Sgwarnog: In the Field

By sgwarnog

Return

Another pre-season friendly saw Bradford City hosting Burnley who for the moment at least have earned the moniker "Premier League opposition." It was also City's first home tie since the off-season upheaval of new owners, new (old) manager and significant player turnover.

City started brightly, keeping possession well and putting pressure on the Burnley goal. And then Burnley scored three times in six minutes without really breaking into a sweat, giving the impression that they'd been treating it as a sitting deep with swift counter-attacks training exercise. City got one back before the break and then Burnely scored another late on to leave a final score of 1-4.

The chatter in the stands focused on the new signings. Timothee Dieng impressed, but there was less confidence in new goalie Colin Doyle who seemed reluctant to come for high balls. It was good to see Filipe Morais and Paul Anderson playing a full part after missing most of last season with injuries, and Mark Marshall was looking reinvigorated after spending most of last season on the bench. The squad is looking very thin though and there are sure to be a few new faces in before the end of the transfer window. Perhaps one of them will score goals.

It seems most were pleased to see club hero Stewart McCall back as manager.  Personally I thought it an unimaginative and sentimental appointment, reminding me of the times my club, Everton, went back to Howard Kendall. But McCall is a former Evertonian too, so I wish him luck. If today is anything to go by, we're likely to see much more attractive football at Valley Parade this season but whether that converts into wins remains to be seen.

Today's image see's McCall applauding the main stand at the end of the match, while the Burnley goalkeeping coach, Billy Mercer, offers his hand to City's Mark Marshall.

And we'll see how the pitch looks come January.

Comments
Sign in or get an account to comment.