Written by Jason McKeown (images by John Dewhirst)

24 hours on, it’s still impossible to achieve a coherent structure of thoughts. The world around me is partially obscured by a thick cloud of happiness hovering over my head. It means that even simple, basic conversations with other people are hugely challenging, as the mind quickly wanders off into dreamlike thoughts of what we just experienced. And every so often, I have to look down at my feet, because it doesn’t feel like they’re touching the ground.

The zen-like cloud of happiness will be swirling above thousands of others across the Bradford district. Only some will have woken up on Sunday morning with throbbing headaches too, after keeping the party going all night. The scenes on North Parade looked absolutely incredible, as jubilant supporters were joined by jubilant players to celebrate together. It produced moments that will live forever with those lucky enough to be there, albeit some of the finer details will remain a little fuzzy, given the conspicuous levels of alcohol supped.

And that communal gathering of fans and players as one mass of claret and amber jubilation seems so fitting given the story of this season. A fractious, cold and cynical relationship between those in the stands and those employed by the club has melted away – replaced by a mutual affection and sense of unity.

Before this season, it had become cool to hate the club and parade your angst like a badge of honour. And honestly, it felt like Bradford City was doomed to perennial failure. That the task of reviving it was beyond the resources and abilities of those charged with the job of turning its fortunes around. A year ago, one supporter said to me we are a Zombie Football Club. That seemed very apt.

It wasn’t so long ago that the situation seemed utterly hopeless, but very quickly that has changed. And it hasn’t changed because of some outside saviour. Every single one of us has played a part in the transformation.

On the eve of the season Graham Alexander clumsily asked us all to leave our bag of bitterness at home. He later apologised for offence caused but he was right in his general point. The past was now the past, and as much as we could wearily fear more disappointment going into this campaign, it was time to park grudges and embrace what was happening.

Because after the abyss of March 2024 – when City collapsed, supporter protests took place, and Stefan Rupp issued his open letter – green shoots of recovery could be felt. Improbably, City almost made the play offs last season, but time just ran out. Still, they had got their act together and momentum to take into the summer. Momentum they used well.

Smarter recruitment – led by the very welcome arrival of David Sharpe as head of football operations – resulted in a squad that looked stronger and more robust for the challenges ahead. And very quickly, you could see what City were trying to do – and you could believe in it. So bags of bitterness absolutely were parked outside, as we embraced the new dawn.

Look, it wasn’t a perfect season. Scratch the surface of other Bradford City promotion campaigns, and you soon realise they never are. In 1995/96, the Bantams were pretty average for the most part, suddenly coming good in the run-in. 1998/99 famously had that terrible start, and even in the final few weeks there were the defeats to Crystal Palace and Huddersfield, and the draws with Port Vale and Oxford, where it threatened to go very wrong. City’s promotion in 2012/13 included three months after Christmas where they were pretty useless in the league, distracted by the shiny lights of the League Cup run.

Similarly this time around, there were bumps and periods where you thought they’d never do it. Stuttering results in September. A winless November. That horrendous afternoon at Notts County just before Christmas. And, yeah, the tortuous twists and turns of those last few games.

But even in dark moments, you could see this squad had substance. It wasn’t like the other failed League Two promotion pushes. There was a bravery to stand up to the pressures of playing at Valley Parade, which would result in them winning 17 of their 23 home games. Add in the post-Rupp letter at the back end of last season, and it’s 20 wins from the last 26 Valley Parade league encounters.

Alexander spoke about how he especially felt pride in turning around City’s sagging home record. He’s done it all in a way that made it seem such an easy fix. Yet the failure of anyone City boss, post Stuart McCall’s 2016/17 season, to deliver a satisfactory home record shows just how difficult it really was.

The making-the-difficult-look-simple trick could equally be applied to the team. Some notable issues arose with the season’s Plan A of playing 3-5-2, but when Plan B of 3-4-3 was unlocked in December, the Bantams soon became a winning machine. It was impressive to watch their post-Christmas consistency. A high intensity approach that worried less about keeping the ball and more about purpose. Win quick turnovers. Burst forward in numbers. Keep the ball in the final third by pressing high. Don’t let the opposition get out. And show your quality. It wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as Mark Hughes-ball, but it seemed to fit the Bradford public much better.

The wins racked up, the league table was scaled, and ambition rose from hoping for a play off place to believing automatic promotion could be achieved. A 1-0 win over Accrington in late February – lit up by a stunning goal from Alex Pattison – lifted the Bantams into a top three spot they would not relinquish.

The wider story of the 2024/25 League Two season will see a lot of attention on Walsall and their collapse. They were absolutely flying, winning nine games in a row to go 12 points clear at the top (with a game in hand). Then they fell apart, with three victories in their last 21 games. And when City stuttered towards the finishing line, we were absolutely grateful for Walsall’s continued demise. But any narrative that suggests City were lucky to go up because of Walsall feels harsh and unfair.

Because City played a massive part in Walsall’s disintegration. The Saddlers had just won those nine games in a row when they came to Valley Parade. They took their swagger into their lunchtime trip to West Yorkshire, threatening to overwhelm us during the first 10 minutes. But then Antoni Sarcevic scored for City, and the team proceeded to absolutely destroy a side being talked up at the time as the greatest ever League Two side. It was 3-0 but could have been double that. And what City did to Walsall that day evidently wrecked the Saddlers’ confidence and messed with their mindset. They were never the same again. We started and ultimately caused their demise.

What also changed that day was City’s self-belief and conviction. The Bantams were eighth in the table going into that game, but the manner of victory underlined the opportunity to push on for the automatic promotion places. It fuelled their purpose. The team absolutely grasped the moment, and did not look back.

And they did all of that whilst capturing the hearts of the Bradford public. The early stages of their blistering mid-season run of 15 wins in 21 games still seemed to be played out in front of a slightly detached crowd. Some of the midweek games around that time saw Valley Parade half empty and those who were attending stayed very quiet. But with each hurdle cleared, each three points collected, the fondness for the team grew. The atmosphere began to build nicely, before breaking out into matchday scenes in recent weeks that are amongst the best we’ve ever seen.

The players just seem to grow and grow in stature. And with the fixtures coming thick and fast, it was a squad effort. Alexander rotated and rotated well. He’d learned about the importance of strength in depth, especially at the back, and when nearly everyone was fit there was an encouragingly high level of competition for places.

Almost everyone seemed to have a moment. Pattison and Sarcevic had plenty of course. But there was also Calum Kavanagh netting the winner at Carlisle. Lewis Richards smashing one in against Grimsby. Richie Smallwood’s penalty against former club Rotherham in the EFL Trophy. Bobby Pointon’s goal at Birmingham in the same competition and his late winner at Bromley. Michael Mellon’s even later winner at Salford, where Brad Halliday also scored. George Lapslie’s doubles against Cheltenham and Colchester. Sam Walker’s penalty save against Crewe. Ciaran Kelly’s headed goal against Notts County.

Even those who didn’t get on the scoresheet or save a penalty during the run-in got to play their part. Tayo Adaramola was an inspired loan signing who we took to our hearts. Tyreik Wright delivered a brilliant display in the Colchester win. Aden Baldwin, Neill Byrne, Jack Shepherd, Calum Johnson, Paul Huntington and Romoney Crichlow delivered superb performances at the back. Jamie Walker came back in from the cold and made a difference from the bench. Brandon Khela had to bide his time but seized his opportunity with a string of really good performances.

The players did remarkably well to compensate for the devastating New Year’s Day injury to Andy Cook. The news he would miss the rest of the season could have been the catalyst for it all going wrong, but they found new levels and tapped into Ewing Theory to shrug off the loss and keep going.

It was all hugely appreciated by fans, and we were soon taking this team into our hearts. There was a workmanlike honesty about the players that made them deeply relatable. They had their knocks, set backs, bad days at the office. They were never perfect, with their flaws evident. But their courage and mentality was huge.

They were giving absolutely everything for the cause.

For our cause.

So crowds swelled and enthusiasm soared. The club, to their huge credit, tapped into the mood, running discounted ticket promotions for vital games against Colchester and Crewe and encouraging a better atmosphere by allowing in flags across the Kop lower tier. There were tifo displays and a giant banner unfurled for the Notts County game. Everyone was coming together to do what they could to help the players. And there’s no doubt it made a huge difference.

I ended up watching a few Walsall games in the run-in. As their form continued to fall off a cliff, you could hear the boos and groans of a Bescot crowd that was turning on their team. The pressure was getting to everyone, sending the players into a doom loop of failing to deliver and facing even more wrath from their fans.

In contrast, we City fans stuck with the team. There were set backs on the road especially, with trips to Accrington, Port Vale, Swindon, Chesterfield and Doncaster providing huge disappointment. But though there was frustration, we didn’t turn on the players. They were making mistakes, but mistakes that came from a good place of caring too much.

That’s why, even after a chaotic final few weeks, we descended on Valley Parade on Saturday with confidence and belief they would finish the job. And even though that optimism looked misplaced during that last half hour, even though it felt like City were never going to score, we all kept going. And eventually the ball was sucked into the net, and we got our rewards in the most gratifying way imaginable.

Promotion will have different layers of meaning. For many of our younger supporters, this will have been the first experience – and how it could it felt to see so many youthful delirious faces. Older supporters have known many great City successes of the past – some, if we’re being objective, much bigger than this – but the many lean periods of mediocrity will have taught them the hard way to embrace the rare days of joy like this. I saw real emotion in the eyes of some of the oldest people in the ground. It was beautiful.  

Me, I’d like to think I’m somewhere in the middle of my City supporting life. 28 years a Bantam, and this my third promotion. Experience had definitely taught me to savour every moment of Saturday. In fact, me and my long-time friend and former boyfrombrazil.co.uk writing partner, Michael Wood, have spent much of the last few days texting each other with that sentiment. Savour this. Take it all in.

It means the world, it really does. We can all recite the low moments of the last few years. A collection of dark moments that left you questioning why you bother. But you support a football team through thin and thinner for days like Saturday. The sights we saw, the feelings we felt. They will be bottled up and stored for life. And no matter what the future holds, that moment of Sarcevic scoring can never be taken away from us.

Nor will those scenes of celebration. Scenes that began on the pitch and ended in the early hours in North Parade. Usually, players and staff lock themselves away in some secret place to celebrate promotion, where only an inner circle of people get to be upfront to the festivities. But here, the players chose to mark the moment by joining up with those they had done it for.

And that’s just one more reason why they’ve restored pride in being a Bradford City fan. And why they deserve to be fondly remembered for a very, very long time.

Categories: Opinion

Tags: 2024/25, BCAFC