By Jake Verity

This weekend’s game against Doncaster is possibly one of the most eagerly anticipated Bradford City home games in a while.

It’s 4th vs 5th. A Yorkshire Derby. Both sides ended last season strongly. A couple of fantastic managers at this level. A bumper crowd. Two of the best strikers in the League. Lots to look forward to.

If there’s any reason to want to go up, it is because fixtures like this will become a much more regular occurrence. Better away followings arrive at our ground and the atmosphere becomes electric. A full Valley Parade, coupled with two teams throwing everything at a match, makes us enjoy Saturday afternoons – even if we won’t always love them.

We have firm reason to be optimistic going into this game following a five game unbeaten run in the league. Despite the fact we have a depleted side and are suffering with some key players out injured – it’s been a good run at an important time in the season.

There is one thing that just isn’t quite working though and has been the source of deliberation.

Andy Cook’s strike partner.

We all know how lucky we are to have the main man up top. Not only is he top scorer in the League Two, but he’s already etched his name into Bradford City history, becoming one of our top five all-time goalscorers. He is unplayable on his day – and more often than not, his day comes.

We’ve managed to gather good strength in depth this season. A  real sign of a strong squad. We have six centre backs, all of whom have impressed. Halliday/Benn and Wright/Richards in each full-back position. Across the midfield, there are plenty of options. But the one thing that seems to have escaped us is finding Cook a reliable strike partner – we are short of another ten to fifteen goal striker to play alongside him.

There are often fine margins in this league. So many times we’ve needed that extra goal to put us out of sight. Or to keep the confidence up. It is critical we can find somebody who can score the goals when Cook isn’t having his day; or that can add to his tally when we are having a good one.

Last season, it felt like we found that player in Calum Kavanagh. But he has struggled this season, even if it is through no lack of effort. Tyler Smith and Vadaine Oliver both deserve credit for their effort, but haven’t yet provided reliable quality or goals over the last two seasons. Olly Sanderson started brightly but is young and inexperienced. You’d expect him to be back soon enough if Kavanagh keeps failing to score.

It is a conundrum that isn’t easily fixed. But we need to get it right as it could be the difference between 3rd and 4th. Or 7th and 8th as it proved to be last year. Of the two, you’d hope it’s the former and not the latter. But ideally it’s neither. I’ll explain why.

The opportunity is there

Looking at the League Two table, there is no clear runaway leader at this stage. With Wimbledon having a few games in hand and looking impressive at Valley Parade several weeks ago, they may perhaps break through. Port Vale is otherwise the best of a crowded rest. There is a collection of good teams rather than any particular standouts.

This gives us an opportunity we haven’t had for some time. But it also means we have to be ruthless. We must take every chance that comes our way. We have to find the finest of margins to get the results we need. It doesn’t matter how we do it, even if it’s scraping through game by game.

We might not get this chance again. All it takes is a cash rich side to come down from League One. A strong side to come up from the National League. Another League Two team to recruit well. That’s then three of next year’s automatic places gone. It is that easily lost.

I am sick of League Two. We all are. We have a good squad. Decent players. Reasonable depth. The club has done well to fill gaps with free agents recently and has been smart to do so until January. I feel in previous years we would have panicked and done deals until the end of the season.

The next window is the time to invest and to go for it. We have a manager who is clearly very capable and has a very good record in charge of us. I hope we are already working to offload the players who haven’t offered the return on investment we need. It’s nothing against the players who probably need to go, but to be a promotion winning side you can’t have any passengers.

With saved wages, we must go big on getting another goalscorer in. It may help get Kavanagh back to the form he was in last year. As we know what he can do – he could be that striker, but he is still young and gaining experience.

It might cost a lot and be the biggest throw of the dice we’ve ever taken. But it’s a signal of intent and certainly gives us the hope we need. But for now, Alexander has to find an answer to the Cook partnership that works for the next couple of months.

The question is who? And the second one is what do we do in the transfer window?

The temporary fix

We’ve tried the target man; the hard worker; the all rounder; and the finisher. For now, my suggestion is we go for the goalscorer.

When Alex Pattison is back fit, I’d start him next to Cook; or I’d even consider playing Bobby Pointon alongside him. I completely understand this might cause controversy – especially when we have four other strikers.

But nobody can doubt that both of these players are never afraid to shoot and have contributed more goals than most. We tried Jamie Walker up there to little effect, and we’d really lose out from his energy pressing in midfield.

With Pattison, the key concern is injury. But he knows where the net is. Take the strike on the opening day, his great start to last season and the many goals he scored for Harrogate. He’s also skilful, quick and can do some pressing around Cook – or have the ball knocked onto him. It’s a no brainer for me – the issue is him actually being fit to play. Which if he is sooner rather than later, I’d try him in this role. He did to some extent try to play here under Mark Hughes, but that formation and team weren’t as balanced as this one.

With Pointon, it’s slightly different. He’s one of the most technically gifted young players we’ve had at Valley Parade for some time. Though League Two isn’t quite the place to do trials with your best talent, turning him into a striker could pay off in more ways than one.

We all want to see him start. But it’s tough to suggest he should be doing so over a midfield three of Richie Smallwood, Clarke Oduor and Walker – all of whom add something different. Pointon’s skill and ability offer something unique up top; but he also is good at shooting and scoring. He’s added a few to his tally now largely from the bench. Though he can go missing in midfield, he may have a better chance dropping into pockets up front with free roam.

The most crucial thing for me, is what is our long-term plan for our most valuable asset. If we can turn him into a goalscorer, he will be worth a lot more money. Because we will inevitably sell him.He could over time become like Sammie Szmodics. A once technically gifted midfielder at Colchester, who via Peterborough United and Blackburn Rovers became the Championship’s top scorer last year as a striker. Perhaps it is a bit beyond us to work that miracle this season, though.

The long-term solution

I want us to go for it in January. No more being ‘the nice team’. I don’t want an untested loanee. We need to show the League this is our year. The club must show us they really want to make it happen. I’ll outline a few types of players we should look at – and focus on a player who fits the bill. Though these are just examples.

The short-term, older goalscorer to get us over the line

Take a newly promoted side’s best asset who is performing well. Take Michael Cheek. Bromley have started okay, but it is clear their striker is a valuable asset at this level. Up until this season, he had never played League football and 33, he would mean an aging strike-force.

He would be a perfect back-up to Cook though, and if the temporary fix of Pattison/Pointon has become worthwhile, he’d be a great signing. Even if it’s an expensive deal for a short term gain (he would want a long-term contract) – it’s one worth doing if we go up. Sheffield United did this to us with Jame Hanson and barely used him the following season after going up. It didn’t matter in the end as they were in the Premier League a couple of years after.

The riskier younger signing, who will cost a lot

You only have to look to the left of Jack Shepherd to remember one of the sharpest pieces of business I’ve seen in some time. A couple of years ago we had a winger called Tyriek Wright in great goal-scoring form on a season long loan. The problem was, in January, he was immediately recalled and sold the same day to a team higher up the pyramid than us.

Imagine if we managed to convince Stoke to do something similar with us for the 19-year old who has 6 goals and 3 assists so far in ten games. This one would cost a bit. Probably too much. But as far as statements go it’s a big one. It also carries risk. After all, though Plymouth went up to the Championship with Wright, it wasn’t long before he came back to us.

The National League investment

If there’s anything Wrexham, Stockport, Chesterfield and Notts County have taught us in recent seasons, it’s that goalscorers in the National League can certainly do it at this level. Whether it’s Paul Mullin, Paddy Madden, Will Grigg, all have been potent in League Two since coming back to it.

But there’s also the talented Isaac Oloafe, James Berry and Macauley Langstaff – all of whom weren’t big names at this level before coming up over the last two seasons. They all adapted quickly to forward roles.

If we want to show some ambition, we could always do something I’ve wanted for a long time. Take a striker from the top of the National League and offer them the prospect of playing at Valley Parade. It’s up to Alexander to pick the individual that might suit us best, but it’s a good option. Nick Haughton; Kairo Mitchell or Gus Scott-Morris currently lead the scoring charts in the league.

The unloved find

Andy Cook has been our greatest goalscorer in quite some time. But he came with a good pedigree following a tough spell at a club where it didn’t quite work out for him. Sometimes, players just find their home and grow into it. Cook managed to adapt to life here quickly and the hope would be a similar player could do the same.

AFC Wimbledon seem to have managed this following the signing of Matty Stevens this season and Walsall are benefitting from Jamille Matt – both of whom were Forest Green Rovers’ successful strike partnership a few years ago. By that logic, we could try making a move for Kristian Dennis, Dominic Telford or Matt Jay. You never know whether it may work, but it could be worth a try.

The conclusion

The last time we got out of this division we had a 26 goal striker alongside a 15 goal striker. Two midfielders who contributed 14 goals between them. Three centre-backs who scored a combined 11 goals. With a manager pragmatic enough to understand the formation that performs best in the league, and recruits the players the fans like to see. After six years in League Two.

We know we already have one of the most potent strikers in the league. Our midfielders are all able and willing to score. Our centre-backs have scored four in our last five games. The manager and players point? I think comparisons to Parkinson have been well covered, we are growing to like this squad and this is again our sixth season in League Two since being relegated.

It’s hopefully not a case of history repeating itself in the sense of a seventh placed finish, but it feels we’re a 15 goal striker away from having a strong team at this level who can help us get out of this league. The difference between 2012/13 and now is simple. We get nearly 7,000 more fans a week and we have the means to really invest in this squad – rather than getting lucky with random recruits as we did back then.

It leaves me to say one thing. Let’s go make this a season to remember, starting on Saturday.

Categories: Opinion

Tags: BCAFC