Gary jones & Garry Thompson

[BCAFC]

As you can see from my user name I'm a bradford city fan, a long time loyal season ticket holder.

I visited your site to read your comments on jones & thompson as well as a bit of info on Sheehan & Liddell.

In your transfer forum thread on thompson a few said you hadn't heard of him & I can not find anything on jones so I thought I'd give you my personal opinion on the two.

Gary jones:

he was only with us for 2 years however never has club legendary status being created in such a short period of time. He was our captain & played like a captain every single time put the shirt on. 100% effort is guaranteed & he is a leader who will get the other lads fired up & bollock them when required. He did very well for us in his first season twice leading us out at wembley & he was a big reason why we got there both times.

Now the negative, unfortunately like the rest of us mother time does catch up on us & in the second season a combination of age & a step up in division & the fact he was partnered with another immobile player, made him look slow & was regularly beaten to the ball & left for dead in the Centre of the park. It was sad to watch really from someone who we all idolised he was always a consummate professional, trained hard, kept his self is shape & always gave his all. I don't think it helped that he was required to play nearly every game for us, he would have been better used more sparingly.

I personally would have liked him to be given another 1 year contract here as a player coach, not start as much but used as a sub, someone with experience who comes on at 70 mins to see the game out, couple that with a player coach role as I think he has the attributes to be a good coach & would offer a lot of experience in that department but obviously our manager didn't see it that way, he was realised & many were very unhappy with this on the forums etc.

Garry thompson:

Joined us around the same sort of time as jones did, played on the wing & can be quite a technically good player, he can pass he is decent in the air ok at crossing & has got a goal or two in him. In his first season with us 12/13 he did well, scored a decent number of goals (2 very important) & played a big part in us getting to wembley twice. He scored the goal vs arsenal that helped us knock them out then in the play offs 1st leg at home we were 1-3 down to burton with the tie seemingly slipping away from us he then scored a wonder goal (a bit of bad keeping involved too) which kept the tie alive ready for the away leg which we obviously went on to win.

Negatives, like jones he is knocking on a bit & for a winger he is slow, you can see he is knackeared & huffing & puffing after his first meaningful sprint, again the combination of age & step up in division meant he was never going to replicate his first seasons contribution & he was largely ineffective last season. This was clear for everyone to see but he kept being selected to start games & some fans did get on his back a little bit. At times he was used as a target man upfront but again he never really did much for us up there.

Like jones he was out of contract this summer & I think it was probably the correct decision to let him go. Upon learning he had got a contract with yourselves a lot of our fans were surprised he had got a league 1 club, I think maybe he would have done better to see out his days in league 2.

Anyway as with all of our history making 2012/13 squad who have moved on I genuinely hope these two do really well for you (except vs us) & wish them both the very best. Don't be surprised if when you come up to bradford you see the best of welcome back receptions you have ever seen for these two from the bradford faithful.

In return for this thread can you give me a bit of unbiased info on the two that have gone the other way?

Thanks in advance.

[Canadian]

@BCAFC great read;

Good luck for the rest of the season and come back for a bit of banter.

We welcome opposition fans with open arms.

[Chris]

Gary Liddle is a solid defender and midfielder at our level, he looks like a possible Championship player on his day. I tended to say "Every Liddle Helps", after he impressed in a few games after he signed and within his first season the nickname rung out. He literally saved us at times and ended up winning every award at the end of the season.

However, he got sent off in our first game last year. When he came back he looked a little awkward, perhaps just because we wasn't playing all that well.

He got injured in our home game against Bristol City and for the rest of the season he was a shadow of his former image. He didn't really do a lot but he contributed at key times, he moved back into midfield under Derry and looked more defensive.

Good player though!

Alan Sheehan, very similar but his first season he didn't impress many fans. Last season was his best for us, though he can take free kicks (when on target they usually good). He can take pens very well, the one he scored at Oldham kept us up!

Defending he improved, attacking wise I would say he's better but his passing can be a disappointment at times.

If I was you, I'd be over the moon with them.

[liampie]

what did everyone think of these two today? did they play okay?

[Cobby]

@BCAFC

 

Liddle - I was a big fan of Liddle at his time at Notts and was sad to see him go.  In his first season with us he played every single minute of every single league match, which is no mean feat for an outfield player. He was versatile, and would be happy playing as either a CB or CM, whatever was required.  Once he started getting pushed forward he also had a spell of chipping in with a few goals, which always helps. I always looked at him as a model professional, someone that other players should try and emulate.  As @notts-joes said, he did get injured last season, meaning he spent a long time in recovery, and possibly wasn't match fit on his return, but he was still useful for us in our relegation battle, and I'm sure with a full pre-season, will be a useful asset for you guys this season.

 

Sheehan - A good left back in this league, solid at the back and happy to push up on the wings.  Again, sad to see him go, but I agree with Notts that we shouldn't be held ransom by a players demand. While I thought he was a good player he did seem to be, in my eyes, a bit of a prima donna. I would get frustrated with how he would act, but I guess some say this is all part of football.

[upthepies]

@BCAFC

 

Liddle - I was a big fan of Liddle at his time at Notts and was sad to see him go.  In his first season with us he played every single minute of every single league match, which is no mean feat for an outfield player. He was versatile, and would be happy playing as either a CB or CM, whatever was required.  Once he started getting pushed forward he also had a spell of chipping in with a few goals, which always helps. I always looked at him as a model professional, someone that other players should try and emulate.  As @notts-joes said, he did get injured last season, meaning he spent a long time in recovery, and possibly wasn't match fit on his return, but he was still useful for us in our relegation battle, and I'm sure with a full pre-season, will be a useful asset for you guys this season.

 

Sheehan - A good left back in this league, solid at the back and happy to push up on the wings.  Again, sad to see him go, but I agree with Notts that we shouldn't be held ransom by a players demand. While I thought he was a good player he did seem to be, in my eyes, a bit of a prima donna. I would get frustrated with how he would act, but I guess some say this is all part of football.

This sums it up well @BCAFC, keep us updated with how they are getting on if you would like.

I am sure we would all like to know.

[BCAFC]

This sums it up well @BCAFC, keep us updated with how they are getting on if you would like.

I am sure we would all like to know.

Your 2 boys did well (as did all our 10 outfield players) Sheehan got caught in no mans land in the first 10 mins which presented them with a glorious chance which they hit over the bar then he got quite easily turned not long after again in a dangerous position but it came to nothing. that was it for the negatives, he was solid throughout the rest of the game & seemed to fit & very well. He took his penalty fantastically well to put us 2-1 up sending the keeper the wrong way with his eyes or body language or both.

As for liddle he didn't do anything wrong that I can remember, full of energy, commitment & effort & linked up well. we had a lot of debutants out yesterday & were playing a new system/formation so I was pleasantly surprised just how well they all seem to settle in to it & with one another.