Written by Lee Pasquariello

As the dust settles on yet another difficult and frustrating away game for Bradford City, a 2-1 defeat over Luton, I find myself constantly asking the same question. Why is it that we can win and play well at Valley Parade, but constantly fail to turn up when we are away from home? 

While we have turned Valley Parade into a fortress over the last couple of years under Graham Alexander, our away form is worrying and our identity doesn’t seem to be the same. After speaking to people after the Luton game the mood definitely echoes this. It’s not just the result, but the manner of some of our away performances are a huge concern.

The most frustrating part of our away form recently is the lack of urgency and inability to win the battles. The pitch on Saturday was absolutely disgusting for a club that used to be in the Premier League not so long ago. It is not really an excuse, but on a pitch like that, you can not afford to play nice football. Instead we have to get stuck in and win the individual battles to make the difference.  

City did not do that on Saturday. We were second to nearly every ball. If you don’t win them, especially in the midfield then the job is going to be much harder for us. We actually looked at times a side that was waiting for the chances to come to them, rather than a side that takes games by the scruff of the neck and wins everything.  

We have to be fair here, Graham Alexander has delivered the most unbelievable moment this club has seen in a very long time. He brought us promotion from League 2 after 6 years & multiple managers and has also brought us a fantastic home record that sees us ranked the 5th best home record this season in League One. 10 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats at the time of writing this piece is a truly brilliant record for a newly promoted club.

However there is a common theme in his entire  tenure at City. Just over 2 years since his appointment, our away form has been mixed since the very start. Even during last season where we got promotion, it was a big problem and this season is very similar. In contrast to our home form this season, our away form has seen 6 defeats, 5 draws and only 4 wins. A total of 17 points, and that is quite a poor record for a team that is currently sitting inside the playoffs and has ambitions of securing a playoff spot this season.  

In League One this season, we have one of the biggest and best away followings in the league. City fans travel in their numbers and have regularly sold out allocations this season to watch a team that on paper have the quality to ask questions of any team in this league, but on the pitch away from home it’s like the quality this team has seems to go missing, therefore we get inconsistent results in return.  

Whatever the issue is, whether it’s the system/tactics or other things like the travel that’s having an effect on our team, it needs sorting quickly if we want to stay up there. At the time of writing, we have played all the teams twice in the current top 6, apart from Stockport, who travel to Valley Parade next Tuesday.

The good news is our next few away fixtures look slightly easier on paper, for example with travels to AFC Wimbledon and Reading who today currently sit 14th and 11th respectively. It’s all good saying it looks easier on paper, but the team need to put the work in and put in a good performance otherwise it means nothing.  

We return to Valley Parade on Saturday to host 10th placed Peterborough, who are actually a side fresh off the back of scoring a massive 6 goals against 22nd placed Wigan. It’s the perfect chance for the team to reset and bounce back after a difficult afternoon on the road, but ultimately the real test for us at the minute will be the next time we have to put in a big performance to secure a result away from home.