Peter Beagrie Q&A: Bradford are weaker now than when they were promoted

Peter Beagrie is here to answer YOUR Football League questions.

The former winger, who played over 770 games, representing clubs in all four tiers of the English footballing pyramid, including Manchester City, Everton, Bradford, Sheffield United, Scunthorpe and Grimsby, forms part of the Sky Sports punditry team for all the big matches in the Championship, League One and League Two.

So if you have a poser for Peter, whether it's about a team, player, match or incident that has caught your eye, a wider point on the Football League or something a little left field, then send it in via the feedback form at the bottom of the article (skysports.com only).

Read on for this week's column where Beags has his say on Bradford, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Kit Symons, Chris Powell, and the League Two promotion race...

NEW FACES NEEDED
Do you see Bradford getting sucked into the relegation scrap this season? Craig Alexander

BEAGS SAYS: In such an unpredictable and competitive division, Craig, you cannot take anything for granted. Bradford, at the moment, are only four points off the relegation zone, yet unbelievably just seven points from the play-offs after what can only be described as indifferent start. Unfortunately I believe this current Bantams squad to considerably weaker in quality and quantity than the one which achieved two Wembley appearances and promotion two seasons ago. Natural leaders Gary Jones and Nathan Doyle have gone from the engine room, while the goals and creativity have dried up with Kyel Reid and Garry Thompson moving on. Add to that the departure to arch-rivals Huddersfield of Nahki Wells and it is no real surprise that City have not hit the heights in League One. However, ambition has to be tempered with realism and the realisation that because of past financial disasters the club can ill-afford to gamble with its future by stretching itself with an unrealistic budget.

Phil Parkinson and Steve Parkin will have performed heroics if they secure a top-half finish for our beloved Bantams of Bradford this term, as I look at other clubs who have been able to add to squads they have kept together for a couple of seasons and many of them occupy places in the upper echelons of the division. After a fifth home defeat of the season against Doncaster, Bradford need to arrest their Valley Parade woes in order to progress away from the immediate threat of relegation. The away form gives them crumbs of comfort but with high-flying Preston on the horizon, you feel the opportunity in the final two games of the month, against Gillingham and Leyton Orient, to increase the gap between them and the strugglers must be taken.

Lest we forget though, that first there is a chance to create a feel-good factor once again with another cup run. Bradford face Yorkshire adversaries FC Halifax in the FA Cup at The Shay, a ground that has been a happy hunting ground in the past for the Bantams, especially in my time at City. Final thought, Craig, and that is I think there is enough ability in Bradford’s first XI to stay clear of the bottom four but to achieve anything more, additions are needed. A tricky left-winger would certainly get the crowd at Valley Parade rocking all over again.

KIT'S TEST STARTS NOW
How far do you think Kit Symons can take Fulham this season? Danny Yellings

BEAGS SAYS: Danny, my friend, me thinks it would be wise to be thankful for the 15 points Kit has added since his appointment as caretaker and, eventually, full-time boss. Symons has been able to unite and engage the youngsters and, more importantly, the experienced players at Crave Cottage, but November will give us both a better barometer of what he can achieve with a group of players who have responded in a massively positive way to his style of management. Fulham will enter their impending run of fixtures – Huddersfield (h), Brentford (a), Brighton (a) – with a renewed belief and attitude, so those matches could hold the key to their season; Kit will be wary of each of his opponents’ threats but if a top-half finish is the aim then six points from nine would be the expectation, especially after dropping points against Blackpool in midweek. One thing I am certain of, Danny, is that Symons’ appointment, even in the short term, has staved off the unthinkable chance of a double relegation, which with Felix Magath in charge was a real possibility.

JET POWERED
Hi Beags. My beloved Bristol City are going great guns but I think it’s a shame that Jay Emmanuel-Thomas is struggling to get starts. I like Aaron Wilbraham and Kieran Agard but think JET is our best striker. What do you reckon? Lewis Edgar

BEAGS SAYS: There is no doubt, Lewis, that JET is unlucky not to be getting more game time but sometimes your best players don’t necessarily make your team better, especially if the shape of the side is settled. The combination of firstly Sam Baldock and Aaron Wilbraham and now new signing Kieran Agard and Wilbraham were/are the preferred pairings of Steve Cotterill, while Luke Freeman operates in the hole, a position Jay played to stunning effect against Cheltenham in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. Emmanuel-Thomas was the shining light last season with his regular goal-scoring exploits and influential performances catching the eye, but I know from having spoken to Steve, Jay’s attitude has been exemplary during what would have been a hugely frustrating time. Still, JET will find his absence from the starting line-up more acceptable considering Bristol City are unbeaten in League One after 16 games and he is a fantastic weapon to have coming off the bench, with his pace, power and dribbling ability devastating when teams are tiring. Many of the City faithful may have expected Jay to look for a move but Steve assures me Jay is like all of his group: pulling in the same direction and buying onto the ‘all for one, one for all’ mantra the manager has brought to the club. Patience is a virtue and I’m sure Jay will get his chance and you will be rewarded with some virtuouso displays from him between now and the end of the season. You never know, his frustration may inspire him to eclipse the form he showed in his last sensational scoring season.

POWELL'S BIG IMPACT
Hi Beags. I am a Charlton fan so don’t watch Huddersfield regularly but now take more interest in them as I love Chris Powell. How do you think he has been able to pick their form up? Cheers, Aaron McCarthy

BEAGS SAYS: Thanks for your question, Aaron, and great to see you’re following Chris’ career as he served you brilliantly in my view as both a player and a manager. Town have had an excellent response to Powelly’s appointment; the third result of Chris’ tenure was disastrous for Terriers fans – a 3-0 drubbing by Yorkshire rivals Leeds – and Tuesday’s defeat at Derby will be frustrating, too, but the seven-game unbeaten run in between shows Chris has lifted the gloom and made Huddersfield harder to combat, adding belief to individuals and allowing the team to express themselves more in the final third. Grant Holt’s signing has been instrumental, giving Nakhi Wells a partner to feed off and the team a focal point they lack every time James Vaughan gets injured. Chris’ man-management skills are also evident with the form of former £1million misfit Sean Scannell, arguably Huddersfield’s best and most improved player in recent weeks. Chris is a very calm character who will encourage feedback from experienced heads, like Mark Hudson, who has given Town the presence in both boxes that they missed. The Derby game showed how bold and brave Powell is prepared to be with attacking players Holt, Wells, Scannell, Jacob Butterfield and youngster Harry Bunn all featuring in the starting XI. The Terriers are now five points above the drop zone and have a lot of reasons to be cheerful.

MELLON'S SPARKLING SHREWS
Who will win League Two? I said Portsmouth at the start of the season and won’t change my mind yet, but also think Shrewsbury have a good shot. Thanks, Ollie Newman

BEAGS SAYS: Hi Ollie. I had Portsmouth; last year’s beaten play-off teams, Burton, York and Southend; and then Luton, Northampton and Shrewsbury as my pre-season top seven. As the division stands now, though, I would pick Micky Mellon’s Shrews as outright winners. Mellon’s 17 summer signings have all made a huge contribution, including loan players, Bobby Grant (Blackpool) and Jack Grimmer (Fulham), who have excelled in their five competitive games, including four league wins on the bounce, and unsurprisingly had their initial one-month deals extended. Micky has added extra quality and energy to a squad containing ability and experience and I believe the Shrews’ attacking options will set them apart from their counterparts. Mellon’s strike force includes James Collins, Jean-Louis Akpa Apro, Andy Mangan and Scott Vernon, a real embarrassment of riches at League Two level. The same can be said for the rest of the squad, which if successful this campaign would not need an overhaul in order to become established in the division above. We will have to wait and see, Ollie, if we are spot on, hit the post or are so far wide of the mark we’ve hit the corner flag!

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