Here we are back home once again after a tough away day last weekend which saw BBM just about break the Manager of the Month curse thanks to a last gasp equaliser from the City which preserved our unbeaten run for another week and kept us at the summit of the division….. as Kylie so aptly stated in one of her most famous songs, we should be “Salechy, lucky, lucky, lucky” in avoiding defeat in a game on the road that we once again could quite easily have seen our record go during. Anyhow, onto this weekend and the mouthwatering clash of the ‘Titans’ at the top, as the battle of the birds plays out at the CCS with the visit of the Bantams to South Wales’s capital city. This one should prove to be our toughest test yet, with a large, vociferous away following rocking up at the CCS, but with a chance to enjoy our best start to a season in 25 years (we have now equaled the 8 game unbeaten run set back in 2008-09) by matching our 9 game unbeaten run set back in our third division (league 1) campaign under Bobby Gould/Alan Cork, I wouldn’t bet against our bristling Bluebirds doing the business once again. Who Are You? Bradford City were founded in 1903 and immediately elected into the Football League Second Division. Promotion to the top tier followed as they won the 1907–08 Second Division title and then subsequently went on to win the 1911 FA Cup final, which remains the club's only major honour. Their best ever league finish was 5th place in Division 1 way back in the 1910-11 season, which combined with their FA cup win has been their most successful season ever. Bradford are one of the few clubs in league 1 who, like ourselves have reached the promised land of the Premier League, with them having a 2 season stay between 1999 and 2001. Sadly for the bantams, the closest they’ve come since to retaining that top flight status is the 15th spot in Division 1 (now the Championship) that they managed the season immediately after relegation from the Premier League. They currently sit 2nd in League 1 having achieved promotion last season from League 2, finishing in 3rd spot following a tense finish to the season that saw them clinch that last promotion spot by a single point from Walsall following a last gasp, 96th minute winner at home to Fleetwood on the final day. Manager Graham Alexander (ex-Preston defensive stalwart) has been in charge since November 2023 and has an impressive win rate of 52% from his 102 games in charge at Valley Parade. Their squad contains 1 or 2 familiar names, with former Man Utd ‘wonderkid’ Nick Powell joining from Stockport, the experienced Ex-Everton youngster Matt Pennington, the long-serving, ageing but effective striker Andy Cook and midfield dynamo Max Power. Current top scorer is Bobby Pointon after his 2 goals last weekend saw him clock up 5 so far in his 7 games, closely followed by Will Swan who has 4 to his name. Mention must also go to Cardiff born (but Irish U-21) Calum Kavanagh, son of our former skipper Graham, though he’s not made an appearance yet this season following a shin injury. First And Last Our first ever game v Bradford was an impressive 6-3 victory at Ninian Park back in January of 1922 in a first division match in front of 27,000 fans. The Bluebirds goals that day came from Jimmy Gill (2), Len Davies (3) & Joe Clennell. The club that season would go on to finish a creditable 4th in the top flight. As BfB will recall, Spurs would finish as Champions that season. Our hat-trick hero that day Len Davies would go on to play over 300 games for City, sadly passing away aged just 46 after contracting pneumonia. Len Davies of Cardiff City Cup Final Fame - not to be confused with Dickie Davies. Very different senses of style! Our last outing against this weekend’s visitors was in our 1-0 win away at Valley Parade back in January 2004. City’s only goal that day coming from Richard Langley (remember him??) in front of 11,132 fans up in Yorkshire. The goal coming via a header as he followed up from a rare Rob Earnshaw penalty miss (saved by Combe). https://x.com/CardiffCityFC/status/...s/match-preview-cardiff-city-vs-bradford-city Form Bradford’s form on their return to this level has been pretty spectacular, with the team only failing to score in 1 league game so far (a 0-0 against Northampton away 2nd game of the season) and of course sitting on the same number of points as our own mighty Bluebirds (albeit having played a game more). They’ve suffered just 1 league defeat – a surprise 3-1 reverse at Doncaster at the start of the month with them also claiming wins at home to Luton (2-1) and away at Stockport (also 2-1). They have the 2nd best overall attack in the division with 14 goals from 8 matches played, however, their goals against (10) sees them with the 9th leakiest backline. On The Pitch This weekend could see a league debut for Omari Kellyman with him picking up a set amount of time in our mid-week Vertu cup win away at Exeter, however, fellow newbie Gabriel Osho may actually be a doubt after picking up some stiffness in the groin area (steady there Masky… ). Rather worryingly, young Dylan Lawler also picked up a bit of a groin issue in the same game, so we may see a return to the Fish/Chambers defensive partnership, though one hopes not with us looking distinctly shaky any time Chambers gets a start in the backline. Alex Robertson is also now back in full contention but will likely only make the bench if involved. Predicted Starting 11 Trott Bagan Fish Lawlor Kpakio Wintle Kellyman Colwill (R) Turnbull Willock Salech The Odds Very surprised to see us as odds on favourites given Bradford’s own form and league position… still, let’s hope the bookies are right eh? C’mon The City!!!! Let's go stuff some chickens!
Great again brizzle. A tough one I feel. Likely to challenge our home record. It'll be tough to keep a clean sheet. Good to see so many of our players hitting their straps.
Another masterpiece BB. I saw an article earlier today. Average of our team, 22/23. Their average, 28. This could be the sort of game we discussed a few weeks ago, our fresh faced young guns against their gnarly old heads. We might have to place some reliance on our more experienced players like Ng and Robinson - the lack of mention of Chambers is deliberate although he could have some use in defensive midfield where he enjoyed his bit of success last season. However the kids have worked so far and we have Joel, Cian, Isaak and Nwyhak.... (still can't spell it) waiting in the wings. Another selection issue for BBM.
Typical quality as per usual from Brizzle. Going to be a tough test tomorrow. Interesting as BfB to see who BBM goes with. He’s big on players excelling in training; he bigged up Robinson here https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/cardiff-city-star-scores-eight-32504137
I do find BBM's interviews refreshing. I've said it before. He seems to have the hacks on his side. Winning helps, no doubt. Always frank, modest and a bit of banter. It seems to be rubbing off on the players as well. Very good interview with Fish ahead of tomorrow's game. Some of the youngsters are a bit raw, but relaxed talking to interviewers. Perrett needs a bit of work. Every answer started with, 'yes, no, definitely....'. He was ok after he got that out of the way each time though. BBM is open and comprehensive with his answers. A bit short when asked about Alnwick, who seems frozen out, but the interviewers didnt push the point. It might be a bit more difficult when (not if) we lose a couple games, but I don't feel they'd give him a hard time as he has credit in the bank with them. He's confident there's more to come from individuals and the team. His response to being asked if Robinson was happy with his role as second fiddle to salech was 'no he's not'. No beating about the bush. To be fair, there have been a couple clips of the bench when we've scored before Robinson has come on and he's beaming, celebrating with the rest. Suggests BBM is building a good team spirit.
It would have been 25 minutes of talk about Bradford and 2 about City had he not spoken so quickly; the guy hardly came up for breath!
One of the better views oh masked one. Obviously knows his own team inside out. A bit more about the opposition (us) would have been nice, but some pertinent analysis.
According to BFB pal, you are known for wearing a hat inside…and a mask….he reckons you ugly! He said he meant no offence!
Super write-up again Brizzo. Just so happens I've watched the last two Bradford games live on the box - at Doncaster and at home to 'Udders - a couple of completely different performances. After a decent start when they equalised an early Doncaster goal they lost the plot went 3-1 down at half time. They couldn't open up Doncaster in the second half and the game finished with that scoreline with Doncaster easily the better controlled side. Their home game against 'Udders was completely different. They exposed a very good and expensively assembled Huddersfield side and bashed them in front of a 24K home crowd by the same 3-1 scoreline as their loss against Doncaster - again with all 4 goals scored in the first half. They're a good side at this level especially at home in front of a capacity partisan crowd but tend to struggle a bit away from Valley Parade. A similar crowd for us today as they enjoyed against Udders could be what makes the difference. It depends on the day, but we're better than Doncaster so I expect a comfortable win by at least the same scoreline - in fact I'll go for another 4-0 like the Plymouth game.
Loving your confidence there Sparks. I think it'll be a tight one again and I fully expect them to try and fly out of the blocks at the start, get physical very early on with us and try knock us fully out of our stride in very much the same way Port Vale did. I'd like to think the team are a bit more settled and ready for that kind of thing now though and will retain enough composure to carry on playing our own game. Totally agree with you that the home crowd could make a big difference, we just need them to stay with the team regardless of what's happening on the pitch....
It was interesting to listen to the YouTube preview the masked one posted. One of the more analytical ones. The poster listed his expected lineup. His concern was the lack of pace they had up front and the lack of physicality in the back 3. Time to get some crosses in for Salech?
Glad we are taking a break from the Championship, it’s drab without us, three live games going on, half time, not a single goal…off the head, off the foot, off the todge….WTF? Cardiff city knocked off top spot again……the fault of IB, and BFB, but not of BT, he’s a smart cookie! Eats a lot of cookies too apparently!
