Season Ticket Collection - news / Delph etc

Season Ticket collections update


The club would like to inform supporters that *NO* season ticket cards
will be available for collection from 1.30pm - 4.45pm on Saturday 15th
August, the date of City's first League home fixture of the season.

This decision has been taken in a bid to ease the potential congestion
that may occur at the Ticket Office and to allow all supporters to get
into the ground before kick off.

The Ticket Office will continue to be open from 1.30pm onwards until the
kick off, but only for sales of tickets for home fixtures and Bantams
away matches.

The Ticket Office will be open again for season ticket collections after
the match against Port Vale, at approximately 4.45pm.

Due to this decision, the club urges any supporters wishing to attend
the Port Vale fixture to try and arrange for their season ticket(s) to
be collected before the day of the fixture.



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Cash windfall for Bantams

Bradford City could be set for a cash windfall of around £960,000 after Aston Villa agreed what is believed to be an £8m fee for Leeds United's 19-year-old Bradford-born midfielder Fabian Delph.

City are believed to have a sell-on clause of 12 per cent.

The England under-21 international midfielder only broke into the Leeds team last season when he played 50 games but took League One by storm and was voted the Football League young player of the year.

He has been the target for a number of clubs, including Spurs and Manchester City, but he had expressed a preference to join Villa.

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Leeds United midfielder Fabian Delph agreed personal terms with Aston
Villa today and passed his medical.

The two clubs had agreed a fee for the former Bantams schoolboy
yesterday, believed to be worth up to £8million.

The deal means City could eventually net in the region of £1million as
they have a sell-on clause, believed to be 12.5 per-cent.

Leeds chairman Ken Bates confirmed the Bantams are to get a share of the
transfer.

He said: "We get a fee – some of which has to go to Bradford City as
part of a sell-on – and there's a contingency built in subject to
Villa's performances."

Delph said: "There are a lot of young English players here, a superb
manager and this is the club I've chosen to play for so hopefully I can
do well."




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  O'Brien must prove his staying power


Bradford City have given James O'Brien three months to prove he is
good enough.

The Dublin-born youngster has signed a short-term deal at Valley Parade
after spending the whole of pre-season with the club.

And Stuart McCall will be hoping the carrot of earning a potentially
longer stay will inspire the 19-year-old, as it did with Kyle Nix two
years ago.

Nix was given a series of weekly and monthly contracts when he first
came in and went on to play regularly during his first season.

Midfielder O'Brien made an immediate impact in the early friendlies and
scored City's first goal in pre-season against Burnley.

With his future secured for the next three months, the challenge has
been laid down to the former Birmin-gham player to replicate that form
on a regular basis.

O'Brien's younger brother Mark is currently on Derby's books – and made
his senior debut as a 16-year-old sub against Watford in May.

McCall's player hunt continues and he has imposed a deadline of today on
a couple of potential targets. But he is pleased to tie up another
unproven youngster.

The City chief said: "It will give us the chance to have a bit more of a
look at him. We've got a few young midfielders at the club but James has
shown promise in certain areas and we can see how he's going.

"It's a frustrating time at the minute trying to get people in and we're
waiting on a couple to come back to us."

Steve O'Leary will get another opportunity to push his claims in this
afternoon's private reserve game at Sheffield Wednesday.

The 24-year-old, who played 15 times last season for Hereford, made a
decent impression against Carlisle on Saturday.

McCall added: "The lad hasn't played an awful lot of football so to do
the full 90 minutes wasn't easy. He was very good for the first half
hour but then naturally tired and drifted out a little bit towards the end.

"But he certainly did enough to earn another chance. He can do a bit of
both in midfield – get his foot in as well as pass the ball.

"There were some positive things out of Saturday and it's just a shame
that the first half hour got overshadowed by the next 15 minutes when we
conceded three.

"But we shouldn't lose sight of the positives and the second half was
fairly equal."

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Flynn grabs #4 shirt

Bradford City manager Stuart McCall has moved to bolster his midfield on the
eve of the new campaign by signing experienced midfielder Michael Flynn.

The Newport native has signed a one year deal at the Coral Windows Stadium
and will be handed squad number 4.

He joins from local rivals Huddersfield Town after spending one season at
the Galpharm Stadium.

Flynn, 28, will now go straight into McCall's squad for Saturdays
curtain-raiser at Notts County.

After spells with home town club Newport County and Barry Town, Flynn moved
to England and joined Wigan Athletic in 2002.

Flynn spent three years at Wigan, during which time he featured in a loan
spell at Blackpool, before moving to south to Gillingham.

Upon his arrival at the Priestfield Stadium, Flynn became an instant fans
favourite with the Gills faithful and integral member of their first team
squad.

In his final season with Gillingham, Flynn was named as club captain and
finished as their top scorer.

During the summer of 2007, Flynn signed with Blackpool for his second spell
at Bloomfield Road, before moving onto Huddersfield Town the following
season.

http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/page/News/0,,10266~1743212,00.html

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  Flynn: I'll give rivals what four!

Michael Flynn will don the City number four shirt and has vowed to do
it justice.

Attacking midfielder Flynn will wear the jersey that is synonymous with
boss Stuart McCall.

It ends a two-year wait for McCall, who tried to snap up Flynn when he
first became City boss in 2007.

And the 28-year-old former Gillingham skipper – who is poised today to
complete a one-year deal – is confident he will live up to his manager's
expectations.

Flynn said: "He's a passionate man who had a great career and it's
always flattering when someone like Stuart McCall wants to sign you.

"When he first came in for me a couple of years ago, I also got an offer
from Blackpool, who were in the Championship, which was something I
couldn't turn down. But he's an ambitious manager and I feel that
Bradford are a very good club for this league.

"I didn't know about the significance of the number four shirt here but
it was good for me when I wore it for Gillingham and scored double
figures in League One, so hopefully I can get more than ten this season."

Flynn will complement Lee Bullock in City's central midfield and his
arrival on the eve of the season fills a hole that has concerned McCall
all summer.

He added: "I get back as well, I'm not just an attacking midfielder. But
I like to play box-to-box and there's no better feeling than scoring a
goal."

Stan Ternent signed Flynn at Huddersfield a year ago but the move went
sour after the manager was axed mid-season. The flame-haired Welshman
did not feature at all once Lee Clark took control and went out on loan
to Darlington.

Flynn added: "It was very frustrating. I was top scorer at the start of
the season but when Stan got sacked I was told I wouldn't play.

"I'm always loyal and I don't think 15-16 games is long enough for any
manager. While I was out on loan, Lee Clark came in and I was fighting a
losing battle straight away.

"He wanted his own players just like Stan did and that's the way
football works. I had to get my head round that but things change."

Flynn's capture adds to the Huddersfield presence in the City dressing
room and he predicts on-loan Town keeper Simon Eastwood will do a solid
job.

"Simon's a good young keeper and if he hits the ground running for the
first ten games then he will improve. He'll show everybody the ability
he has got.

"It's a time of change at Huddersfield with a new manager and chairman
with a big purse to spend but this club has a terrific set-up and you
want to play in a stadium like this every other week."


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Delph transfer windfall from Leeds will help safeguard Bradford's future


By Richard Sutcliffe
MARK LAWN has warned Bradford City fans not to expect a sudden influx of players after Fabian Delph's move to Aston Villa earned the club a substantial cash windfall.
The Bantams are expected to bank around £650,000 from the 19-year-old's switch from Leeds United to Villa Park for an initial £6m thanks to a sell-on clause.

Bradford-born Delph started his career as a schoolboy at Valley Parade before being enticed to Elland Road at the age of 11 in a deal that included a 12 per cent sell-on clause should he subsequently be transferred.

City, who had already earned £125,000 before Delph's move to the Premier League, can now look forward to a substantial windfall.

However, any fans hoping the bulk of this money will be handed to manager Stuart McCall for team re-building are likely to be left frustrated.

Joint chairman Lawn said: "The money will be used to put the club back on to an even-keel after last year's financial loss.

"As people know, we pushed the boat out in the hope of winning promotion by having a large wage bill.

"We viewed this as prudent risk-taking as even if it did not result in Bradford City going up, we knew there was a good chance that Fabian Delph would be sold for a substantial sum.

"With that having happened, the money can be used to safeguard the club's future. After what has happened at Bradford City in the last few years, I am sure everyone can see the sense in such an approach."

City's failure to win promotion last term despite having the largest wage bill in League Two led to a drastic round of costcutting with McCall's playing budget having been slashed in half.

Lawn, as joint chairman, also lent the club £1m to cover the losses to prevent Bradford from descending into the sort of financial problems that twice led to administration in 2002 and 2004.

However, despite City's windfall from the Delph transfer, Lawn has stressed: "I appreciate some supporters will be worried I might take that loan back out now, but at present, I have no plans to do so.

"The loan was made for a reason and that was to keep us on an even-footing. That is still my intention.

"When I joined the board (in 2007), I said the aim was to stabilise the club and we did that by making our first profit in 10 years that following season.

"Last season, we budgeted for a large loss but this was a calculated decision." Lawn has also moved to thank neighbours Leeds for their conduct throughout a saga that began almost as soon as Delph burst into the Elland Road first team last August.

A host of Premier League clubs were linked with the teenager and United turned down an initial bid of £4.75m from Aston Villa earlier this summer amid interest from Everton and Manchester City.

Lawn said: "I would like to thank Ken Bates, Shaun Harvey and Leeds United for the way they have conducted themselves throughout this.

"They were honourable and never once tried to move the goalposts, which does happen in football with clubs often claiming that a sell-on clause is blocking a deal and that unless it is reduced then the move will be off.

"That didn't happen with Leeds, who were very professional.

I know some of our fans harbour animosity towards our neighbours so I want them to know just how honourably that Leeds have behaved throughout."


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McCall not envious of money-bags Notts County
7:40am Thursday 6th August 2009

By Simon Parker

Stuart McCall insists he is not jealous of Notts County's new-found wealth.

Michael Flynn is the new-est face to check in at City ahead of Saturday's opener at Meadow Lane.

But the Bantams are not in the same ball park as County, whose preparations – including the shock capture of Sven Goran Eriksson as director of football – are now being bankrolled by mega-rich middle-east owners Munto Finance.

McCall, in contrast, has been forced to wheel and deal within a reduced budget but he is adamant there is no green eye towards the goings on at their first-day opponents.

He said: "Obviously Notts County are in a good position now but I knew the score here at the end of last season. I don't get envious.

"A couple of years ago, we knew there were a couple of clubs in Peterborough and MK Dons who would be up there because they had the money. Last season, al-though Shrewsbury spent £175,000 on Grant Holt, we were up in the top three or four in budget terms and we've had to deal with that.

"Sometimes if you've got the money it's always nice to speculate to accumulate. You saw that with Peterborough.

"Barry Fry knew the non-league system like the back of his hand and brought in the likes of Aaron McLean for £250,000. That seemed an awful lot of money but last year they knocked back a bid for £2m.

"Sometimes good non-league players come to me well recommended but they are going to cost £50-75,000 and, unfortunately, we haven't got that to spend."

Preston striker Karl Haw-ley became the latest Notts County signing and Ports-mouth's highly-rated young winger Matt Ritchie, outstanding for Dagenham against City last term, has been targeted to follow.

McCall is not surprised by the influx of new talent that his team will face.

He said: "We knew it was coming but you've got to spend the money wisely and get the right gel and balance in the team.

"Obviously it's great when you can bring in the likes of Karl Hawley.

"They've also got Spike (Graeme Lee), two midfield players who are very effective at this level and Lee Hughes up top, so they have bought well.

"I watched them last week and five of the front six were new players. And they've still got the finances to go out and strengthen if and when.

"But it also brings a level of expectation and pressure that they wouldn't have had before."

McCall is considering making a short-term offer to midfielder Stephen O'Leary.

Former Huddersfield winger Malvin Kamara, who has been training with City and played against Sheffield Wednesday reserves, could also get a deal.



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