By Jake Verity

I’m sure there’s many people who read this headline and find it premature. And that’s fair enough. It might be too early in the season for this.

But then again, why should it be? Whether we can reach the Championship this season, or not, it should be our eventual aim and ambition (and why stop there!) So, let’s have a conversation about it.

It has been 21 years since we last played football in the second-tier. An incredibly long time.

Clubs that feel fairly equal to us in terms of size and stature like Bolton or Barnsley have both tasted Championship football far more recently than we have, and far more frequently too. They’ve never quite dropped as low as we have either. Or if they have, not for as long.

But also clubs we definitely think, feel and know we are much bigger than (and yes, I think that’s absolutely fine for us to say) like Colchester, MK Dons and Scunthorpe have also been in the second-tier more recently than we have. Even Gillingham, Southend and Yeovil. It really has been that long.

Why does it matter?

Well, let’s get the obvious bit out of the way. We want to see Bradford City being as successful as possible, and it’s the division above the one we’re in.

But there’s also the hugely transformational change it can bring to our club and city.

Last week, it was confirmed Bradford Bulls would be returning to the Super League. For a City and Bulls fan at the turn of the millennium, you were watching Premier League football, and arguably, one of the best Rugby League teams in the world.

Fast forward two decades later, and you were watching a fourth-tier, and second-tier club; both who have battled off the pitch issues and at times, were concerned about their extinction.

But now? Bradford is back. A top-tier rugby club and third-tier football side who are trying to make that next step up (we’ve also had a good go in the League Cup, too!)

We’ve always been well followed, even when times have been bad.

But our support has hit another level. Taking 5k to Bolton is remarkable. But selling out at Plymouth is no small achievement either. Valley Parade sits a mere 75 seats away from being top of the average attendance in the division this season on an average of 21,125 (a title we may well give Bolton, after selling so many for that game).

It matters because we’re a huge city with massive potential. Our support has always been good, so I shouldn’t be surprised. But it’s a mighty impressive achievement and a real indication that this is a football club going in the right direction.

But as we learned in League Two, away allocations and stadium sizes alone won’t be enough to get us where we want to be.

But this squad maybe is?

The strength in depth. The ability of the side that Graham Alexander has pulled together feels fearlessly unstoppable. Pressing from the first minute to the last, and bringing the supporters with them as every ball is kicked right up until the end. But also after the game too, as we watch every interview hooked on our success.

We’ve gone from one key goalscorer up front in Andy Cook, to having goals all over the pitch. Antoni Sarcevic and Bobby Pointon have five in the league; with Will Swan, Stephen Humphrys and both Calum Kavanagh and Cook returning from injury with fourteen between them across all competitions. Factor in that Josh Neufville has added three from the wing, and both George Lapslie and Alex Pattison have scored twice, it’s some effort.

An effort that has seen thirteen different goalscorers score a combined 35 goals, which is the highest in England. Impressive stuff.

As I said last week, games against Stevenage and Lincoln will be as good of a test as ever as to how good we are. But we said that before Wycombe, Luton, Huddersfield and Cardiff. 12 Points.

And as we are a quarter of the way through the season, the most curious thing of all is the fact that our next 10 games after playing this weekend and next Tuesday are against: 7th, 9th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 19th (x2), 20th, 21st and 22nd.

I know there’s a real danger of getting carried away. But if we can keep this up, there’s a huge prize in sight for us. We’ve done the hardest part already, based on the conventional wisdom of looking at a league table.

Because there’s more to do

Because of course, conventional wisdom counts for nothing in football. If we want to get Championship football, we have to go out and do so. If we can replicate the form we’ve found in this first quarter, we’ll be at 50 points by January.

That’s not reckless optimism. It’s simply repeating what we’ve already achieved.

We saw what promotion meant to this club back in May. What the collective weight of frustration being lifted looked like. And in many ways, we have seen that winning feeling follow through into this season.

But it’s hard to shake off the idea that it could be a little bit more than that. Or rather, that’s how we need to start thinking about it. I was impressed to see Alexander asking for our fans to cheer if we get turned around at home. What a long way we’ve come since seeing squads look frightened to play at VP.

Continuing on this trajectory to January would also strengthen a case for real investment to try and take us to the next level. You can’t help but feel that actually, a lot of this is us all positively reinforcing the idea of success. Because it’s become easy to want, hope and expect it with how we are playing, and what we are seeing.

The first job though, is to get three more points this weekend. A tough job against a side unlike any other we’ve played this season. And the only side left in the division with a perfect record at home, after we drew last weekend.

But I’ll finish by saying this.

If we want Championship football, we need to go out and get it. Let’s not be afraid to say that’s the aim, or the target. Let’s move away from a quiet optimism, and hopefulness, to saying what I’m sure many of us feel.

There’s nothing we want more.

Categories: Opinion, Uncategorized

Tags: BCAFC