Swindon Town v Bradford City - Official Matchday Thread

[garethgillman]

You'd like to think Power will accept that getting a few quid for SJO in Jan is not worth it and take the hit in the summer.

Power said at start of season he won't sell obika so we see if he keeps that, but his value isn't that great (not the 200k we paid for him) as he is so injury prone.

Good game today, actually showed some grit and steel, think Southend was a confidence boosting result and today sounds like we went at them from the go and didn't sit back and let them overwhelm us (like Rochdale and Eastleigh).

[Flashheart]

Every player has his price, but I can't see Beeks being valued at much lately. I can't see an offer coming in that will be enough.

[dogs]

Where's Reg?

[Flashheart]

Where's Reg?

He posted in the previous page, talking about relegation.

[Private Fraser]

He posted in the previous page, talking about relegation.

 

[suttonred]

To be fair if we'd picked up 0 points last 4 days we all would.

[Bob's Orange]

I thought today was a good battle between two decent sides. Bradford's number 4 ran the midfield and their number 3 was ripping us to bits down the left second half.

Rodgers goal got him the man of the match award, and he did little wrong (he even made a successful tackle! But for me Obika was exceptional. Strong hold up play and should have had a couple of goals second half, one when Doughty fucked up a 3 on 1 and then blazing over when it looked easier to score.

We were hanging on a bit at the end but players were throwing themselves into challenges and putting their heads in where it hurts, Furlong made one brave headed clearance at the back post. Mention also to Tom Smith who played left back and was excellent, biting into tackles, winning headers and keeping possession well.

Fight, desire and belief. Long been missing but long may it last!

[ronnie21]

Exciting game, we did well against a very fast and crisp passing side.  A good honest performance from us, thought Bradford were one of the better teams to visit SN1, they moved us about and ripped us a new one down the left, looked more threatening than us but couldn't get much on target.  A draw would probably have been a fair result but we were outpassed today and couldn't take the chances we did make.  Everybody put a good shift in today, sadly Brophy was not even 50% fit and was rightfully subbed.  Impressed with the 40 minutes that Tom Smith put in, neat and tidy and aggressive.  What a difference Obika makes, holds the ball up and lay it off to our players.  I suppose Rodgers got mom for the goal, but my vote would have gone to Beeks or John Goddard. Final point - the referee was a complete tosser - classic when he was telling Vigs to hurry up and take a goal kick when the ball wasn't even back on the field!!

[Ginginho]

I thought today was a good battle between two decent sides. Bradford's number 4 ran the midfield and their number 3 was ripping us to bits down the left second half.

Rodgers goal got him the man of the match award, and he did little wrong (he even made a successful tackle! But for me Obika was exceptional. Strong hold up play and should have had a couple of goals second half, one when Doughty fucked up a 3 on 1 and then blazing over when it looked easier to score.

We were hanging on a bit at the end but players were throwing themselves into challenges and putting their heads in where it hurts, Furlong made one brave headed clearance at the back post. Mention also to Tom Smith who played left back and was excellent, biting into tackles, winning headers and keeping possession well.

Fight, desire and belief. Long been missing but long may it last!

Pretty much spot on, a very enjoyable game and agree Obika was MOM.

[Batch]

Very even game.

Was it? I listened to Bradford comms and they reckon they dominated it, particularly in the 2nd half.

depends how you view 'dominated'. in the second half they had a lot of the ball in spells, they did little with it. we were as creative as them and looked as dangerous.

the first half I thought we were the better team on most stats that matter.

[bigbobjoylove]

We were better first half, they were better in the second. Both teams had alot of good chances and we had a perfectly good goal ruled out.

As good a player as Obika is, his injury record will hold him back from a big move.

[Reg Smeeton]

To be fair if we'd picked up 0 points last 4 days we all would.

This is why a relegation battle is interesting....we did get those points.

[Bob's Orange]

Anyone catch the disability match between Swindon and Bradford at half time?

One of the Swindon lads scored and I've never seen such a joyous reaction. They seemed to enjoy their lap of honour, I thought that was a lovely touch by both clubs.

[JoeMezz]

Signs of a more pragmatic, and sensible, approach.

6 wins, all to nil, all after scoring first

We are a weird team

Not sure how you win to nil without scoring first

[Captain Beefheart]

Great result. Nice to hear that we are playing with the extra bit between our teeth. It's the scrappy, dogmatic defending that we've all been calling for. No doubt aided by Obika at the top end of the pitch. It makes a big difference to have someone who makes the ball stick at the opposite end of the pitch. The more time the ball spends being passed between our back four, the more likely we are to make a mistake. Much better to have the option of going a bit more direct.

Don't think we're likely to sell Obika on. As Flashheart says, I'm doubtful any transfer fee will be of more value to us than Obika's presence. Injuries or no injuries. Think we need to get another of the Obika mould in January (easier said than done) to do a similar job when he's strapped up.