By Jason McKeown

Just lovely this. Relaxing. Job done. No dramas. No real fuss. Indeed, perhaps the biggest takeaway from such a routine Bradford City victory was just how rare it is to experience days as calm and straightforward as this.

The Bantams won and won easily. Victory earned through a goal in each half from Andy Cook – who else? City grasped control pretty much from the start and never let it go. They bettered their hosts Tranmere in every department.

It wasn’t a performance to set pulses racing outside of a BD postcode. The weekend’s League Two headlines will be dominated by other stories. But in its own way, this was earth-shattering. Hold the back page – Bradford City are actually looking competent. Winning a winnable game, in a manner that looked ordinary and routine.

Because little has been ordinary and routine about the Bantams over the past year – or the years before it for that matter. Between City’s last visit to Prenton Park almost exactly a year ago, and this, they’d endured 12 months of noise, drama and very real brushes with self-implosion. Some of the darkest moments of modern times, leaving you fearing City were in an irretrievable nosedive. Nothing has been simple, so it’s nice to experience simplicity.

It’s too early for any wild proclamations of world dominance, but this return to Birkenhead represented a pretty useful barometer of the club’s progress since Mark Hughes stood in front of this very same Tranmere away end, getting booed by City supporters and the sack within 24 hours. At full time here, Hughes’ replacement, Graham Alexander, deservedly basked in the cheers of a joyous Bantams away following. This was his 49th match in charge of City, and his 24th victory. His win ratio of 49% is the fourth highest managerial win record in the club’s history, excluding City bosses who were in charge for fewer than 20 games.

Alexander is doing just fine. He does not attract widespread affection from a fanbase exhausted by 10 managerial appointments in the eight years that have followed Phil Parkinson’s departure, but his unassuming, down-to-earth character suits a club that badly needs stability over personality. This was a victory very much in the tone the City manager sets. It wasn’t edge of your seat stuff, but it was quietly purposeful. The team had a plan and focused solely on executing it.

It was successfully executed in spite of yet more defensive selection issues that saw Neill Byrne have to be replaced just before kick off due to illness. Right back Brad Halliday was summoned to take centre back Byrne’s place – a decision that might leave the overlooked Paul Huntington questioning his career choices (though he had been ill himself earlier in the week). It looked patch up but it worked well. Halliday took the right-sided defender role, with Cheick Diabete playing as the spare man in the centre. It led to Diabete’s best performance since his Man of the Match display against AFC Wimbledon.

City looked so comfortable, the 3-5-2 overrunning Tranmere’s 3-4-3 system thanks to the extra body in the middle of the park. Eyebrows were raised that Clarke Oduor retained his starting place alongside Richie Smallwood and Jamie Walker in the centre, but without being spectacular, Oduor provided a structured solidity that the rampaging Bobby Pointon arguably doesn’t. It was absolutely the right call from a manager who rightly or wrongly doesn’t bow down to popular opinion. Playing Pointon every week is an easy way to curry supporter favour, but it’s not necessarily right for the team. They needed a more rigid off the ball shape in this game, and Oduor gave them that.

It was an ideal away set up. City were bold without being gung ho. They got bodies forward but didn’t over-commit. Tranmere won the possession and shot statistics, but City always looked a bigger threat when they went forward. Tyreik Wright and Jay Benn played well and provided width that stretched Tranmere. Calum Kavanagh’s wait for a first goal of the season goes on, but he continued where he left off against in Newport in working hard and making things happen. Signs of a revival are there in the player’s confidence and value to the team.

All it needed was a goal, and one deservedly arrived at the midway point of the first half. Oduor sent over a corner, former City loanee Luke McGee missed the ball, and Tranmere panic ensued. McGee had half cleared the ball out wide, but Wright quickly returned it, launching a low cross to the centre. Smallwood got a vital touch, leaving Diabete in a position to lay the ball off to Andy Cook. He hit a sweet low strike, and the back of the net rustled.

For the third season in a row, Cook netted at Prenton Park, the home of one of his former clubs. In doing so he became the first opposition player to score on this ground in League Two this season. The only other time Tranmere had conceded at home was an own goal scored by their midfielder Chris Merrie.

The goal and City advantage came relatively early but felt pivotal. Tranmere have gained just one point all season after falling behind. And, as Sky Sports’ handy graphic that was shown during the Bantams’ Monday night football triumph over Newport told the world, when City score first they usually win. Since September 2023, City have scored the opening goal on 18 occasions – they’ve won 17 and drawn one of those instances. Make that 18 wins from 19 occasions now. “1-0 to the Bradford Boys” truly is something to gleefully sing of late.

At 1-0 down and with home fans clearly restless, the onus was on Tranmere to break City down – a position that really suited the visitors. There was the occasional half scare, such as a mistake by Smallwood leading to Omari Patrick having a shot at goal saved by Sam Walker. Tom Davis headed wide from a set piece after Diabete was harshly booked. And just on half time, Patrick charged into the box from outwide and Jack Shepherd had to produce a superb tackle to stop him. But City were comfortable for long spells. They pressed, won the ball high up the pitch, stretched the play, and looked a threat.

Before this, Tranmere had only lost two games all season and were unbeaten in Birkenhead. But their toothless attack is holding them back. Rovers are the division’s lowest scorers. Just five in the league, and only two on home soil. They hadn’t won at Prenton Park since 24 August (a 1-0 success over Walsall). With these stats, it really felt like a good time to play Tranmere. Because if you could handpick an opposition side to defend a 1-0 lead against, right now, you’d probably choose goal-shy Rovers.  

Home boss Nigel Adkins would have known this too. At the break, he made a triple sub, taking off one-time infamous City target Kristian Dennis (who had touched the ball just 15 times), and going to 5-3-2. It did help. Tranmere improved. But it would be a stretch to argue City were ever made to feel truly uncomfortable. It was telling that Sam Walker still had little to do, while at the other end McGee had to produce an excellent save to deny Kavanagh.

And this came despite more City defensive injury woes. This time Shepherd had to go off injured. Alexander brought on left back Lewis Richards – Huntington probably feeling even more mystified – and City’s backline was made up of Right Back-Right Back-Central Defender-Left Back-Left Winger. Vulnerability was there to take advantage of, but Tranmere’s huff and puff produced little quality. They just didn’t have any punch to their attack, even against such a weakened, patched up opposition defence. That has got to worry every Tranmere fan.

City finished them off soon after. Smallwood robbed Connor Jennings of possession and sent a long pass up to Kavanagh. The 21-year-old produced a superb through ball that took two defenders out of the game, leaving Cook with a one on one chance with McGee. And, well, Cook wasn’t going to miss was he? 2-0, and great scenes of celebration in a packed out City end directly behind the goal.

At this point we’re running out of superlatives to describe Cook. What more can you say about a player edging closer to top 5 all time Bradford City goalscorer status? 151 starts for Bradford City now (plus 26 as sub), 78 goals. Just incredible stats. He’s now got nine goals for the campaign (it took him to December to reach this amount last season). He’s also moved to the top of the League Two goalscorer charts for this season.

I love him. You love him. Every Bradford City fan with half a brain loves him. It’s always difficult to compare Bradford City players from different eras, given the ups and downs the club has taken on the football pyramid. But for those of us too young to have seen Bobby Campbell, it’s hard to think of a City striker as universally adored as Cook – especially when you factor in his longevity wearing claret and amber.

Bradford City did not make an abundance of clever decisions in the summer of 2023 after the play off semi final loss, but agreeing a three-year deal with Cook certainly looks inspired. Now we just need him to get a Bradford City promotion so he can assume full legend status.

If recovering a one goal deficit looked a stretch for this toothless Tranmere side, two goals was certainly beyond them. And so the game closed in Bradford City comfort, with Cory Evans brought on and – finally – Huntington given an opportunity. Pointon also got a few minutes. Cue the nice scenes at full time as players, managers and fans celebrated together. A unity that was absolutely not present on City’s last visit here a year ago.

This is the sort of win that teams who win promotion habitually carve out. Just calm, measured and businesslike. Turn up, do what needs to be done, go home. The fact this is City’s first away win since the opening day of the season shows it is far from routine. But it’s certainly a positive sign that things are coming together.

They end the day inside the play off spots. Only three points off the leaders Port Vale, in fact. Tougher tests await, with fifth-placed Gillingham due at Valley Parade next Saturday, and second-place Doncaster in town the Saturday after (there’s a Tuesday night trip 21st-placed Cheltenham in-between).

So don’t get the bunting out just yet then. But enjoy the fact that, for now, all is peaceful. Reasons to be happy. Reasons to smile. We’ve had years of chaos and despair that understandably leaves us all wary and guarded. But right now, City are looking decent. Hinting they can unlock those higher gears. Demonstrating substance behind the promotion declarations made in the summer. They had a recent wobble, but now have back-to-back victories – both produced with a level of professionalism the club has so often lacked.

Keep this up, and we might even be able to say that Bradford City have got their act together.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2024/25, BCAFC, League Two, Tranmere Rovers