Are you watching, Rodney Marsh?

Can we or can't we? A tale of two Citys

Jan Smithies says City can do it - just

Will we go down, or can we hang on and stay up ?

If football was predictable we'd all be pools millionaires.

It's looking a little dicey at the moment but, hey, let's stay positive. I agree with calls in the Telegraph & Argus this week for the fans to get behind the lads - it ain't over till the fat lady sings and she's not eve n warming up yet.

Last May Southampton escaped on the last day of the season, having been in the bottom three for all of the run-in. And we had weekends this time last year when it looked like we'd blown our chances of the automatic promotion slot as Ipswich pulled ahead of us. But things turned around again a week later - and what happened? We wound up in the promised land of the Premiership.

We have some absolutely crucial duels coming up at Valley Parade in the next few weeks, and I am sure we can match our fellow strugglers for skill and beat all of them in commitment and graft.

But unless the back of our opponents' net gets rattled then we ain't staying up. It's important to stay positive and optimistic on the terraces and keep behind the team - we're only 5 points off Derby and 6 off Wimbledon (both have a far superior goal averages so we have to get above them not just draw level).

At the moment it's difficult not to feel just a touch pessimistic. We're creating a few openings and chances but we don't have anyone in our squad who appears capable of putting them away. Not only do we have the lowest goals tally, we're at the bottom of the table for shots on target.

And to add insult to injury City are now also leaking at the back - 20 goals against in the last seven games means we have conceded more goals than almost any other Premier club over that period.

So where's the optimism to come from ?

Well , Wimbledon are also on a bad run and look to me more likely than Derby to be the ones to sink.

I also hold onto memories of last season when the team came good and held on to come up, despite all the pundits tipping against us.

And when things feel really bad its comforting to look over our shoulders and see Charlton looking certain to bounce back up after only one season!

It seems likely we'll know our fate before this month is out.

But then again, knowing City's unpredictable fortunes, who would bet against us having to beat Liverpool to stay up on the last day of the season - and, what's more, doing it?

Mark Beetham fears the worst

It's been 8 months of blood, sweat and tears for the players and the fans alike and yet we still do not know our fate come May. Will Satan's little helper, Rodney (Trotter) Marsh get away with loosing his Chuckle Brother's locks or have Jagger and the boys been taking their Viagra and be staying up for at least another season?

Have we done enough? I personally do not think so as I feel we do not have the quality where it counts, and that is right throughout the team. The fans around my seat are all divided. The 50% who think we have enough team spirit to go down are deluding themselves. Team spirit and battling performances do not keep you up, quality does. Many people will argue that Leicester has only team spirit, but I would disagree. All I have to say is Lennon, Heskey, Elliot, Savage, Guppy, and Eadie. All of which would displace every City player in their position.

Yes we did beat them but league positions don't lie.

Don't get me wrong, I hope from the bottom of my boots that The Mighty Bantams do the impossible and stay up but time is running out. We have battled and scrapped and it will probably go down to the last 2 games.

Derby winning on Sunday didn't help with them now 5 points clear. Loose or draw to them on the 22nd and they're clear. I think it will be a draw.

Which leaves Wimbledon who are down in the dogfight? Again, loose or draw to them and it's cheerio Premiership. That could be the crucial one as they are on a bad run at present and like us have no real talented players. Win this game and it will give us a chance to stay up if we get a get a draw at Leicester and beat Liverpool at home. All "ifs" and "buts" which is why I think we do not have enough to do it.

The Nirvana, the Promised Land of the Premiership has been a good experience for all the fan's and I hope we stay there, as going down will be a disaster for the club. Too old players, no promising youth players, astronomical wages for poor or mediocre players....all adds up to a nose dive into the oblivion of First and then possibly Second Division football. Which means no Bergamp or Beckham, no big crowds and no column inches like this article?

Is life greener? Of course it is and I'm glad I experienced it. But like all the hardcore 4 to 5000 of you out there, if we go down I will still buy my season tickets every year, still wear my shirt with pride and still fall out with my girlfriend over going to the games. But that is because I love the Club and always will. The bigger issue than going down is how many of you will walk away when the going gets tough and we are entertaining Macclesfield and not Man U?

Let's hope we start singing "The Great Escape" and "Mission Impossible" from now until the end of the season and the players respond with the win's we require and prove me wrong.

Then I don't have to see how many rats jump the sinking ship!

Bantams Banter

SIR - I know City have done really well over the last couple of years to get into the Premiership.

But we've quite an old team, and while I know experience is important I think the balance is not quite right.

In a year or two quite a few City players are going to be too old and whether we're in the Premiership or Division One we'll need to make quite a few changes.

I would have liked to see a couple more young players make the grade from within, or at least that we had bought in some young, hungry lads for this season.

ALAN KIRKBY, Halifax Road, Keighley

SIR- We can't score goals!

Saunders and Windass have done quite well this year, Blake's disappointed, Mills too, Rankin didn't get much of a chance and Cadete doesn't look match fit.

If we're going to stay up we're going to have to find some goals - the defence has done well this year but if the strikers aren't scoring then the pressure on the lads at the back increases.

Make no mistake, City have done well this season and all credit to Paul Jewell.

We fans have to keep backing them to the hilt.

But somehow we have to find a combination to get us the goals. The only question I have for the management is shouldn't Rankin have had a better run in the team - he's playing well and scoring for Birmingham.

TREVOR SMITH, Little Horton Lane, Bradford

Council clangers

I'm no fan of Bradford council. The more City have achieved the more obstacles the council have stuck in their path.

The wonderful local authority showed due respect for the Bantams - and the Bulls - when recently naming a new street of houses on Midland Road, 100 yards from the Valley of Dreams - Twickenham Court.

And have you heard the one about Sir Geoffrey Richman receiving a congratulatory letter from a Bradford council planning committee member? The councillor had just had Sky TV fitted at home and found City were in the Premiership.

And do you know why the Valley of Dreams is signposted on the A650? It's so Bradford councillors can find the ground, of course.

John Armitage

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Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.