Written by Jake Verity (images by John Dewhirst)

What can we actually achieve this season?

The question on everybody’s minds, isn’t it? We find ourselves third in the table, on the cusp of the promotion spots.

We’ve only lost two league games all season – interestingly, the same number of matches we’ve lost to both Premier League and League Two sides combined.

Let’s be totally honest, this has already been a season beyond our wildest dreams. There’s no hyperbole there. We’ve had our first big away day in years at Newcastle, we’re on the cusp of the Championship and have totally dominated two clubs in that league too. We totally destroyed Huddersfield at home and Cardiff away; not least showing Wycombe, Luton and Barnsley that we are a force to be reckoned with.

But things have slowed down slightly. We’ve gone from scoring for fun to scoring none in a few games. Will Swan has gone from six goals in seven games to none in thirteen. Antoni Sarcevic and Bobby Pointon scored eleven goals combined in the first few months, and now have no goal from open play since Sarcevic netted against Barnsley. Early fans’ favourite Curtis Tilt has been out for three months. And some of our squad players are very much looking like they aren’t quite able to make the step up, despite their best efforts.

But then, back to the positives? We have two incredible assets in Pointon and Josh Neufville. Ibou Touray has proved to be a brilliant signing; Tyreik Wright looks reinvigorated at wing-back; Max Power looks to be the perfect embodiment of everything it means to be a Bradford City captain. Sam Walker is proving to be one of the best goalkeepers in the league – and the stats back it up. And, well, Sarcevic has proved invaluable.

But this all feels hampered by marquee signing Stephen Humphrys struggling to find the net. Concerns that Andy Cook may be slowly coming towards the end of his time in Claret and Amber (please, prove us wrong as you usually do, Andy); our midfield continues to get overrun at home, we have stopped taking early leads and, well, it’s totally fair to say that we’ve lacked cutting edge.

In short, for every positive, you can find a drawback. Balance would suggest that there are far more positives than not, and each drawback is hardly a catastrophe. It is merely frustrating, or something we hope will improve. That’s not an awful place to be.

And nor is third place in League One. After years and years of being totally stuck in League Two, what a genuine privilege it is to be whining about how things could be a little bit better in League One. How we’ve waited for this!

As we’ve now seen the potential for this club, it’s hard not to want more. Such is indeed human nature: we all want that little bit extra. And why not? Ambition deserves to be back on the table.

The club now finds itself at an interesting juncture. Do we go for broke? Or do we take a more patient approach?

One option would be to throw the kitchen sink at promotion, offload the players who are struggling to get game time and see if we can make the step up so many of us have wanted for over twenty years. With that comes the risk of overspending, and the frustration that could come with under-delivering.

Another option, of course, would be to take a steadier approach: to recruit for the areas we know we must bolster, and largely avoid making huge wholesale changes. But then, if the end of the season comes and we narrowly miss out on the play-offs, or perhaps an even loftier ambition, will we rue missed chances?

There are, of course, many other approaches we can take. Something between these two; to stick largely with what we’ve got; to dip into the somewhat underutilised loan market; or do something else totally different.

There’s always what I consider to be the most astute piece of transfer business in history, which I call “doing a Chris Wilder”. Remember when we were flying high in the League One play-off final season, and the Blades nicked James Hanson off us? It got them over the line and weakened a promotion contender. You’d be hard-pressed to argue with the idea of us taking someone from Stevenage, or another club that appears smaller on paper, with the lure of big crowds and more 90+6-minute-style scenes. Jamie Reid is worth a look if that’s the plan.

Or there’s going to a team struggling at the bottom like Exeter, as the Take Me Home podcast alluded to. Players like Jayden Wareham or Jack Aitchison could be shrewd additions and come cheaply.

The thing is, we have to give immense credit to the club when it comes to recruitment. Over the last season and a half, we have totally transformed our recruitment. Virtually every player we’ve brought in has been a hit, or gone on to prove their worth. It helps that we now play to a distinct identity, but don’t forget we did that under Adams and others too. For all we joke about taking Wigan’s old promotion winners: they are pretty good, right?

My outlook is fairly simple. I can’t help but feel we have a totally unique chance this season. As the Championship grows ever stronger, and many League One clubs who have been up there and performing over the last few seasons are having a dip, now feels as good a time as ever.

Could you imagine if both this and next season we slide to mid-table mediocrity – how deflating that would feel, despite it being a very positive outcome in relative terms?

This isn’t about breaking the bank. But it’s about being ruthless where necessary, and investing in the areas we know we need more if we are to truly compete. We know we need more quality at centre-back outside of the five players who have been high performers there (Matt Pennington, Joe Wright, Tilt, Aden Baldwin and Touray when asked).

We know we need adequate cover for Sarcevic and Pointon. That we are probably lacking a real number 9 who can play high-pressing football, and that we need a new central midfielder for those more combative games to complement Max Power in a way which Tommy Leigh and Jenson Metcalfe often can’t.

The issue, of course, is all that probably costs a fair chunk of cash. And don’t forget, if we were to go up, how much money it would cost us to recruit for a team that can compete in the Championship.

All of these are luxury problems to have, ultimately. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t find solutions to them. Imagine if we did go up again? There’s a good chance we could be in serious conversations about expanding what is an increasingly full Valley Parade, should interest continue to grow.

There’s a chance of a proper West Yorkshire Derby, after watching a fairly pathetic Huddersfield show they really were all bark and no bite. That’s a real prize.

And how much of a change that is since we faced a reality that meant this season would have us up against either Bolton or Barnet in the league. The prize on offer now could be West Ham or Walsall. Let’s just think about that.

The truth is, this football club is back where it deserves to be at an absolute minimum. We totally should be competing towards the top end of League One. While attendances count for nothing on paper, they do show the size and potential of what we have to offer.

To take 5,000 to Bolton felt effortless. Let alone a similar amount to Blackburn and Newcastle; several thousand to Cardiff and Stoke. I have written about this before, and it continues to deserve plaudits. It’s not been an easy time for bank cards, and yet we keep turning up. And it’s not just because there’s so much to enjoy, because we were doing the same in League Two.

Which brings me on to a slightly longer-term question than just what we do in January. And also why it matters what we do then. Because it feels like investing in January could also be investing in the inevitable.

If we can build the next level on top of what we already have, there’s every single chance we can go up next year if not this one. Because for all I talk about a weak League One this season and a strong Championship above us? A struggling Sheffield Wednesday, poor Portsmouth and others could be destined for the drop. I’d fancy us against any of these sides with the necessary improvements in January.

There’s obviously a chance we could lose our star players in Pointon and Neufville, but long-term deals for both would likely protect us in commanding healthy fees. Neufville’s short-term stint means he’s likely to stick around, and don’t forget, of course, Bobby is a City fan. I reckon he’d love nothing more than to be the one to take us to the Championship, when, let’s be honest, both we and he should know he’s bound for there at a minimum regardless. He can easily reach McCall-level cult hero status by taking us up.

A word on Cook. We mustn’t be quick to forget all he has done for us. The bloke single-handedly saved us, carried us on his back for a few seasons and bagged plenty of goals in a promotion campaign – ending up as our top scorer despite missing half the season. If, for whatever reason, he does depart, he does so a total legend.

And if his last goal is away at St James’ Park (though I think we all hope it isn’t), then what a way to go out, and a fitting prize for a man who will forever be loved by our fanbase. Equally, he still has a few weeks to fight for his place here. And knowing who he is and what he can achieve: doubt him at your peril.

Though I’m largely looking ahead, what a tasty January we have on the horizon too. Three Yorkshire derbies, two of which are at Valley Parade and see Rotherham return after many years apart in the league; a likely blockbuster game against Cardiff; and the trip to Kirklees will be good fun too. I’m sure Bobby’s excited for that one.

The question not only comes for how we recruit in January, but also how we come through those games, alongside what I expect will be close contests against Mansfield, Blackpool and Lincoln. Indeed, there are 21 points on offer in January. If we can push for four wins or more, you’d expect we’ll find ourselves in a very good position indeed.

And, of course, between now and then represents our greatest chance of all to put some distance at the top of the table: the bottom two away in quick succession; a struggling Reading at VP; a pre-Christmas London day out at Leyton Orient; the David Sharpe derby against Wigan at home; and another game against Port Vale, almost a year to the day since Andy Cook’s incredible volley.

That’s six games where we must be looking for a minimum of 12 points. And with a largely fit front three of Sarcevic, Pointon and Swan, there’s no reason why we can’t go out and push in each of these games.

Add on top of this that Cardiff play Huddersfield on Saturday and Stevenage on Tuesday, and you can see a world where we could be pushing for top spot. But the pitfalls are there. A game away against struggling Plymouth on Sky could be a total disaster. Though it looks like Bradford’s own Tom Cleverley will remain in the dugout, rather than Bradford’s ex-Adams, who many feared might be taking to the dugout.

We, of course, have a chance to put another former Bantam, Darren Moore, under pressure away at Vale Park too; before Reading’s first visit in ten years since that FA Cup quarter-final that never was. How time flies.

This is a largely jumbled assembly of my thoughts, but in short, I think we can probably go up this season. Cardiff, Stockport and Bolton appear to be the strongest competition (and have ridiculous squad depth, though could be weakened if loanees are recalled); and Luton seem to be building momentum. I’m not convinced Stevenage have what it takes to sustain a top-two push, nor do I think that Lincoln, Huddersfield, Barnsley or others actually have enough to be consistent competitors for anything but the play-offs.

It all depends on what we do in January. Which feels obvious. But I think the club will likely have a plan, and I’m ready to back it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we started the window with early business, saw quick departures and even faster incomings. And perhaps a real quality loan or two on top. That could be the difference-maker, after all.

I think losing to Bolton in the EFL Trophy might be more of a blessing than a curse. It exposes the obvious gaps we have and shows where we really need to invest. But also what proper squad depth can do.

I am genuinely really excited for the next couple of months. But I’m also optimistically cautious. It’s a question of whether we’ll enter this window like McCall’s 2017/18 season in a strong position and fall off rapidly afterwards; or make a couple of smart investments who help us get where we need to be, like it felt we did under McCall in 2016/17.

I think a good outcome would be sixth or above this season. Anything below would be a missed opportunity. And for anyone reading this and worrying I’m raising the bar too high, I say one thing: let’s get ambition back on the table.

Categories: Opinion, Uncategorized

Tags: BCAFC