, as they shouldn't be - his restraint in such provocation was admirable. On this showing, he'll be a real handful for fourth division defences; for a relatively short player, his hold up play and strength with back to goal was quite formidable.

Forest were sparked into life. I suspect, given they had lost five players to midweek internationals that they were trying to win with minimum effort. As it was, they had to send on established players in McKenna, Adebola and Blackstock to try and win the game. None came closer than Tyson, late in the game, when his shot from distance was tipped onto the post by McLaughlin. Blackstock's shot on the rebound, seemingly into an unguarded net, was blocked by a flying Shane Duff. So to extra time. Not what Bradford wanted when playing on Saturday, and also considering all three replacements had been made at half time. In addition, McLaughlin was playing on one leg after bruising a hip towards the end of normal time. Then came the moment. Speight was hacked over yet again in the penalty arc. Finally the referee gave a free kick; Ramsden's driven shot was blocked by Camp, Williams' rebound was blocked before Hanson summoned the ghost of fellow ex-part-timer-turned-Bantam-pro Ian Ormondroyd - a goal in each leg against Forest in this competition 15 years ago - to bundle the ball home.

They were dead on their feet by this point. McLaughlin bailed them out with ten minutes to go with a stunning block from Blackstock, and then eased the pressure considerably by coming for and claiming each cross and throw that rained in in the last ten minutes. The final whistle brought muted reactions from the players, who could barely move, but in the stands there were memories of giant killings in far off days from the mid-nineties when we were a formidable cup opponent; this was our first cup win over a team from a higher division in 13 years, since a certain afternoon at Goodison Park. That was an exciting time for the club as it rose through the divisions and there are many fond memories from that time. Given that I now live overseas, it's those sort of things that I really miss; Hull, Blackpool, Wembley, Everton, Nigel Pepper's thunderbolt vs QPR when any relegation worries were blown far away, Gordon Watson's comeback against Barnsley, Wolves, beating Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea. It was fun. After a decade in the doldrums where attending games has been more of a duty, rather than a pleasurable experience, hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

Bradford City: McLaughlin; Rehman, Williams, Duff, O'Brien; Neilson (Hanson), Bullock (Ramsden), Doherty, Daley (Syers); Moult, Speight. Subs not used: Saxton, Horne, Threlfall, Oliver.

Nottingham Forest: Camp; Chambers, Morgan, Lynch (McKenna), Cohen; McCleary, McGugan (Adebola), Thornhill, Moussi, Anderson (Blackstock); Tyson. Subs not used: Darlow, Freeman, Rodney, Gibbons.

First Impressions

I blogged here some time ago about an outdoor NHL game in Calgary. It turns out I jumped the gun a bit, but so did the local media. In the end, there will be a Heritage Classic game played outdoors at McMahon Stadium - a short-ish walk from where I live - next February against the Montreal Canadiens. Today saw the official announcement, press conference, and unveiling of the team's retro, one-off jersey. To say that it caused a bit of a squall on the internet was something of an understatement. I certainly didn't like it, but the first image released suggested it was straight red and yellow and looked like something Ronald McDonald might wear.

Only when video/photos of it being worn by players did it actually look sort of OK and people start to come around to it. Certainly, the first image of it that was distributed was a bit of an own goal (not that such things exist in hockey, but still). Now I'll leave the reader to draw their own conclusions on whether they like it or not, but it left me reflecting on the second such 'ugh, I don't like that at all' moment in a matter of months after the unveiling of the new Bradford home strip three months ago. Just as now, I instantly didn't like it and then came round an hour or two later. I think I am becoming more reactionary as I get older and perhaps it's a lesson in not blurting out on facebook how much it's rubbish and taking an hour or two to think about things a bit.

The fact that I like it because it appears to be more claret and amber than red and yellow is entirely coincidental. Honest

Predictions

One good thing about being home this time is I'll get to see two football matches this time, not just one. I suspect, given the Carling Cup match with Nottingham Forest is only the day after I land, I might still be a bit sleepy - not that that's any different to normal games at Valley Parade, ba-dum-tish. Next Saturday sees the visit of Stevenage in the league, so I guess it's time to do one of those famously bad prediction things that were always so entertaining to look back at at nine months later on warwick.blogs. Match reports will follow, just for old times sake.

I think any of the top four are interchangeable; both Bradford and Shrewsbury look good in defence and midfield, but light up front, Gillingham and Rotherham have proven forwards but lack elsewhere in their teams. It all depends who is the one left without a chair when the music stops next May. I think Oxford are going to do well and can attract crowds that can fund another playoff push. Wycombe have largely the same squad that got them promoted two years ago and Bury are admirably run on a shoestring. On the fringes, Chesterfield will reap the benefit of not having to play at the horrendously decrepit Saltergate any more, and any Micky Adams side is hard to beat. They flirted briefly with the playoffs last time.

Gillingham, as mentioned, will do the best of the relegated teams. Southend and Stockport are either still in the clutches of financial catastophe or slowly recovering. I think Accrington's bubble has to burst eventually, and it's also disappointing to see Crewe fans are unhappy with Dario Gradi, who once could do no wrong; as we all know, a month is a long time in football and so five years ago is a lifetime. At the bottom, the loss of winger Adomah and striker O'Flynn are going to do for Barnet, and I think that Macclesfield have been on borrowed time for some years now; the sad passing of Keith Alexander during last season is going to highlight just how very good he was at getting the best out of limited resources.

1. Shrewsbury
2. Bradford
3. Rotherham
4. Gillingham
5. Oxford
6. Wycombe
7. Bury
8. Chesterfield
9. Port Vale
10. Lincoln
11. Morecambe
12. Southend
13. Stevenage
14. Aldershot
15. Northampton
16. Cheltenham
17. Torquay
18. Burton
19. Accrington
20. Stockport
21. Crewe
22. Hereford
23. Barnet
24. Macclesfield

Homecoming

Only six days till I get on a plane again as I come home on holiday for a couple of weeks. I have a wedding to attend on the middle Sunday for one of my former PhD labmates and his significant other; I think they are at least partially responsible for me being out here after visiting them in Ottawa three years ago. It'll be fun to see my nephew now he is fully able to hold a conversation with me on the webcam, before he gets bored.

The odd thing is that it could well be the last time I get to visit what I would call 'home'. The weekly phonecall yesterday revealed that at very long last, a firm offer on the house has been made. Mum and Dad have been looking to move for some time now (about four years I think) to somewhere that requires less maintenance, and have now found somewhere to make an offer on. In Huddersfield of all places, deep behind enemy lines as far as footballing allegiances go.



I mean, really!

If The Cap Fits

I wrote a few weeks ago about the culmination of the NHL playoffs and how it was likely the champion Chicago Blackhawks were likely to be broken up this coming summer. Today saw probably the last moves to fit themselves under next year's salary cap; the changes have been far more widespread than any Chicago fan would have thought about two months ago.

Here's last season's playoff lineup:

Forwards:
Kane-Toews-Byfuglien
Kopecky-Sharp-Hossa
Ladd-Bolland-Versteeg
Eager-Madden-Brouwer

Defence:
Keith-Seabrook
Hjalmarsson-Campbell
Hendry-Sopel

Goal:
Niemi
Huet

Lots of goalscoring depth, role players, grit, old heads. You name it, this team had it. Except a reliable goalie, perhaps. It became obvious not long into last season they'd be the team to beat. But winning has created a number of problems. First of all, a bit of history. Chicago last made the Stanley Cup final in 1992. There then followed a long spell of finishing among the also rans in the league as owner Bill Wirtz refused to play top dollar for players. The crowds stayed away and so he had to keep the salary at a minimum to minimise the debt, and so the vicious circle went around again. Eventually, such a prolonged period of failure reaped rewards in the draft. Teams pick in reverse order according to their final position in the regular season. Along came, among others, Patrick Kane (1st overall, 2007), Jonathan Toews (3rd overall 2006), Duncan Keith (54th overall, 2002), Brent Seabrook (12th overall, 2003) and others. Entry level contracts can only be signed up to a league maximum. Bonuses for performance can be added, but count against the salary cap if they have to be paid out. So it comes to pass that Chicago must pay $4.1m out in bonuses against a salary cap of $59.4m this season. That's comparable to a couple of third line forwards, a top 6 forward or, a top 4 defenceman. There's problem number 1.

Problem number two came as the entry level contracts of Kane, Toews, and Keith expired this season. Entry level contracts can only be three years long; after such time the player and team must re-negotiate with the protection of draft picks if they move to another team if agreement can't be reached. Kane's average cap salary went from $3.7 to $6.3m, Toews from $2.8m to $6.3m, and Keith's from $1.48m to $5.5m almost $10m more. Room would have to be made against the salary cap. In Chicago's case, they had a number of the supporting cast that would be attractive to other sides. They also had a pair of contractual albatrosses; French goalie Cristobal Huet ($5.6m a year), and defenceman Brian Campbell ($7.1m a year, roughly $2m more than he's worth). Both were 'shopped' among the other 29 sides. No takers. Chicago will bury Huet in the minor league AHL team, on full salary but not counting against the salary cap of the senior team. That's $5m of the $10m back. Campbell also has a no move clause in his contract, so they're stuck with him. It can't be reiterated enough just how much trouble those contracts are causing.

Instead, they had to move the supporting cast. Kris Versteeg and a prospect were traded to Toronto for Viktor Stalberg and two prospects; this was a net salary dump of $2.2m. Versteeg's contract is somewhat inflated seeing as there was an administrative bungle by the Blackhawks with his (and other) qualifying offers last season which essentially meant he was an unrestricted, rather than restricted free agent and so he had to be tendered a second, higher offer lest he sign for another team. As we'll see, every $250,000 here and there would become so very important. In the same week, playoff warhorse Dustin Byfuglien (11 goals in the playoffs), Ben Eager and Brent Sopel were traded to the useless Atlanta Thrashers (I mean, what sort of a reward is that?!) for fourth line forward Marty Reasoner and a prospect. That was a net salary dump of about $4.2m. Andrew Ladd was then traded to Atlanta for prospect defenceman Ivan Vishnevskiy and a draft pick that worked out as a further $1.5m salary dump after Ladd agreed a contract with Atlanta. Fourth line centre John Madden's $2.75m a year contract was not renewed. So far, so bad for the third and fourth lines.

We've just touched on the RFA Ladd being moved because a new contract would be too high. So we came to RFAs Niklas Hjalmarsson and Antti Niemi. Hjalmarsson earned $0.8m last season as a player who could play long minutes and keep the door shut as Campbell wandered up the ice in attack. He was due a hefty raise. At this point, enter stage left, the General Manager of the San Jose Sharks, Doug Wilson. Wilson submitted an offer sheet to Hjalmarsson of $3.5m a year. Chicago had a week to either match the offer, or accept the draft picks (a 1st and a 3rd, determined by the contract value) as compensation. Chicago matched the offer, thus swallowing up some of their hard won cap space into the bargain. A very very sneaky thing for Wilson to do to hobble one of their main rivals, but he is paid to make SJ the best team in the conference and get them to their first cup final. As a result, the only just acquired Reasoner (he was there about two weeks!) was then traded to Florida for AHL/NHL inbetweener Jeff Taffe in another net salary dump of $0.7m.

Negotiations then turned to Niemi. He also earned $0.8m last season. The two sides couldn't agree a contract, and the arbitrator set a value of $2.75m a year for one year. Chicago balked at this and said 'on your way, then' and signed the erratic former Dallas goalie Marty Turco on a one year deal at $1.3m. They now have just short of $3m to fill four or five roster spots with youngsters in the system to have a squad of 23 on opening night. In the meantime, it would surprise no-one at all if Niemi surfaced in San Jose to former a goalie tandem there with fellow Finn Antero Niittymaki .They had let Evgeni Nabokov go following the shellacking he got against Canada in the Olympics, after which he was not the same. Very very clever on Wilson's part if that was the reason he made the offer sheet to Hjalmarsson.

So the Chicago Blackhawks of 2010-11 then, with slightly speculative line combinations:

Forward:
Kane-Toews-Brouwer
Sharp-Kopecky-Hossa
Stalberg-Bolland-Beach
Skille-Dowell-Bickell

Defence:
Keith-Seabrook
Hjalmarsson-Campbell
Hendry-Vishnevskiy

Goal:
Turco
Crawford

They have two good forward lines, two good defensive pairs and yet at the same time huge question marks in goal. A first championship in 49 years followed by complete destruction of their forward corps. They are still a useful looking team on paper, but are much much weakened as compared to this time last year, thus ensuring the Western Conference is a bit more spread out this year. Lesson to other teams: Calgary GM Darryl Sutter may be a bit of laughing stock at present for some, er, interesting moves in the last year, but he almost never gets involved in free agent frenzy on July 1st for fear of ending up with a Huet or a Campbell on the books for several years. Others should take note!