Part one appears here

By Jason McKeown

If the defensive side of the squad feels reassuringly familiar, midfield is anything but.

The departures of Max Power, Jenson Metcalfe and Tommy Leigh have left Graham Alexander with his biggest midfield rebuild since arriving at Valley Parade. If City improve this season, it will probably be because these replacements work. If they don’t, this is where the promotion push could unravel.

Because if the ceiling-versus-floor theory tells us anything, it’s that this is where the biggest gamble has been made.

The centre of midfield represents the biggest question mark

Callum Connolly has been recruited with a view to play central midfield in the wake of Max Power’s unexpected departure. Connolly has played this position earlier in his career, but not recently – he operated as centre back at Stockport and Blackpool.

The data profiling City understandably rely on has seemingly identified Connolly as the ideal figure to provide what Alexander is looking for in his anchor midfielder, but it’s clearly a risk. Undoubtedly the biggest call City have made this close season.

If Connolly – who only played 16 times for Stockport last season, after picking up a serious injury – struggles in this less familiar role, City could be in a lot of trouble. It’s not quite the Stephen Humphrys position debate of last season, but there are definitely similarities.

Alexander appears attracted to Connolly because he offers the positional discipline to sit in front of the back three and hold his line, allowing others to get forward. This would represent a small change to the central midfield set-up from last season, when Power and Jenson Metcalfe essentially shared defending and attacking responsibilities. Graham Alexander recently suggested it will take City closer to their 2024/25 midfield structure of Richie Smallwood and Alex Pattison, depending on who takes the Pattison role.

Alexander has confirmed that Antoni Sarcevic is earmarked for that position, with the reigning player of the season operating here during pre-season. With more attacking options recruited, Sarcevic is facing reduced game time if he continues to be treated as a wide forward.

Sarcevic has played central midfield for Stockport and others and fared very well, and when he signed for City in 2024 this initially looked to be the position he would assume in what was then a 3-5-2 set-up. It didn’t go too well at the time. Sarcevic inadvertently slowed down City’s play and then suffered a lengthy injury. By the time he was fit, Alexander had switched to a 3-4-3 and ultimately Sarcevic took one of the wide forward roles, where he absolutely flourished.

Still, he is more than capable of playing as an attacking midfielder. Maybe this season we’ll see a different Sarcevic, but a valuable one nonetheless.

The other central midfield options carry their own risk. Henry Cartwright has joined from Leicester after an impressive loan spell at Falkirk. Huge promise for sure, but the 21-year-old has only made 14 senior starts in his entire career. Asking him to play 40+ games for City seems ambitious right now, and you’d realistically expect him to be gradually blooded into the side. Perhaps the heir apparent to take over from Sarcevic, but a transition that won’t be rushed.

Then there’s George Lapslie, who surprised everyone with a strong end to last season in the centre of midfield. Some mitigating factors might be at play here. Having barely figured all campaign, there was a freshness to Lapslie that was lacking in jaded teammates and opponents – and it gave him a clear edge in those final few games. That won’t necessarily be the case when everyone starts more or less equal in August. Lapslie himself will be playing catch up with injury ruling him out for at least a fortnight.

There’s also Lapslie’s patchy track record. He is yet to have a sustained impact at Valley Parade. Promising performances often tailed off. Lapslie certainly has a chance of making a bigger impression this season, but he has a lot to prove if he is ever to become more than a fringe player.

The wide forwards look healthy

Adam Phillips represents one of City’s most eye-catching pieces of summer business, and offers an encouraging marker of how far the club has come. Even as recently as a year ago, the idea of City taking a contracted prized asset off Barnsley seemed fanciful. But there’s been a power shift, and the Bantams have laid down a marker of their place in League One’s (and Yorkshire football’s) pecking order.

At Oakwell, Phillips had a strong record of goals and assists. And whilst there are never any guarantees, he offers the consistency that would strongly suggest he’ll continue to thrive here.

Phillips will expect to play on the right, but there is competition from Sarcevic, of course, and Kayden Jackson, who made such a good impression last season leading the line, but who may switch from central forward to wide right (or even right wing back) given Jake Beesley’s arrival.

On the left, Bobby Pointon should continue to hold the starting jersey after another personal campaign that was even better than the one before. Pointon definitely sits at a bit of a crossroads here. Millwall’s capturing of Metcalfe shows that the Valley Parade stage offers players like Pointon a good shop window to attract lucrative offers to play in the Championship. Though of course the Bradford City fan within Bobby will want to guide his hometown club to the second tier, rather than be itching to move on.

Still if he continues his rise and rise in performance levels, it could be increasingly difficult to keep Pointon. But for a player still so young, a dip shouldn’t be ruled out either. For now, the stage is once again set for Pointon to thrive and be the beloved main character in our story.

Behind him there is competition from Stephen Humphrys, who is definitely standing at a crossroads. Last season saw so much promise from Humphrys, but ultimately it went unfulfilled and his place in Alexander’s circle of trust seems in doubt. Given his reported wages, City probably can’t allow him to sit on the sidelines again. If Humphrys isn’t in the team at first, he might well leave before the window closes.

The Humphrys striker/wide player debate never went away and had the most unsatisfactory of answers. Right at the end of the campaign, he was deployed wide left and it did not go well. The occasional flash of magic, but far more was expected.

With Tyreik Wright also a valuable wide left option, Humphrys could well be third choice left forward, and fourth or even fifth choice centre forward. He needed a good pre-season. He’s not really had one.

Are there more goals in the City team?

The Bantams had the fifth-best defensive record in League One last season, but only the 14th-best attack. They need to score more goals if they’re to be even more successful. And that means finding a better solution to the centre forward dilemma.

Jake Beesley will hope to be that solution. A very good personal season for Burton put him on the radar, with City beating the rush and snapping him up. Beesley is a targetman, but based on pre-season evidence is slightly unconventional in style. Think more Peter Crouch than Alan Shearer.

He could be exactly what City have lacked in terms of being a focal point and holding up the ball. But he’s not got the pressing ability of Jackson and Will Swan. And at Burton, he largely played in a front two rather than as a sole forward.

So question marks then, but definitely much to be encouraged about. Beesley might not score bucketloads, but his link-up play and ability to win high balls could make City a more potent side.

Kayden Jackson, as mentioned, became City’s first choice central striker last season and will fancy playing there again. A very different player to Beesley for sure. His false 9 qualities were effective at opening up space and getting attacks going, even if it meant he wasn’t always in the right place to get on the end of things. The unfortunate injury dampened his impact, but there’s no doubt City have a really good player on their hands – and will expect to see the very best of him this season.

Will Swan has certainly had a good pre-season and will want to push on for a bigger role. That burst of goals at the start of last season wasn’t maintained, but City generally looked a good side when he played and no forward presses as well.

If Beesley has a slow start and Jackson gets a wide forward nod, Swan could well grab the starting shirt (or play wide forward, as he has done pre-season). But the strong competition for places could limit Swan to an impact sub role.

There’s also Nick Powell – set to sign a new deal after a pre-season trial – who is expected to offer more. Powell’s injury issues were well known and struck again last season, reducing him to a bit part status. Part of the hesitation over keeping him – and the terms of the deal that were finally agreed – lay in the fact City don’t want to face a repeat. He has to play a bigger role. The question is, where?

Clearly Alexander and others at the club hold a lot of regard in Powell. He has abilities that we City fans haven’t quite seen yet (though pre-season has seen promising signs). He was certainly a useful targetman option at the back end of last season, with his performance at Barnsley living long in the memory. Clearly there’s more to him than that. We shall see.

Finally, for now, there’s young forward Harry Ibbitson, who will be desperate to really push on after no first team action last season. Ibbitson spent much of the campaign on loan at Chorley, which seemed to go well, but this year has to be more than that.

Hopefully City will find some minutes for Ibbitson, even if it’s in the EFL Trophy. It’s hard to imagine he will still be at the club next year if he has a season like the last. He has played right wing back pre-season, which is something to look out for too.

So where does this leave City?

The league season starts on Saturday with a suspicion City’s squad remains a little undercooked, albeit more signings are expected to arrive before the window closes. Goalkeeper-wise and up top, City look stronger. In central defence and at wing-back, they’re much as they were.

Which leaves central midfield – the area most City fans feel worried about. The signs of pre-season suggest City will be more attack-minded, perhaps going back to two up front rather than the 3-4-3.

There will inevitably be some new signings that work well and others that don’t. But also different measurements of what success looks like.

Ultimately, if Alexander has a wider circle of trust in terms of the number of options he feels confident choosing from, City should be in an even better position for the battles ahead. Because when injuries, suspensions and inevitable dips in form arrive, they can’t afford to discover their floor is still in the same place.

A good side? Very probably.

A better squad? That’s the question the next nine months will answer.

Categories: Opinion, Previews

Tags: 2026/27, BCAFC