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Blackpool goalkeeper Mark Howard has undergone successful surgery on his ruptured achilles according to manager Terry McPhillips.
The 32-year-old suffered the setback during last weekend's defeat at Burton Albion and has subsequently been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Howard saw the specialist on Tuesday and has since had an operation. McPhillips said: “He’s had the operation and that was good, it was a success. That all happened quickly.
“We wish him all the best. He’s optimistic and he’s a really positive person anyway.
“We just hope he won’t be out too long."
The man tasked with replacing Howard at Bradford City this weekend will be Christoffer Mafoumbi, who has been recalled from international duty with Congo.
This won't be the first time Mafoumbi will have stepped in for Howard, with the 25-year-old already making 10 appearances this term. “Chris has been brilliant, he just gets on with it," McPhillips added. "This is his chance now. We’ve got eight games to go so the shirt is his. He’s come in before and done well and kept his fair share of clean sheets.
“It’s a great opportunity for him."
Myles Boney replaced Howard at Burton, with his mistake leading the second of the three goals the Brewers scored at the Pirelli Stadium.
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
Capacity: 25,136 (all seated) Club Nickname: The Bantams Year Ground Opened: 1903 Shirt Sponsors: JCT600 Kit Manufacturer: AVEC Home Kit: Claret With Black & Amber Trim
he term 'a game of two halves' is often applied to a football game; in the case of the Northern Commercials Stadium (but still known to many fans as Valley Parade), a ground of 'two halves' comes to mind, as the initial impression is that one side is twice as big as the other. The Kop End, is a modern two-tiered stand, that is simply huge and looks quite superb. Opened in 1999 it has a capacity of 7,492 fans. A year later the Kop End was extended around one corner to meet the Main Stand that is of a similar height and design. The Main Stand was opened in 1986 and had a second tier added in 2001. Between these two stands and including the corner between them then they house just under 19,000 supporters, making for an impressive spectacle.
The rest of the ground now looks somehow rather out of place. The Midland Road Stand on one side is a covered single tiered stand, which has windshields to each side, it was opened in 1996. At some other grounds, this would look impressive, as it is of a fair size, with a capacity of 4,500 and is free of supporting pillars. However, it almost lost in the shadow of its larger newer neighbours. At the remaining end is the TL Dallas stand which is an odd looking small 'double-decker' type stand. This two-tiered covered stand has the upper tier largely overhanging the lower tier, giving this 'double-decker' effect. There is also a large electric scoreboard in one corner of the ground, between the Midland Road and TL Dallas Stands.
In 2016 Valley Parade was renamed the Northern Commercials Stadium, in a three year corporate sponsorship deal.
Away fans are housed in the TL Dallas Stand at one end of the ground, where 1,840 fans can be accommodated. If possible try to get tickets for the upper tier, as the view of the action is far better. On the downside, there are a number of supporting pillars that could impede your view. Roger Mulrooney a visiting Barnsley fan adds; 'On my last visit I found the home crowd friendly and non threatening. The stewards were particularly good natured and helpful. Still a very good away day for a visiting fan'.
Fred Benson a visiting Scunthorpe United fan informs me; 'On our recent visit, the lower tier of the TL Dallas was closed to away fans, apart from disabled spectators. With the upper tier being sold out other Scunthorpe fans were accommodated in the Midland Road Stand, which seemed strange. Even with the lower tier being closed the refreshment kiosk had run out of hot food by half time and there were big queues for the toilets.'
Having been a student in Bradford and having watched them win the old Third Division, I have a bit of a soft spot for this club. And having been there on the day of that fateful fire in 1985, Valley Parade will always stay deep in my memory. Pleasingly I have found Bradford to have become rather more friendly towards away supporters in recent years. It is quite an enjoyable day out especially if you enjoy what the city has to offer. Make sure that you wrap up well unless the weather forecast is 80 degrees. This is because Bradford is situated at a bottom of a valley, down which a rather cold wind normally prevails.
Record Attendance 39,146 v Burnley FA Cup 4th Round 11th March 1911.
Modern All Seated Attendance Record 24,321 v Reading FA Cup 6th Round, 7th March 2015.
Skipper Looks For Squad To Get Over Massive Disappointment
Jay Spearing says there’s a determination amongst the squad to immediately put things right after last Saturday’s ‘massive disappointment’ at Burton Albion.
A lacklustre performance and 3-0 defeat came as a ‘shock’ to the skipper, who has revealed that a team meeting was held in the aftermath.
“It was a massive disappointment. It was a shock and I think we played into their hands quite a bit. We let them dictate the game quite a bit, which I wasn’t very happy about. I don’t think we were on it as much as we should have been,” Spearing insisted.
“It was a disappointment. We didn’t show what we are about and what we’ve done all season. It’s something we were disappointed and angry about at the end of the game.
“We all had a meeting on Monday and put out our feelings of why it was and the reasons for that. We were all happy with what we agreed. We’re all grown men and we have to adapt and take it on the chin, crack on and look forward to Saturday’s game.”
The match this weekend sees Blackpool come up against former manager Gary Bowyer, who guided the club to promotion to this division in 2017.
Bowyer is someone that Spearing has always had a strong relationship with and somebody he is full of praise for.
“He’s a great guy on and off the field and I owe him a lot. He helped me massively through getting me back into the game and bringing me in. I was with him at Blackburn as well and we had some great times. He’s more of a friend than a manager at the minute.
“I’ve wished him all the best and I hope he has a great job there, but come Saturday it’s about us, what we can do and how we can get back to winning ways,” he added.
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
Terry McPhillips says he's confident he'll get a positive response out of his Blackpool players when they take on Bradford City this weekendhttps://t.co/4vbcmxKyIl
Bradford boss Gary Bowyer on meeting former club Blackpool on Saturday: "It'll be nice to see some of the staff which I shared a great time with. But come Saturday it is all about Bradford City!"
The Northern Commercials Stadium (still known locally as Valley Parade) has officially been home to Bradford City since the club was formed in 1903. However, it was previously home to Manningham FC, which became Bradford City when they switched codes from Rugby to Football, since 1886.
The stadium itself has undergone major transformation since the fire disaster in 1985 which tragically claimed 56 lives. It is now an all seater stadium, and one half of the stadium looks considerably larger than the other. The Kop End is a relatively new two tiered stand which is huge and is joined to the Co-Operative Main Stand.
Away fans visiting the Northern Commercials Stadium are located in the TL Dallas Stand behind one of the goals with a typical allocation of around 1,800.
Founded: 1903
Stadium Layout -
[Post edited 21 Mar 2019 20:15]
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
Bradford City boss puts Blackpool friendships on hold
GARY Bowyer says he has made lifelong friends at Blackpool — but that will go out the window for a couple of hours tomorrow.
The Bantams boss comes up against his former club for the first time since leaving Bloomfield Road in the first week of the season.
That ended a two-year reign which saw Bowyer steer Blackpool to promotion via the play-offs and then establish themselves in the top half of League One.
And all that against a background of off-field turmoil surrounding the club’s controversial former owners, the Oyston family.
Bowyer said: “On a personal level, it will be brilliant to see some of the staff that we had such a great time with.
“Being able to lead your team out at Wembley and win is a dream. Once you pack in playing and you go into the coaching and managing side, you want to do that.
“It was fantastic and gave us a special connection that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
“Obviously, there are players I had good relationships with and how we worked under the circumstances there was well documented.
“It will be good to see them and say thank you to the supporters who travel over. But come 3pm it’s all Bradford City for me and we’ll pick up those relationships again after the game.”
The recent removal of owner Owen Oyston signalled the end of a fans’ boycott from home games. A crowd of 15,781 watched Blackpool’s 2-2 draw with Southend in the first match at Bloomfield Road after his exit.
Bowyer added: “When you stand in the technical area, you look across the far side and see the media having their sneaky pie and chips at half-time. You’d prefer to see thousands of supporters there.
“So the other week when they had that, it was magnificent.
“It’s a fantastic town and they want their football club. For them not to have gone to games for whatever reason for so long, to go back in is something that will be very special for them.”
Blackpool come to Valley Parade in ninth spot and currently four points outside the play-offs.
“I’m going to say they’re a very good outfit because I recruited the majority of them!” smiled Bowyer.
“Since I left, they brought in some more players, they’ve got a big squad to choose from, can play different formations and have some talent for sure.”
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
BLACKPOOL put in an SOS call to Congo to get a fit goalkeeper for Valley Parade.
With first-choice keeper Mark Howard ruled out for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury, boss Terry McPhillips has had to call in a favour to get his replacement back.
Christoffer Mafoumbi was in the Congo squad for their African Cup of Nations qualifier against Zimbabwe.
But with Howard now sidelined, the deputy reported back to Bloomfield Road this week in preparation for tackling the Bantams instead.
Myles Boney was otherwise the only goalkeeper available after his howler gifted Burton their second goal in last week’s 3-0 defeat at the Pirelli Stadium.
McPhillips said: “We’re really disappointed for Mark but Christoffer has done well for us before and kept clean sheets.
“It’s his chance again to show everybody what he can do.”
Blackpool are running out of chances of their own to gate-crash the play-off spots.
The Burton loss left them four points adrift of sixth-placed Doncaster, who also have a game in hand.
McPhillips has persevered with a diamond system in midfield after matching up successfully against Charlton. But it has not functioned so efficiently since — they were recently beaten 4-0 by Bristol Rovers - and he may look to change formation this weekend.
“We’re just trying to do better at the other end and trying to score more goals by having two up there,” he said after their latest loss. “But it didn’t work, did it? So, we’ll see what we do.”
Blackpool are without midfielder Jordan Thompson, who is in the Northern Ireland ranks for their Euro 2020 qualifiers with Estonia and Belarus. Nya Kirby will take his starting place.
McPhillips, who succeeded Gary Bowyer at the Blackpool helm in August, added: “We’re going to have to go on a run but the games are getting less now — there’s just eight to go.
“We’re running out of games to make a claim but we’ll see. We’ll pick ourselves up and see what this week brings.”
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
"I feel a win in my bone Let's hope it's a home win"
"I too predict a win, Im going for 2-1to give us a glimmer of hope to cling to"
"1 - 1 Draw for me."
"If we get "nil" we might sneak a draw."
"Said it on another thread but just fancy us this Saturday. Not sure why. Come on city. Let’s at least go down with a fight"
"It's the hope that kills you. 2-1 Bradford for me nevertheless. Really happy for Blackpool and their fans though, hope they can still reach the Play-Offs and (depending on where we finish) earn promotion."
"I don't like the feel of this game, feels like we're as good as down just as Blackpool are coming into something of a celebratory/party time (and good for them!) I'm sticking with my prediction league guess of a 4-0 home defeat..."
"Spineless 0 - 2 Blackpool. I hope you all enjoy your day though. I think am done for the season, just can't be arsed."
"Our last 2 home games saw us beat Posh 3-1 and narrowly beaten by high-flying Luton. Yet you seriously think we’ll get hammered 4-0?"
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
We feel that Blackpool and Bradford City might both not be able to do quite enough to get on the scoresheet here. We’ll have to see, but a draw might be on the cards. We’re therefore seeing a very even match with a 0-0 scoreline at full-time.
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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