When Phil Parkinson became manager of Bradford City in 2012/13 it is fair to say the Bantams had hit rock bottom after tumbling out of the Premier League at the turn of the century. But we have a proud history of doing things the hard way, so let’s take a look at some of reasons to be cheerful.
Former manager Peter Jackson had walked claiming that the ‘Head of Recruitment’ was clueless, that man was Archie Christie, who we later found out was allowed his own budget to sign players that Jacko didn’t believe were fit to wear the shirt. He had attempted to sign Jamie Vardy, but we will never know if part of the reason for him choosing Fleetwood Town was because funds had been diverted out of the transfer kitty into that of Christy and his development squad.
None of the players that were brought into the development squad have gone on to bigger and better things, in fact most are either plying their trade in the lower reaches of the non-league of Scottish Football League pyramid. The only player that did go on to better things, was brought to the club by David Baldwin and recommended by Mark Ellis, a player who would feature in the history to be made by the new boss Phil Parkinson. The club was in debt and were seriously considering moving to Odsal Stadium and non-league football had been a real possibility.
The parallels with 2012 and 2019 are uncanny. In 2012 Phil Parkinson got rid of Archie Christie and insisted on having complete control over transfers, and set to work bringing in the right blend of backroom staff and players like Stephen Darby, and a player that at the time City fans were disappointed at seeing join our club, that was the aging Gary Jones from Rochdale.
Fast forward to Edin Rahic and Stefan Rupp taking over the club from Julian Rhodes and Mark Lawn and it didn’t take Parky long to figure out that his control over transfers would be severely undermined. With the club almost a certainty for a return to the EFL Championship under the guidance of Phil Parkinson, we had to place our trust in the new owners that they had a plan. Edin Rahic had a plan for sure, but as we would find out, he didn’t know as much about football as he would have liked us to think.
This resulted in signings that have turned out to be of the same calibre of those whom Archie Christie brought to the club back in 2011/12 and will probably suffer the same fate as them in later years. Only this time around we spent big on those players, and worse still they were on long contracts when their frailties were there for all to see a few months into them.
The team was bereft of players with the stomach for a battle, some seemed not to care at all, and with Edin Rahic being unapologetic and belligerent, attendances soon fell as fans became disconnected from a club that had become unrecognisable from not just how it was under Parkinson, but arguably since it has been since the tragic fire in 1985.
But just like with the fire in 1985, the Bantams family have a spirit for rebuilding and getting stronger in the face of adversity. After playing home games at Odsal Stadium and Leeds Road, we returned to a revamped shiny new Valley Parade. We narrowly missed out on promotion to the old Division One in the 1987/88 season. The success may not have lasted long, but after more difficult times, the Bantams visited Wembley for the first time in the history of the club, beating Notts County to secure promotion back into the 2nd tier, which was soon followed by promotion to the Premier League.
Once again, against all the odds, Bradford City proved all of the experts wrong when we stayed up by beating Liverpool on the last day of the 1999/00 season. Sadly, the following season was the start of another crisis, that only ended when Phil Parkinson took us up from the basement to League One in the historic 2013/14 season. Not only did we go up, but we had all but lost our chance to reach the play-off’s that season, but still made it. Of course, who will ever forget the extra special moment of being in League Two and reaching a major cup final. That would have been special enough if we were in the Premier League, but to do it as a League Two club was something that no team had ever done in a 4-tier competition, as it is now.
Where are we now? Edin Rahic has gone, and Julian Rhodes is steering the ship, with Stefan Rupp still willing to put money in. Gary Bowyer not only brings with him the positivity that we have badly needed, but he has made a clear statement of intent with the players he has let go from the Rahic era, and with the type of players he has signed so far. Just listening to the interviews of the signings with the players brought in by Bowyer is a real shot in the arm, they are hungry and genuinely sound like they want to impress the City fans and want to be part of a team that will go up. Bradford City already look better organised, something that was lacking in the last pre-season, and this time around we can expect the players to be match fit before Christmas.
Once again we have had to hit rock bottom to start again, but I can reel off the number of clubs that have been in the Premier League and Championship in recent years who have got there by doing exactly that, and until Edin ripped apart everything that was positive about the club, we were already on our way.
We will just have to wait a little bit longer than we originally anticipated.
Looking at rivals for promotion to League One Salford City, we have spent wisely and done more to improve our team so far, which is a good barometer of what to expect this season. It would be nice to add another league title to go onto our honours list, and this is as good an opportunity as any. If you don’t believe we are good enough, take a look at the odds the bookies are offering. It’s their job to get these things right, and we are a mixture of favourites and second favourites.
The future may well be bright after all, the future is claret & amber (stripes!).