Feather-Light Bantams' Weak Punch

BRADFORD City, always remembered for the fire that tragically claimed the lives of 56 people on May 11 1985, on a day that the Bantams were supposed to be celebrating promotion from Division Three as champions.

But, that is not the focus here.

Bradford play their home games at Valley Parade, their home since they were founded in 1903 and a crowd of 11,000 watched the first game against Gainsborough Trinity on September 5 1903.

Since beating Newcastle United in the FA Cup final replay 1-0 at Old Trafford courtesy of a Jimmy Speirs goal in 1911, the club has failed to win a major honour. The highlights of a desolate existence are two promotions to the English top flight, first in 1908 where City had a 14-year spell, and then in 1999 after a 77-year exile.

Sadly, it was a short stay of just two years for Bradford, who finished 17th in their first season, at the expense of Wimbledon, having beaten Liverpool at Valley Parade in front of more than 18,000 people thanks to a David Wetherall goal just twelve minutes into the tie. The Dons were beaten 2-0 by Southampton at the Dell to compound them to relegation from the top flight.

However, the following season would prove to be a torrid term for the Bantams who finished bottom of the pile with 26 points, their misery made even worse by a 6-1 thrashing in the Yorkshire derby at Elland Road on the penultimate game of the season. An Ashley Ward goal was the only saving grace for already relegated City as Mark Viduka, Ian Harte, Eirik Bakke, Alan Smith, Harry Kewell and Lee Bowyer all netted for United.

Bradford continued to slip down the Division One table through the seasons, and in 2004 they were relegated to the third tier of English football, 15 points from safety, along with Walsall and Wimbledon, who finished bottom with 29 points.

The following season, City finished six points outside the Play-Offs in a mediocre season in the newly reformed Coca-Cola League One, before a second consecutive 11th place finish saw no progress for the Bantams.

But, the next campaign would bring about one of the darkest hours in the club's history. A 3-0 defeat at already relegated Chesterfield on the penultimate game of the season condemned Bradford to the fourth tier of English football, finishing four points from safety after a 2-2 draw with Milwall on the final day of the season.

David Wetherall, who took the reigns after Colin Todd was sacked, was too shown the door at Valley Parade before fans favourite Stuart McCall was given the managerial job to try and lift the club out of its slump.

But two successive mid-table finishes saw the dismissal of McCall and the introduction of Peter Taylor midway through McCall's third season at the helm.

The Bantams are now hovering precariously above the relegation zone, with fear of dropping out of the football league. That would be a great shame for one of England's, perhaps not historic clubs, but certainly a club with such character.

It is always a sorry state of affairs to see a club topple like Bradford have done. They are not the first, and they will not be the last. But hopefully, like MK Dons and rivals Leeds, they will find their feet once more and push their way up through the football league - under the charge of interim manager Peter Jackson, or anyone else for that matter.