Every Bradford City manager’s first game in charge

This weekend, Gary Bowyer will become the 44th man to take charge of Bradford City in the role of permanent manager (NB. There have been 46 permanent appointments; Peter O’Rourke and Stuart McCall have been in charge twice). With that in mind, here’s a rundown of how EVERY single one of the 43 men who preceded Bowyer have got on in their first official game in charge.

Robert Campbell
1st September 1903 v Grimsby Town
Lost 0-2

Peter O’Rourke
4th November 1905 v Grimsby Town
Lost 0-1

David Menzies
27th August 1921 v Oldham Athletic
Drew 0-0

Colin Veitch
26th August 1926 v Port Vale
Lost 1-2 (Alcock)

Jack Peart
30th August 1930 v Charlton Athletic
Won 3-2 (Woolhouse 2, Cochrane)

Dick Ray
6th April 1934 v West Ham United
Lost 0-1

Fred Westgarth
5th March 1938 v Port Vale
Lost 3-4 (Robertson, Whittingham 2)

Jack Barker
31st August 1946 v Accrington Stanley
Won 3-1 (Hinsley, Wass, Wollett)

Jack Milburn
2nd January 1947 v Gateshead
Won 2-0 (Whittingham 2)

David Steele
21st August 1948 v Barrow
Drew 0-0

Ivor Powell
23rd August 1952 v Port Vale
Won 1-0 (King)

Peter Jackson Snr
5th February 1955 v Southport
Lost 0-1

Bob Brocklebank
19th August 1961 v York City
Drew 2-2 (Cartlidge, Reid)

Bill Harris
8th March 1965 v Stockport County
Lost 0-2

Willie Watson
4th April 1966 v Port Vale
Drew 0-0

Grenville Hair
20th January 1968 v Lincoln City
Lost 0-2

Jimmy Wheeler
10th August 1968 v Doncaster Rovers
Drew 1-1 (Swallow)

Bryan Edwards
27th November 1971 v Notts County
Lost 2-3 (C Hall, Middleton)

Bobby Kennedy
16th August 1975 v Brentford
Drew 1-1 (McGinley)

John Napier
4th February 1978 v Chester
Lost 2-3 (Cooke, Ratcliffe)

George Mulhall
18th November 1978 v Barnsley
Won 1-0 (Cooke)

Roy McFarland
29th August 1981 v Wigan Athletic
Drew 3-3 (Campbell 2, Black)

Trevor Cherry
11th December 1982 v Mansfield (FA Cup)
Drew 1-1 (Gray)

Terry Dolan
10th January 1987 v Oldham (FA Cup)
Drew 1-1 (McCall)

Terry Yorath
4th February 1989 v Blackburn Rovers
Lost 1-2 (Abbott)

John Docherty
21st March 1990 v Newcastle United
Won 3-2 (Mitchell, Abbott, Woods)

Frank Stapleton
14th December 1991 v West Bromwich Albion
Drew 1-1 (McCarthy)

Lennie Lawrence
13th August 1994 v Chester City
Won 4-1 (Taylor, Jewell 3)

Chris Kamara
2nd December 1995 v Preston (FA Cup)
Won 2-1 (Jacobs 2)

Paul Jewell
10th January 1998 v Stockport County
Won 2-1 (Jacobs, Blake)

Chris Hutchings
1st July 2000 v FK Atlantis (Intertoto Cup)
Won 3-1 (Blake, Windass, Rankin)

Jim Jeffries
25th November 2000 v Middlesbrough
Drew 2-2 (Carbone, Windass)

Nicky Law
8th January 2002 v Walsall (FA Cup)
Lost 0-2

Bryan Robson
29th November 2003 v Millwall
Won 3-2 (Branch, Gray, Cadamarteri)

Colin Todd
7th August 2004 v Hartlepool United
Lost 1-2 (Windass)

Stuart McCall
11th August 2007 v Macclesfield Town
Drew 1-1 (Ndumbu-Nsungu)

Peter Taylor
20th January 2010 v Accrington Stanley
Lost 0-2

Peter Jackson
5th March 2011 v Gillingham
Lost 0-2

Phil Parkinson
3rd September 2011 v Morecambe
Drew 1-1 (Hannah)

Simon Grayson
13th February 2018 v Charlton Athletic
Drew 1-1 (Robinson)

Michael Collins
4th August 2018 v Shrewsbury Town
Won 1-0 (Payne)

David Hopkin
8th September 2018 v Blackpool
Lost 2-3 (Doyle, Payne)

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