2024/25 Prediction League Game 17 v Bradford City (away)

Div3North · 22-11-2024, 23:19

Bradford City AFC

V

Accrington Stanley

2024/25 Prediction League Game 17 v The Bantams (away)

Starter for Ten (1); name the TV “personality” whose father played for, and later managed, The Cobblers ….. he was manager from April 1985 to May 1990, winning 114 of his 278 games in charge (41%) plus the Division Four championship in 1986/87 ……

Bradford City were formed in 1903 as a result of a series of meetings called by James Whyte, a sub-editor of the Bradford Observer, with Football Association representatives and officials at Manningham F.C., a rugby league side: the Football League saw the invitation as a chance to promote association football in the rugby league-dominated county of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and duly elected the new club into the Second Division, in place of Doncaster Rovers. Four days later, at the 23rd annual meeting of Manningham FC, the committee decided to change codes from rugby league to association football. Bradford City Association Football Club were formed without having played a game, taking over Manningham's colours of claret and amber, and their Valley Parade ground.

City's first game was a 2–0 defeat at Grimsby on 1 September 1903, six days before their first home game attracted 11,000 fans. The club finished 10th in their first season, and won the Second Division title in 1907–08, and with it promotion to the First Division. Having narrowly avoided relegation in their first season in the top flight, City recorded their highest finish of 5th in 1910–11, and in the same season they won the FA Cup, when a goal from captain Jimmy Speirs won the Cup Final in a replay against Newcastle United. These days they’d have played 30 mins extra time and gone straight to penalties

You might think,…..having won the Cup, and having been in the top flight of the FL as recently as 1998 /99 (promoted in second place with 87 points from 46 games, 18 points behind Sunderland), albeit that they were GreasyPoled at the end of 2000/01, alongside Man City and Coventry …… that they’d have the drop on us in the head to head, but in fact its eight wins each and seven draws: they have won the last two, though ……. Managed now by Graham Alexander, their former managers include Frank Stapleton, Chris Kamara, Paul Jewell, Colin Todd and Bryan Robson …………. Most appearances is 574 by Ces Podd, and leading-ever goal scorer is Bobby Campbell on 143, although David “Bronco” Lane hit 36 in season 1961/62 before the betting scandal put an end to his career ………….

Starter for Ten (2); I came across an interesting snippet online this week, which was posted in the name of Betfred and which claimed that Port Vale had won ten of their first 15 League games this season, the first time they’d achieved that since 1953 …………. I thought that might have been an interesting challenge to put to you all, until I checked their results, to find that the tenth win was in their 16th goal, so it was Trumpian Fake News ….. Well done, the Voodoo Gods of Football!

Instead, try this; when Paul Jewell managed the club he bought the club's first £1 million signings and guided the club to the Premier League with a second-place finish. The following season, Jewell continued to defy the critics by avoiding relegation again on the last day with a 1–0 victory over Liverpool, with a goal from David Wetherall.

Jewell’s critics gave the club a very specific, TV-related nickname during this time- but what was it?

Bradford City themselves have had several nicknames during their history: in their early years, they were referred to as the Robins or Wasps, taking over the nickname of Manningham FC, because of Manningham's claret and amber hoops. Other nicknames have been the Citizens or Paraders, but the club – although I can’t trace why - is better known as the Bantams

Last season they finished 9th in League Two on 69 points, behind Barrow on GD and a point from promoted Crawley ……….. they released 14 (including the retired Matt Derbyshire, LB Liam Ridehalgh - who went to Guiseley – CB Ash Taylor (who signed for Bruno’s Magpies), RB Luke Hendrie (now at Morecambe) and DMF Kevin McDonald, now at Exeter) …… they ProperSigned seven, the best known by a country mile being Antoni Sarcevic

Starter for Ten (3): where do Bruno’s Magpies play their footie?

At the moment they’re ninth, with a record of P16 W6 D5 L5 GF21 GA17 and 23 points; at home, W4 D2 L1, and away W2 D3 L4 ………… to our advantage (mayhap) they haven’t managed a win in their last four, whereas we’re flying up the table, hampered only by the fact that we’ve lost 13 points from winning positions ………. I am sympathetic to those who say that Tuesday’s ref played nine minutes overtime of an indicated five, but of course it’s “at least” five minutes, and you’d have thought we’d have managed to learn to park the bus by this stage of the season …….. we do seem to nod off at all the wrong times

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm tomorrow, Saturday 23rd November (snow and gales permitting) ………………. Their leading scorer is Andy Cook (9 in the League. 11 altogether, so he needs looking after!) Since the 2nd October in all competitions we’ve won 5, D3 and lost 1 (as every Batman Fan knows) ……… Ref is “newbie” Michael Barlow from Bolton in his first EFL season, this being only his second L2 game ………… we appear to be second favourites in a field of two (Bradford 8/11, Stanley 19/5 and 27/10 the draw) ………….. and Alan Carr’s dad Graham Carr was Northampton’s manager from 1985 to 1990 (personally I think Alan Carr’s as funny as an attack of norovirus, but to each his own); Paul Jewell’s critics called his team “Dad’s Army”, and Bruno and his Magpies play – as most strangely-named teams do – in Gibraltar

Good luck to everybody! ……. Keep El Fidelio! ………… And thanks for playing!