Category Archives: General Blog

General Blog, Managerial Stats/Records

David Hopkin aiming for unwanted City managerial record on Saturday

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To suggest it has been a tough inauguration for David Hopkin as Bradford City’s 37th permanent manager would be an understatement – though he has undoubtedly not been helped by matters off the field.

However, Hopkin will be aiming for victory on Saturday to not only hopefully move the Bantams off the bottom of the League One table, but to also avoid creating an unwanted managerial record.

Since the switch to three points for a victory at the beginning of the 1981-82 league season, 22 men have managed Bradford City on a permanent basis – beginning with Roy McFarland.

McFarland, who left City under controversial circumstances shortly after guiding the Bantams to promotion, has the best record of any manager during their first ten league games in charge – taking 25 points from a possible 30.

At the other end of the scale, two men share the worst points return from their first ten games. Chris Hutchings, who was dismissed shortly after managing City for ten games in the Premier League, and Trevor Cherry – who is the only man not to win any of his first ten league games – have just six points between them.

The other man to have won just six points, Michael Collins, was in charge for just six league games.

The fact it is those two men, Hutchings and Cherry – one who was sacked so quickly and one who would go on and produce one of the most iconic Bradford City sides in history – who share that record suggest nothing is fatal, or indeed certain, at such an early stage in Hopkin’s managerial career.

But with the Scot having won just four points from his first nine league games in charge – the draw against Bristol Rovers followed by the win at AFC Wimbledon in the space of four days last month – it means only a win will save Hopkin from having the worst start to any City manager’s reign since three points for a win was introduced 37 years ago.

City managers since 1981 and points return from first 10 games in charge

Michael Collins
Points from first ten games: 6 (dismissed after six games)
Simon Grayson
Points from first ten games: 8
Stuart McCall
Points from first ten games: 18 (unbeaten)
Phil Parkinson
Points from first ten games: 9
Peter Jackson
Points from first ten games: 11
Peter Taylor
Points from first ten games: 14
Stuart McCall
Points from first ten games: 10
Colin Todd
Points from first ten games: 13
Bryan Robson
Points from first ten games: 9
Nicky Law
Points from first ten games: 13
Jim Jeffries
Points from first ten games: 9
Chris Hutchings
Points from first ten games: 6
Paul Jewell
Points from first ten games: 17
Chris Kamara
Points from first ten games: 16
Lennie Lawrence
Points from first ten games: 17
Frank Stapleton
Points from first ten games: 12
John Docherty
Points from first ten games: 8
Terry Yorath
Points from first ten games: 12
Terry Dolan
Points from first ten games: 12
Trevor Cherry
Points from first ten games: 6 (no wins)
Roy McFarland
Points from first ten games: 25

City in Competition, General Blog

The records tumble: where City’s horror 15-game start ranks alongside the rest

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You may have seen our tweet in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday night’s defeat to Coventry – our 11th in just 15 league games – confirming that, in terms of losses, this is indeed Bradford City’s worst-ever start to a league campaign in our 115-year history.

Of course, losses alone isn’t the only way to weigh up just how bad a start this has been, so in true Grim Reaper fashion, we’ve worked out where the start ranks along all the others in a number of categories.

Games lost

As we pointed out, this is indeed Bradford City’s worst-ever start in terms of games lost at the beginning of a season. Never before has any season since the club’s formation in 1903 included 11 league defeats in the first 15 league games.

Points earned (including three points-per-win alterations)

The three points-per-win system was only introduced into English football at the beginning of the 1981-82 season, so to look all the way back to 1903 and work out where City’s points tally of this season ranks, we have to apply the present system across history.

And when doing that, it shows that there have been a handful of times in which City have failed to pick up fewer than the current 10 points the class of 2018 have got from their first 15 games.

The most recent? In the 2000-01 Premier League campaign, when Chris Hutchings’ side earned just eight points from their first 15 games. That, in a 38-game season, was inevitably going to lead to relegation.

Then, in 1983-84, Trevor Cherry’s side registered just eight points from their first 15 games: which included just one win. They did, however, then go on and finish 7th in Division Three following a run of 10 consecutive wins.

The other instances? In 1965-66, City got nine points from their first 15. All the way back in 1926-27, they actually got only seven – making this the fourth-worst start in terms of points gained.

Goals conceded

City have shipped an alarming 26 goals already this season, and have kept just four clean sheets – but you don’t have to go too far back to find a start worse than this defensively.

In City’s first season since relegation from the Premier League in 2001-02, things started quite well, with victories against Barnsley, Portsmouth and Coventry to start the season.

But by the time City had played 15 games that season, they’d already conceded a staggering 30 goals – including 10 in just three games.

Goals scored

15 games played, 12 goals scored. It’s been pretty grim in front of goal for City to say the least.

The last time it was this bad? When we were relegated from the Premier League in 2000-01 when, after 15 games, we’d scored just seven goals.

Incidentally, to find a Football League campaign with a worse start in front of goal, you have to go all the way back to 1970-71, when James Wheeler’s side scored just 11 times in their first 15 games.

General Blog, Series: Bantams Cult Heroes

Bantams Cult Heroes: #1 – Edinho

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Growing up in Bradford in the mid-1990s was always a bit of a challenge in a footballing sense.

With Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Leeds all enjoying slices of success in and around the 90s, supporting Bradford City always made you stand out a little bit in the primary school playground.

While most kids my age had Cantona, Beckham, Fowler and Bergkamp to idolise, the seven-year-old me didn’t have any superstars to worship. But in my eyes, that all changed in February 1997 when the Bantams signed the original boy from Brazil.

I do remember being told by my dad that I should grow up cherishing the fact that a player of Chris Waddle’s stature was playing for City in 1996. At the time, I didn’t realise just how great a player Waddle was – and as such, I didn’t really care about him at all. Because I had Edinho, and I just didn’t want to entertain the thought of having anyone else as my first-ever Bradford City favourite.

From the minute he arrived in the final months of the 96/97 campaign, I was starstruck. How had Bradford City, an unfashionable Division One club, managed to sign a Brazilian? He wasn’t Ronaldo or Romario of course, but that didn’t really matter. I was captivated: and I know other City fans of a certain age were too.

He did things no other Bradford City player seemed capable of doing at that time in terms of his skill and the typical flair and flamboyance you came to expect from Brazilian footballers in the 1990s. One such example is pointed out by Dean Fearnley:

There were shortcomings; of course there were – why else would he be playing for City otherwise? But as I grew up falling more and more in love with Bradford City, I saw a player who embraced his time in England, and became more than just my favourite player. In fact, Ian Hemmens’ memory of Edinho is perfect:

Edinho scored three goals in his first five games for City, and I still remember the first at Valley Parade, the consolation in a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City. It was a stunning, stunning goal – as Paul recalls:

My dad had been to Oldham away the week previous and seen him score the winner in a 2-1 win and, on the way out of that Man City game, admitted he thought that I would love Edinho and would be telling my mates about him on the playground on Monday morning. He wasn’t wrong.

I have autograph books aplenty with Edinho’s signature. Programmes where the little pen pictures have only one signature: Edinho’s. I didn’t want anyone else’s. The way he dealt with City fans on limited English still makes me think back and smile about how he did what so many players have failed to do: embrace Bradford City. As we all know, if you take to Bradford City and show us some love, we will give plenty back in return. That was the case with Edinho.

In 1997/98, City comfortably consolidated themselves as a mid-table side in Division One – with Edinho the season’s top-scorer with ten. I can remember most of them like they were yesterday, as well as the trademark thumbs up he would give to the crowd every time he netted in claret and amber.

As City built towards a side that would eventually secure promotion to the Premier League, Edinho’s impact and appearances began to peter out. His last appearance – one of only three he would make in 1998/99 – came from the bench against Bury in October. Soon after, he was loaned to Dunfermline and wouldn’t return.

Yet you suspect most City fans of a certain age will never forget the boy from Brazil and the impact he had on us all growing up.

Your memories of Edinho

https://twitter.com/Ackroyd_Gareth/status/1053029455977955334

City in Competition, General Blog

Why City’s history proves that a poor start doesn’t always result in a poor season

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Nobody likes a slow start to a league season. The summer suddenly feels like lightyears ago, with all the pre-season hype and anticipation quickly fizzling away: and it’s easy to put this season firmly in that bracket so far.

We are already a quarter of the way through the 46-game league campaign (give or take a few minutes!), and we’re constantly told that 10 games in is when we should properly judge our team’s fortunes for the season ahead.

Or should we?

This hasn’t been the best start for the Bantams – but make no mistake about it, it’s by no means been the worst. Most City fans would take this start over the way we began the 1926-27 campaign, for example: when we won one league game (against South Shields) between the start of the season and mid-December!

But the Bantams’ history proves that while a slow start is by no means uncommon, it’s not always indicative of a season of struggle. Here’s how our start this year stacks up against some of those examples..

1904-05
Record after 11 games: 3 wins, 2 draws, 6 losses
Final position: 8th in Division Two

Three points for a win wasn’t introduced until 1981, but under the current system, City’s second-ever league campaign would have yielded a start of 11 points from 11 games, just one more than where this year’s group sit.

Robert Campbell’s men would win nine of their final 23 games though to end the year comfortably mid-table, finishing 8th on the 18-team Division Two table.

1927-28
Record after 11 games: 3 wins, 5 draws, 3 losses
Final position: 6th in Division Three (North)

Again taking today’s rules into consideration, City would have picked up 14 points from their first 11 games in 1927-28, the year after being relegated from Division Two.

Cross-city rivals Bradford Park Avenue were champions that season,  but City still ended up finishing a respectable sixth.

1963-64
Record after 11 games: 2 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses
Final position: 5th in Division Four

Bob Brocklebank’s class of 1963-64 (again, adopting the current three points for a win system) had an identical 10 points from 11 games following the opening quarter of that campaign, and looked to be in some trouble at the bottom end of Division Four.

They turned it around though, ending up fifth following two five-match winning runs at different points in the season guiding them to the right end of the division for a rare occasion during those lean years in the club’s history which were the 1960s.

1983-84
Record after 11 games: 1 win, 3 draws, 7 losses
Final position: 7th in Division Three

A City squad featuring the likes of Peter Jackson, Stuart McCall and Bobby Campbell won just ONCE in the club’s opening 15 games of 1983-84, a remarkable start.

Inevitably, it sparked fears over a return to Division Four, but November provided a turnaround in fortunes which resulted in a romp up the table. Trevor Cherry’s side won 10 games in a row between November 26th and February 3rd, which eventually led the Bantams to a seventh-placed finish. The following season, they were champions.

1998-99
Record after 11 games: 4 wins, 2 draws, 5 losses
Final position: 2nd in Division One (promoted)

Though Paul Jewell’s legendary promotion-winning side had a respectable enough 14 points at this stage 20 years ago, they only did so courtesy of a three-match winning run in games 9, 10 and 11.

Prior to that, City won once in their opening seven games, the new-look side assembled by Jewell clearly taking time to gel. How it clicked thereafter though – and if there is absolutely any proof that a poor start doesn’t always mean a poor season, it’s the 1998-99 campaign that sums it up.

2007-08
Record after 11 games: 3 wins, 1 draw, 7 losses
Final position: 10th in League Two

Times were tough in the opening two months of Stuart McCall’s first reign as Bradford City manager. The Bantams found it tough to adjust to life in League Two having been relegated the following season, producing an identical record to this season’s squad after 11 games.

However, McCall stabilised things thereafter, and City eventually ended up finishing 10th in their first season back in the bottom tier of English football.

2015-16
Record after 11 games: 3 wins, 4 draws, 4 losses
Final position: 5th in League One (lost play-off semi-final)

Even the most recent years of our history have a fine example of a poor start eventually resulting in a commendable league finish – and in the case of Phil Parkinson’s squad of 2015-16, it was much more than respectable.

Prior to the 3-1 win against Rochdale in the 11th game of the season, City had scored only nine goals in their first ten games, and were seriously struggling to pick up wins. However, that Rochdale win was the start of a nine-match unbeaten run which provided the platform for City to eventually make the play-offs by the season’s end.

Attendance Stats/Record, City in Competition, General Blog

A look at City’s lowest-ever crowds after setting a new record v Man City U21s

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For only the third time in the club’s ENTIRE 115-year history, Bradford City attracted a crowd smaller than 1,000 for a professional, competitive fixture against Manchester City’s under-21s in September 2019.

It’s a stat which underlines the popularity – or lack of – of the Football League Trophy since Premier League Academy sides were allowed into the competition more than anything – not least because all three crowds came in the revamped competition.

The 868 which watched City beat Pep Guardiola’s under-21s side on penalties fractionally beats the 902 and 931 which attended games  against Everton’s under-21s and Rotherham respectively in the same competition. So with a new record officially set, here’s a closer look at City’s lowest-ever crowds – in both league and all competitions.

City’s lowest-ever crowds: all competitions

The attitude towards cup competitions have shifted almost 180 degrees over the last generation or so. When City were struggling in the 1960s and 70s at the foot of Division Four, they would attract small league crowds but much bigger crowds for cup games. Evidence of that is in 1972-73, when a low of 1,628 watched City play Newport – before a couple of months later, 14,205 attended an FA Cup tie at home to Blackpool.

These days, however, it’s cup competition which attracts the lowest crowds – and almost all of City’s all-time lowest gates come in non-league competition.

868 v Man City U21s (24 September 2019, FL Trophy)
902 v Everton U21s (25 September 2018, FL Trophy)
931 v Rotherham (7 November 2017, FL Trophy)
1,015 v Oldham (9 October 2018, FL Trophy)
1,036 v Oldham (5 December 2017, FL Trophy)
1,249 v Hereford United (15 May 1981, Division Four)
1,287 v Carlisle United (17 October 1995, FL Trophy)
1,353 v Wrexham (12 May 1966, Division Four)
1,360 v Cambridge United (7 December 2016, FL Trophy)

City’s lowest-ever crowds: league

Mercifully, the story is slightly cheerier in league competition: but only slightly. City have never attracted a crowd of fewer than 1,000 for a regular-season league game, but they only scraped over that on a few occasions during the nadir of their time at the foot of the Football League.

In fact, some of City’s smallest crowds came in the seasons when they finished 23rd in Division Four, and were forced to apply for re-election to the league. That happened twice; in 1962-63 and 65-66.

1,249 v Hereford United (15 May 1981, Division Four)
1,353 v Wrexham (12 May 1966, Division Four)
1,628 v Newport County (11 October 1972, Division Four)
1,676 v Newport County (3 May 1976, Division Four)
1,697 v Northampton Town (23 April 1975, Division Four)