By Jason McKeown

The Bradford City team bus would have been halfway back up the M1 from Nottingham when Lincoln City’s Freddie Draper got on the end of Andrei Coubis’ long throw to head home a late winner at Deepdale. As Imps fans celebrated, Preston fans booed. And the home side’s futile attempt to rescue an equaliser was played out to a soundtrack of “Hecky out” chants.

Meanwhile hundreds of miles away in South Wales, Burnley were having another dreadful away day. A resurgent Swansea capitalised on repeated defensive calamities to run up a comfortable victory. It left Burnley still waiting for a victory of any kind since February, including pre-season friendlies. They remain rooted to the foot of the Championship. One place below Preston.

And that meant by the time the Bantams arrived back in Bradford, a small cloud had appeared on the horizon. The two bottom clubs in the division above were a step closer to sacking their managers. And those two bottom clubs share one important view of the world.

A love for Graham Alexander.

At Preston, the chop came quickly. On Sunday afternoon, the club announced Paul Heckingbottom had been dismissed. The former City left back of two spells, Heckingbottom oversaw an end of season slump that saw Preston win just three of their last 15 games last campaign, and he had begun this one with one victory and six defeats.

The man Heckingbottom succeeded in the Preston dugout – Ryan Lowe – recently appeared on Sky Sports to stick the boot in, arguing that the £20 million Heckingbottom had spent meant he could have no excuses. Heckingbottom’s assistant is one Stuart McCall. A couple of weeks ago, a video of Stuart having an animated discussion with Preston fans went viral. McCall also departs.

Heckingbottom and McCall are slightly unlucky, but this is modern football. An unpopular board had to roll the dice, and the question for North End is what number they land on. That’s where Alexander comes into focus. A Preston legend. Over 400 appearances over two spells. In 2024, the Lancashire Evening Post ran a supporters vote for the greatest Preston players of all time. Alexander made the 21-player list. As the North End powers-that-be pore over what’s next, Alexander’s name is likely to be on their lips.  

As for Burnley, they’re slightly behind Preston in rolling the dice. The Belgian Nicky Hayden only took charge this summer. He’s had a mere nine competitive games in the hotseat. The pressure is obviously building – Burnley are a yo-yo club, used to dominating the Championship. Chairman Alan Pace’s track record of managerial choices probably means the American would be less interested in Alexander.

But Preston very well might be. They have a long-term pattern of hiring British managers. And given the North End board’s popularity is seemingly lower than even Heckingbottom, the appeal of making a crowd-pleasing appointment looks strong. What better way to placate unhappy fans than hiring a club legend?

Even that undersells Alexander’s appeal to clubs like Preston. The job he has performed at Valley Parade is simply extraordinary. He walked into a troubled, dysfunctional football club 34 months ago and has completely revived its fortunes. From the difficult early days where storm clouds gathered and supporter protests took place against the owner and CEO, to the dramatic League Two promotion and the commendable League One play-off finish last term. So far this season, Alexander is at it again.

If you’re a Championship club casting your eye over the lower leagues in search of your next manager, you’d struggle to find anyone with a more impressive recent body of work. The more difficult question for Preston, at least, is why wouldn’t they strongly consider their former hero? He seems to tick every box, and so the Bantams could do a lot worse than unplug their WiFi and avoid answering any phone calls that start with a Preston area code. Hopefully, the compensation any interest party would need to pay will scare everyone off.

The big unknown in all of this is how Alexander himself feels. The emotional pull of Preston is obvious and would be difficult to discount, as would be the opportunity to manage in the Championship for the first time in his career. But Alexander definitely seems a head over heart kind of guy. Is swapping the top of League One for the bottom of the Championship the smartest career decision? From a distance, the problems at Preston look considerable.

Alexander has had plenty of managerial jobs that have ended brutally. He was sacked by Fleetwood in September 2015 after leading the Cod Army to its highest-ever league finish. Dismissed by Scunthorpe United in March 2018 when they were in the League One play-offs. Fired by Salford City six games into the 2020/21 season, despite being unbeaten. He left Motherwell in July 2022 after striking initial success began to fade, and lasted just 16 games at MK Dons – winning manager of the month along the way – before he was handed his P45.

In short, Alexander has held several jobs that badly lacked stability and patience. Until now. No manager is ever more than three or four games away from a crisis, but at Bradford City Alexander has built up huge credit in the bank. He seems to have exceptionally strong relationships with the key figures around him. He looks settled and happy. He has a level of job security that few other clubs would be able to offer.

Including Preston and Burnley.

That doesn’t mean we should be complacent or take Alexander’s happiness for granted. It is only two weeks ago that Valley Parade booed the team off for losing at home to Cambridge. You could sense it irked Alexander. As has the questioning of some of his decisions, like going with a central midfield of Callum Connolly and Antoni Sarcevic. Alexander has talked recently of wanting supporters to have more faith. If he privately believes he deserves more appreciation for what he’s built, he’s probably right.

There might be a ceiling to what Alexander can achieve at City with a budget that remains around the League One mid-table level. And we might be brushing against that ceiling right now. Expectations have understandably crept up, and a couple of signs of the Bantams struggling – namely the defeats to Plymouth and Cambridge – brought a level of grumbling that isn’t necessarily in proportion with City’s realistic capabilities.

Which isn’t to suggest Alexander will walk away simply because a small section of supporters turned on the club at the first bump. But it does underline how important it is we make sure he feels valued. Whatever criticisms can be levelled at City’s start to the season, they remain First World problems compared to where this club was not so long ago.

The point is Alexander is the architect of Bradford City’s revival. The club would not be where it is right now without his wonderful leadership. And the managerial revolving door approach that was there before he entered Valley Parade underlines just how difficult he would be to replace. We should not be in any rush to let Alexander leave the club, and be doing everything we can to make him feel appreciated, if anyone tries to tempt him away.

It appears that may be tested in the coming days. And if it is, it’s very difficult to predict just how it might go. But Graham Alexander should be left in no doubt how we feel about him. He might very well be a Preston legend, but the amazing success he’s delivered in BD8 makes him a Bradford City one too.

Categories: Opinion

Tags: BCAFC