Why the Future is Bright for Bradford City 

Written by Lee Pasquariello

Just a few days ago, my writing was focused on frustrating performances. But today, two years on from Graham Alexander’s appointment, the frustration has been replaced by an undeniable optimism. The “Alexander Effect” is real, and its proof that a club like ours can turn its fortunes around.  

In this blog, I’ll talk about the state of the club at the time of his appointment and the rest of that first season, the promotion season, as well as how good of a job he’s done at this club overall. I’ll also cover the brilliant recruitment in the summer of 2024, to show why the “Alexander effect” is more than just a post-promotion buzz at Valley Parade.   

From instability to potential signs of success 

The start of the 2023/24 season was not a good time to be a Bradford City supporter. The club was still suffering from the aftermath of that dismal performance in the playoffs against Carlisle the last season. It was a horrendous afternoon, and a devastating result especially after there were so many performances that brought great hope to us fans, under previous manager Mark Hughes.  

After a run of poor performances, combined with how awful that defeat last season was, meant that Hughes was sacked in early October after losing to a terrible Tranmere side. The next stage in terms of finding a new manager was nothing short of a joke from the club. City player Kevin McDonald (who only signed that season by the way) was put in temporary charge, then handed over to previously sacked manager Mark Trueman, ex Lincoln manager Danny Cowley turned us down due to family reasons, and it took four weeks to finally find a manager.  

This delay did nothing to help fan frustration. In fact, it built up and for the first proper time the frustration with the ownership was very real, myself included in that. This carried on until two years ago today, November 6, 2023, that Graham Alexander was appointed on a 3-year contract.  

I remember 2 years ago when Alexander was appointed it was met with generally negative views. Combined with angry comments directed at CEO Ryan Sparks and recruitment manager Stephen Gent. “Sacked within 12th months.  F*** off Sparks” “First job he needs to do is get Gent out of the club and bring his own man in” “Gent’s recruitment process is a mess and will get him the boot in 18 months’ time.” were some comments in particular I saw online at the time, and to be honest it was hard to disagree. The recruitment in the summer of 2023 after that playoff defeat was dreadful, and some crazy decisions by Hughes, Sparks and Gent were made. Most particularly bringing in loans from Premier League teams who hadn’t made a single EFL appearance. 

As for Sparks, at the time of Alexander’s appointment, he’d already been through four managers in the 3 years he’d been in the job, and that is not great reading for any manager. The start of Alexander’s time at City was inconsistent to say the least. We lost his first two games, the first one being a 2-1 defeat to Barrow, in which we conceded inside the 1st minute, and then followed a shambolic performance against Notts County, where we were 4-0 down by half time. It was at this point where chants to Rupp and Sparks to sell the club began, along with rumours of protests.  

This didn’t end up happening though because after the Notts County game the team went on to not lose in their next 6 games, with wins against Forest Green, Gillingham and Doncaster being the standout. Suddenly the club were moving up the league and were within touching distance of the League Two playoffs. However, like I said before, the results were inconsistent. We’d go through winning runs, then losing runs, and this carried on all throughout January and February.  

The turning point 

Fast forward to March, which I think was the ultimate turning point for the club. City lost four in a row, against Forest Green, Mansfield, Notts County (again), and Harrogate. Once again, the ownership was called into question, and now there was real talk of protests happening, and it did happen during the Harrogate game, and the week after against Tranmere.  

The main intention of this protest was to find out from the owner himself and the CEO, what exactly was the plan for the club going forward. We were achieving nothing as a club, the players we had were terrible to watch, we’d been through managers every season, so the fans demanded answers as to what was going on. This period was a genuinely low one for all fans, and for the first time ever during all my time going I was genuinely thinking to myself should I just not attend for the rest of the season.  

The protests seemed to work though, as Rupp put out a letter on the club’s social media. What happened after was a turning point, as he promised a commitment to more investment and a long-term strategy for the club. It led to the appointment of David Sharpe as head of football a few weeks later, which introduced fresh leadership and a definitive new direction for the footballing side of the club.  

After the protests and the summer of 2024 

The protests were an instant mood lifter for everyone concerned with Bradford City, and it transferred that way on the pitch as well. We went unbeaten after the Harrogate win until the end of the season, picking up 6 wins and 1 draw. Although we missed out on the playoffs by one point, there were many signs that the next season could be a good one and that we could take the momentum into the new season. 

The summer of 2024 saw a noticeable difference in recruitment. Underperforming players were finally released, and the goal was clear. Bradford City were out to get promoted, and nothing else would be good enough. But what do you need to do that? Winners. Players that have been promoted many times in their careers.  

That is exactly what we brought in. Most notably Antoni Sarcevic, who was promoted a massive 7 times before his time with City, as well as quality defensive options like Aden Baldwin, who was also a recent promotion winner. There were also other players brought in that hadn’t done much in their careers as of the start of last season, such as Jack Shepherd, who in my opinion made a massive contribution in City’s defence.