FACT FILE
Team Name: Bradford City Association Football Club
Nickname: The Bantams
Year Founded: 1903
Stadium: University of Bradford Stadium
Capacity: 24,840
2023/24 SEASON
Following a difficult pre-season, Bradford City’s start to the 2023/24 League Two season was not what they wanted. Three wins in their first 11 games brought an end to Mark Hughes’ tenure at the club. It took over a month to find a new manager with Kevin McDonald being placed in charged on a temporary basis. After a tough October, the Bantams replaced McDonald and named Mark Truman as caretaker manager. Graham Alexander was appointed at the start of November. For the rest of the campaign, the club ebbed and flowed between unbeaten runs and winless runs. Bradford would finish the season with seven games unbeaten as they just missed out on the play-offs by a point.
MANAGER
Graham Alexander spent almost 25 years playing professional football for clubs such as Scunthorpe United, Luton Town, Preston North End and Burnley. He made over 1,000 appearances throughout his career and had a stellar reuptation when it came to penalties. After retiring and spending time as Preston’s head of youth development, Alexander was appointed manager of Fleetwood Town. In his 12 years of managerial experience, the former full-back has also managed Scunthorpe, Salford City, Mortherwell and MK Dons – this includes two promotions via the play-offs. Alexander was named Bradford City manager in November 2023.
STAR PLAYER (INC LAST SEASON’S STATS)
There are few strikers in League Two who are as clinical as Andy Cook. The striker has arguably saved the best form of his career for his spell at Bradford. He was League Two’s top goalscorer during the 2022/23 campaign.
Last season in numbers:
Appearances – 48
Goals – 19
Assists – 9
Yellow Cards – 4
Red Cards – 1
Minutes Played – 3,927
PLAYED FOR BOTH
Tom Naylor joined Bradford City on a two-month loan spell from Derby County during the 2012/13 season. He made five appearances during his initial stint with the club before having his loan extended for another month. Naylor appeared two more times for the Bantams and returned to Pride Park following the conclusion of his loan period.
In June 2023, the midfielder made the move to Chesterfield after leaving League One side Wigan Athletic. He immediately impressed fans with his midfield play and scoring ability. Naylor enjoyed his best goalscoring season as he bagged 14 goals in 47 appearances as the Spireites clinched the National League title.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
P 99 W 24 D 28 L 47
This season will mark the 100th meeting between the Spireites and the Bantams. Bradford have historically had the better results in the head-to-head meetings. In the last six meetings, the Yorkshire side have won each one.
PREVIOUS GAME
Chesterfield and Bradford City met in the first round of the 2017/18 FA Cup at the University of Bradford Stadium. Alex Gillead gave the home side the lead after just four minutes when he slotted the ball past Joe Anyon. Bradford doubled the lead just before half time; Alex Jones got the second to secure their passage through to the second round.
The two sides met in a friendly in July 2021 at the SMH Group Stadium. Danny Rowe opened the scoring after two minutes when his close-range finish beat Richard O’Donnell. Stefan Payne added a second four minutes later, his clever finish found the back of the net. Bradford pulled one back early in the second half through Paudie O’Connor but Chesterfield held on for the win.
