News May 20 2008

********* FIXTURES OUT MONDAY JUNE 16TH www.football-league.co.uk The season will kick-off on Saturday 9th August 2008.
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Pre season friendlies (as of May 16)

Wed 16th July - Harrogate Town - Away Sat 19th July - Bradford Park Avenue - Away Mon 21st July - Guiseley - Away Tues - 29th July - Altrincham - Away Wed 30th July - Burnley- Home Sat 2nd August - Oldham Athletic - Home

 

Jim Brown, Jon Pepper and now it's Steve Redmond! Fri May 16, 2008 5:26 am (PDT) City will also be looking for a new physio as Steve Redmond, who has done the job for the last 13 years, has been told his contract will not be renewed at the end of the month. Pre season friendlies Fri May 16, 2008 6:58 am (PDT) I think a couple of these have just been announced and also there's been a couple of date changes. Wed 16th July - Harrogate Town - Away Sat 19th July - Bradford Park Avenue - Away Mon 21st July - Guiseley - Away Tues - 29th July - Altrincham - Away Wed 30th July - Burnley- Home Sat 2nd August - Oldham Athletic - Home Todd: I could have saved City from relegation Editors note: blah blah blah ... I include the following as rumours abound that Jim Brown left the Club because of his involvmenet in this autobiography. Sun May 18, 2008 11:35 pm (PDT) Colin Todd admits it is a "crying shame" to see City playing in the bottom division. Todd, now in charge of Randers FC in Denmark, was sacked in February last year - three months before the Bantams were relegated to League Two. In his new autobiography Toddy', the former boss revealed he had probably taken the club as far as he could. But Todd still maintains he would have pulled the team out of the tail-spin which eventually sent them tumbling into the league basement. Todd said: "When I was dismissed we were not in the bottom four. We had endured a bad run (three wins from 20 games) but in my opinion it wasn't disastrous. "Yes, we needed to raise our game but we had been in this situation before and come through it. There were plenty of games left to turn it round - it was a crying shame that they didn't make it. "I took no pleasure in Bradford's relegation. I had enjoyed my time there and I was leaving behind some good players and nice people. "If I am totally honest, I had reached a point with Bradford where I could not take the club any further forward. "The club needed investment in a big way if it was to have any chance of restoring former glories." In his book, which has been co-written with former City vice-chairman Jim Brown, Todd talks in detail about the financial struggles that cursed his second spell at the club as Bryan Robson's number two and then manager. He even reveals that part of his wages helped pay another club employee. Todd said: "Administration brings any football club a whole host of problems. You simply stagger from match to match without any light at the end of the tunnel. "Your best players are up for grabs, usually at discounted prices, your loan options are at best severely restricted or disappear completely and staff just vanish. "I agreed to take the lowest wage possible and even allowed a proportion of that wage to be paid to another member of staff just to keep the club going. "Just when you think you have seen everything, something happens to stop you in your tracks." Todd admitted the fateful 2006-07 campaign had begun with "the worst pre-season I have endured in all my times in football", with City losing five out of their six friendlies. The Bantams still began that season with a bang but results dropped off dramatically from October and they slumped down League One. Yet Todd was still caught unawares when the axe fell after a 1-0 defeat at Gillingham. He said: "There is a saying that it's not over until the fat lady sings. Unbeknown to me, she had the microphone in her hand. "I never thought my job was under threat until I received a call after the Gillingham game to see the chairman on Monday morning. This set alarm bells ringing as it was an unusual request. "I had enjoyed a good relationship with Julian Rhodes and was full of admiration for what he and his family had done for the club but it did not make it any easier. "He only wanted the best for the football club, which I could understand, but I was a little miffed to find out I was the only one of the management team that had been sacked. "I put that down to the financial constraints the club was under. Nobody ever said life was fair." Rhodes said: "I hope that history will be kind to Colin's tenure. I know it should be." Toddy' is published by Breedon Books. Colin Todd will be signing copies of his book at Waterstones in Hustlergate on Thursday, May 29 between midday and 1pm. NO RETURN TO BRADFORD FOR LOACH Watford goalkeeper Scott Loach will not return to Bradford City next season, BBC Radio Leeds understands. The 19-year-old impressed during his loan spell at Valley Parade this season and City had hoped to re-sign him for next season's League Two campaign. However, the Hornets have decided to keep him at Vicarage Road after their failure to win promotion back to the Premier League. Loach made 20 City appearances and has been scouted by Premier League clubs. CITY SLICKERS FOR McCALL NOT SLACKERS Stuart McCall will come down hard on any City players that enjoy their summer break to excess. McCall was unhappy that several turned up for pre-season last year in less than tip-top shape. And he has made it clear that he will not accept a repeat when the squad returns to training on July 1. While the City boss wants the players to let off some steam during the off-season, he expects them to come back fit and ready for action. Each player has been given an individual fitness programme to follow during the summer and McCall will not stand for any slacking. "There were a few let themselves down last summer," he admitted while talking to the Telegraph & Argus. "We had to have a little splinter group doing their own running when we started off because they weren't up to joining in with the rest. "That won't happen again and I want all of them starting at a similar level physically. "It's changed since my day as a player when everyone used to come back half a stone overweight. We'd all spend the first week being sick because the only thing we did was run. "Now we want to get into ball work early on and start working on things and obviously you've got to have a decent level of fitness to do that." McCall has been pleased with the improvement in Omar Daley's fitness over the season. He was one of those who struggled at the start. Barry Conlon, having signed a new six-month deal, will be another one the manager will be keeping a close eye on. "He needs to come back in a better physical shape than before so he can put himself up for selection early on," added McCall. "But you've seen how he has improved markedly in that area during the season. "Of course central midfielders and lads like Kyle Nix are going to be able to run for a lot longer than strikers but you must be up to a certain level. "There's no need spending three weeks of pre-season running because you're not gaining anything from that." City set to miss out on Thompson By Dave Craven T&A City look like being beaten in the race to sign their top transfer target - Garry Thompson. The Morecambe winger has been in talks with Stuart McCall but seems certain to now turn the Bantams down. League One outfit Scunthorpe are thought to have seen off a host of other clubs to nail the in-demand wideman.

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This match report available online at The Texas Bantam Blog