Grimsby v Bradford Preview

Who are they?

Formed in 1903 Bradford were born from Manningham Rugby League Club which their representatives and the Bradford Observer wanted to increase the profile of association football in the largely rugby league dominated area of West Yorkshire. They were immediately elected to Division Two without having played a game and it was a good choice as Bradford found themselves in the top flight 5 years later and in 1911 won their first and only honour the FA Cup. In 1922 Bradford drop out of the top tier before returning briefly in 1999 since then it’s been nothing but a horror show which puts ours to shame.

Having started as promotion favourites Bradford fans must have been waiting for the glory the believed they deserved for showing such faith in the club the season before. McCall had become accustomed to the job in hand and had constructed a team who in flashes showed real skill and all seemed well in hand as Bradford looked to be closing in on a top two place come February. After that Bradford imploded a sequence of 9 games without a win saw them plummet and looking for merely a play off spot and all was exacerbated by McCall’s attention seeking cries that he would quit if Bradford failed in their quest for promotion. In the end Bradford finished just outside of the play offs and McCall was talked down from the ledge and all are now ready to try again this year but with a much smaller budget.

Bradford haven't started as well as last campaign they'll hope to improve on last years final months instead. Currently sitting spot bang in midtable (12th if you struggled in maths like myself) Bradford’s high of the season was a scintillating 5-4 win over Chesterfield at Saltergate. While it couldn't get any worse than the hammering Notts County handed out to them on the opening day buoyed by the arrival of Sven and several millions from god knows where the Magpies duly spanked the Yorkies 5-0. Currently the Bantams are struggling much like ourselves the too haven't won since September and have won twice away from home in the league all season.

Gareth Evans. The former Man United youth striker started his career under the brilliant guidance of Dario Gradi at Crewe and did a 1-2 with United and Crewe during his youth days. He is currently a big hit at Valley Parade been joint scorer with James Hanson both on 5 respectfully. More amusing though is that fact that Evans has a fan seeking missile of a right foot ready to take down any of those who get in its way. At 21 Evans only previous club was Macclesfield where his 19 goals caught McCalls attention.

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Grimsby have a poor record against Bradford and have not won for 10 games.

P 57 W18 D13 L26 F 68 A 83

Head-to-Head (78th on The Opposition Ladder)

Last Meeting

Bradford 2 Grimsby 0 (Sat 31st Jan 2009)

Rob Atkinson was sent off in the first half leaving Town with a mountain to climb.

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