By Jason McKeown

Sun-baked July evenings and new beginnings. The pre-match beer tastes more refreshing. The new kits gleam. The playing surface is immaculate. And the anticipation for a whole new season quietly builds.

Accrington evokes memories of Bradford City visits that have ranged from the euphoric to the miserable. But a low-key pre-season friendly rarely moves the emotional needle too far in either direction.

This is football in its gentlest form: a modest crowd scattered around the stands, contented murmurs and an easy-going atmosphere. For now, there is little sign of the tension and anxiety that will soon return when the real business starts again. This is football stripped of consequence.

Instead, there is appreciation for the smallest of on-the-field achievements. Phones are tapped furiously as supporters race to identify unnamed trialists. Who are these footballing sleuths who always seem to figure them out? And is that lady next to me really eating a Pot Noodle?

She is. Beef and tomato flavour. A flask supplied the hot water. She gives it a mighty stir before tucking in. Between mouthfuls of noodle goodness, she bellows at Matt Pennington to win his 50-50s.

It seems a bit weird to bring a Pot Noodle to a football match. But then again why the hell not? This is pre-season and anything goes.

For most of the evening, City go well too.

There is something comforting about the familiar Bradford City figures who slip effortlessly back into view, as though they had never been away. Less straightforward is becoming acquainted with players who for now seem strangers.

Some of these unfamiliar faces could soon become hugely important parts of our lives. New arrivals Callum Connolly and Jake Beesley fall firmly into that category. As for the trialists, who knows? We might be witnessing the first tentative steps of future City careers. Equally, these could be blink-and-you’ll-miss-them cameos, destined to be forgotten almost as quickly as they began.

In the here and now, it all works pretty well. City attack from the off, produce some easy-on-the-eye football, and create plenty of presentable chances. Beesley looks a handful up front. He’s not a conventional targetman for sure, but offers a promising mix of intelligence and muscle.

Beesley is flanked by Bobby Pointon and Kayden Jackson in the wide roles. The pair offer up some lovely energy and creativity, only undermined by moments of holding onto the ball for too long and taking the wrong option.

What’s really interesting is there is no place in the front three for Antoni Sarcevic, who instead lines up in the centre of midfield alongside Connolly. Maybe it’s my fault for getting completely obsessed with the World Cup and not thinking enough about City this pre-season, but the idea Sarc might be seen as the solution for the Max Power-shaped hole hadn’t really crossed my mind. Sarcevic’s deployment in the centre of the park would suggest Alexander has resisted gorging on the international football feast and focused on doing some serious thinking.

And it could be an inspired thought process. David Sharpe has recently stated City “might” sign another central midfielder. If we really are in “might” territory, that possibly leaves the Bantams going into the new season fielding a central midfield of a guy who’s spent the last few years playing centre back (Connolly) and a guy who’s only made 14 senior starts in his whole career (Henry Cartwright).

It feels…risky. Not saying it’s a bad idea. Just saying that we might need more options. And given the abundance of competition in the forward areas, boosted further by the arrivals of Beesley and Adam Phillips, maybe this is a good time to assign Sarcevic a new role.

We’ll see. As we’ll see over the trialists. According to those with an encyclopaedic knowledge of what random lower-league players look like, City tried out Reece James (not that one) and Ben Heneghan in the first half, with Aaron Lewis and Reece Welch appearing in the second half.

Not to sound snobbish, but given City finished fourth in League One last season, is this really the talent pool we’re fishing in? With the need to be able to field two XIs at this stage of pre-season, it’s hard to escape the suspicion these trialists are filling in roles in return for the chance to train, get fit and find opportunities elsewhere. They don’t seem realistic routes City are about to seriously pursue.  

Perhaps James has a chance. He looked decent at left wing back and even assumed corner taking responsibilities. Some decent set pieces into the box that almost created a City goal. The Bantams were on top for 35 minutes. And so when Accrington broke up the other end and scored, it came as a genuine surprise.

City initially kept looking strong, despite Jackson having to go off at half time with presumably a knock. Will Swan came on and caused problems.

Then on the hour Graham Alexander swapped the rest of the team over. And though this included sightings of other permanent new arrivals – Macaulay Gillesphey, Jon McCracken and Cartwright – the mixture of trialists and young players around them did not make for a cohesive City team. Accrington – who played pretty well throughout – assumed control and looked more likely to net a second than City were to equalise. And the game fizzled out.

Pre-season friendlies can often be like that. Early intrigue and promise, fading into a fitness exercise where few learnings can be taken. Not such good news if you’re Welch or Lewis, trying to impress. Not such good news for Nick Powell, who remains in a strange state of flux over whether he will or won’t sign another contract at Valley Parade.

Powell had City’s one and only late chance when he flashed a shot just wide. His quality is there for sure, but you wonder if City might be better served in the long-term by cutting their losses with the veteran forward and providing Harry Ibbitson with a more realistic path for progressing into the first team.

To be decided. For now, the Pot Noodle was emptied. A prompt final whistle – no injury time required – signalled the end of an evening that few of us will remember for very long.

Yet the most important takeaway was simply seeing City move one step closer to doing it all for real, once again. As we wait to see Donald Trump present Spain or Argentina with the World Cup trophy this weekend, the new domestic football season slowly creeps back onto the horizon. Football may not have come home this summer. But football as we know it is almost home again.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2026/27, Accrington Stanley, BCAFC