Part four – the manager

By Jason McKeown

This October I will be able to say that I’ve been writing about Bradford City for 20 years. Fresh out of University in the Autumn of 2003 – clutching a mediocre degree and a limited CV – I reached out about writing for boyfrombrazil.co.uk (BfB), to get some badly needed writing experience.

My first ever article was about a Bradford City manager. And if I was to go back through the thousands and thousands of words I’ve since typed about the Bantams, I reckon ‘Bradford City managers’ would be the most regular topic.

Football managers dictate so much of the conversation and debate around our football club. They fuel the message board and social media debates. They’re the talk of the car journey home, the post-match pint, the Monday morning coffee machine gathering. From team selection, tactics, substitutions, signings – the man in the dugout is so often the focal point.

That first BfB article I wrote was about Nicky Law, the pressure he was under at the time, and how he needed to seriously improve or he would have to go. It’s not too often since that I’ve joined the pitchfork charge for a change in the dugout. My preference is always stability. Giving someone time to build something, rather than advocating for the issuing of a P45. And sometimes I’ve been proven right to stick up for a manager – I’d argue, but you my disagree, that supporting Colin Todd, Phil Parkinson and Stuart McCall was a good thing, especially when looking at what followed – but usually the debate is lost. There’s always one home defeat too many, leading to loud calls for a change the club cannot ignore.

In nearly 20 years of writing about this wonderful club, I’ve talked about 18 different managerial tenures. Some good, some unlucky, some not great – some downright awful. The details differ, but the basic narrative stays the same. From the moment a new manager is appointed, the clock is ticking on their employment status. Some last a while in the Valley Parade hot seat, most don’t.

Which brings us onto Mark Hughes, the latest manager to try and bring success to this club. He’s about to enter his third season as a Bradford City manager, which is some achievement given the eight managerial appointments before him failed to last a full 12 months. However, the contract he signed in February 2022 expires next summer. Which makes this a huge year for the 59-year-old.

Hughes has brought a lot to this football club over the past 18 months. But so far, the Bantams are still stuck in the same league. They came close last season of course, but the failure to defeat Carlisle United in the play offs ramps up the pressure on Hughes going into this campaign.

Stability is still an important concept. But if stability means still languishing in League Two come the end of this season, it’s not going to count for much. I don’t think it’s an unfair assumption to make that Hughes has to deliver promotion this season, in order to earn a new deal. If, in 12 months’ time, we’re previewing a sixth straight season in League Two, the chances are we’ll be talking about a different Bradford City manager.

For Hughes, the 46 league games ahead are massive for his career. It’s well documented that he was out of the game for three-and-a-half years before City gave him this opportunity. A stalwart top flight manager (only five people have managed more Premier League games), the game moved on and left Hughes behind. He had to start setting his sights lower by applying for other jobs, but even Championship and League One clubs weren’t willing to take a punt. Bradford City represented Hughes’ last chance to still be a manager in the 92. And that’s probably still the case.

He probably saw this job as a stepping stone to reviving his career, and that’s fair enough. But coming here was also an all or nothing moment for Hughes’ reputation. Fail in League Two, and where could he go next?

Rumours of Birmingham City interest last May would suggest the way Hughes has improved the Bantams hasn’t gone unnoticed outside of BD8. But still, it’s hard to imagine Hughes really being able to make a leap back up the divisions without a first ever promotion on his managerial CV.

Or at least being very close to one.

The problem with any manager in the final year of their contract is that the club in question are vulnerable to lose him. For obvious reasons City don’t want to negotiate an extended deal with Hughes right now, but what happens if the Bantams come flying out of the blocks and make a real strong go of automatic promotion? 15 out of the 24 Championship clubs changed their manager at least once last season. If City are doing well, Hughes’ profile means he will be inevitably linked with other clubs that have a managerial vacancy.

It’s certainly something I’ve written about before. In the middle of the 2008/09 season, City were faring strongly under Stuart McCall. His contract was due to expire that summer, so a new deal was agreed and signed that February. Within weeks, City’s form tailed off and McCall vowed to quit if City missed out on the play offs. They did fail but an agreement was made for McCall to stay. Though he left his job less than a year after.

Equally in 2012/13, City were doing incredible things and Parkinson was coming to the end of his contract. No firm talks took place, and City went into their League Two play off final clash against Northampton with the very real possibility it could have been Parkinson’s last game. Despite the huge boost to his profile from taking the Bantams to Wembley twice in a season, Parkinson did agree to stay at City that summer.

If all goes as hoped and planned, there might need to be a conversation about Hughes’ future well before the end of this season. Otherwise, City could head towards the crucial business end of the campaign with some level of uncertainty hovering over them.

I guess it would be a nice problem to have.

Unfortunately, history suggests it’s more likely Hughes will ultimately leave as City manager for different reasons. There’s a reason why I’ve had to write about 18 managerial appointments in 20 years. In that time, only five managers have lasted longer than the 68 games that Hughes has so far being in charge for. Hughes has confounded the odds up to now, but is no longer enjoying the same popularity levels of a year ago.

The manner of the play off semi final defeat at Carlisle – and especially THAT substitution – has definitely damaged Hughes’ reputation with fans. This is a supposed elite manager, operating well below his level. In such high pressure, high stake moments, we’d all have liked for Hughes’ managerial ability to have counted for more than it did.

It would be wrong to solely blame the play off loss on Hughes – pretty much every player froze at Brunton Park – but he clearly has to shoulder a large part of the responsibility. A cautious team selection, reserved tactics and ineffective changes contributed to the painful loss. There was naturally one person who was dominating the supporters’ Carlisle post match inquest.

Some will say it was no surprise what Hughes did and didn’t do in Cumbria. After all, we had a season of conservative football and performances that often flattered to deceive. Hughes was largely popular, but the feeling he could have done more with the resources available was difficult to shake off. There were grumbles that wouldn’t go away. No one has called for Hughes’ head post-Carlisle, but there’s some belief in need of restoring after the way last season ended.

The problem is that those grumbles aren’t forgotten about. They’re stored up. Ready to be unloaded. At some point, this team will have a bad day at Valley Parade. A timid 0-0 draw, a poor home loss – even an unconvincing victory. And when it happens, patience won’t be at the same level as before. We are past Hughes’ honeymoon period, and the chances of criticism growing in prominence and volume are extremely high. For evidence, see every other manager in Bradford City modern history.

If City fail to mount a promotion push this season, it’s clearly going to be curtains for Hughes. And in such a scenario, the debate won’t be around whether Hughes gets a new deal, but if he should get to see out the contract he has.

You hope we don’t have to spend the season writing about this uncertainty. Stability is still a really good quality, and there are clear signs of progression that has come from sticking with a manager for longer than a year. Under Hughes, we have the foundations of a squad that has a clearer identity and longevity. We’ve improved our league position for the first time in seven years. Attendances and interest in the club are up – and a large part of the reason for this is the Hughes factor.

As fans, we’ve got a closer connection with our club because of what Hughes has done to bring us together. Listen and watch him speak, and you can’t fail but want to see him succeed with us. He is humble, he is inspiring. The fact he wants to be at Bradford City – and seems to be enjoying it – is something that should make us all feel good about ourselves. Because with all the dismal times that came before Hughes’ shock arrival 18 months ago, it no longer felt like this was a special football club.

We have to hope that, this time next year, Hughes is still at the helm. Because that would almost certainly mean he has succeeded – and we have continued to progress as a club. But the margin for error has clearly tightened. The consequences of success and failure have become that much bigger. It is becoming all or nothing.

20 years ago, my first ever Bradford City article argued that it was time for Nicky Law to prove himself. That same sentiment now applies for Mark Hughes.  

Categories: Season Preview

Tags: BCAFC