Stuart McCall left Edgeley Park more green than strawberry blond.
The City boss is jealous of the riches that Stockport opposite number Jim Gannon has at his disposal.
On the worst pitch they have encountered - you can thank the Sale Sharks for that - his City side were given the run-around by a slick, well-oiled machine.
Stockport are everything McCall wants City to be. They are the benchmark for what he is desperate to achieve next season.
"Look around at them and I'm envious," he admitted. "They've got players in areas of the park who are better than us and well played to their manager for assembling that.
"They are good players at a good age, many coming through the youth system, and they are hungry people. We met a side on real top form.
"But that just makes me even more determined that in 12 months' time, I want to see my team putting in those sort of performances."
While Stockport march onward and upward, City bob aimlessly in the middle.
Even victory on Wednesday at Chester City would still see the Bantams stuck in 13th place.
But McCall will expect to see his side get on the ball a lot more and offer far more of an attacking threat than they mustered on Saturday.
The first half, in particular, saw City barely break out of their own half.
The pitch and the weather didn't help. Grass was at a premium on a rutted, bobbly surface which required maximum concentration, and driving rain added to the fun.
But it didn't seem to put off the away fans who maintained their defiant White Stripes anthem even when the worst of the weather was battering them on the open terrace behind the goal.
A special shout to the two lads (or should that be loons!) who went topless throughout and the drummers that kept up the remorseless beat through the deluge.
That is the sort of backing which McCall is so anxious to reward. Unlike some of his predecessors, he is very much in tune with the mood in the stands.
McCall had asked his players to put their bodies on the line in the same fearless manner which had served Dagenham so well at Valley Parade the week before.
They certainly did that, with the over-worked defence putting in a major shift as wave after wave of blue shirts came rushing at them.
Scott Loach had his best game in goal since Macclesfield and he was aided and abetted by a back four who soldiered away despite never getting a moment's peace.
The corner count of 12-0 summed up the pattern of the 90 minutes; and they were good corners which had to be defended properly.
Stockport employ the same 4-5-1 formation home and away but it's not negative. With Anthony Pilkington and Tommy Rowe pushing up to supply impressive targetman Liam Dickinson, they can also count on overlapping full backs to complement every attack.
City went with similar ideas but Joe Colbeck and Alex Rhodes could never replicate the success of their counterparts.
McCall had dropped Omar Daley and added Paul Evans as an extra enforcer in midfield, leaving Peter Thorne on his own up top.
One header apart, he hardly saw the ball for 45 minutes as Stockport pounded away.
Loach pulled off a superb reflex stop from Rowe's near-post volley, having smothered at his feet just seconds before; then he was thankfully alert enough to stop TJ Moncur slicing into his own net.
As half-time approached, Paul Heckingbottom almost scored at the wrong end as well but his deflection from a corner was hustled off the line.
Typically for City, the gusty wind dropped for the second half to minimise the advantage of having it at their backs.
But there was just enough to carry Lee Bullock's pass over the top for Thorne to chase down.
Two defenders held him up as he off-loaded to Colbeck whose instant shot was blocked by Michael Rose. The ball sprang loose into the box where Colbeck followed it and was tripped by goalkeeper John Ruddy as he shaped to shoot.
After all the midweek conjecture on who would take over penalty duties from Barry Conlon, it was no surprise to see Thorne step up and calmly slot away his 11th goal of the campaign.
Stockport were stunned but did not panic. The corners and the pressure kept coming as Loach dived low to hang on to Rowe's header.
Some substitutions go to plan like the introduction of Rhodes at Notts County a fortnight ago.
Others blow up in the manager's face. And Daley's reluctance to track right back Shaleum Logan's run six minutes after replacing Rhodes left the City back door fatally ajar.
Logan, on loan from Manchester City, had the time and space to locate Pilkington running into the box and he swept his shot beyond Loach.
McCall accepted his part of the blame - though you can guarantee the Jamaican felt the sharp end of his tongue behind the dressing-room doors.
McCall said: "Alex Rhodes has not had a lot of football. He'd put his effort in and was flagging so had to come off.
"I made a substitution hoping that the player I put on could do the job I asked him. Unfortunately he didn't and they got a goal from it - so I'm responsible for making that decision."
But it's that sort of half-hearted approach from Daley which leaves the fans questioning whether he is giving his all. Exciting runs with the ball are just part of the game and too often he neglects the "dirty side" as Colin Todd used to phrase it.
Compare Daley with Colbeck, who has his faults but can never be knocked for an outstanding commitment level. If Prozone ever filtered down as far as League Two, his stats for yards covered would swamp the rest.
Daley's negligence had given Stockport the lift they needed - and deserved - and Loach's goal came under sustained assault.
The keeper was relieved to see Jason Taylor's shot stick between his legs and was then called upon to deny Dickinson one-on-one after Moncur was caught off guard.
But City remained under siege as referee Trevor Kettle punished Evans for a challenge on Taylor just outside the box. He gave Stockport a free-kick dead centre of the goal 20 yards out and left back Rose bent a beauty into the bottom-left corner of the net.
The game looked up for City. Yet they still should have left with a point in stoppage time.
Daley's shot was blocked as far as Colbeck who picked out David Wetherall with a perfect cross. The soggy City fans just a few yards away would have put their unworn shirts on the skipper scoring but the ball skimmed off his head and flew wide.
TELEGRAPH & ARGUS
| STOCKPORT COUNTY | BRADFORD CITY |
| 24 John Ruddy | 34 Scott Loach |
| 3 Michael Rose | 2 Darren Williams |
| 4 Jason Taylor | 3 Paul Heckingbottom |
| 5 Gareth Owen | 4 Paul Evans |
| 6 Ashley Williams | 5 David Wetherall |
| 8 Gary Dicker | 8 Eddie Johnson |
| 17 Anthony Pilkington | 10 Peter Thorne |
| 20 Liam Dickinson | 11 Alex Rhodes |
| 21 Tommy Rowe | 15 Joe Colbeck |
| 22 Shaleum Logan | 32 Lee Bullock |
| 30 Dominic Blizzard | 35 Thomas Moncur |
| SUBSTITUTES | SUBSTITUTES |
| 7 David Poole | 6 Mark Bower for 35 (90) |
| 15 Michael Raynes for 4 (84) | 7 Omar Daley for 11 (63) |
| 26 Conrad Logan | 9 Barry Conlon for 4 (81) |
| 31 Adam Proudlock | 22 Kyle Nix |
| 32 Jamie Smith | 23 Willy Topp |
| MATCH OFFICIALS: | |
| Referee: | T M Kettle |
| Assistant Referee: | A R Parker |
| Assistant Referee: | R L Metcalfe |
| 4th Official: | K J Mattocks |
| GOALSCORERS: | |
| STOCKPORT COUNTY | BRADFORD CITY |
| Pilkington (69) | Thorne pen (52) |
| Rose (78) | |
| . |
| DISCIPLINARY: | |
| STOCKPORT COUNTY | BRADFORD CITY |
| Colbeck (30) | |
| Evans (43) | |
| Williams (54) | |
| . |
