Read this article online
http://texasbantam.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/46810838356/
Stats
http://m.espn.go.com/soccer/gamecast?gameId=365163&action=stats&lang=EN&wjb=
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22491339
City's promotion heroes will parade their League Two play-off trophy on
an open-top bus tour on Wednesday.
The Wembley-winning squad will leave Valley Parade at 6.30pm and head
down Manningham Lane on the way to City Hall. The exact route is still to be confirmed.
Once at City Hall, the players and management will be introduced to the
fans as well as civic dignitaries and invited guests.
===========================
Video
(some are UK only)
Link to full game available on request
BBC Football League show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF1yZE4FKLM&feature=youtu.be
Sky sports highlights
http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/8720351/bradford-3-0-northampton
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22581627
Supporter videos
Mike Harrison (Mr City Gent)
2-0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gZSa6Fwru0o
3-0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OUlkA6Q-DfQ
Oh, their keeper saved one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FXOO9e3Iy4s
Victory slide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=k6cR1Q2c31c
===========================
PARKINSON AGREES DEAL
By Richard Sutcliffe (Yorkshire Post)
Published on 15/05/2013 08:58
PHIL PARKINSON has given Bradford City a huge pre-Wembley boost by agreeing a new two-year contract, joint chairman Julian Rhodes has revealed.
The 45-year-old's current deal is set to expire in the summer and talks over a possible extension have been on-going for several months.
Parkinson's stock has risen considerably this season and Blackpool made an official approach to speak to the City manager in January.
He has also been linked with the Sheffield United vacancy in recent weeks, leading to concerns among supporters that the manager who has finally
stopped Bradford's decline could be tempted away from Valley Parade.
Those fears can, however, be allayed after Rhodes last night confirmed agreement had been reached over a new contract for Parkinson.
It will not, though, be signed until Bradford have also struck deals with assistant manager Steve Parkin and fitness conditioner Nick Allamby,
which is not expected to be done until after this Saturday's League Two play-off final with Northampton Town.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Post last night, Rhodes said: "Everything is agreed with Phil over a new contract.
"But, because Phil is a man of his word, it won't be signed until Steve and Nick are also able to sign their own deals.
"Phil has insisted all along that he wants the staff to sign their contracts at the same time as him. That is a mark of Phil, who is not the type
of man to sort himself out and leave the rest to sort their own futures.
"It also shows the togetherness that exists among the coaching staff, which has undoubtedly been a factor in how our season has gone.
"We have spoken to the League Managers' Association and they will agree the format before sending the contracts on.
"What it means is that Phil's deal will not be signed until after the play-off final. We have all agreed on that because we don't want there to
be any distractions ahead of such a vital game.
"Instead, we expect everything to be sorted out next week. The main thing from the club's point of view is that everything is agreed and is ready
to be signed."
The agreement with Parkinson, who has been in charge at Valley Parade since succeeding Peter Jackson in August 2011, includes two separate wages
to cover whether City will be in League One or Two next season.
Providing similar deals can be struck with both Parkin and Allamby, it will bring an end to a drawn-out saga that has been held up by several
factors outside of the control of either party.
After a contract had first been mooted at the start of the year, talks took place between Parkinson's agent, Barry Nevill, and Rhodes on behalf
of the club.
However, Nevill then fell seriously ill and had to undergo surgery on a perforated bowel, leading Parkinson to turn to the League Managers'
Association for representation while his agent and friend recuperated in hospital.
Further delays came via Bradford reaching Wembley for the first time this season in February and then Rhodes, who conducts all contract talks on
behalf of the Bantams, selling his private business.
That sale finally went through earlier this month, meaning the City joint chairman was free to focus 100 per cent on Parkinson's contract
situation.
Now, with agreement having been reached, the Bradford squad are likely to be buoyed going into Saturday's Wembley date.
Rhodes said: "The players are absolutely determined to finish on a high.
"They don't just want the season we have had to go flat right at the end.
"The pleasing thing for us is that we looked so fresh in those final 20 minutes against Burton (in the semi-final second leg).
"That is testament to what work has been done during the season by Phil and the coaching staff, and is why we have been so keen for everyone to
stay."
Bradford expect to be backed by around 25,000 fans at Wembley on Saturday with Northampton likely to have a similar following as the two clubs
meet for a fifth time this season.
In terms of results, City go in with an advantage after winning both league contests 1-0 and having knocked the Cobblers out of the FA Cup on
penalties after a replay.
Rhodes added: "I detected a touch of complacency among our fans before the Burton first leg (which City lost 3-2) but I can't see that being a
problem for the final.
"Northampton are a team who, at one stage, looked to be on course for a place in the top three so everyone recognises it will be a tough game.
"Certainly, we can't afford to start on Saturday like we did against Burton. Instead, we want to start like we finished that second leg."
Parkinson has been named on an all-Yorkshire shortlist for the League Two Manager of the Month for April along with York City's Nigel Worthington
and Steve Evans of Rotherham United, who clinched automatic promotion on the final day of the season.
Meanwhile, City have secured a new shirt sponsor for next season with JCT600's name set to appear on the club's kit.
The Bradford-based motor group, who have signed a three-year deal, sponsored the Bantams for nine years until 2006.
richard.sutcliffe@ypn.co.uk
===========================
Social media feeds
Phil McNulty @philmcnulty Congratulations to Bradford City on promotion to League One. Brilliant season for Phil Parkinson & his players. Wembley & promotion.
Manish Bhasin @_manishbhasin
Congrats to Bradford! Promoted to League One after 3-0 win v Northampton. Bantams late charge for POs perfectly timed. Big club on the up
Gary Lineker @GaryLineker
Well played Bradford City. Good luck in league One.
BBC Sport's Ian Woodcock at Wembley: "In contrast to Northampton's struggles Bradford look like they're playing at home out there..." #bcafc
===========================
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22582129
Bradford City: Phil Parkinson delighted by dream start
By Ian Woodcock BBC Sport at Wembley
Bradford City boss Phil Parkinson praised his side's first-half performance after they beat Northampton 3-0 in the League Two play-off final.
The Bantams were three up within half an hour against the Cobblers, thanks to goals from James Hanson, Rory McArdle and Nahki Wells.
"It couldn't have gone much better for us really," Parkinson said.
"To be 3-0 up at half time is beyond your wildest dreams and the second half was about seeing the job through."
He continued: "I told the lads at the break that we weren't there yet because if we gave them a chink of light then they're a good enough team to take it.
"I thought there was a ruthlessness about us in the second half and Rory McArdle and Andrew Davies were immense at the back.
"The strikers take the headlines, but the way we defended, won headers and blocked things was just as important as our goals."
The victory ended Bradford's stay in the bottom tier of English football after six seasons and earned their first promotion since they went up to the Premier League in 1999.
The Bantams were beaten 5-0 by Swansea in the League Cup final in February and Parkinson felt that recent Wembley experience played a part in his side's win.
"Without a shadow of doubt it helped us," he said.
"When we've had the celebrations this week I'll sit down with the chairmen and hopefully we can get it finished."
"You can be worried about how your family are going to get down and the extra press attention and demands. It can drain the players.
"We took that away from the players this time and said 'we're here to do a job and finish our season in style'."
The 45-year-old is now out of contract at Valley Parade.
However, Bradford chairman Mark Lawn said earlier in the week that it was a formality that the former Colchester, Hull and Charlton boss will be with the club next season.
Parkinson is hopeful that he, along with coaches Steve Parkin and Nick Allenby, will be able to sign new contracts in the near future.
"I've been saying all along that I hope it gets sorted," he added.
"I said when we all came together that I'd drive them mad and ask them to go above and beyond the call of duty but that we'd all get their rewards.
"I'd like to see everyone signs contracts at the same time. When we've had the celebrations this week I'll sit down with the chairmen and hopefully we can get it finished."
===========================
Bradford City giant awoken to star in The One Show
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429420.Bradford_City_giant_awoken_to_star_in_The_One_Show
City 3, Northampton Town 0
Make room Molineux; bring on Bramall Lane – and don't bother waiting up Dagenham.
Phil Parkinson's Bantams bandwagon can plan next season's route around the highways and byways of League One.
After enduring six years in football's basement, City will rejoin a division where they will no longer be the team with the target on their backs; the side that everybody wants to have a pop at.
No, leave that dubious honour for Wolves and the likes of Sheffield United. After too long as the 'freak' act in the lowest league, City are back on a footing more suited to the size of the club and their surroundings.
And this, we hope, is only the start. We've heard the talk of bottoming out and bouncing back for years; Saturday afternoon was the first evidence that the giant seriously is beginning to stir.
For the neutral watching on television, it looked as much of a mismatch as City's last trip down Wembley Way in February. One team dominated while the other froze in the spotlight.
Only this time the boot was gloriously on the other foot. Where the Bantams had chased Swansea shadows in the Capital One Cup, it was Northampton's turn to trail hopelessly in the slipstream.
Drama? You'd see more in an average episode of Emmerdale. But for scenes of sheer joy and mass pandemonium, you'd be hard pressed to top the reaction of the west end of this famous stadium.
Borussia Dortmund's famed fans will cram into those seats next Saturday for the Champions League final. Bet they still won't top the decibels generated by the travelling Bantams as a decade or more of bottled-up hurt and frustration came tumbling out in that glorious opening half hour.
A City triple blast and the contest was over. Call it a play-off final? This was just a normal day in the office.
And that's exactly how Parkinson had wanted it. Nothing flash, nothing fancy; an afternoon of graft and hard work to seal a season that will rightly take its place among the very best in the club's 110-year history.
Northampton had done all the traditional pre-Wembley bit with the suit fittings and the extra press conferences. Not for City, though.
They had gone through that rigmarole in February ahead of the Swansea game. This time it was strictly business.
Everything had been prepared as if it was a normal league trip to London. The media requirements were restricted to the usual Thursday lunchtime; when the players had an early look at the pitch, they appeared in tracksuits.
They could have been playing Brentford just down the road rather than in a promotion-clinching decider.
"That was the key for us," said Parkinson. "We had the experience of being here before and all the build-up, whether it's the suits, ticket demands, how your family's going to get down, new outfits for your wife and kids.
"It can drain a lot of energy from you, so we took that away from the lads this time. We were here to do a job to finish off our season in style.
"Temperament is a big word in football; it means handling the occasion and this was a far bigger game than the Capital One Cup final. It shapes the future of the club and the players handled it really well."
That approach even continued with the dignified way they sought out their beaten Northampton opponents with sympathetic handshakes before the post-match celebrations kicked in. City really did the job with class.
And when it came, the wild outpouring of emotion was not restricted to the supporters. In the royal box, Mark Lawn threatened to squeeze the life out of Gary Jones with a bear hug before the skipper lifted the trophy.
But then Lawn, like co-owner Julian Rhodes, remains a massive supporter; two fans at the heart of this club who have gone – in their manager's words – "above and beyond" through tough times when others may have chucked it in.
Lawn's permanent beam at the post-match promotion party back at Valley Parade showed how much this long-awaited day in the sun meant to those whose financial input kept the club ticking through the hairiest moments.
For every City fan, the best thing about the game was the absence of any hint of a Northampton comeback. Where was the nail-gnawing tension that these events are supposed to create?
City equalled the most emphatic play-off final win at this level and they did it before we'd even got to half-time. Their stranglehold over the Cobblers – only two defeats in 20 now – was maintained with three almost identical goals.
The talk beforehand had centred on how City's defenders were going to handle Northampton man mountain Adebayo Akinfenwa. But that was a complete red herring as Akinfenwa, all 17 stone of him, was left on the bench by Aidy Boothroyd.
Instead, it was City's heavyweight attack that took centre stage as James Hanson and Nahki Wells reduced the Cobblers' rearguard to a gibbering wreck.
The big, wide Wembley surface was the perfect stage for Kyel Reid and Garry Thompson to stretch the play and whip in early crosses for the front two to do their damage. Northampton's defence were pulled here, there and everywhere.
And for a team who are built on creating pressure from long throw-ins, the generous pitch dimensions neutralised much of that threat. Boothroyd had fielded two wingers as well but they never threatened to repeat the success of their City counterparts.
With Andrew Davies and Rory McArdle effectively muzzling Clive Platt, Northampton's attack packed the punch of a feather duster.
City jumped straight out of the blocks and deservedly went ahead after 15 minutes. James Meredith backed up Reid and when his cross eluded everybody, Thompson chipped it back in for Hanson to head home.
It was the scenario that the local lad had dreamed of as he soaked up the cheers from scoring at Wembley – and the Co-op song was still ringing round when City made it two.
Again it began from the left, this time with a short corner to Reid. His centre, like Meredith's just before, was on the deep side but Nathan Doyle came round the back to clip it in for McArdle to get in front of Clarke Carlisle with a thumping finish.
It was the defender's first goal since the one against Aston Villa made famous by Martin Tyler's shriek – he sure saves them for the big occasion.
This was pure fantasy for the Bantams but the onslaught was not finished. Reid's cross was headed back by Thompson and Wells bagged his usual goal against Northampton with a close-range volley. Referee Keith Stroud might as well have called a halt after 28 minutes.
City's record-breaking campaign signed off on the highest note possible. They can enjoy the rest in the knowledge of a job brilliantly done.
The post-season trip to Vegas, which had been brought up after Wembley part one, may not be happening now. But this team have already landed the jackpot.
Welcome back Bradford City.
Attendance: 47,127
===========================
The links
Phil Parkinson hails Bantams' promotion success
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429083.Parkinson_hails_Bantams__promotion_success
Hanson delighted with Bradford City victory
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429096.Hanson__Quick_start_was_crucial
Boothroyd: Bradford City were deserved winners
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429102.Wembley_reaction__We_failed_to_turn_up__says_Boothroyd
Wells: I'm going nowhere!
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429067.Wells_pledges_future_to_Bantams_after_promotion_success
Reid hails Bradford City's fan-tastic promotion success
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429090.Reid_hails_Bradford_City_s_fan_tastic_promotion_success
Playing in League One will be miles better
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429254.Playing_in_League_One_will_be_miles_better__says_Bradford_City_hitman_Hanson/
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429254.print/
We can be One of best sides in third tier
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429256.Bradford_City__We_can_be_One_of_best_sides_in_third_tier__says_Thompson/
Allamby hails Bradford City's marathon men
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429334.Allamby_hails_Bradford_City_s_marathon_men/
Phil Parkinson's the man for Bradford City
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429439.Lawn__Parkinson___s_the_man_for_Bradford_City/
Parkinson the driving force guiding Bradford City away from abyss
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429382.Parkinson_the_driving_force_guiding_Bradford_City_away_from_abyss/
Wembley proves the ultimate bonding session
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429312.It___s_up__up_and_hooray_for_a_club_united_in_tragedy_and_now_triumph/
Nahki Wells under contract but...
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10429454.Bradford_City_hot_shot_Wells_could_be_sold_to_highest_bidder/
Fat man thanks Fat Man
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10431012.Lawn_thanks_Evans_for_writing_off_Bradford_City_promotion_hopes
McLaughlin thrilled City can wave goodbye to League Two
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10430704.McLaughlin_thrilled_Bradford_City_can_wave_goodbye_to_League_Two/
===========================
The internationals
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/sports/soccer/20iht-soccer20.html?_r=1&
The first Bermudian to score at Wembley
http://bermudasun.bm/Content/SPORTS/Sports/Article/Live--Wells-first-Bermudian-to-score-at-Wembley/8/203/66601
"72: Town whip in a cross but I can hardly be bothered to describe it
because it lacks any semblance of threat. "
http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/aussies-abroad/news/1152270/Meredith-ends-roller-coaster-season-on-a-high
===========================
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