Turning

A week is a long time in football. Two weeks is an age. So it's nice to see that the once mighty Bantams are finally, it seems, heading in the right direction. They have managed to double their wins total in that period, after all. The first half of the season, cup competitions apart, has been painful. At more than one point on Saturday mornings this autumn, the team has been only a goal away from being right at the foot of the football league. 

Parkinson has slowly recast the team from the collection of loanees and inexperienced kids he was left with after Jackson's sudden departure in August. Goals were preciously hard to come by, and it seemed with Matt Duke that they couldn't keep them out at the other end either. Slowly, with the acquisition of Marcel Seip and Andrew Davies, and McLaughlin's return in goal the goals against has been tightened dramatically (just two against in five games. A goalie that can stop shots. Goals against go down. Who knew?). And now the goals have begun to come, six in the two festive home games.

I can't imagine a collective support more desperate to cling onto something than ours over the last ten years, there have been so many false dawns and mistakes made, but it's been fun to be up early in the morning to listen to games and hear the crowd, supportive and engaged again. Or giving the referee a piece of their mind as they have in the last two games. Hopefully, 2012 is a better year than 2011 was.