A fatal game versus Brentford...
Bantams versus Bees will not be any game for weak and nervous people. In different ways it would be very negative for both sides to lose at Valley Parade on saturday...
Let´s have a look at our opponents situation. Bees are now on a distance of five points from safety, which is the same as being five points from us since we now hold the lowest position not leading to relegation. With these facts it becomes pretty obvious that Brentford aims towards us nowadays, and that a defeat against us would be a disaster for them.
Our situation is in another way unpleasant. We were involved in the Play Off-battle during the first 1/4 of the league, but since then we have slowly but surely slipped downwards the table, and we now find ourselves as close to the relegation zone as possible. There is no room for a contiuned outcome equal to what we have seen in the last five months. If we do not win against Bees there is a big risk we will slip down into the relegation zone. And then we will play Rotherham and Huddersfield away. We don´t want to see two sides from the relegation zone at Millmoor. And visiting Hudds finding ourselves in the relegation zone would be humiliating. We do not want to visit the relegation zone at all...so there is no place for mistakes. That´s a fact.
Wetherall has got the two games versus Crewe and Brentford to show Rhodes what he i capabel of. Then Rhodes must decide wether he will keep Wethers in charge for the rest of the season, or employ a new gaffer. I find a risk in Wethers not letting himself play, even though I have faith in him. But in the long run a new coach feels more solid, so that Wethers can play his part in the defense, because that part has been important to us.
Brentford was expected to be involved in the Play Off-battle, but their campaign totally crashed somewhere in the authumn. They won against us in London (2-1) and that game was considered as a top clash, but this re-match is surely nothing but a bottom clash.
The "rules" are very clear when it comes to fighting in the bottom of a table. For certain, YOU MUST WIN AGAINST THE WEAK SIDES OF THE LEAGUE. Especially at the home ground. We could push Brentford further down the drain, but they could on the other hand get themselves up into the hard battle if they win, and that would get us in further trouble, no doubt about it.
There is a difference between a Play Off battle and a relegation battle. We will see four teams go down the drain for good in may, while some other teams will be able to continue play in League One. They might celebrate that in a club like Cheltenham, but we who support Bantams will not celebrate that much if we make it. Staying up in League One was to be honest, the least we expected of this season.
Wethers managed to get his lads play some pretty good football in the game versus Crewe Alexandra, but Lady Luck turned us her back in one single game. If the players manage to play that kind of football again, it should be enough to get three very important points out of the game versus Brentford. I´d say that The Bantams will win 2-0 and I have (as you can see) still hope for Claret and Amber.
NO SURRENDER!!!!
