All Quiet on The Transfer Front

Jones has signed, Duke has gone and Doyle is TBC. It can only be the close season.

   After the excitement of the 2012/13 campaign, we knew that the off-season was going to be strange.

   Bradford City’s epic adventure is well documented by now. A convincing start to the season saw the Bantams sizzle into the top seven, before they rampaged through the Capital One Cup. Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa were all sent packing as a clinical Bradford reigned supreme, and, as older fans relived the Premier League glory days, younger ones got their first taste of the top division, plus the chance to see world-famous players ply their trade on the Valley Parade turf. TV crews swarmed Bradford. The Bantams became the toast of the town, and the pride of Yorkshire and the fourth division. Everyone wanted to watch City. People scrambled for tickets for that big day, and, even though defeat followed, the side recovered and flew back to the capital in style to secure promotion to League One. Open top buses descended onto City Park for the victory parade.

  Then, suddenly, nothing. No more games. No more press appearances. No more checking the table on a Saturday afternoon. That was it. Just silence.

  But it wasn’t long before we were given something to chew on. Andrew Davies put end to the speculation about his future by penning a deal with the Bantams, and Gary Jones took advantage of his contract extension option to pledge his services to City for another year. And that, in a nutshell, is the next couple of weeks for you: an eerie silence broken by the talk of transfers and contracts.

  Welcome to the close season.

   The summer months mark an influx of far-fetched rumours and a mad rush to decipher those ambiguous codes coming from various parties. We listen intently for sporadic updates about Jo Bloggs and Jack Robinson, and excitedly gaze inwards as the rumour mill cranks itself up to full. We second guess. We debate. We check the newspapers and club websites every day, scouring the web for clues as our teams offer us tantalising glimpses into the state of the current market. Some years, it’s stagnant because clubs slash their budgets, but sometimes it’s in full flow, and the Sky Sports News scrollbar is alive with reports of supposed bids and high money fees. For many football fans, it’s the most enthralling and effective way of banishing the boredom that comes with the off-season.

   The script reads the same every year: some Premier League club is signing a multi-million pound ace to propel them into title contention; whole squads are revamped as new managers look to change the face of a club; one of the Premiership’s top performers hops abroad or switches allegiance; one team – quite often the England squad – is embroiled in some dramatic crisis that will spell the end of life as we know it. With league matches off the menu, national games and all of this become our port of call for a football fix.

   This year, the desire for kick-off among City fans is more prevalent than ever. Previous seasons have seen us await the coming campaign with a guarded optimism, approaching August with promotion hopes pinned on the ‘it can only get better’ mantra. Now, though, we’re raring to go. For the first time in a long time, we go into a season knowing what success tastes like. We enter the season with an interesting sense of confidence, and there is genuine substance to our hopes that goes beyond potential – that is, we have seen these lads achieve great things and we know that they are capable of the unbelievable.

   But that doesn’t mean that we won’t have to strengthen. Contrary to previous years, we are not welcoming a new management team, so the squad won’t have to be stripped down and rebuilt from scratch; it’s just a case of fine-tuning certain areas. We will need to add, of course – more depth may be useful, as almost a pre-emptive measure to avert an injury crisis  – but, in terms of experience, we’ve got several players who have played in League One and beyond, so, to me, it just seems to be a case of bringing in a few more names to ensure that we can really establish ourselves up there.

   In City’s case, the key transfer arcs are Duke’s future (it has been confirmed that he has signed a two-year deal with Northampton Town) and Doyle’s future. Some say that a new striker may be on the horizon, whilst others claim that the acquisition of Andy Gray way back in January means that this isn’t an area that Parkinson is looking to expand.

   As I write this, it’s just been announced that Matt Duke will join the Cobblers and become their first-choice goalkeeper. Although the promise of two years of guaranteed first-team football would have been hard to refuse, I thought that Duke would stay at Valley Parade, not least because his position as goalkeeper coach provided longevity in terms of a guarantee of a job once his playing career ended. But that wasn’t the case, and our cup hero made the tough decision to part ways with the Bantams and join Aidy Boothroyd’s side. It’s sad to lose him, but we’ll never forget those amazing nights against Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa that Duke’s efforts helped to provide. So, good luck, Duke, and thanks for the memories. Oh, and I'm really going to miss your chant, by the way.

   I know nothing about any rumours connecting Nathan Doyle to other teams, but I’m hoping that we can tie him down. As one of the more versatile players in the squad, he can be the attacking spark that terrorises opponents, or the tough-tackling defender who leaves strikers quaking in their boots. He’s the gel that binds the defence to the middle of the park. We’ve seen that he can come on and lift a team – it was his calm influence and Reid’s link-up play with Meredith that really allowed us back into the Burton home leg – and he fits perfectly alongside Gary Jones to steady the midfield unit. The two have forged a lethal partnership, with Jones’ energy and Doyle’s eye for a pivotal pass providing a more intense attacking outlet that is harder for defences to break down.

   Some prefer Ricky Ravenhill, who, as he often plays just in front of the defence, allows Jones to drive forward and make greater use of the wingers. And, yes, we do have Ravenhill, Will Atkinson and young Scott Brown, so maybe Doyle will be viewed as surplus to requirements, but he’s still an asset, and he’s still going to be a huge part of the squad if we keep him. If he wants to head elsewhere, it’s not the end of the world, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t put up a fight to tie him to Valley Parade next season.

   Moving onto Andy Gray, who Parkinson signed on an 18-month deal way back in January. He’s definitely divided opinion since his arrival from Leeds. To some, he’s a poor player, not providing the pace, effort and creativity that Wells, Hanson and Connell respectively offer. Some fans cite him as the reason why Hanson’s hold-up play has improved, but others are uncomfortable with awarding him such credit.

   But I’m backing Gray to come good. Why? Because Parkinson doesn’t do dud signings. Only the cream of the crop will do for the City chief; the players with that winning mentality who are willing to battle hard for 90 minutes and who are only satisfied with a hard-fought three points. Moreover, Parkinson has shown an admirable ability when it comes to improving players, and it’s hard to ignore his impressive track record in this field: under Parky’s influence, Atkinson blossomed and silenced his critics, and Thompson brushed off a wobbly start to develop into a prodigious goalscorer. In a similar vein, Luke Oliver was regarded as the worst of a bad bunch during the Peter Taylor era, yet he blasted back in style to amass multiple gongs at the club’s awards night the following year. My point? Don’t ignore this history. Gray may still deliver.

    We’ll definitely be inundated with more rumours in the next few days and weeks as the market steadily picks up, and we’ll do our fair share of staying up late for midnight announcements and watching updates ticker across the news channels. But, in the meantime, embrace the transfer window, because you don’t find suspense and drama quite like it anywhere else.

   Unless, of course, it’s the actual football season.

2012/13 Season Review

As the curtain falls on City’s most memorable campaign for a decade, I look back at the best bits of this fairytale season.

Congratulations, Bradford City!

   What a glorious season. What a glorious, magical, spellbinding, enchanting campaign. What a year for Bradford City Football Club.

   How nice it was. How nice it was to know that the worst-case scenario was a seventh crack at League Two, and not extinction. How nice it was to not be constantly compared to Leeds and Huddersfield. How nice it was to have a group of players who understood, who never gave up, who hounded every ball and who – in one instance – literally shed blood for the cause.

   And how unpredictable has it all been? In the top three, out of the top three. In the cup, out of the cup, into the same cup that we’d just been kicked out of, out of that cup (again) and into a cup final. In the play-offs, out of the play-offs, way off the pace, a wee bit closer to seventh, then back in with a bang as the season’s epic conclusion came down to the wire. Mad stuff.

   As the campaign closes, I’ve decided to take a look back at the key moments of City’s season – the season in which the Bantams burgeoned into the side that we’d spent five years dreaming of. Expect Wembley appearances, penalty triumphs and giant-killings aplenty.

Bradford City 5-1 A.F.C. Wimbledon:

  City romped to a stunning victory over the division’s strugglers, with Wells, Davies, Hanson and McArdle all slotting home before the break to send the Wombles packing.

   The Bantams hadn’t been on the right end of a result like that in a long, long time, and it was incredible. As a City fan who had been through the whole rigmarole of a promotion bid converting itself to relegation battle more times than I dared to count, I was cautiously optimistic, daring to dream but nonetheless trying to keep things in perspective. The Bantams crashed back down to Earth with a bump at the hands of the Millers the following week, but, even then, it was difficult to ignore this start to the season and the quality of players that Parkinson had drafted in. A team is only ever as good as the sum of its parts – but Parkinson had clearly crafted something very special here.

   This had to be our year. It was long, long, long overdue…

Bradford City 1-1 Arsenal (Bradford win 3-2 on penalties)

   I’ll never forget December 11^th, 2012 and the build up to it: how chants blasted out through the corridors at school, the excitement as people clamoured to get tickets and the banter with all of the Arsenal fans in my class. I was actually sat next to a Gunners fan at the game (my brother’s friend). Did that stop me from screaming madly when City scored? Definitely not, and, to be honest, I think that our little guest was secretly quite pleased for us.

   Moreover, nothing could have prepared me for the sight of Valley Parade that night. I’d never seen the stands so full and it was probably the best atmosphere ever. Garry Thompson’s goal, the Arsenal blunders, the chants of “Premier League? You’re having a laugh”… It all just meant so much, and, best of all, City hung on in there, kept calm and took it to penalties. Last season, we were struggling to beat Barnet and Torquay, yet here we were, condemning the Gunners to a humiliating cup exit.

   In the car on the way home, we joked about Bradford getting to the final and the possibility of competing in Europe, blissfully unaware of how one of those prospects would be dramatically realised.

Bradford City 3-1 Aston Villa:

   We all know the story. Villa pressed us, but Wells coolly slotted home, followed by a thunderous McCardle header. Paul Lambert’s side bounced back, but Carl McHugh directed a Gary Jones cross past his boyhood hero to cap off one of the most remarkable nights ever for the Bantams.

   As Bradford fans, we were probably more incredulous than Paul Lambert: how had City, the same team who hadn’t been able to score for toffee less than a week ago, managed to put three past Aston Villa? And not only that, but outplay them for 90 minutes?

   Wembley rested just one game away.

Aston Villa 2-1 Bradford City (Bradford win 4-3 on aggregate):

   It was a snowy night in Villa Park. Four great, hulking stands looked down over the frosty pitch as a plethora of claret and blue flags were waved madly in the stands, almost foreshadowing the actions of the Bantams fans at the final. Not that we were to know that. At this point, it just seemed as though the Birmingham club were trying everything to intimidate Phil Parkinson’s men.

   Initially, it worked. Bradford were tentative and struggled under Villa’s early pressure, with Benteke taking advantage of a congested box to score early and give Paul Lambert a flicker of hope. However, James Hanson emerged as the hero of the match, firing a header past Shay Given to permanently etch himself into Bantams’ folklore.

   The ecstatic City fans entered into a rendition of “Que, Sera, Sera”, and that said it all: we were going to Wembley.

Wembley I: Bradford City 0-5 Swansea City:

   Here it was. Bradford’s date with destiny. The outing to the national stadium that we’d never expected. Make a day of it. Why not a weekend? Relish this experience, because trips to Wembley don’t come around often.

   As far as I was concerned, it was written in the stars. I looked back at the number of times that City should have gone out of the cup, but didn’t: when Notts County rattled the crossbar in the First Round; when Gerviniho fired wide from a few feet out; when Darren Bent headed the ball miles over an open goal; when Stephen Ireland’s equaliser was flagged as offside. Every time, Lady Luck was on the Bantams’ side, and I was sure that she’d be there again to help the team out in the cup final.

   But reality had different ideas.

   Swansea were ruthless. Their clean, crisp, precise passing was simply impossible to contest, and the Wembley stage left the Bantams with nowhere to hide. It was the first time that Bradford had ever wavered, ever looked like a side from the fourth division, but it didn’t matter: they had done us proud, and I’m pretty sure that the 30,000 flag bearers did their heroes proud, too.

Back to the League, where the Bantams’ form had dipped – perhaps owing to fatigue from the mammoth number of fixtures. Following the 4-1 drubbing to Exeter that had left Bradford 8 points adrift from the final play-off place, many supporters had written off a promotion, but we didn’t mind because we’d had that amazing, amazing cup run. But that wasn’t good enough for Parkinson and his boys: they needed to fulfil their prime aim.

   City slowly closed the gap to cement a spot in seventh, before clawing back a one-goal deficit to brush aside Burton Albion in the second leg. We were heading back to Wembley. Bradford were on the brink of doing what, after five dismal years, had begun to seem nigh on impossible.

Wembley II: Bradford City 3-0 Northampton Town:

   As holiday homes go, Wembley’s not a bad one to have the keys to. This match proved why.

   It was a different ball game to the Capital One Cup final. This result mattered more, for one, and both teams were on a level playing field. Whilst causing only a ripple on the international pond, the pressure was massive, because we had to go up, had to get out of the doldrums. Please, please, please.

   It really was the perfect end to our fairytale. Hanson, the local boy who had been working at a Co-op store when City signed him, saw his effort power past the Northampton goalkeeper to open up the scoring, and Rory McArdle and Nahki Wells added to City’s tally to clarify the result.

  “We are going up!” we boomed, utterly delirious. You can say what you like about the play-offs - how they’re not fair, how they’re too tense, how they’re too risky - but, believe me, when it’s your captain who is climbing the Wembley stairs to lift that coveted trophy, you’ll agree that there really is no better way to go up.

   Before this season, I didn’t even know what “Que Sera, Sera” was, I’d had so few reasons to sing it.

   Now, it’s up there with my favourite football chants, right alongside “Stephen Darby, baby”, “He’s magic, you know” and “DUUUUUUKE”.

    That is more than what I could have ever expected from this season.

Looking Back

How a rare room tidy lead to a trip down memory lane

Luke O'Brien was once a regular for the Bantams

   Tidying my room is a mammoth challenge that I undertake once in a blue moon. It involves being ruthless, being resourceful and being reminiscent of football seasons gone by, as it is seemingly inevitable that an old City programme or newspaper cutting will be unearthed.

   This time, it was a stack of football cards from the 2007-08 season that entertained, as a certain City talisman was at the centre of the pile.

   “No! Is that… Our Andrew Davies?”

   The blond hair had been shaved off, the trademark beard was nowhere to be seen and he was sporting the red and white strip of Middlesborough, but it was still the very same Andrew Davies who is now such an instrumental part of Phil Parkinson’s squad.

   I knew of his Premier League history, but I had no idea that he’d been immortalised on a football card.

   There was one of Kasper Schmeichel in his Manchester City days, and Glen Johnson as a Portsmouth player. A floppy-haired Gareth Bale, who is now Tottenham’s shining light, was a three-star defender with an “attack” rating of merely 40.

   The moral of the story? Football is fickle. A lot changes in six years.

   In terms of Bradford City, the guarantee of change has been the only certainty throughout the League Two stint, with McCall, Taylor, Jackson and Parkinson all bringing their own plans to the club in hope of securing that evasive promotion. Hanson and McLaughlin have been the closest things to constants, and each reformation has seen new talent drafted in and other players released.

   Bradford under Stuart McCall, for example, differs greatly to the present incarnation of the club.

   Joe Colbeck and Omar Daley paced down the flanks, and Mark Bower shaped the defence alongside David Weatherall and Paul Heckingbottom. Ex-City dynamo Luke O’Brien is at Oxford, but Bantams fans still fondly remember his time in the team and the way in which he charged up from left back and whipped crosses into the box. The teenager who clinched the winner when City took on Macclesfield, David Brown, now lines up for Bradford Park Avenue. Scott Loach is currently plying his trade for Championship team Ipswich Town.

   Dean Furman, such a superb player for City in the McCall era, has since captained Oldham (though, at the moment, he's on loan with Doncaster) and represented South Africa at international level. He may be returning to Valley Parade if Athletic survive the drop and the Bantams win promotion, or if Bradford stay in this division and Oldham don’t avoid relegation.

   More recently, tough-tackling Michael Flynn waved Bradford a fond farewell, joined by Craig Fagan and Chris Mitchell. Personally, I always felt that the latter was unlucky not to figure more in the line-up – 3 assists in one match clearly indicates a footballer of calibre – as he could create chances and knew how to exert influence on the game.

   Yet, Mitchell wouldn’t fit into Parkinson’s squad, and that is why he was given the chop at the end of last season. Under the League Cup miracle man, the team play more flowing, passing football. Gary Jones catalyses City’s offensive efforts. Kyel Reid and Zavon Hines whiz up and down the wing to create chances. Will Atkinson’s link-up play with Jones can perplex defences, and it certainly did cause trouble for Paul Lambert’s side in the Villa home leg. The team is entirely different.

   Football evolves and changes so fast, and is begs the question: is there room for sentiment in football?

   Yes, one could argue. Players will always have their favourite clubs and the magic of representing their boyhood team will never fade. Passion, emotion and spirit drive a team to success – the Bantams team that we’ve got now always admirably give 100% to every game; players like Jones and Ravenhill are a credit to City in terms of work rate. However, players don’t know how long their time in the first team will last, let alone their tenure at the club, and they’ll have to be ready to face the possibility of a move.

   When the transfer window opens and Parkinson makes changes to the team, we’ll all have our personal pick of who to keep and get rid of – just like my room tidy, coincidentally. I’d quite like to retain this whole squad, because we’ve enjoyed so much success this year and we are in possession of a set of players who are capable of beating any side. I expect to win every game, and I’ve never really felt that about City before.

   Bradford City is a magnet for players, especially after the publicity generated through the club’s part in the League Cup final. Phil Parkinson himself is a massive draw, and the huge fan base, the one that was out in such voice at Wembley and which dwarfs the number of supporters of nearly every team in this division, is even more of a pull.

   Thanks to the cup run, we’ve got the money to keep our assets and to recruit that extra talent to strengthen our bid for success next year.

   We’ll have to wait with bated breath to see what Parkinson has planned for the team, but, until then, there’s a promotion battle to fight.

Oh, and if you’re curious about that Andrew Davies football card, here it is:

If Carlsberg Did Managers...

You’ve Got To Love Phil Parkinson

Bradford fans will be hoping for a sight like this on February 24th

   During pre-season, like most City fans, I’d read about the Bantams in the newspapers and watch them train on Look North, eagerly anticipating the coming season and looking forward to seeing the new signings in action. The bookies often listed us as favourites for the title, and promises of promotion accompanied the new managers.

   Not that those promises ever materialised.

   Until now.

   Step forward Phil Parkinson, a man who boasted Colchester United, Hull City and Charlton Athletic as previous employers, and who was a fully-fledged legend amongst the Reading faithful. When he signed on the dotted line last season, I had no idea that he would lead a serious promotion challenge and get the club to Wembley, especially in a competition that’s usually dominated by Premier League giants. 

   But, then again, City hadn’t exactly filled their fans with cheer before this.

   It’s fair to say that, in recent years, Bradford City have been no strangers to the managerial-merry-go-round. From the Stuart McCall era and the Peter Taylor plight, to the short-lived tenure of Peter Jackson, the Bantams have seen plenty of changes in gaffers. That’s a lot of anticlimaxes.

   Take Peter Taylor, for example. With an impressive C.V. that contained promotions and work with the national team, he appeared to be the prime candidate for the City job. However, within months of his appointment, the Bantams were hovering close to the relegation zone and there were calls for his resignation. It’s just crazy to think that we could have been playing non-league football the following year, as we all believed that Taylor would have got us to League One.

   After Peter Jackson’s departure, Phil Parkinson stepped in, and something happened to the club.

   Impact players were drafted in and new signings were made. The squad’s mentality changed. Parkinson vowed to make Valley Parade a “fortress”. Although I didn’t realise it at the time, he was laying the foundations for a promotion push and preparing to seriously contend for a play-off spot next season.

   The game against Fleetwood unveiled a new-look Bradford team, but the Wimbeldeon tie presented a side that played with so much composure, skill and dominance, and I just couldn’t believe it. Gary Jones was incredibly energetic and involved in midfield; the goals were coming in from anywhere and everywhere; some of the chances created by midfield were fantastic. City were tearing their opponents to shreds. The club’s form under Peter Taylor became a distant memory.

   Parkinson himself is the epitome of calmness and composure. When Paul Lambert was flaring up on the touchline, Parkinson was cool, considering tactics and changes in players. However, he’s also so passionate and appears to really love the club and his players: his celebrations with Parkin, his post-Arsenal embrace with Gary Jones and desire to remain in Bradford have all proved this.

   He’s probably quite the speechmaker, as well. I wouldn’t mind being a fly-on-the-wall in the changing rooms when Parky is addressing the team: in order to steady the players and produce such great displays against Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa, he must have said something brilliant.

   Parkinson’s fashion sense is making waves, too. If teachers’ clothing choices are anything to go by, the v-neck sweater has soared in popularity, and I’ve no doubt that the City gaffer must be partly responsible for this sudden influx of jumpers.

   Granted, it’s not all been cocktails and glitter under Parkinson (There’s been the slump in league form, but we won’t dwell on that too much.), but he’s taken us on a journey that we’ve all been encapsulated by.

   Long-term, the sky’s the limit in terms of what City can achieve under Parkinson. He’s managed to turn the club around and has completely revolutionised the city-people are just so proud to be from Bradford and he’s breathed new life into a town that deserved to be put back on the map.

   With that in mind, Bradford City can walk out at Wembley in the knowledge that they’ve not only got a whole city and country behind them, but also a fantastic manager who most clubs would be desperate to have.

   Can City win the cup? I certainly think so. Especially with Phil Parkinson at the helm.