By Jason McKeown
There’s no Bradford City game this weekend, but we’ve got a little game for you.
We’re recording our next WOAP Podcast in the next few days, and during our planning we have been debating the following question – how does the current Bradford City squad compare to the 2012/13 promotion-winning side?
We’ve got our own thoughts, which we’ll record and share. But we’d love your views too. So we’ve got two ways for you to get involved.
1) Pick your 22-man squad
We’ve put together a survey of the 2012/13 and 2022/23 squads. Simply follow the questions to pick yourself two goalkeepers, two right backs, two left backs, eight midfielders and four strikers.
2) Pick your 2013/2023 XI
We want you to pretend to be Phil Parkinson. It’s the 2012/13 end of season run in, and you can pop into the future and borrow as many members of the 2022/23 squad as you like to boost your XI.
What team are you picking?
Please use the reader comments to give us your 2013/2023 XI. And reasons for the hardest selections.
Categories: Opinion
widthofapost.com 
Lewis
Darby
Davies
Stubbs
Meredith
G Jones
Clayton
Walker
Reid
Cook
Wells
Great idea Jason.
Wouldn’t a third option to ‘be’ Mark Hughes and pick from that squad for this season?
Anyway, I’ll have a look over the weekend
Cheers
Lewis
Darby
Mezza
McArdle
McHugh (I’ve cheated there as you had him at LB; if I can’t have him, I’ll take Critchelow)
Jones
Doyle
Reid
Thompson
Hanson
Wells
Cook isn’t as good as Wells and plays closer to his role than he does to Hanson’s role. Hanson did so much more for the team. I feel guilty replacing Duke, by Lewis is excellent. I am not sure we’ve got anywhere near Jones and Doyle since and only possibly a couple of times before
Parky would go 442
Lewis
Darby Stubbs Davies Meredith
Banks Smallwood Jones Reid
Cook Wells
I would go 4231 Banks and Wells playing off Cook
Lewis
Halliday Stubbs Davies Meredith
Jones Smallwood
Banks Walker Wells
Cook
There are so many players I feel harsh leaving out, Darby, McArdle, Critchlow, Clayton, Hanson
Lewis
Darby
Meredith
Stubbs
McCardle
Jones
Clayton
Walker
Thompson
Cook
Wells
Great idea guys. Sadly for us in 2023 at least, I have submitted my squad and about 75% of them were the 2013 team. They were better and went onto better things (at the time of writing). I had 5/6 of the current crop in there. The goalkeeper is better. Lewis, and Cook is in as back up to Hanson and Wells, but most of the current crop are squad back up players, Critchlow, Halliday, Banks types are in but not as first 11. The only 1 from today that is in my first 11 is Lewis.
Lewis,
Darby, McArdle Davies Meredith
Thompson Clayton Jones Reid
Hanson Wells
Straight Parky tactics & perhaps surprisingly no Cook for me. Naki absolutely thrived on the work Big Jim did for him & l honestly couldn’t see Cook being anywhere near as effective in that role. Of course, like Cook, Naki was a goal machine for us but importantly there were also reliable contributions coming from other areas. Not many of our current squad make my line up & whilst our 2012/13’ side also struggled to make the playoffs, they somehow had the collective determination to rise to the occasion & find that vital extra something to see the big games through. It’s in the latter department where we have been so desperately lacking all season.
Lewis
Darby
Meredith
Davies
McArdle
Jones
Smallwood
Walker
Reid
Wells
Cook
It’s 4-4-2 but have Walker tucked in from the right. Solid back 4 that can also play a league above. Big man, little man up front scoring plenty
Cook Wells
Walker
Mezza Doyle Clayton Gilead
Stubbs Romany Davies
Lewis
Subs: Hanson, Mcardle, Reid, Banks, Jones, East, Chapman
PP would be 442 (can I cheat and have Wright)
Lewis
Darby Stubbs Davies Meredith
Thompson Smallwood Doyle Banks/Wright
Wells Cook
Lewis
Darby Stubbs Davies mezza
Doyle Smallwood (c)
Banks Walker Wells
Cook
My 2013/2023 starting 11 would be:
Lewis
Darby, McArdle, Davies, Meredith
Thompson, Jones, Doyle, Reid
Hanson, Wells
For me, the 2012/2013 team is better than our current team with the exception of Harry Lewis in goal. Yes, Andy Cook is having a fine season, however Hanson and Wells linked up so well.
I’d also like to make the point that this ‘homework’ feels like naming the player of the season before the season has finished. At this moment in time, we don’t know if our current squad is going to achieve promotion. Even if it does, for me, the majority of the 2012/2013 history makers squad is better than our current squad.
Richard Wardell is spot on. Right now only Harry Lewis makes it into the team. Hopefully as the sample size for the current crop increases we’ll all start to feel more warmly towards them but as things stand they’re being judged against what is the gold standard for BCFC fourth tier teams.
I suspect that man for man the technical ability of the 12/13 team is very similar to the 22/23 team but the character of the history makers ensured they produced when it really mattered and gave us all some amazing moments, including things most of us – if we’re brutally honest – thought we’d never see a City team deliver.
Given time this team may yet grasp the nettle, win promotion and start a march back up the league. Fingers crossed…
Lewis
Darby, McArdle, Davies, Meredith
Thompson, Jones, Doyle, Reid
Cook, Wells
This is definitely harder than it seems given the difference in the overall style of football these squads were asked to play:
Lewis
Darby McArdle Davies Mezza
Banks Jones Smallwood Reid
Wells Cook
Lewis
Meredith
Davies
Critchlow
Darby
Jones
Doyle
Reid
Thompson
Wells
Cook
its opinions but i can’t understand how so many are picking Stubbs with so few games over McCardle in his prime who achieved so much for us?? He also didnt always have Davies alongside him due to the latters injuries and had some players not has good or reliable has Platt even, who has similar attributes to Rory.
As for the other positions lot depends on the system been used tbf. If its a parky system he wouldnt touch any of the current wide midfied players who wouldn’t work back.
I think if the question was based on sentimentality who would I pick based on who was I most fond of then I’d agree with all the posts above that only Lewis makes the team and Hanson marginally keeps Cook out. Imagine that might change if he fires us to promotion.
Knowing how ruthless PP was (look at how he discarded the likes of Jones) the question is who would he pick for the run in.
Davies was a player playing well below his actual ability (and would have scored a couple of vital goals from corners!) I also remember the difference he made in the play off second leg dealing with Zola.
In 2012/13 we conceded 52 goals this year with 9 games left we’ve conceded 32 – less than 1 a game and since Stubbs came in we have improved a lot further. If you look at his similar influence at Exeter I think that is why people have opted for him.
Sentimentally I could never leave Jones out but I do believe based on ability, the matches I watch and stats I’ve seen this season Smallwood, despite all the criticism, has been superb for us.
I also think Doyle was technically the best central midfielder we had so would complement Smallwood in a way Clayton has since coming in.
In PPs 442 for me it was Doyle>Clayton, Smallwood>Jones.