First Term Grade: C 6/10
Part 3 Grade: C+ 7/10
If you looked at the league table before Bradford City kicked off against Barrow you’d have noticed that 2nd place AFC Wimbledon (37 points) were closer on points to 18th place Newport County (26 points) than they were to the team top of League Two, Walsall (49 points). This is the backdrop to a poor quality league and how it doesn’t take much to transform your season from one that looks like a failure into one that looks like a success. Looking at our healthier league position therefore isn’t the be all and end all, or even a reliable indicator or who will end up in the top three (with the exception of Walsall) by May.
The grade of C+, which translates to a 7/10 rating for Part three of our five part season review has turned a corner on the previous two. The grade C or 6/10 for where we are at “half-term” is a fair reflection of a part that didn’t get off to the best start but ended pretty strongly. To put the icing on the Christmas Cake (do you ice Christmas cakes?), we secured back to back home wins at home to Chesterfield, after a shit show of a first half which saw Graham Alexander have to make a tactical first half substitution to fix the mess he had created with his unusual team selection. By some miracle we had managed to end the first half on level terms, and in the second, although not by any means perfect, we saw the type of battling and determined performance fans would perhaps like to see every week as a baseline for what a Bradford City performance should look like.
We ended this first half of the season on an undefeated run by way of the draw at Barrow, with an important equaliser for our momentum. From November 16th in the League, which let’s face it, that’s what really matters, we have only lost 1 game.
How Did Graham Alexander Get On?
Half Term Grade: C- 6/10
Part 3 Grade: C+ 6/10
His team selection is sometimes baffling, especially considering the old adage that you shouldn’t change a winning formula. After beating Port Vale most of us would expect only enforced changes to be made to the team, but Alexander, admittedly wanting to protect players over the congested Christmas fixture list chose to go further with that at times, so much so, the imbalance in the team really showed in that opening half-an-hour against Chesterfield. The positive though is that Graham Alexander recognised he’d made a mistake and changed things when for many managers it might have been easier to persevere until half-time.
Also it is important to remember that this is not yet fully Graham Alexander’s team. Yes he has brought players in, but being unable to move on players that were given three year deals by the club has meant that he has had to concentrate on the loan market and, in a similar way to Derek Adams, has had very little available from our budget to spend on permanent signings. This leads to a cycle some managers can easily get into where out of both necessity and of course for job security they can end up signing players that are a short term fix, that aren’t who they would ideally have brought in as part of any long term plan. It is a problem that has blighted Bradford City for many years, and much of the reason more focus has been placed on moving players on, than signing players. I could go into a lot more detail about this, but like many things, it is an whole article in its self. And I wrote one when Derek Adams was manager that covers most of the point anyway.
But when judging Graham Alexander, until some of those three year deals made by Mark Hughes expire, you have to understand that if some players he signs are not at the level you’d want to see from a club that is supposed to be serious about a promotion push, the key phrase of you get what you pay for, should tell you where the real blame should be if you are complaining about the standard of players we are recruiting. It is easy to pile the blame equally at the door of Stephen Gent and now David Sharpe, but all have to work within the same constraints and the words big fan base, sleeping giant doesn’t pay the bills for players who can get more at another club in League Two or even the National League.
One thing that stands out about his management during the game is his use of substitutions. On one hand you could argue Alexander could be a bit more proactive. In matches, probably best illustrated in our defeat against Doncaster Rovers and most recently Barrow he has left it very late when he made changes. For instance when Clark Odour was brought on against Barrow, City looked more of a threat, and the game changed in our favour, and Odour scored. An example of a good substitution that was a game changer? Yes, but could it have been all three points had he done it sooner? And this wasn’t a one-off. Back to the Doncaster Rovers match and the impact his substitutions made there. The game was going nowhere with the team 2-0 down, and on the hour mark it was obvious something needed changing, but he left it until the 74th minute, when he introduced Lewis Richards who made an instant impact and provided the assist for Andy Cook’s 83rd minute goal. It was pretty much all Bradford City after the flurry of substitutions were made and you couldn’t help leaving with the feeling that we simply ran out of time in our efforts to get an equaliser, and maybe even a winner had that materialised.
But on the flip side, Alexander should be credited for acting fast, when he brought on Bobby Pointon for Jay Benn at home to Chesterfield. Pointon scored within ten minutes and his introduction had an impact on the overall score. Also when Bobby Pointon was brought on, this time on the hour mark at home to Barrow, it again changed what had been a dreadful encounter and he provided the assist for Andy Cook’s equaliser.
Graham Alexander seems to have a knack of bringing on the right player to change the game, but it is in games like the trip to Barrow and that home match against Doncaster Rovers where you can’t help thinking that had he made the move sooner, there might have been a completely different outcome to the game. But mostly you’ve got to give him credit for being able to impact the game in that way.
Another thing that is really starting to stand out is how the team seems to have a much better spirit and are more resilient. We went through a phase of years before Alexander where we could almost guarantee that if we went behind we would lose. But since Alexander arrived at Valley Parade that has gone, and it isn’t unusual to see us turn things around.
Our home form has been better than under most managers, where some managers have even used the fact we are so well supported as an excuse for the team choking. Alexander understands that if you are a footballer that cannot cope with big crowds, then perhaps Bradford City is too much of a step up for you. Over all, it is hard to argue that he isn’t doing a good job of getting the best out of what we have got, and we have seen improvements in the players we have, rather than any decline. Richie Smallwood, although still far from ideal is night and day more effective than he was when Mark Hughes was manager. And Alexander continues to get the best out of Andy Cook, who looks much leaner and meaner (to coin a phrase) this season than ever before.
So in conclusion I think we have the right man for the job at the right time, and it is unlikely that any other managers would do a better job of managing the budget and the team. Because that is part of the job of any manager, and regardless of the fact we reached the play-off’s with Mark Hughes, his handling of our budget when he had more available to spend than any other manager in recent years was reckless. It was something fans of Fulham and Queens Park Rangers can tell you if you still don’t believe me. As a result, Alexander has to wait for the contracts of dead wood like Vadaine Oliver to expire, as no other club at our level is likely to match the wages he is getting here, and his form over the last two seasons does not make him a desirable recruit for teams in the leagues above who could afford it. Alexander has steadied the ship, and results are improving, in fairness ahead of time of where we really are as a football club. He’s not trying to play Premier League football with League Two standard players, he’s pragmatic and isn’t afraid to change things when needed. So asides from someone who is a miracle worker I honestly do not think there is another manager out there who could do more in the time he has had at Bradford City and it would be foolish to rip that all up and start again with a new manager, because, look how well that has worked for us over the last seven years.
The Season So Far (Part 3)
Based directly on this section of league matches below, not the half-term report, there are more positives than negatives to report, and it has ended on an away draw, but undefeated all the same. So unlike the other two parts which summed up with the knife edge our season was on, with little evidence either way to support us ending up bottom or top half of the table come what may, this not only has more positive results in it, and fewer losing or drawing games we should on paper win. It has some defeats, but the most disappointing being against Notts County, and wins against teams we should beat (Swindon Town) and others we wouldn’t have expected to win (Port Vale and Chesterfield). On top of that we have some momentum building with one defeat since that win against Swindon Town and we close on an away draw against a side you’d expect to be doing better. All in all, that’s a positive and bodes well for part four, as long as we don’t suddenly fall off of a cliff again. Should we match this form in the next 12 games we should be well in the mix in the play-off’s places when I come to write the fourth of these articles on our progress.
So let’s look at what has happened since Part Three of our season so far.
Fleetwood Town 1-0 Bradford City (9th November 2024)
Bradford City travelled to Fleetwood wearing the somewhat infamous blue away kit, and without the services of suspended Jack Shepherd. The starting line-up also without the injured Tyreik Wright raised a few eyebrows with both Lewis Richards and Brad Halliday occupying the now familiar wide centre back roles and the “wing-back” role being pretty much an out and out wing role. At this point there were a few questions about why we had signed Paul Huntington who you’d have expected to step in to one of the roles at centre-back.
More curious was the attacking option of selecting Vadaine Oliver and Calum Kavanagh. One take away from this match was how shaky we looked on the flanks.
City got off to the worse possible start with Andy Cook conceding a penalty and Fleetwood Town slotting away a composed spot kick putting the hosts 1-0 up on the 8th minute. Early goals have been a common feature in our games this season so it shouldn’t have been anything to be unduly worried about. Unsurprisingly Fleetwood Town seemed to be opening us up down the wing especially our left, with Tyreik Wright nowhere to be found when our attacks broke down. But for all of our possession and having more shots on target we were unable to get an equaliser. The positives from this game were that we probably didn’t deserve to lose as the performance wasn’t bad, but still, it wasn’t great either.
Team Performance: 6/10
Manager Performance: 6/10
Colchester United 1-1 Bradford City (16th November 2024)
If ever there was a draw that felt like a defeat this was certainly it. How we didn’t ’t get all three points can be put down to only one thing, bad game management and sloppy defending. The nature of the goal conceded in the 98th minute was frustrating for all that saw it. Whether it was Jay Benn or Brad Halliday that should have been covering the post (I’d argue Jay Benn) it was a sloppy end to a game where the reports and ratings could probably ended as a 6 out of 10 rather than a 4. Don’t get me wrong, Bradford City again weren’t good enough to say we didn’t deserve the draw we got, but having go so far, it was criminal of the team to turn three points into one.
Team Performance: 4/10
Manager Performance: 4/10
Bradford City 1-1 Barrow (3rd December 2024)
After coming away from the last match thinking we should have had three points instead of one, this was a game where instead of one point, neither team really deserved the point they shared in this drab and uninspiring contest, that perhaps I’m overdoing it in calling it a contest.
Barrow were probably marginally better than us and not the response fans were looking for from a Bantams side that had let two points slip in the way they did in the previous match.
The only positive was substitute Bobby Pointon. Until he was introduced Barrow were just about the better team (least worse) and were good value for their 1-0 lead from Gotts, or at least City were doing nothing that gave the impression of a team trying to get an equaliser. But when he entered the field of play, Pointon instantly looked lively and like the one player who could put some lead in our proverbial pencil. And he did just that by provided an assist to Andy Cook who did what Andy Cook does best.
But the kicker is that with Cook picking up a yellow card and being suspended for the visit to Crewe Alexandra it raised those questions again about where on earth we would be without him. It is probably an article of its self and one where someone, probably not me, could crunch the stats.
One thing felt pretty certain after watching how bad we were, was that the outlook for our trip to Crewe didn’t feel positive.
Team Performance: 3/10
Manager Performance: 4/10
Bradford City 1-1 Crewe Alexander (7th December 2024)
Graham Alexander rewarded Bobby Pointon with a start and did make an early impact with our first shot of the game. Ok, you could argue he should have scored, but I think it is to miss the point if you focus just on the miss and not the problems he causes defenders and the space he creates for others. Although I don’t think even he expected to find himself one on one with the keeper so early into the match.
Storm Darragh was in town and it was impacting the game in a noticeable way, most notably in the way Sam Walker was unable to keep his goal kicks in play. City had the best of the possession in the first half, with Jamie Walker, Alex Pattison and Bobby Pointon the stand out players.
And of course it would be Bobby Pointon who would provide our next opportunity when he danced his way around the edge of the area before putting in a cross that lead to Calum Kavanagh hitting the post.
Another of those questions that tends to be a reoccurring theme of this season is what sort of Bradford City are we going to get at the start of any given half. It is either a brand new rejuvenated Bantams that is dominating, or the exact opposite. Unsurprisingly given our recent form, it was the latter so it was inevitable when the ball fell invitingly to Omar Bogle that the visitors would find themselves 1-0 with 47 minutes on the clock.
However, to their credit, City responded only 7 minutes later with Jay Benn provided a cut back that was slotted away by Alex Pattison. But no Bradford City story would be complete without us plugging one leak, only to find another springs straight open. This time in the form of a read card for goalscorer Pattison for his rash moment on their goalscorer Omar Bogle. But in fairness to Pattison it was more the over the top reaction from the Crewe players that got him red carded than the actual incident its self.
For here onwards you have to credit the team performance for the majority of what followed, City didn’t look like a team one man down and if anything had the better of the second-half. They were always in this game and dealt with what Crewe had to offer more than adequately. And the team should have taken pride from this point on the road.
Team Performance: 6/10
Manager Performance: 5/10
Bradford City 1-0 Swindon Town (14th December 2024)
Funnily enough the stand out moment of a less than convincing win against a team third from bottom was probably Ian Holloway having a rant at one of his own fans at the final whistle.
Calum Kavanagh followed on from his midweek goalscoring in the EFL Trophy to get the first and only goal for the Bantams in this fixture, however, if he was making a point to Bradford City fans in his celebration, it might have been better to wait until a game where he had scored his first league goal of the season for his club before making any points like that.
The expectation among the Bradford City fans was that the Bantams would add to their 24th minute goal lead, but it never materialised. It was three points in the bag, and the team did a professional job in getting the basic right. But in reality Swindon Town are where they are for a reason and looked toothless in attack, and there never was any real sniff of a threat of them scoring, which mean the defence were rarely called into any serious action.
Naturally even though we were all grateful for the three points and clean sheet at home, it did leave a few question marks about how a performance like this would translate against better opposition, and with a visit to Meadow Lane to play Notts County next up, we would soon get our answer.
Team Performance: 5/10
Manager Performance: 6/10
Notts County 3-0 Bradford City (21st December 2024)
Even though Notts County are one of the better sides on paper in League Two, their recent form had been poor, so it was an ideal time to play them.
For the first 20 minutes of the match we could have made a strong argument that those nagging concerns after the Swindon Town win were perhaps a bit negative. Maybe Swindon Town were so poor that we never really needed to move out of first gear and had they been better on the day, we would have upped our performance to match. In the 8th minute Sarcevic sent Cook on his way in on goal only for the ball to deflect off of the onrushing keeper Alex Bass. Calum Kavanagh full of confidence on the back of a goalscoring week had a shot blocked on the 12 minute which was followed by back to back corners. By the 21st minutes City had seen crosses from Shepherd and Richards test the Notts County defence, the latter of which lead to a shot wide from a hungry looking Kavanagh. It’s fair to say Bradford City fancied their chances coming away from Meadow Lane with all three points was a real possibility.
And then the Bantams imploded. In the space of 4 short minutes the game was effectively over. It all started with Jatta opening the scoring on the 28th minute to put the hosts ahead. Then Jatta turned provider for McGoldrick on the 31st minute, and there was barely enough time to have finished rolling your eyes at what had just happened to be able to witness McGoldrick returning the favour for Jatta to put Notts County 3-0 up in the 32nd minute.
After the match some people on social media pointed out, jokingly of course, that it was an improvement on Graham Alexander’s first trip to Meadow Lane with the Bantams when we found ourselves 4-0 down at half-time. But when you consider that we scored two goals in the second half, and did absolutely nothing this time around, it could be argued that this was a step backward, not forward.
With the unconvincing performances in recent weeks, the pressure was mounting on Graham Alexander with a number of fans already suggesting he should be sacked. Given that our next two fixtures were against Port Vale and Chesterfield, the prognosis didn’t look good. Neither did it look good for owner Stefan Rupp and CEO Ryan Sparks, as many fans have come to the realisation that there must be a reason that every single manager who has taken the job of Bradford City manager seems destined to fail.
Team Performance: 3/10
Manager Performance: 3/10
Bradford City 2-1 Port Vale (26th December 2024)
It is fair to say expectations weren’t very high when Port Vale came to Valley Parade. Naturally because we all know Bradford City there was mild optimism considering how we tend to pull results against the best side out of the bag from time to time, and usually when we least expect it. But Port Vale, barring maybe Walsall are the best side in League Two. In fact, they probably are, on paper the best side, but Walsall have been way and above all others.
The match got off to a shock start when Andy Cook hitting a superb long range effort with his weaker foot out of nothing to put the Bantams ahead after only 3 minutes.
Make no bones about it, Port Vale showed why they are best side Bradford City have played this season at Valley Parade and were made to fight for the three points. Vale drew level in the second half through Hackford, but the Valley Parade faithful only had to wait nine minutes for Andy Cook to score his and Bradford City’s second goal, and what would turn out to be the winner.
It was Cook’s 15th goal of the season in all competition and his 100th EFL goal, most of those for Bradford City and it is the one that cemented his name as a legitimate Bradford City legend. Whatever you think about some of his shortcoming, his primary role is to score goals for the Bantams and he has done that now more than 99% of other players.
The Notts County result ruined a lot of Christmas’s but this was a real Boxing Day treat and possibly the best performance of 2024.
Team Performance: 9/10
Manager Performance: 10/10
Bradford City 2-1 Chesterfield (29th December 2024)
The team selection confused a lot of fans even though there was an enforced change due to illness which saw Lewis Richards left out of the starting line-up. Yet it was other tweaks and the inclusion of Jay Benn which were more confusing given that the performances against Port Vale was most certainly one to be filed under don’t change a winning team. Graham Alexander had chose not to over exert players that had returned from injury over the congested Christmas fixture period so there was sense to his decision.
In a frantic first-half, the frailties with the system that Alexander was using showed early on and Bobby Pointon came on to replace Jay Benn who had not long before picked up a yellow card.
Unsurprisingly minutes after the substitution Bradford City were still all over the place and the visitors took the lead. At this moment, it was another reminder of how Bradford City have managed to gloss over things with the occasional good result, like that against Port Vale, when the team clearly is a lot further off the play-off’s than the table or the occasional good result would suggest.
Until Alex Pattison took things into his own hands and surged towards the Chesterfield box, setting up substitute Bobby Pointon to equalise with a deft flick into the goal. Pattison, along with too many other players to mention had been sloppy with error after error inviting Chesterfield to extend their lead. How we reached half-time on level terms is anyones guess, but I have said this before, Bobby Pointon in a more attacking role will get the goals we are looking for, as well as provide them.
The second half was probably more kudos for effort rather than quality, and the effort was rewarded when Antoni Sarcevic grabbed his opportunity by the scruff of the neck and scored the winner in the 52nd minute. From there on City played with discipline. It’s worth noting that Andy Cook remained on the pitch as defensive reinforcements were introduced as Graham Alexander recognised the important role defensively that our top goalscorer, who made some key clearances he was making when the pressure was on.
Chesterfield, even minus a few of their key players had quality all over the pitch and were very creative. You can see why they were League Two’s 2nd top goal scorers, second only to runaway leaders Walsall. So ok, the performance wasn’t the best from a technical perspective, Bradford City did what was needed to ensure they got all three points.
Team Performance: 7/10
Manager Performance: 6/10
Barrow 2-2 Bradford City (1st January 2025)
Another one where some of the choices in the starting line-up were a bit of a head scratcher for fans. This time Antoni Sarcevic had been dropped to the bench. However, post match Graham Alexander did confirm that the changes were made for the reasons I have pointed out earlier. So it is hard to argue with that logic.
Unfortunately within 6 minutes the old question about how Bradford City would cope without Andy Cook were now to be answered as he went down with an injury that looks like he may be out of action for quite some time.
His replacement Ollie Sanderson would once again remind us why he had been frozen out of the first team squad for such a long time before returning to it as he failed to make any impact in the 84 minutes he was given to impress.
The answer, although by no means the point, was Lewis Richards who put the Bantams ahead in a match where once again he showed why he is making the left wing-back position his own, he is like a new man this season.
Barrow should have equalised when City left them to their own devices in the box and one of two unmarked players somehow managed to head wide.
In the 8 minutes of added time in the first half another of those questions floating around Bradford City since the summer, namely who got the best deal, Notts County signing Matty Platt or Bradford City’s replacement signing of Aiden Baldwin from Notts County would come to the fore when in the eight minutes of first half injury time, his challenge gave the home side a penalty which they duly dispatched to make the half-time score 1-1. Whether it was a penalty is something we can debate all year, it is fair enough to say that he should have had the experience not to make such a risky challenge when we were so close to half-time.
The problem with giving away the penalty wasn’t just that we conceded a goal, but it gave Barrow a renewed sense of confidence. From that moment onwards, they took the game to us. It felt like a reverse of the Chesterfield match. City again went into the break level, this time wondering how they hadn’t gone in leading, where as last time, the question was how we had managed to go into the break level and not losing.
In the second half Barrow came at Bradford City trying to get an early lead, but that failed to materialise. City were less than convincing and too may players seemed to have gone awol, but we weathered the early storm. As the game progressed it was much more of an even affair, and with Sarcevic introduced into the action on the hour. From there it did look a bit more like things could tip in our favour until in the 79th minute when the hosts went 2-1 up as Acquah was allowed the space to put the ball through the legs of Sam Walker.
Graham Alexander brought on Clark Odour and Ceiran Kelly and within minutes after endeavour from Antoni Sarcevic it was Odour who at the second attempt levelled the score for the Bantams with three minutes remaining. City did try to push for a winner but it was ultimately in vain, however, the draw keeps us undefeated since the Notts County surrender and although it isn’t a win, it ends this first half of the season in a very positive way. If we can win most of our home games and at least draw most of our away games, with the league the way it is, promotion would be a very real prospect.
On the Graham Alexander front, some of the substitutions were a little bit late in the day. Yes Jamie Walker and Antoni Sarcevic were introduced on the hour, but did Calum Kavanagh deserve an hour of football? And bringing on Kelly to replace Shepherd in the 85th minute was long after the horse had bolted. And you could imagine a world where the Bantams took all three points had Clark Odour been introduced into the action earlier than the 85th minute too. I’ve spoken in more detail about Alexander’s substitutions already so I won’t repeat myself.
Team Performance: 6/10
Manager Performance: 5/10
In Conclusion & What To Look Out For
The half-term prognosis is very encouraging. And as the momentum is on our side. It is far better to see things coming together after a very average first two parts that have gone before it. And things really could be shaping up well for the Bantams. All eyes will now be on the January Transfer Window to see if Stefan Rupp will in real terms back the manager and show fans he does have some ambition for the club. Because with Andy Cook injured, we certainly need a striker that will be capable of scoring goals and give Cook some credible competition. We also need that extra strength in depth which can make the difference between going up and staying down when you get to the business end of the season. We have so far added George Lapslie from Gillingham who is the type of “shit house” player we need. Although we have to hope that he can tame his Valley Parade record of picking up yellow cards, because as an opposition player, he has what seems like a 100% record of getting booked at Valley Parade.
We have also picked up a loanee, another midfielder, from Birmingham City. And if rumours are to be believed that we were in for Josh Stones and were outbid by National League York City for his services. If there is any tangible investment really on the table from Stefan Rupp, and we stick with the excuse that £350,000 is a bit excessive for an untried player in League Two, you’d still expect us to spend in the region of £250,000 to £350,000 on a player that is tried and tested and contracted to another League Two clubs. Personally though, I have my doubts but will be more than happy for the owner to prove me wrong.
Because let’s get things absolutely clear. Nothing has changed, the club is still in the same mess it was, possibly made worse by Mark Hughes’s spree. No lessons appear to have been learned, and all we still get from the top at Bradford City are empty promises that are usually conveniently timed around protests or season tickets going on sale. Any success we have, regardless of whether we get promoted or not, will be down to Graham Alexander in spite of our ownership, not because of it. And that means the inevitable outcome would be instant relegation back to League Two, rather than maintaining our status and building on it. So investment is important to show us that this is not our destiny, otherwise the best thing for everyone is for Stefan Rupp to sell the club.
Fortunately on the pitch and in League Two, we have seen there is a lot of room for error, and it will be down to Graham Alexander and the players on the pitch to limit those errors and maintain this level of performance which I believe should be enough to get us over the line, with a possible challenge on the automatic promotion spots. The bar is set fairly low this season, so it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. But that one signing from a promotion rival, of which there are many this season, would most likely be the key to unlocking a finish in the top three. So its over to you Stefan Rupp if you seriously want it to happen.
But in sort. Although the dark clouds still remain over Valley Parade, there is hope. And I firmly believe that we just have to repeat the pattern of results we have seen in Part Three in order to gain promotion, and three points is three points, regardless of whether you get them against Carlisle United or Walsall, although the latter certainly helps when you want the auto’s, but I don’t think they are by any means a necessity.