Last fixture
L2 Sat May 7 15:00 (H) Crewe
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
BBC's end-of-season predictor.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_3/predictor/default.stm
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Match stats
http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=234#teamTabs=results
Npower League Two
Hereford U (0) 1 Fleetwood 87
Bradford C (0) 1 Speight (pen) 81
Att: 3,219
Stats: Hereford - Bradford C
Possession: 49 - 51%
Shots on target: 1 - 2
Shots off target: 3 - 8
Fouls: 9 - 12
Corners: 7 - 1
Ref: David Phillips (Sussex)
Yellow cards:
Hereford U: None
Bradford C: None
Hereford: 1. Adam Bartlett, 2. Ryan Green, 24. Stefan Stam, 5. Michael
Townsend, 34. Joe Heath, 17. Joe Colbeck (86), 16. Kenny Lunt, 18. Nicky
Featherstone (90), 26. Steven Leslie, 32. Robert Purdie (58), 7. Stuart
Fleetwood.
SUBS: 25. Russell Hoult (GK), 4. Janos Kovacs (90), 6. Richard Rose, 9.
Waide Fairhurst (58), 10. Sean Canham, 14. James McQuilkin, 30. Adrian
Patulea (86).
Bradford C: 40. Lenny Pidgeley, 15. Lewis Hunt, 22. Lee Bullock, 6. Luke
Oliver, 28. Robbie Threlfall, 19. Jonathan Worthington, 23. David Syers, 7.
Omar Daley (82), 9. Gareth Evans (59), 17. James Hanson, 10. Jake Speight
(90).
SUBS: 1. Jon McLaughlin (GK), 3. Luke O'Brien (59), 12. Steve Williams (82),
14. Leon Osborne, 18. Luke Dean (90), 25. Chibuzor Chilaka, 27. Louis Horne.
Position: 16th
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Saturday evening match report
By Simon Parker (T&A)
City are safe from the threat of relegation.
So are Hereford after a draw which ultimately suited both sides as they made
mathematically sure of survival with a game to spare.
Jake Speight put the Bantams ahead late on with a penalty but Stuart
Fleetwood levelled with a free-kick three minutes from time.
Thanks to Barnet's defeat at Accrington, both sides will be playing League
Two football again next season.
City carried the early threat against their nervous hosts and could have
grabbed the lead after 12 minutes.
Omar Daley picked off Fleetwood's loose pass to feed Speight but his low
shot was well snaffled by keeper Adam Bartlett.
City tried to use the strong wind behind them and shoot from distance -
Gareth Evans in particular - without further troubling the home goal.
Hereford had a penalty shout turned down after Lee Bullock's challenge on
Nicky Featherstone.
And City had a scare just before the break when Fleetwood failed to make
contact in front of goal after Lenny Pidgeley had pushed out Joe Colbeck's
cross.
It had been a scrappy game with few moments of excitement and the second
half began in the same low-key manner.
Hereford went close in the 66th minute as Steve Leslie nutmegged Lewis Hunt
on the touchline before Fleetwood curled just wide of the far post.
Pidgeley parried from Featherstone as Hereford picked it up and then
unconvincingly pushed away Waide Fairhurst's flick header.
But it was City who broke the deadlock with nine minutes left. James Hanson
was tugged to the floor by Stefan Stam and Speight sent the keeper the wrong
way with a decisive spot-kick.
City's hopes of making it back-to-back wins were dashed six minutes later,
though. Hunt fouled Fairhurst just outside the box and Fleetwood curled a
low free-kick beyond the diving Pidgeley.
That was the last incident as both teams were happy to play out the closing
stages.
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Monday morning match report
It's gift day as Bantams tie up League Two survival
7:00am Monday 2nd May 2011
By Simon Parker
Hereford 1 Bradford City 1
Mark Lawn gave Peter Jackson a present within minutes of making sure that City – wherever they may be next season – are still in League Two.
But the joint-chairman's club tie wasn't the gift that the interim boss really wants.
For that, he will have to wait at least another week. Only once the curtain has come down after the Crewe game will the board finally pass judgement on who will be occupying the hot-seat at Valley Parade, Odsal or wherever.
Jackson's own tie had become a souvenir for one of the 254 away fans who had trekked down to Edgar Street for the point which City had needed before the game to be absolutely 100 per cent safe. Jacko also lobbed in David Syers' shirt as he enjoyed the relief of finishing the job that had begun with a Sunday roast with the players the day after Peter Taylor's swansong against Stockport.
Of course, the interim boss has no intention of walking away now. But his fate – after the final fixture is up – will rest in the hands of the club's powerbrokers.
In the meantime he is looking for any clue about their thinking; any hint in which way the board are swaying.
"Maybe Mark giving me his tie is an indication," he smiled at the end of a draw that turned out superfluous following defeats for Barnet and Lincoln.
"Mark always said that we will discuss (the job) after the Crewe game. It needs to be done.
"We've got a retained list that needs doing after the final game as well. There are ten players out of contract and that needs addressing."
The fact that the decision will not be made until the season is complete might suggest City are waiting for another club's manager. John Still's odds remain very short in second place with the bookies.
Lawn wasn't giving anything away after Jackson hot-footed it into the Hereford boardroom.
"Peter's just come in and asked me again," he said. "But I've told him that nothing will happen until the end of the season.
"We'll see where we are and where we are playing.
"But it's just a massive relief to be safe. We've got a lot of problems in the summer that we've got to sort out and that's the first duck down."
Accrington, City's nemesis the previous Saturday, turned out to be everyone's heroes after dispatching second-from-bottom Barnet. Hereford were also safe thanks to a hat-trick from one who slipped through City's fingers.
"We could have bought Jimmy Ryan but Stuart (McCall) didn't want him," Lawn sighed. "Can you believe that?"
But it seemed churlish to look back on what might have been on an afternoon that ultimately suited everyone.
Understandably, Hereford were by far the happier of the two sides.
When Jamie Pitman stepped up from physio to manager, they were rock bottom with only five points from ten games. To survive with 90 minutes in hand represents a turnaround worth the post-match jubilation.
For City, it's rather different. Nobody in their wildest nightmares would have started the season with the sole aim of holding on to a place in League Two by the end of April.
This team was supposed to be leaving the division by the front door; not struggling to avoid dropping out through the back.
But given the overall wretchedness of the past eight months, survival became the only realistic goal. Jacko, at least, can say he's done his job – which is more than can be said for many in that dressing room.
Monday's breathless win over Aldershot meant that City needed eight results to go against them to be dragged down with Stockport.
It was never going to happen, though there were more than a few butterflies as news of early goals elsewhere filtered through.
Lincoln and Northampton quickly jumped in front and even the general relief at seeing Accrington's first flash up was soon followed with a groan heralding a Barnet equaliser.
Watching Hereford's antiquated scoreboard – which must almost date back to the day Ronnie Radford sunk Newcastle with that FA Cup rocket – was the most interesting part of a first half that had the feel of a friendly.
Hereford, in particular, looked lethargic and so nervous that they produced only one shot – and that came from a drop ball on the halfway line that was returned to Lenny Pidgeley with rather too much zeal.
City had the chances at least, with the best falling to Jake Speight after Omar Daley had picked off a loose crossfield pass. Speight struck it well enough but keeper Adam Bartlett smothered.
The strong wind made a scrappy affair even worse, with both sides resorting to hopeful long balls. Luke Oliver and Lee Bullock, again relishing his new defensive role, lapped them up eagerly.
Bullock got away with one lunge on Nicky Featherstone but otherwise Hereford were as toothless as anything City have faced all term.
The draw, which everyone was happy with, looked nailed on.
Hereford became marginally more effective with the introduction of Waide Fairhurst as a second striker with half an hour to go. The previously anonymous Stuart Fleetwood suddenly gained a bit of support.
But it was City who struck first with nine minutes left after James Hanson cashed in on hesitancy between left back and centre half. Stefan Stam tugged him down in the box and Speight rescued another fruitless display with a belting penalty.
Hereford looked in disarray and fearing the prospect of living on their nerves for another week.
But then Lewis Hunt clipped Fairhurst and Fleetwood took advantage of a badly-positioned wall to curl the free-kick round Pidgeley.
Back-to-back wins had been snatched away.
Jackson could have done with the victory on his CV as decision time nears. The interim boss, though, has played his part in rescuing a wreck of a season.
"It's a little bit flat," he admitted. "I know we got the point we needed but it should have been three. But we would have settled for this before we left Bradford. I'm pleased for the fans that we didn't have to rely on other teams and the players did it the hard way.
"I'm just so proud of coming in to a club that was heading to the next tier and flipped it about."
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http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/9002309./
Bradford City pay delay highlights dire financial plight
7:20am Monday 2nd May 2011
By Simon Parker
City are bracing themselves for a "rocky" summer ahead after sealing league survival as it emerged that the April wages were held up.
Saturday's point from Hereford ensured the Bantams are safe from the drop with a game to spare.
But the club's growing financial troubles were highlighted again by a delay with the pay roll.
Joint-chairman Mark Lawn confirmed: "The wages have been paid a little bit late this month but money's tight and we've told them that."
Read the full story in today's Telegraph & Argus
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MICHAEL FLYNN'S SEASON LOOKS TO BE OVER DUE TO INJURY
April 25th
Midfielder Michael Flynn went off injured after 36 minutes of the 2-1 win
over Aldershot Town.
The club has confirmed as expected that he damaged his right hamstring when
he challenged Aldershot's Danny Hylton for the ball.
The nature of this type of injury suggests he will miss Saturday's game at
Hereford United at the very least, but it is highly likely that he'll sit
out the last two games of this dreadful season.
The Welshman will be assessed by the clubs physio Damian Buck on Wednesday
morning.
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From the Official BCFC Website...
April 26
SPECIAL PRAISE FOR CITY GROUNDSMAN
Bantams groundsman Michael Doyle has been acknowledged by the Football
League after keeping the Valley Parade playing surface in tip-top condition
throughout the 2010/2011 season.
Doyle was narrowly beaten to the overall League 2 Groundsman of the Year
title by Chesterfield's Anthony Haywood, but along with Shrewsbury Town's
Richard Barnett, he has been highly commended in the divisional awards.
After another season when extreme weather pushed pitches to their limits,
the efforts of ground staff across the country has now been recognised by
the Football League.
The Football League Groundsman of the Year Award 2011 is handed out by the
Playing Surfaces Committee and is designed to recognise the importance of
the quality of pitches and to acknowledge Head Groundsmen and their staff.
The awards are determined initially using marks from referees and away
managers for each game and are then followed by detailed pitch inspections
and a review of management operations. These visits were carried out in late
March and early April.
Ewan Hunter of Nottingham Forest is the winner of the npower Championship
accolade and Carlisle United's David Mitchell scooped the award for npower
League 1.
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Lawn hits out at Bradford Council
April 25th
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/8991442.Crisis_point_for_Bradford_City/
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Nice article and local news video from the Yorkshire Post on the FA Cup
centenary.
Shortened link
http://bit.ly/fb2zgF
Full link
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/video_exactly_1
00_years_on_the_tragedies_that_befell_bradford_s_fa_cup_winning_team_1_33242
46
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