L2 (A) POSTPONED v Crewe December 18th, 2010. K.O. 3:00PM

Next fixture
L2 (h) v Chesterfield Sunday December 26th, 2010. K.O. 3:00PM

Current table
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/live/tables/cc_league2.html

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Fixtures
http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/page/Fixtures/0,,10266,00.html

Pictures


"Last Match" Highlights on Bantams Player
http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/page/player/LastMatch/0,,10266~1612005~36,00.html

Links

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News from the past week


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From the BCFC Official website...

Played Tuesday 14 December 2010
F.A Youth Cup sponsored by E.ON 3rd Round

Bradford City (0) 1 (Rowe 105)
Southampton (0) 1 (Ward-Prowse 120)

AET. Bradford City win 9-8 on penalties

City's youth team booked their place in the F.A Youth Cup sponsored by E.ON
4th round in dramatic fashion as they shocked Premier League Academy side
Southampton.

The Bantams shrugged off the blow of conceding a Saints equaliser in the
last minute of extra time to defeat their highly fancied visitors 9-8 on
penalties in a titanic tussle.

Chris Cheetham proved to be the Bantams matchwinner in the shootout
after saving two Saints kicks.
The Bantams goalkeeper had already kept out James Ward-Prowse's earlier
penalty before he won the tie for City by pushing away Conor O'Sullivan's
spot kick.

David Wetherall's side initially thought they had won the tie back in extra
time when Dominic Rowe gave them the lead at the very end of the first
period.

The Saints came back at City though to force penalties when Ward-Prowse
struck in the very last moments of extra time, but the Bantams weren't to be
denied.

While Cheetham may have been the star of the shootout, the Bantams line up
was full of heroes on a night that they fought superbly to match their
higher ranked opponents.

Two of those were City's centre half pairing of Declan McGivern and Adam
Robinson, who seemed to be everywhere to block and head away Southampton
attempts.

McGivern was the only change to Wetherall's side from the previous rounds as
the youth team manager stuck with the majority of the players that had
defeated Rochdale and Bolehall Swifts in rounds 1 & 2.

In front of the watching Bantams senior management, City's youngsters were
understandably keen to impress, but they nearly fell behind through the
unfortunate Elliott Holmes.

The right back sliced his intended clearance across his own goal from a
Saints corner and it needed the intervention of Ben Green on the line to
eventually clear the danger.

City responded with a rising shot from the edge of the area by Joe Mitchell,
which narrowly missed David Wooton's far post.

With the Saints seeing more of the ball the longer the half progressed, the
highly rated visitors looked to try and control the flow of the match as
they probed away for an opening.

City stuck to their task though and they managed to keep the Saints at arms
length for the majority of the half.

Southampton did have their chances in the half as Jordace Holder-Spooner and
Joe Curtis went close, but City got to half time with their goal intact.

In a similar pattern to the first period, the visitors started the second
period searching for the tie's opening goal.

City were still standing strong, however, with some resolute defending. They
were also on the wrong end of two marginal offside calls when Darren
Stephenson was twice played through on goal.

Saints were remaining the more dominant side as the half progressed, but
they were still being limited to few chances of notes by City.

Sub Sam Hoskins tested Cheetham with a swerving low effort from distance,
but the keeper was behind the shot all the way.

With barely twenty minutes remaining, City almost snatched a precious lead
in the tie through Dominic Rowe.

Rowe's long range drive was too hot to handle for Wooton as the keeper
pushed out his shot back in front of goal, but Forsyth couldn't quite get in
a position to tap home.

With the tie ticking towards extra time, City appeared to get their second
wind as they tentatively pushed forward for a match winner.

They still had to be wary at the back though with Cole firing narrowly over
from just outside the area.
In the final minute of normal time, Stephenson had a chance to win the tie
for the Bantams after he shrugged off the attentions of Foot and strode into
the area.

His angled shot was well struck, but could only find the side-netting as
Wooton scrambled across to cover.

With the tie still evenly poised on the eve of the extra time interval
break, Wetherall decided to go for fresh legs in midfield as Mitchell made
way for Thomas Marshall.

Just before the break though, Marshall was able to get himself involved as
City managed to grab the first goal of the tie.

Rowe found himself with space behind the Saints backline after Turnbull
failed to deal with Marshall's looping play over the top.

The diminutive winger didn't panic and finished superbly into the far corner
with a rasping effort past the despairing dive of Wooton.

City bench exploded with joy as Rowe's delighted team-mates ran to celebrate
with the winger.
The hard work wasn't over for the Bantams though as Southampton pushed for
an equaliser in the second period of extra time.

Cheetham had to be particularly on his toes after the restart to keep out
Hoskins angled snap shot with a smart reflex save.

As City tried to run down the clock and hang onto their slim advantage,
Stephenson was replaced with the fresh legs of Cole Harrop.

Just as the Bantams began to dream of place in the 4th round though,
Ward-Prowse struck to break City hearts.

Matt Young's inswinging cross found its way through to the Saints'
midfielder and he expertly curled an effort past a rooted Cheetham and into
the far post via the underside of the post.

The Bantams were not to be out-done and came through a dramatic penalty
shoot out 9-8 on penalties.

After Holmes unfortunately fired his spot kick over the bar, City's players
kept their cool to score all nine of the remaining penalties to keep
themselves in the tie.

Cheetham initially equalled things up after Holmes's miss by saving
Ward-Prowse kick before he booked City's place in the next round with a save
from sub O'Sullivan.



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TAYLOR WANTS KILLER INSTINCT

Bradford City manager Peter Taylor wants his players to develop a clinical
streak and start making scoring chances count.

The Bantams nearly paid the price against bottom side Hereford on Saturday
after failing to grab a second goal, eventually hanging on for a 1-0 win at
Valley Parade.

Omar Daley and Tom Adeyemi both squandered one-on-ones in the first half,
and Taylor reserved some criticism for the former.

"He was exciting but didn't deliver any end product," the City boss told the
Telegraph & Argus.

"I want him to be better than that and he understands exactly where I'm
coming from.

"He was enjoying himself and pleasing the crowd but they would be more
pleased if he'd been scoring goals.

"But I actually thought he deserved the man-of-the-match award. He was
asking questions every time he got the ball."

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The Stockport Times (December 16, 2010) reports, on the front page, under heading "Jail Warning for County Striker ".
 
Stockport County striker Barry Conlon has been warned he faces jail if caught again after a second drink driving sentence. He was banned from driving for three and a half years after he drove whilst almost twice over the legal limit. Also fined £1,715 after he pleaded guilty to driving without insurance at Wigan magistrates' court.
 
Spotted driving above speed limit in Wigan town centre . He was driving a Mercedes on Nov. 6.
 
Banned from driving for 42 months and fined £1,295. This was reduced by a third to £685 because he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.For driving without insurance he was fined £925 reduced to £685 and was also ordered to pay £150 costs and £15 victim surcharge.
 
He had thought he was insured under a policy taken out by a business venture which had recently failed.
 
Conlon had been banned for 14 months for drink driving in February 2006. Told if he is caught driving while disqualified he would be sent to prison and that he would have to apply for a new licence at the end of his ban.
 
Mike Harrison
Editor - The City Gent


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HANSON LOOKS TO SALVAGE HIS SEASON

By Simon Parker (T&A)

It has not been the season that James Hanson had planned for after inking a
long-term contract.

Following his impressive debut year in the pro ranks, big things were
expected of the big man second time around. So much so that City were keen
to tie down his services on an extended deal.

So far, that has not been the case, with hamstring niggles eating into his
playing opportunities. The weather hold-ups haven't helped, either.

Hanson has four goals under his belt but only one of them has come in the
league. For someone who went into the campaign aiming to score around 15, it
has been a tricky time.

But he was back to his rampaging best in the stunning display at Colchester
in the FA Cup last month, netting twice and leading the line magnificently.
Hanson, not to mention Peter Taylor, is desperate to see more of that.

The hectic holiday period offers the perfect chance to show that he is back
in business. And Hanson is confident his body can stand up to the challenge
of playing four games in nine days.

"I've played the whole 90 minutes in the last three games and had no
reaction whatsoever," he said. "I've also been able to train every day, so
hopefully that's now the end of it.

"The games coming up are obviously a bigger test, playing back-to-back like
that, but I'm sure I will be all right.
"It's been a frustrating time for me. I thought I did well at Colchester but
then it hasn't quite happened in the home games.

"Maybe that's partly down to service but it's one of those things. You've
got to be confident going into the next match and once you stick one goal
away, anything can happen."

Hanson dismisses any suggestion that he has been "found out" by opposition
defenders; the perils of the so-called second-season syndrome.

There are no doubts clouding his mind that he can click again and soon.

He added: "I've only got the one league goal and a lot of the lads go on
about it. But (David) Syers and I remind them that it's sometimes better to
score against the better teams, which we have done in the cup.

"I've still got to aim for double figures in the league. I don't think I've
played that many games, maybe just over ten, so if I keep playing regularly
then who knows.

"I haven't had that run of playing five or six on the spin to get match fit.
Hopefully that's the end of the injuries and that will change for me.

"You also need the weather to be right, though. The last thing you need is
to miss another week or two.

"Before the Hereford game, we hadn't played for two weeks, which is similar
to being injured. You're training indoors, which is totally different and it
doesn't help."

With Hanson still waiting to explode, City's goal tally remains well below
par. With just 17 so far, only Lincoln and Aldershot have scored fewer.

While the defensive record remains the fourth best in the division, it is
clear where the team must improve if they are to mount the planned drive for
the play-offs.

"We know we haven't scored a lot and it's something we've been working on in
training," admitted Hanson. "We've got the players who can create and score
goals. It's just a matter of putting it all together when it matters.

"When we got the early goal against Hereford, I really expected us to kick
on like we did against Oxford. You start playing well and get confident that
you will score but that didn't happen.

"I'm always confident if I get good quality service in the box. I've been
winning the diagonal (crosses) but not really getting attempts on goal.

"But if the crosses keep coming in then I know I can get the goals. Next
week would be a good place to start.

"Chesterfield and Bury are really good home games for us but every one
coming up is massive now. It's just as important we do well at Cheltenham
and Lincoln.

"We can't afford any slip-ups if we want to start pushing up that league.
We'll be looking to get something from every one of them."


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http://www.footballpakistan.com/2010/12/breaking-news-zesh-rehman-joins-thai-champions-muangthong-united/

Breaking News! Zesh Rehman joins Thai champions Muangthong United
Posted by Ali Ahsan • December 19, 2010

Thailand Premier League champions Muangthong United signed Bradford City defender Zesh Rehman, 27. He played two season in the Premier League for Fullham then decided to sign a contract with "The Kirins" and terminated a contract with Bradford in January.

General Manager of Muangthong United Mr. Ronnarit Suewaja said "This is another successful for our club by the signing a good player. Zesh Rehman played more than 200 games in the English League and play two season in the Premier League. He played for England U-20 along with Carlton Cole and Nigel Reo-Coker also his leadership as he is a captain for Bradford and Pakistan international.

He hold two citizenships and allows to play AFC Champions League in the Asia quota and will be the most expensive wages for the club. It has not been paying too much when considering that he wants to play for Muangthong. I am confident that the 27-year-old eager to win and want to help the team go to the next level. And Muangthong also close to sign new 2-3 top players soon ".

While Rehman said that he is very excited to join with the Thailand Premier League champions and this is the new challenges. He play in the English League for 10 years and join Fullham academy since the age of 9 years old. He rejected offers from many English clubs to join Muangthong. He went to Yamaha stadium and ensure that all the players in the team want to become the best in Asia. He wants to work hard for Muangthong also for the fans. He can"t wait to play in the new season, meet with his team-mates, coach and the supporters.

Zeshan "Zesh" Rehman; born 14 October 1983. He started his career at Fulham and made a total of 21 league appearances. During his time at Fulham he had loan spells at Brighton & Hove Albion and Norwich City. In 2005 he switched allegiances to Pakistan from England. A transfer to Queens Park Rangers followed and he went on to make 46 appearances for the west London-based club. During his three year stint there he went on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion, Blackpool and Bradford City. The third transfer of his career involved him moving to Bradford on a free transfer in June 2009. So far Rehman has made eight appearances for the Pakistan national team and has participated in the World Cup 2010 qualifiers. Outside of football he is known for being an ambassador for Kick It Out, the Asian Football Network and the Show Racism The Red Card campaign. In addition to this he has appeared on BBC Radio 1Xtra and writes a blog for Setanta Sports.


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New date for Aldershot fixture
Posted on: Fri 17 Dec 2010
The football club can confirm that City's outstanding npower League 2 away to Aldershot Town has been re-arranged for Tuesday 18 January 2011.

The match at the EBB Stadium will kick off at 7.45pm.

The original fixture, scheduled for Saturday 4 December 2010, was postponed due to snow and freezing conditions around the Aldershot area.

The new fixture will be sandwiched in between the Bantams first ever league visit to Oxford United's Kassam Stadium and a home match with Burton Albion.

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http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/8745748.Former_Bradford_City_boss_joins_Hereford/?ref=rss

Former Bradford City boss joins Hereford
3:43pm Friday 17th December 2010


Hereford have appointed former Bantams boss Lennie Lawrence as technical director to work alongside manager Jamie Pitman, who has been put in charge until the end of the campaign.