What Bradford City have to show in the next few weeks to ease supporter fears: View | OneFootball

Bradford City fans want to see more from the club over the next few weeks after a disappointing start to pre-season against Chorley and Guiseley.

Highlights

Pre-season is a time when clubs finalise their tactics and improve the fitness of their players before the league season starts, and results typically do not matter. However, Bradford City fans have some reasons to be disappointed by recent friendly games.

Bradford City started their pre-season schedule against Chorley, which resulted in a 2-0 loss. This was followed by a 2-1 loss to local side Guiseley, another result that is less than ideal but, ultimately, doesn’t matter.

Early pre-season results are not ideal for the Bantams

In terms of results, it can not be stressed that these do not matter when it comes to pre-season friendlies, and supporters should remember this in the grand scheme of things.

However, supporters have the right to be disappointed when they lose to teams they should be beating, whether it’s a friendly or not, and fans have the right to have some worry right now.

There are enough players at the club who have a point to prove in these friendly fixtures, including Alex Gilliead, Vadaine Oliver, and Adam Wilson.

These players will likely find game time hard to come by next season due to the competition in their preferred positions and should go all out to prove why they should be included or why they could benefit another club.

After the loss at Guiseley, manager Graham Alexander was quoted by the Telegraph and Argus as saying: “I thought the first half was a waste of time for us,” before adding “we got into chances to shoot and tried for an extra pass, it was almost like we were trying to play a FIFA game of football.”

It’s safe to say that Alexander was unhappy with the performance, and that will reassure fans. Other managers may have downplayed their disappointment, but it's refreshing to have an honest take on things from the manager.

Moving forward, it’s likely that the players will not get away with a poor performance against Austrian side SV Ried II, and fans can expect a much better showing from the players selected for the trip abroad.

As mentioned, a couple of exciting friendlies are coming up for the Bantams, including the trip to Austria that will be followed by a home friendly against Sky Bet Championship side Sunderland AFC, which will see a sizeable crowd at Valley Parade.

The final pre-season friendly for the club will be against Altrincham FC. The results won't matter still but the performance does. It’s likely the club will have a few new faces in the door before this fixture, and hopefully, Alexander will know his best eleven.

Ultimately, between now and the first game of the Sky Bet League Two season away to MK Dons on Saturday 10th August 2024, supporters want to see the players putting in a shift to improve match fitness, form partnerships on the pitch and ultimately, a few goals.

It’s been frustrating that strikers at the club have so far failed to score a goal against sixth-tier sides, considering Andy Cook, Vadaine Oliver, Jake Young, and Tyler Smith have all featured within these friendly games and haven't produced the goods in 180 minutes of football.

Promising striker Calum Kavanagh is yet to feature, but still, fans would have expected at least one goal from these four strikers during the early pre-season fixtures. It’s not yet a cause for concern, as goals in the league season are where it matters.

Another situation is the balance of the defence, as using players out of position seems to be a theme, something which plagued England at the recent Euros. It is now also a problem for the Bantams as Lewis Richards is the only natural left wing-back still at the club, with Tyriek Wright and Clarke Oduor seemingly being the other options.

However, there is no need to be too concerned about the defensive structure right now. At least one more central defender is expected to join the club, and hopefully, in the remaining friendly games, supporters will see a more settled back three, especially against better opposition like Sunderland.

It’s also worth nothing that some players, such as Aden Baldwin and Brad Halliday, have been unavailable due to injuries, so their absence will be felt with youngsters and trialists filling their spots.

If the club want supporters to have real optimism for next season, then the players have to show much more than they have already in the final few pre-season friendlies this summer.