The Opponent: Bradford City
After what has seemed an everlasting 2 weeks, we find ourselves on the road once again. To be honest I thought the England double header would at least give me some form of footballing entertainment during the fortnight, how wrong could I be? Good to hear our midfield’s International call up’s went well, fair play to the 3 of them.
Bradford rose to prominence during the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture, particularly wool. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the earliest industrialised settlements, rapidly becoming the wool capital of the world. The area's access to a supply of coal, iron ore and soft water facilitated the growth of Bradford's manufacturing base, which, as textile manufacture grew, led to an explosion in population and was a stimulus to civic investment; Bradford has a large amount of listed Victorian architecture including the grand Italianate City Hall. The textile sector in Bradford fell into decline from the mid-20th century. Since this time, Bradford has emerged as a tourist destination, becoming the first UNESCO City of Film with attractions such as the National Media Museum Bradford City Park, the Alhambra Theatre and Cartwright Hall. However, Bradford has faced similar challenges to the rest of the post-industrial area of Northern England, including deindustrialisation, social unrest, unbridled whippet breeding and economic deprivation.
Some of the better known names that are Bradfordian include Sir Edward Appleton, discoverer of the ionosphere and Nobel Prize winner, The Brontë sisters, Anne, Emily, and Charlotte born in Thornton on the outskirts of Bradford, but later lived in Haworth. Artist, David Hockney , Samuel Lister Industrialist & inventor, Social reformer Richard Oastler, Boxer, Junior Witter and former Countdown presenter, the late Richard Whiteley.
Last Time Out – 6th September - Bradford City 1 Yeovil Town 3 – Att: 12’601. Two first half goals from Defender Aaron Martin set Yeovil on their way to an impressive away win. A second half goal from AJ Leitch-Smith (great name) secured the 3 points to take back to Somerset.
Starting XI – Pickford, McArdle, Sheehan, Darby, Meredith, Clarke, Kennedy, Liddle (Yeates 77), Knott, Bennett (McLean 65), Hanson. A couple of familiar names in there for us.
They have served us both – Wayne Allison, Gareth Whalley, Colin Todd, Jimmy Quinn, Andy Petterson, Mark McCammon, David Layne, Chris Kamara, Tom Helsby, Steve Foley, Ted Braithwaite, Alan Connell, Peter Downsborough, Rhys Evans, Stan Harland, Bob Jefferson, Ken Lambert, William Marshall, Billy Paynter, Michael Proctor, Abe Rosenthal, Peter Thorne, Ashley Westwood, Moses Ashikodi (he really does get around), Sandy Cochrane, Ben Woolhouse, Raffaele De Vita, Paul Evans, Lee Holmes, Bruce Walker, Nicky Summerbee, Alex Rhodes, Jack Preece, Tom Hallett, Junior Lewis
One From The Past – Nationwide League Division 1 – January 24th 1998 – Bradford City 1 Swindon Town 1. Despite a first half goal from Edinho, Town fought back and levelled with a 90th minute Chris Hay goal. Playing for Bradford that day was celebrated non league manager Chris Wilder.
The Odds – Bradford 17/10 Draw 21/10 Swindon17/10 Massimo Luongo’s next goal will be his 10th for Swindon, if you fancy him to score 1st today you can get 16/1 on it or 6/1 on him scoring anytime in 90 mins.
The Son Says – Back to school and early nights again, and not a moment too soon. 0-1 Town victory.
The Prediction – Last trip to Bradford was our recent League 2 winning season, not going this time but think we have enough to sneak this. 2-1 victory, Luongo and Obika on target. 276 Town Fans.
And Finally – In case you are peckish, Bradford is famous for being home to some of the best curry houses in the country such as, Mumtaz, Akbar's, Prashad's and ZOUK. In 2013 Bradford was again crowned "Curry Capital of Britain" after seeing off other strong contenders such as Glasgow and Wolverhampton. Bradford scored highly not just for the quality of food and service offered by each of the restaurants, but also for food hygiene, a deep understanding of the curry restaurant sector and its success in collectively raising funds for food charity The Curry Tree, which seeks to alleviate the plight of the poor in South East Asia. The judges were also particularly impressed by Bradford's International Food Academy and Jamie's Ministry of Food, which teaches the districts residents how to cook quick, simple, healthy and cost-effective meals.
