Written by Lee Pasquariello

When League One football returned to Valley Parade in August 2025, no one was expecting the season would pan out the way it has. We would have happily taken a comfortable, stable finish. But instead we thrived, finished in the playoffs and came very close to back to back promotions. 

Yes, the defeat last week to Bolton Wanderers in the second leg means our season is over, but overall this season has been an outstanding one for a newly promoted club. 

With the 2025/26 released and retained list now published, the club has drawn a line on this season and it is time to strengthen for another push next season. 

The Best moments of the season

This season we were treated to an incredible campaign with a lot of unforgettable moments. Luton in our second home game (who were only a Premier League side 2 years prior), doing the double over this year’s playoff finalists Stockport, playing Newcastle in the League Cup to name a few. 

My personal highlight of this season was demolishing Huddersfield and Cardiff within the space of a week back in September. That run actually saw us finish the month at the top of the league, which shows you exactly what this club is capable of at its best. 

The Retained Core- Foundations for 2026/27

The reason why optimism remains high right now with everyone connected with Bradford City is the quality of the players still under contract for next season. 

When the news broke regarding the retained list the other day, it was announced that player of the season Antoni Sarcevic’s additional year clause was activated, it definitely went down well with everyone connected with Bradford City. His creative spark this season was a massive reason City actually finished in the playoffs, and also promoted to League One in the first place! 

There’s also Bobby Pointon under contract for next season as well, who continues to get better and better. He’s had a very impressive season in his first ever attempt at this level, so keeping him as a massive player in the system will be Alexander’s main objective. 

Finally there’s the attack. With players like Kayden Jackson under contract, it gives us plenty of pace and energy. Even though he was out injured for quite a long spell, I felt when he came back to fitness he looked great. If we can keep him fit, as well as add some quality this summer to freshen up the attack, then our attacking options are going to be significantly improved and much stronger next season. 

The Released List- Ruthless but the Right decisions 

To take the next step in our journey, sentiments have to be put aside. When the released list came out we confirmed seven departures, and it was hard to argue with any of them. Freeing up the wage bill by letting the likes of Lee Evans walk away, as well as promotion winners such as Ciaran Kelly, Neill Byrne, and Clarke Oduor allows us to recruit the quality needed for us to have another strong season. 

Talks are also ongoing with Nick Powell regarding an additional year, who could also be a strong squad player should we keep him fit. 

A legend departs- Goodbye Andy Cook

While the rest of the release list makes total sense, seeing Andy Cook’s name on the list is quite a sad one. His loan move in January to League 2 Grimsby Town suggested that his time at City was nearly over, but now that it’s official it closes a legendary chapter of modern Bradford City history. 

Cook arrived in January 2021 which was the darkest time I can ever remember following Bradford City. The club was genuinely staring the National League in the face, and his early goals single handedly kept us up. 

The 2022/2023 season with Cook was pure magic. terrorising defenders, and literally carried the club on his back, dragging us all the way to the playoffs, with an incredible 31 goals to his name. 

It was some way to finish his City career as well. After a horrible 2025 for him after damaging his knee in a game against Barrow, he returned against Grimsby in the early rounds of the EFL trophy and scored twice. What followed after this was even better, as he scored a fantastic volley against Newcastle a couple of weeks later, who are the team he supports and the place where he’s from. 

He leaves City as our fourth all time scorer with 88 goals. It’s a shame he wasn’t able to push further up in the top 4, and it’s a shame his time ended so suddenly, but it was a true pleasure to see him representing our club, and his contributions won’t be forgotten. 

Sorting the Away Form

If there’s one obvious reason why we fell short instead of finishing further up the table towards the automatic promotion places like our early season form suggested, it’s because of our dreadful record on the road. 

Valley Parade has become a fortress over the last 2 and a half years under Graham Alexander. Our home form was outstanding, even matching some of the best teams in Europe during this time as well, yet for most of the second half of the season it felt like whenever we played away we’d completely fall apart. 

We picked up a brilliant 50 points at home, but managed only 27 away from home all season, losing ten times away in the league. As Alexander even admitted himself, the team looked wide open away from home, allowing opposition teams far too much space, and allowing midfields to frequently overrun us. 

If we are going to have a strong season again next season, the away form has to improve drastically. To do this, recruitment this summer has to target resilient, strong players who are also able to grind out results and wins away from home. 

The summer Begins

Overall, we fell short against Bolton, but this season continued the pride, the faith and the identity to our club. With a strong core to the team retained, a summer of recruitment on the horizon, and a beautiful new home kit due to drop this Friday the momentum is entirely with us. If we can sort out the away form, and carry it on at home then next season will surely be another exciting one.