City down but not out

Any City fan who watched this spineless excuse for a performance may well have travelled home convinced he or she will be watching Nationwide League football season.

The renowned fighting spirit which has typified the Bantams' debut in the Premier-ship was absent as Paul Jewell's side capitulated to a fully deserved four-goal drubbing.

City started badly, got worse and were two goals down within 21 minutes. They then briefly rallied without really threatening Magnus Hedman's goal before a late collapse saw Coventry's superiority finally transmitted into goals.

The Bantams, who just seven days earlier had been magnificent against Leeds, looked like a side who had accepted what the likes of Rodney Marsh have been saying for months.

City lacked cohesion, passion and ideas in a sorry display which was every bit as bad as the one at Sheffield Wednesday in January.

One bad game does not make City a bad team. But the players and staff must stand up and be counted if the Bantams' Premiership life is to be extended into another season.

Thankfully for City, they have a manager who is a fighter. Although badly bruised by what happened at Coventry Jewell has promised there will be no repeat in the crucial final nine games.

The City boss said: "If anyone had said a year ago that we would be third bottom with nine games to go and in with a chance of staying up, we would have bitten their hands off.

"The fact is Bradford City are in the Premier League and you can't write our obituary yet."

Clearly wounded by the display he had just presided over, Jewell then added: "Whatever happens, if we stay up or go down, it is because I have given it my best shot. I can look at myself in the mirror and know I have tried my best.

"What I want people to say is 'He has done a good job and kept Bradford up'. There is no point people saying 'He's a nice chap' if we have gone down. That is not what I am about. It is not about personal glory.

"The praise is nice but you have to be big enough to take the flak when it comes. I cannot live with us not competing."

City had travelled to Highfield Road full of confidence and Jewell was able to select the same outfield players for the seventh game in a row.

During those recent games, City had battled hard but against Coventry they were second best from the first whistle.

Cedric Roussel and Noel Whelan duly took advantage by giving the Sky Blues a two-goal lead. Such was the lethargic nature of City's display, they looked to be in for a real hiding.

Unusually, the defence was all over the place with some Coventry attacks seeing the usually reliable back four splinter into two players stood in a line with their two colleagues stood ten yards behind.

This gave Coventry space to exploit and they took advantage with John Eustace and Gary McAllister carving the Bantams open.

Jewell acted after watching 30 minutes of Coventry running the game by bringing on striker Jorge Cadete and moving Dean Windass into midfield to provide some much-needed physical presence.

Windass, who along with Jamie Lawrence was the only player to emerge with any credit from a wretched afternoon, helped disrupt the Coventry midfield and as a result the beleaguered defence came under less pressure.

Jewell then responded by bringing on Robbie Blake at half-time which meant City had four strikers on the pitch.

In fact, the Bantams' best spell came in the 15 minutes or so which followed the half-time break with Stuart McCall and Dean Saunders both going close.

However with the Moroccan pair Moustapha Hadji and Youssef Chippo in fine form out wide, Coventry soon regained control of the game.

And they should have extended their lead long before the late strikes by Eustace and substitute Ysrael Zuniga sealed a comfortable victory.

City could only have themselves to blame for such a poor defeat with so many players having an off day.

The defence were unusually hesitant while the midfield, Windass apart for the final hour, never looked capable of providing a killer ball to hurt Coventry.

Saunders battled hard up front although possibly the biggest disappointment was Cadete.

The Portuguese striker had moaned the day before the game that there was no point in him being at Valley Parade if he was not in the side.

However for an hour be produced an anonymous display with his fitness looking to be well behind what is required in the Premiership. Playing for 20 minutes from the bench when the opposition defence is tiring looks like being his best contribution to the Bantams' survival bid.

City are now gearing up for possibly the most important nine games of their history.

In the money-laden world that is football in the 21st Century, the Premiership is the only place to be and City need to retain their place in the top flight if their amazing progress as a club is to be maintained.

They must bounce back from this wretched effort next weekend although they could not face a bigger test than European Cup holders and Premiership leaders Manchester United.

And Jewell has promised that there will be no repeat of the nightmare that was City's first visit to Highfield Road for 40 years.

The City boss said: "We shouldn't need a kick up the pants but this shows that if we go out and stroll about in a game, we will get murdered. You will see a different Bradford City next weekend."

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