Tough calls to be made by McCall for Wembley showdown
STUART McCALL admits it will be hard to disappoint several of his Bradford City players when naming tomorrow’s team at Wembley.
The Bantams are looking to end a 13-year absence from the second tier by beating Millwall in the League One play-off final.
City will be boosted by a fullyfit squad as Alex Jones pushes for a recall after missing both legs of the semi-final victory over Fleetwood Town.
McCall named the same starting XI in the two games but adopted different formations, something that Lions counterpart Neil Harris admits has left him with something of a guessing game.
“With six games of the season to go it was still nip and tuck for the play-offs and we had a meeting at the training ground on the pitch,” said McCall.
“I told them, ‘If we were going to get our dream of reaching Wembley then between now and then – if we do achieve that – make sure you are on the bus when it travels.
“Every one of them has done that, be it in training, be it when they have been a substitute in games they think they should have played in or started.
“The hard thing now is to leave a couple of lads out of the 20, let alone the 18, let alone the 11.”
As part of his preparations, McCall has widened the main pitch at the club’s Apperley Bridge training ground by five yards to replicate the dimensions of the Wembley surface.
Earlier this week, Millwall striker Steve Morison suggested the notion that the pitch at the national stadium is wider than most was a fallacy, insisting The Den was only a yard shorter.
“He is probably right with Millwall but certainly not at Valley Parade,” said McCall.
“We have quite a narrow pitch, certainly compared to a lot of clubs, but it doesn’t match theirs.
“The condition of the park (at Wembley) is going to be immaculate. Even when I look back to the home game against Millwall it was a bumpy and tight park. This will be different. People will say, ‘You are on a football pitch, it is 11 v 11’. But the size and quality of the surface can also alter the way you play.
“That’s why we had the training pitch widened.”
THE ONLY two managers to lead Bradford City out at Wembley believe Stuart McCall’s side can emulate their play-off predecessors and win promotion.
The Bantams face Millwall at the national stadium tomorrow with a place in the Championship at stake.
Victory in the shadow of the Arch would make it a hat-trick of successes at both the new and old Wembley after Phil Parkinson’s side triumphed there in 2013, 17 years after Chris Kamara’s men had done the same under the old Twin Towers.
Parkinson, fresh from leading Bolton Wanderers to automatic promotion, will be at the final and he is hoping for a City victory.
“My heart says Bradford will do it,” said the 49-year-old, who called time on his near five-year reign at Valley Parade last summer.
“I really hope they can win promotion.
“There are still a lot of the players I worked with at the club, lads like Rory McArdle, James Meredith, Tony McMahon and Billy Clarke.
“I know how hard they have worked and how hard Stuart will have worked. It was a big challenge to come in when he did and he has done really well.”
Like Parkinson, Kamara knows all about savouring that winning feeling at Wembley after masterminding a 2-0 victory over Notts County in 1996 to take City into the second tier.
With typical foresight, he struck a big psychological blow ahead of kick-off by engineering a delayed arrival with the help of an understanding police superintendent in charge of escorting the team bus.
It meant, as Bradford’s players walked out of the tunnel to a huge roar, the County players were already on the pitch.
“Notts County had only sold 12,000 tickets to our 30,000 so I knew the cheers greeting the players would get their attention,” recalls Kamara.
“We had been meant to arrive first but the police were very helpful. I maintain to this day this played a part in Notts County not really turning up that day.”
As for the current crop’s chances of clinching promotion, Kamara, now a hugely respected presenter with Sky Sports, added: “Luck is a huge factor for any team that goes up via the playoffs.
“We benefited from a few things, including on the final day when Hull gave the home end at Boothferry Park to our supporters. The Hull fans weren’t happy and invaded the pitch, holding up play.
“It meant we were five minutes behind the other games so knew what had to be done to claim that final play-off place.
“Then, once in the play-offs, we had no injuries, Blackpool helpfully printed coach details for Wembley in the semi-final programme to fire up our lads and then the police helped us arrive after Notts County at the final.
“Stuart just has to hope things go his way on Saturday. It won’t be easy, as Millwall are a good side. But so, too, are Bradford. They have been up there all season.”
Parkinson’s trip south tomorrow will undoubtedly stir memories of those three months in 2013 when Bradford twice played at Wembley, first losing heavily to Swansea City in the League Cup final and then making amends with a 3-0 victory over Northampton Town in the League Two promotion decider.
“Fantastic memories for me,” said the Bolton chief to The
Yorkshire Post. “The second visit brought promotion, and we played so well on the day so that has to stand out.
“It helped that we had been a few months earlier. Nothing was new, we didn’t need to do the look around before the day.
“We had already had a dress rehearsal and it really showed among the team. It was all about going down to do a job.
“We made a point of keeping it as normal a week as possible. I also think that helped, the players didn’t feel under any pressure because it was a big game or anything like that.
“Northampton were a bit like us against Swansea, a little bit starry-eyed at the surroundings.”
As for tomorrow’s promotion decider, Parkinson – whose Bolton side drew twice against Bradford and took six points off Millwall – added: “It will be interesting. Bradford only won 1-0 in the play-offs but they were really comfortable and looked a class above Fleetwood on the day.
“Millwall were obviously there last season against Barnsley and that could help them. They also have a really strong front two, probably as good as anything in League One.
“They let you have a lot of possession in the middle of the pitch, they accept that because they leave the front two up top. And then hit you quickly. For Bradford, it is then up to those in the final third to do their jobs.
“The atmosphere will be very different at Wembley to what we faced at The Den in the playoffs last year. I have been at a few Bradford away games this year and their supporters are always very loud. It promises to be a special day.”
My heart says Bradford will do it. I really hope they can win promotion. Phil Parkinson, former Bradford boss on tomorrow’s play-off final at Wembley.