L2 v Darlington (h) D0-0 Feb 17th 2009

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Also:
McCall agrees new Bradford deal
Signing City shirt deal made me so proud, says sponsor
CITY ASSESS INJURY SITUATION
City facing keeper crisis
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L2 v Darlington (h) D0-0 Feb 17th 2009

Bradford: Evans, Rehman, Lee, Clarke, O'Brien, Jones (Bullock 73), Law, Furman, Daley (Colbeck 23),Thorne (Conlon 78), Michael Boulding.
Subs Not Used: Arnison, McLaren.

Darlington: Gerken, Austin, White, Foster, Valentine, Purdie, Kennedy (Hulbert 83), Ravenhill, Tremarco (Hatch 67), Abbott, Carlton.
Subs Not Used: Miller, Kazimierczak, Poole.

Booked: White, Carlton.

Att: 12,782

Ref: Tony Bates (Staffordshire).

Bantams / Quakers
3(1) Shots (on Goal) 11(3)
9 Fouls 13
3 Corner Kicks 4
7 Offsides 2
54% Time of Poss. 46%
0 Yellow Cards 2
0 Red Cards 0
3 Saves 3



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http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sportbcfc/sportbcfcheadlines/4134173

History repeats itself in Valley Parade stalemate
7:40am Wednesday 18th February 2009

City 0 Darlington 0

City fired blanks again as their hopes of a fourth straight win – and a return to the automatic promotion places – hit a black-and-white wall.

A goalless draw with Darlington should come as no real surprise. This was the third time in a row that Valley Parade clashes between the two teams have ended in stalemate.

But it was not the worst result in the world against another side who are up there in the promotion fight.

Stuart McCall's biggest concern will be the injuries City picked up, with Omar Daley damaging medial ligaments in his knee and Rhys Evans pulling his thigh.

The Jamaican is likely to be sidelined for a chunk of the run-in and Evans will definitely miss the next couple of games.

Darlington were just glad to see a pitch again, having not kicked a ball since last month.

After an impressive run of four wins in five lifted them to fourth, the Quakers had been left twiddling their thumbs through three successive postponements.

Keeper Dean Gerken, on loan from Colchester, quickly cleared the cobwebs with a hurried clearance under pressure from Michael Boulding and a header away from the edge of his box.

After the excitement of Saturday, it was another fast-paced start from City, although the only shot in the opening stages came from Darlington's Pawel Abbott, who fired over the bar.

Matt Clarke produced two crunching blocks to snuff out another Darlo threat as the Valley Parade crowd kept up a noisy back-drop to the action.

They almost had something to cheer on 17 minutes as Steve Jones attacked from halfway and threaded a pass for Boulding to chase. Defenders Alan White and Carl Tremarco got in each other's way, allowing the striker through into the box.

He looked odds on to score but drove low and straight at Gerken, who blocked it with his legs and then got up immediately to punch the rebound out of danger.

But City suffered a big blow midway through the half when Daley stayed down after a hefty tackle with Neil Austin. The Jamaican was clearly in some discomfort and after brief treatment was taken off on a stretcher.

Joe Colbeck was the obvious replacement with Jones switching flanks to the left.

Clarke spoiled his game with a poor clearance that gifted Ricky Ravenhill possession 30 yards out. His shot was deflected off course and Rhys Evans slid to prevent the corner – and worryingly, got up limping.

With no substitute keeper on the bench – though Dean Windass was in the press box – City could not afford anything to happen to Evans. There was a universal sigh of relief that he was able to continue after brief treatment, although he looked hampered by his thigh.

There had been few chances at either end but City went closest to breaking the deadlock just after the half hour. Boulding almost got Luke O'Brien in but as the ball came out to Jones, his drive fell perfectly for Peter Thorne, whose snap-shot cannoned back off the Darlington bar with Gerken beaten.

The busy Dean Furman stumbled near goal as he looked to wriggle his way through and Colbeck had a cross whacked clear as City tried to up the ante ahead of half-time.

Boulding's clever runs were pulling the Darlo defence about and Nicky Law was starting to drive forward ominously. City won back-to-back corners but Boulding's flick across goal went unclaimed by a team-mate.

But Darlington suddenly cut City open with a swift counter-attack led by Abbott and Jason Kennedy. Danny Carlton pulled to the right and whipped in a dangerous cross, which Colbeck dealt with superbly as he back-tracked to nod away from his own six-yard box.

Jones lifted the tempo again right on the interval to force a third City corner.

Referee Tony Bates had a stiff word with Clarke and White after a spot of shoving before the City centre half rose to meet the kick but failed to direct his header.

The teams had cancelled each other out for the most part. Stuart McCall's side had just about edged it but the bobbly pitch was not aiding their usual passing game.

City began the second half on the front foot again with O'Brien and Colbeck both drilling in crosses to keep Gerken on his toes. Boulding then slipped the wrong side of marker Steve Foster but drove straight at White.

Referee Bates produced his first yellow card of the night seven minutes into the half when White tripped Boulding once too often.

Zesh Rehman, preferred to Paul Arnison at right back, showed his mettle to stay with Abbott as the big targetman fought to get off a shot.

But the Pakistan international then coughed up possession on halfway and was grateful for a text-book intervention from Clarke on the edge of the penalty area as Darlington looked to break.

City hit back as Law reeled off the pass of the match to spray the ball out to Colbeck, who cut in from the right flank before firing over the angle.

But there was generally not a lot of room to work in with Darlington quick to close down anything fancy.

City still carried the bigger threat, with Colbeck becoming more prominent and showing the appetite to break down the black and white wall of resistance.

Darlington boss Dave Penney threw on Liam Hatch as an extra attacker after 67 minutes to prove they were not content to sit on a point. As if to prove that, it needed a great tackle from Rehman to prevent Carlton firing the visitors in front as he burst away.

But they had still failed to test Evans with a direct shot on target – a record that Abbott was never going to alter with a wild thrash high into the Kop.

McCall made his first switch with 17 minutes to go as Lee Bullock replaced Jones. He took up a central role alongside Furman, with Law moving to the left.

And 12 minutes from time, he called for Barry Conlon to add a bit of muscle up front as Thorne went off.

Conlon, who had two spells as a Darlington player, was greeted with a roar from the fans.

But it was the away side who were pressing again and Evans was finally called into action after 80 minutes, responding with a tip-over to deny Abbott's rasping shot.

And Darlington went close again through Hatch, whose drifting effort just beat the far post with Evans looking on.



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http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/bradford/Bradford-City-0-Darlington-0.4990826.jp

Bradford City 0 Darlington 0: Bantams left frustrated in bid to reclaim place in promotion spots


Bantams held

18 February 2009
By Richard Sutcliffe
at Valley Parade
A LITTLE over a fortnight after being thwarted by heavy snow, Bradford City were last night again left feeling frustrated after being held to a third goalless stalemate of the season at home.


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The Bantams had gone into the rearranged meeting with Darlington knowing that victory could, depending on results elsewhere, earn them a welcome return to the automatic promotion places.

Buoyed by having won all three games since the scheduled February 2 meeting with the Quakers fell victim to the arctic weather that brought Britain to a standstill, City did look the more likely to break the deadlock for much of the 90 minutes.

The home side certainly had the vast majority of the game's standout performers with Nicky Law and Dean Furman excelling in midfield, Matt Clarke being a towering presence in defence and Joe Colbeck a constant threat out wide after replacing Omar Daley midway through the first half.

But for all their pressing and probing, Bradford could not make the vital breakthrough with Peter Thorne going closest with a stabbed shot that bounced to safety off the crossbar.

It ensured the vast majority of the 12,782 crowd went home frustrated, even if the Bantams fans could at least console themselves with their team having been the better outfit for three-quarters of a keenly-fought encounter.

They certainly should have led at the break with Thorne being denied by the crossbar and Michael Boulding being presented with a gilt-edged chance by a fine pass from Steve Jones.

Unfortunately for City, the striker could only drive a fierce shot into the legs of Gerken who then leapt to his feet before punching the ball to safety.

Stuart McCall's side, who lost Daley to a suspected medial ligament injury after a heavy but legal challenge from Neil Austin, continued to press after the break with a fine crossfield ball from Law allowing Colbeck sufficient time and space to cut in from the right flank and unleash a fierce shot that flew inches over the crossbar.

It was not until the final quarter that Darlington sprang into life and the home side were grateful for Zesh Rehman having been alert enough to snuff out the danger as Danny Carlton looked set to race through on goal. Then, with 10 minutes remaining, former Huddersfield Town striker Pawel Abbott showed tremendous poise and skill to flick the ball over a Bantams defender before unleashing a thunderous drive that Rhys Evans did brilliantly to tip over the crossbar.

Substitute Liam Hatch then had the 452 visiting fans on their feet in the closing stages with a fierce shot that flew just inches over the crossbar and ensure City kept an eighth clean sheet in 11 outings.

It also meant that Bradford had, at least, claimed what could yet turn out to be a vital point in the race to get out of League Two.



Bradford City: Evans; Rehman, Lee, Clarke, O'Brien; Jones (Bullock 72), Furman, Law, Daley (Colbeck 23); Thorne (Conlon 78), M Boulding. Substitutes (not used): Arnison, McLaren.

Darlington: Gerken; Austin, White, Foster, Tremarco (Hatch 67); Purdie, Ravenhill, Kennedy (Hulbert 83), Valentine; Carlton, Abbott. Substitutes (not used): Miller, Kazimierczak, Poole.

Referee: A Bates (Staffordshire).



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Some match photos

http://www.rivals.net/news/pgarticle.aspx?artid=13750_4940662&id=30




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McCall signs new deal with Bantams
7:00am Friday 20th February 2009

Stuart McCall today put pen to paper on a new City deal and declared: All my managerial ambition lies here.

McCall wants to climb the divisions with the club he has served as player and now boss.

He signed on for another two years – and then set that as a realistic deadline to bring Championship football back to Valley Parade.



McCall said: "I know Julian Rhodes talked earlier in the season about back-to-back promotions. For me, by the end of the contract I'll have been here four years and I would hope we can reach the Championship by then.

"I want to manage in the Championship but I'd rather do it here in a couple of seasons than somewhere else now. I'm showing loyalty because I want to be here.

"If we got promoted and other teams came in, I wouldn't be looking to go. I don't want to go.

"Obviously if things don't go right, I could find myself somewhere else one day. But my managerial ambitions lie with this club. I can see myself being here for the long-run, taking us where we all want to go.

"People know what I feel for Bradford City and I wouldn't ever think of using this as a stepping stone. I'm also fortunate to have the two chairmen and people I work with and we've all got the same belief and feeling for the club."

McCall's present contract was due to run out at the end of June. But with a large number of players' deals up at the same time, sorting out his future now will remove uncertainty with squad negotiations and allow him to plan ahead.

He added: "It's nice to get it done and shows loyalty from both parties. I was happy to leave it until the summer but it makes sense if the two chairmen are happy to do it now and I'm pleased they've acknowledged what I'm doing.

"We haven't got a crystal ball. We don't know what's going to happen in the summer as in which division we will be in.

"But it gives me a chance to plan ahead. There are 15 games left, maybe more, and we're all focused on what we want to achieve.

"Either way, if we're successful or not, I know I'll be focusing on next season.

"Management can be frustrating at times but it's beneficial for the club to hopefully have that stability and be able to look forward."

Joint-chairman Lawn said: "Year on year we've certainly progressed and you can see that on the pitch with the way we're playing.

"We decided weeks ago that we were all happy for Stuart to continue. But with Gillingham, Wycombe and Darlington to focus on it wasn't fair to put him under pressure about this so we decided to talk about it straight afterwards and we're delighted it's now done.

"Like myself and Julian, Stuart is a fan as well as being the manager which can make it very difficult if we're on a bad run. We do feel the pain just as much as the fans, if not more.

"Stuart wanted to carry on but I can understand him talking to his family first. They feel it a lot more, seeing the angst and pain you go through when it's not going well.

"He wanted to make sure they were happy first and it was right to do that."

McCall had a meeting with the players yesterday to pick over the results during the second third of the season.

He added: "You look at the back-to-back 0-0s with Chester and Shrewsbury. If we'd taken the wins out of them that we should have done, we'd be sat top of the table now.

"We've just drawn a couple too many at home but we're in a decent position and I feel very happy with the squad we've got."






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From Official website...

CITY ASSESS INJURY SITUATION

Bradford City are assessing the damage to their promotion push after losing
Omar Daley and Rhys Evans to injury.

Tuesday night's goalless draw with Darlington at Valley Parade came at a big
cost for Stuart McCall's side.

Daley damaged knee ligaments and Evans strained his thigh, meaning rookie
keeper Jon McLaughlin is in line to make his senior debut at Barnet on
Saturday.

Daley was stretchered off after just 20 minutes but Evans played on through
the pain because there was no back-up stopper on the bench, pulling off a
crucial save from former Huddersfield hitman Pawel Abbott late on.

Talking to the Telegraph & Argus Stuart McCall admitted: "It was a massive
point for us taking everything into consideration. We lost Omar early on,
Clarkey (Matt Clarke) got a bang early on, Rhys did his thigh and Luke
O'Brien was still feeling a bit of tonsillitis.

"It wasn't a great game but it was a great effort. Because of the
circumstances, it's a terrific result.

"There was nothing in it. It wasn't a great spectacle but we'd said before
the game that it would be a really hard match.

"But we're on a decent run and we'll take positives from this game. We'll
rest up now and look forward to hopefully getting the three points from
Barnet."

In a tight game of few chances, City had the best of them in the first half.
Peter Thorne struck the bar from close range and Michael Boulding was denied
when put clean through.

But Darlington, playing their first game since January, grew more dangerous
as the game wore on and threatened towards the end with Abbott, Danny
Carlton and Liam Hatch all going close.

McCall added: "I expected Darlington to get stronger. They threw the big boy
Hatch on and Abbott up top is probably the best in the division with
everything he does as centre forward.

"They might have been a bit rusty but Darlington teams are always hungry.

"But we showed some magnificent defending and Rhys has only had one save to
make, which was a terrific one."

Daley was going for a scan on Wednesday but he is set to be sidelined for
several weeks. Evans' thigh injury also looks a bad one and could rule him
out of City's plans for a while.

McCall has faith in McLaughlin, the keeper he plucked from non-league
Harrogate last summer. He will play in a private reserve game at Doncaster
on Wednesday afternoon - a match that will also see a welcome return for
Chris Brandon.

McCall has ruled out delving into the loan market for a stop-gap replacement
for Evans.

He said: "We brought Jonny in as a back-up for Rhys and it might be time to
give him a chance. We've seen him in training and in the reserves and he's
done nothing wrong."



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http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sportbcfc/sportbcfcheadlines/4138070.print/

City facing keeper crisis
9:29am Thursday 19th February 2009

Stuart McCall is racing to find a keeper in time to face Barnet on Saturday after Jon McLaughlin got crocked.

The back-up stopper was lined up to make his debut at Underhill when Rhys Evans suffered a thigh strain.

But McLaughlin suffered concussion in yesterday's private friendly at Doncaster and spent the night in hospital. Under Football Association rules regarding head injuries, he is not allowed to play again for a fortnight.

City will assess Evans' condition today but boss Stuart McCall is expected to make a move for an emergency loan.

The City chief said: "With two keepers being out, you can get one in for seven or 14 days.

"But obviously we feel for Jonny. He hasn't had an injury all season and it's just typical that this should happen at the same time as Rhys.

"Jonny hadn't played for three or four weeks so he needed the game to get rid of a bit of rust. We were only going to give him an hour anyway and this happened just before he was due to come off."

McLaughlin banged his head in a collision with Doncaster striker Darren Byfield.

A more positive note from Doncaster's Cantley Park training ground was Chris Brandon's return to action after five months out. He came through an hour and McCall said: "Chris was full of running and really enjoyed it."

Rory Boulding put City in front but Doncaster, who fielded a near full-strength side, won 4-1.




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Signing City shirt deal made me so proud, says sponsor
6:50am Thursday 19th February 2009

City's new shirt sponsorship will have an added poignancy next season.

MAP Group (UK) have taken up the reins from Bradford & Bingley after signing a deal that is "more than acceptable" according to the club.

And managing director David Keighley admitted it will be a particularly special moment for him when he watches City take to the field sporting his company logo.

Keighley watched Tuesday's draw with Darlington, the first time he had been back to Valley Parade since his father died three years ago.

He said: "I was a season-ticket holder until then but since my dad passed away I had not been back. So to do this sponsorship deal is emotional and I'm sure my dad would be really proud.

"The thought of City playing in shirts with our company name on makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck."

MAP Group (UK), a national supplier of installation engineers for companies such as Virgin Media, are based in the north-east but they employ around 30 engineers in the Bradford area – and boast two City fans on the board.

Director of operations Andy Long and his family are season-ticket holders and make the trip from Teesside to Valley Parade for every home game.

Keighley added: "Andy and I have got real ties with the city.

"We're both Bradford born and bred so this is a proud moment.

"It just feels right. The family angle the club have gone down in recent years is really coming through now.

"It's a great atmosphere when you come here and the management team at the club are genuine people.

"Sometimes you see the sponsors are far too remote and in it purely for commercial reasons. That's not why we want to get involved."

And Keighley would love to see the sponsorship deal kick in with City back in League One.

He added: "It would be fantastic. As someone said the other day, maybe MAP should stand for 'must achieve promotion'!"