Parkinson lost for words after City pick up pieces from red card melee

No matter how big a game is or whether emotions have been running high on the field just a few minutes earlier, the Bantams chief is never one to make a rash statement.

Courteous and always polite, even the most inoffensive of questions is pondered for a couple of seconds before a reply is forthcoming. The upshot is that when Parkinson speaks, his words are measured and delivered in a calm and assured tone.

It is a trait that the 44-year-old has had throughout his management career, which before coming to Bradford last year included a short stay in Hull.

On Tuesday night, however, the amazing scenes that followed City’s 2-1 defeat to Crawley Town as a mass brawl erupted and five players were shown a red card meant even Parkinson was left struggling to find the right words.

With a huge game to come at third-bottom Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, the dismissal – and suspension – of Andrew Davies, Jon Mclaughlin and Luke Oliver had repercussions way beyond the loss of three points to promotion-chasing Crawley.

The Bantams must now make the long trip to Home Park without both first-choice centre halves and a goalkeeper who has started the last 27 games. Matt Duke has already been recalled from his loan spell at Northampton Town to replace McLaughlin, while Guy Branston could be brought in from the cold to bolster the centre of defence.

Even so, the prospect of taking on a relegation rival without three key players is far from ideal.

No wonder, therefore, that a clearly shocked Parkinson, when asked in the Valley Parade press room about what City could do before the weekend with the transfer deadline having already passed, paused for a few seconds before replying: “I just have to sleep on it and then get up tomorrow to go again.

“I don’t think too many managers have stood here and lost a big game along with three players. It is quite a difficult one to get my head around.”

Parkinson’s inability to make sense of what he had just witnessed was understandable. Few in the 9,773 crowd could, even allowing for the niggly attitude of the visiting team and their manager Steve Evans.

Six yellow cards during the 90 minutes for a variety of offences were a vivid illustration of the approach adopted by Crawley as, in Parkinson’s own words, they tried “to make it into a war type of game and a fight”.

City’s manager stressed this to his players ahead of kick-off and warned them not to fall for it. For the most part, the Bantams players heeded the warning – as was underlined by only Michael Flynn’s name finding its way into referee Ian Williamson’s notebook from the home team during the game.

Once the final whistle had blown, however, all that changed from the moment Bradford defender Davies became embroiled in a row with Claude Davis before the Crawley man was shepherded away.

That looked like being the end of the matter until Davies raced 20 yards to resume hostilities and instigate the free-for-all.

McLaughlin led the subsequent charge to get involved as players from both sides became embroiled in a brawl that was more akin to an old school rugby league encounter than the usual ‘handbags’ more commonly associated with football.

Stewards eventually managed to quell the trouble as the officials looked on helplessly.

Williamson then delivered his verdict once back in the sanctuary of the dressing room: Three red cards for City and one apiece for Davis and Pablo Mills of Crawley.

Understandably, no one from the Bantams was willing to comment yesterday other than to confirm the club would not be appealing against any of the red cards.

The Football Association, meanwhile, last night told the Yorkshire Post that a decision over whether to charge Bradford and/or Crawley over the melee is likely within the next 24 hours.

Whether further individual players will be picked out after footage of the row is studied remains to be seen.

But what is certain is that both McLaughlin and Oliver must sit out the next three games, while Davies will not be seen in a Bradford shirt until the penultimate weekend at the earliest due to having already been dismissed twice this season.

That will take the number of games missed through suspension by the former Middlesbrough defender since making his Bantams debut on October 1 to 12.

For Parkinson, this represents a massive headache – not least who comes in at Plymouth and whether he opts to change formation to the three-man defence used in the closing stages of both the Crawley defeat and Saturday’s draw at home to Gillingham.

Branson, who has not played for City in nearly six months, seems certain to be brought in to possibly play alongside Lee Bullock, normally a midfielder but more than capable of moving into the defence.

Whatever the solution, it is a far from ideal scenario ahead of a game in which defeat will surely condemn City to a nervous run-in spent fighting relegation from the Football League.

Bantams trio face costly bans

Andrew Davies: Banned five games. Misses Plymouth (a), Southend (H), Shrewsbury (a), Northampton (a), Macclesfield (H).

Luke Oliver: Banned three games. Misses Plymouth (a), Southend (H), Shrewsbury (a).

Jon McLaughlin: Banned three games. Misses Plymouth (a), Southend (H), Shrewsbury (a).

All violent conduct.