Four managers, countless defeats and a horrendous tumble down the League One table – there is little doubting that thus far, 2018 ranks as one of City’s worst calendar years on record.

And that is reflected in a look across how all the other sides in the Football League have performed since New Years Day – with only ONE side out of the 72 currently playing in the Championship, League One and League Two producing a worse points-per-game return than the Bantams in 2018.

To date, City have played 34 games and earned a miserable 28 points in 2018 – a return of 0.82 PPG. That in itself underlines why City find themselves where they are at the minute – but only one side across tiers two, three and four can boast a record that returns fewer points per game than that.

There are some sides who hover just above City in that regard. Stoke City are one such example; they have played 29 league games in 2018 and earned 29 points, a return of exactly 1.00 PPG. Hull City offer the same return, with 33 points earned from 33 league games.

Cheltenham Town offer a marginally-better return than the Bantams: they have 29 points from 34 league games in 2018, which is a return of 0.85 PPG. You then find City with their 0.82 return – which is exactly the same as what Grimsby Town can boast from their 2018 so far.

And below City and the Mariners? Only one team across the entirety of the Football League: Reading. City’s conquerers in the FA Cup quarter-finals a few years ago are the only side in the Football League who have returned fewer points-per-game than the Bantams this year. They have 25 points from their 33 games: a return of 0.76 PPG.

Things can change quickly in football, we all know that. Earlier this month, we looked at how some of City’s poorest starts to a league campaign often resulted in top-half finishes and better – but this underlines how worrying things are at the moment.