UPDATE FIXTURES AND SCORES
Read this article online
http://texasbantam.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/46810838356/
2013/14 League One Fixtures
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/10493289.Bradford_City_kick_off_at_Bristol_City/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/bradford-city/fixtures
Pre-Season Fixtures
(see below for full article)
Saturday 27th July 3pm (h) v Doncaster R. L1-2
Tuesday July 30th v Harrogate Town (a) CNG Stadium kick off 7:30pm L1-2
August 12th (Not the first team)
http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/news/article/development-squad-bpa-885701.aspx
===========================
Season games and info
(a) v Bristol City Aug 3rd
The game at Ashton Gate a week on Saturday is not all ticket but it is likely to be cheaper to buy in advance.
More details as of July 29th
http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/news/article/bristol-city-tickets-946492.aspx
Capital One Cup ticket info
Tuesday 6 August 2013 - kick off 7:45pm @ John Smith Stadium
http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/news/article/huddersfield-ticket-prices-883233.aspx
City have sold well over 2,000 of their initial 3,000 allocation for the Capital One Cup derby at Huddersfield.
===========================
Signings, contracts etc (see below for all post season activity)
Hold the front page, we got one.
Raffaele De Vita, 25, Forward, ex-Swindon
===========================
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23510575
Bradford City sign forward Raffaele De Vita on one-year deal
Bradford City have signed ex-Swindon Town forward Raffaele De Vita on a one-year deal after a successful trial.
The 25-year-old Italian was released by the Robins earlier in the summer after scoring 12 goals in 74 appearances in his two seasons at the
County Ground.
He is the League One side's third summer signing, following the arrivals of Jason Kennedy and Mark Yeates.
De Vita could make his league debut for the Bantams in the game against Bristol City on Saturday.
---
RAFFAELE DE VITA COMPLETES CITY SIGNING
By Ross Heppenstall (T&A)
Raffaele De Vita has become the Bantams' third signing of the summer after
putting pen to paper on a one-year deal.
The Italian has enjoyed a successful trial with the club for the past
fortnight and the former Swindon man will wear squad number 20 this season.
De Vita, 25, played for City as a second-half substitute in their opening
friendly of pre-season at Guiseley.
He then played in City's first game in Ireland against Athlone Town, with
his move now subject to final confirmation from the Football League and
Football Association.
===========================
City strike up Provident partnership
Local firm Provident Financial has joined forces with the Bantams to attract new fans through the turnstiles at the Coral Windows Stadium.
The club's Community Foundation supported by Provident's Good Neighbour programme has signed a new three-year deal and invites supporters from
schools, youth clubs and community groups to come to matches using heavily discounted tickets in the newly-named Provident Community Enclosure.
Run by former City player Ian Ormondroyd, Bradford City Community Foundation provides football and multi-sports coaching, holiday courses,
disability clubs, ground tours, penalty shoot-outs and other schools activities for different parts of the local community. The foundation works
under the four themes of sports participation, education, health and social inclusion.
Full article at
http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/news/article/provident-945875.aspx
===========================
http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/news/article/shirt-numbers-confirmed-947326.aspx
Squad numbers confirmed
Bradford City 2013/2014 season squad list
1. Jon McLaughlin
2. Stephen Darby
3. James Meredith
4. Ricky Ravenhill
5. Andrew Davies
6. Luke Oliver
7. Kyel Reid
8. Jason Kennedy
9. James Hanson
10. Andy Gray
11. Garry Thompson
12 -
13 -
14. Mark Yeates
15 -
16. Carl McHugh
17. Alan Connell
18. Gary Jones
19 -
20 -
21. Nahki Wells
22. Michael Nelson
23. Rory McArdle
24. Nathan Doyle
25 -
26. Louie Swain
===========================
Bradford City 1 Doncaster Rovers 2
Saturday 27 July 2013
Bradford City 1 (Thompson 55)
Doncaster Rovers 2 (Cotterill 23, Bennett 85)
Kick Off: 3.00pm
at the Coral Windows Stadium
Attendance 2,850 (343 visitors)
City could take plenty of positives from their home friendly against Doncaster Rovers this Saturday despite falling to their first defeat of
pre-season.
The Bantams held their own against the Championship new-boys for vast periods of the contest but narrowly lost out thanks to a late deflected
goal.
Bantams boss Phil Parkinson selected a competitive eleven for the fixture against Rovers, with the vast majority who started Tuesday's win at
Grimsby Town keeping their places.
The only changes saw Nahki Wells and Garry Thompson come into the side at the expense of Alan Connell and Kyel Reid respectively.
Helped by the fact that the match was City's first on home soil of any kind since gaining promotion last May, Parkinson and his players received
a tremendous standing ovation as they entered the field pre-kick off.
Both sides enjoyed early sighters in the contest, with Wells curling an effort a few yards wide from outside the area and former Bantam Dean
Furman firing off target by a similar margin for Doncaster from the edge the box.
Mark Duffy got nearer to troubling Jon McLaughlin after thirteen minutes when he cut inside of James Meredith before drilling a low angled drive
just past the 'keeper's near post.
Less than a minute later, however, James Hanson went equally as close when he headed a flighted cross from Thompson back across goal and barely
inches away from Johnny Maxted's far post.
With the chances continuing to flow, Wells was the next to get himself in on the action when he ran at a retreating Rob Jones and into
Doncaster's penalty area.
Upon arriving into the visitors' box, Wells struck for goal but his well-hit effort was straight at Maxted, who gathered up at the second
attempt.
City threatened again in the twenty-first minute when Meredith's teasing cross found Hanson in the space in the middle. The giant striker was
well placed just inside Doncaster's six yard box but the ball seemed slightly too high for him and he could only head clear over the bar while on
the stretch.
Despite City creating some of the better chances up until that point, it was the Championship side who took the lead through David Cotterill.
The Welsh winger worked a short corner with team-mate Duffy before curling an effort into the far corner from inside the area past an partially
unsighted McLaughlin.
City nearly responded just four minutes later when Andrew Davies headed Rory McArdle's free-kick from deep down into the area but both Mark
Yeates and Hanson saw efforts scrambled away from close range.
Yeates then curled a delightful inswinging free-kick from outside the area that narrowly beat McArdle and Hanson in the middle before flying past
Maxted's far post shortly afterwards.
The Bantams stuck with the same eleven for the second period, although Rovers made two changes at the break, including introducing Billy Paynter,
once a City loanee, to join Chris Brown in attack.
A quickly-taken short corner involving Cotterill and Furman saw the latter nearly catch City out only a few minutes after the restart. Furman
drilled the ball across the box as the effort was deflected just wide of Bongani Khumalo, who was lurking by the far end of the six yard box.
With Rovers enjoying a decent start to the second period, Brown then sent a glancing downward header at McLaughlin following Tommy Spurr's cross
into the box with fifty minutes gone.
Despite Rovers' early chances though, City should have really equalised just two minutes later when Thompson flicked on a ball over the top from
Yeates to play Wells in on goal.
The Bermudian only had Maxted to beat, but his strike for goal from just inside the area was repelled by the left leg of the young Doncaster
'keeper.
Cotterill then went close himself with a free-kick just over the bar from around twenty-five yards out, but City were to find themselves level
shortly afterwards in slightly unusual circumstances.
With Thompson breathing down his neck ,Doncaster defender Spurr played the ball back to his 'keeper Maxted in attempt to clear the visitors'
lines.
Thompson was alert to the situation, however, and he managed to charge down Maxted's attempted kick up field to send the ball spinning up in the
air and towards Doncaster's goal.
The ball eventually dropped down just over the line before spinning back into play, with the assistant referee over on the far side spotting what
had happened and flagging for the goal.
Just after the hour mark skipper Jones was replaced by fellow midfielder Jason Kennedy.
City made their second substitution of the afternoon around ten minutes later when Kyel Reid was introduced for Yeates, who received warm
applause from his new fans as he left the pitch.
Seventeen minutes from the end Spurr nearly got his own back on Thompson for his part in City's goal when the Doncaster defender robbed the
Bantams winger of the ball by the byline inside's Bradford area.
The Doncaster left-back cut the ball back for half-time replacement Kyle Bennett but, despite his effort beating McLaughlin, Meredith was on hand
to clear kick just in front of his own line.
Shortly before City brought on Michael Nelson for Davies, Doncaster had another promising chance to score but Cotterill blasted over from around
fourteen yards out after Paynter had laid Bennett's far post cross back into his path.
In an increasingly entertaining contest, City responded when Stephen Darby dispossessed Cotteril just outside Doncaster's area and Hanson
trickled a low effort a yard or so wide of Maxted's goal.
The Bantams fourth and fifth changes of the afternoon came just over ten minutes from full time when Alan Connell and Ricky Ravenhill took the
places of Wells and Meredith.
Five minutes from the end Doncaster retook the lead of the friendly through a fortuitous deflection off Bennett.
The winger initially looked like he could have scored when played through on goal by a clever forward pass by Furman. Just as Bennett looked to
get his shot at McLaughlin's goal though, the recovering Doyle made a superb last-ditch tackle to deny him.
Sadly for City, however, the danger wasn't completely over as seconds later Cotterill crossed for James Coppinger to fire for goal and the
attacker's strike for goal struck off Bennett to completely wrong-foot McLaughlin and help the ball find the corner.
Connell, who was as this stage being partnered by fellow replacement Louie Swain following Hanson's substitution, could have snatched a second
equaliser for City two minutes from the end by his first-time strike from Reid's cross whistled just wide of Maxted's goal.
===========================
http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/news/article/harrogate-town-954020.aspx
Tuesday 30 July 2013
Harrogate Town 2 (Nowakowski 5, Worsfold 37)
Bradford City 1 (Curtis 36)
Kick Off: 7.30pm
at the CNG Stadium
Bantams boss Phil Parkinson took a selection of his squad players with him to Harrogate Town's CNG Stadium this Tuesday in a bid to give them
some match minutes ahead of Saturday's Sky Bet League 1 opener at Bristol City.
Ricky Ravenhill, Michael Nelson, Carl McHugh, Kyel Reid, Jason Kennedy and Alan Connell all started the friendly fixture against the Blue Square
Bet North outfit.
On the bench was the welcome sight of towering defender Luke Oliver, who was making his long awaited comeback after snapping his Achilles tendon
at Burton Albion last October.
Louie Swain, another member of Parkinson's first team squad, was the first to try his luck in the game when the young striker fired a low
snapshot from just inside the area narrowly wide of Craig MacGillivray's goal after only three minutes.
Despite Swain's early sighter though, it was Harrogate who took the lead of the friendly contest just two minutes later. Home striker Chris Hall
took control of a long throw into City's box to set the move in motion before teeing up Adam Nowakowski to beat Jack Bentley low at his near post
with a controlled side-foot.
City made most of the running thereafter in the opening period of the first half, with Swain and then Connell firing wide with shots from in and
around the edge of Harrogate's area.
Although the Bantams eleven were clearly settling into the match, Harrogate could have doubled their advantage in the twenty-third minute when
Hall beat McHugh to the ball just outside City's area.
After getting the better of McHugh, Hall then turned inside of City's other centre half on the night, Nelson, but the striker's eventual shot on
goal was weak and Bentley could save easily.
Hall's near miss seemed to then coincide with a decent period in the game for Harrogate. The hosts had one promising chance in particular just
before the half hour mark when Leigh Franks came within inches of sliding in at the far post after Nowakowski had headed Dave Merris' far post
free-kick back across goal.
Nine minutes of the first half were remaining when City drew level though through apprentice Nathan Curtis. Both Connell and Kennedy had a nibble
at Swain's low centre but it was Curtis, positioned over on the far side of the goal, who managed to get the ball under control before drilling a
left-footed drive past MacGillivray.
City would remain on level terms for less than a minute, however, when Hall sent in a teasing cross that Ashley Worsfold managed to divert into
the far corner with a first time effort from around twelve yards out.
Chances then came at both ends as the half drew to a close. Craig Nelthorpe fizzed in a fierce drive narrowly over the bar from around twenty-
five yards out, while Franks had to be on hand to kick clear from right in front of his own goal a minute or so later after Connell's low angled
drive had squirmed under the body of MacGillivray.
Connell then saw his well-struck free-kick from just outside deflected narrowly wide of the 'keeper's far post shortly afterwards.
The final chance of the half fell to City as well when Swain glanced a header a few yards wide of the same far post following Paul Wheldon's
hanging cross into the area.
The second period started in a similar vein for City, with McHugh heading a couple of yards over from a corner shortly after the restart and Reid
seeing an angled drive across goal deflected narrowly wide ten minutes later after the winger had been released into space thanks to a neat flick
from Connell.
The moment pretty much all of City's travelling support within the ground will have been waiting for came in the sixty-fourth minute when Oliver
was introduced for McHugh. For Oliver, it was his first action in any sort of competitive match in nearly nine months.
Young Calum Hepworth, who started at right back, was replaced by fellow apprentice James King at the same time.
Connell nearly managed to mark Oliver's introduction with a goal when the striker took aim from just outside the area less than a minute later
but his low effort whistled narrowly past MacGillivray's near post.
The seventieth minute of the match saw another change for City when first year scholar Elliott Barker was given the 'keeping duties in place of
Bentley.
City, who had spent most of the second period on the front-foot come the final quarter of the game, engineered another opening when Reid crossed
for Connell to send a downward header back across goal and a yard or so wide.
Connell was given another partner in attack for the final twelve minutes of the game when Dylan Mottley-Henry was brought on for Swain. The
apprentice winger took up his natural right wing role, allowing Curtis to move up into attack.
City's fifth change of the night came four minutes later on when Ravenhill was replaced by another of City's youth ranks, Sam Wright.
===========================
City leave Central League
http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/news/article/reserve-team-940136.aspx
The football club can confirm that City will not be entering a side into this (2013/2014) season's Central League (reserves) division.
The Central League is an optional league-based competition that is run by the Football League to give club's reserve teams games to play
throughout the course of the season.
Having participated in the competition over recent years, the club now feel it would be of greater benefit to arrange their own non-first team
matches if and when necessary.
Given that the Central League, like any competition, has a number of rules to adhere to, such as the requirement to rearrange all postponed
fixtures, City believe that it would be better for the club to have the freedom to play any reserve fixtures on their own terms.
Going down this route, the club can now pick and choose games on dates and at venues to suit the needs of Bradford City, as well as having the
flexibility to change a number of aspects of the matches, such as kick off times, without the need to get third-party permission.
Building on the club's partnership with RIASA, City will now look to play a selection of Development Squad games during the forthcoming season,
with any City teams involved likely to be made up of a mixture of RIASA students, apprentices from City's youth ranks and members of Phil
Parkinson's first team squad.
The club is planning to host most of any home games played this season at Eccleshill United's Rapid Solicitors Stadium.
City's first scheduled Development Squad match is a friendly fixture against near neighbours Bradford (Park Avenue) at Horsfall Stadium on Monday
12 August 2013 - kick off 7:30pm.
===========================
LANDMARK SALES FOR SEASON TICKETS
By Ross Heppenstall (T&A)
Mark Lawn has paid tribute to City supporters after the club sold the
biggest number of season tickets since their Premier League days.
The tally reached over 12,750, including more than 2,000 flexi-cards, before
the deadline for reduced prices ended at 5pm today.
It means City beat the 12,200 which greeted Stuart McCall's first season at
the Valley Parade hot-seat in 2007.
Joint-chairman Lawn said: "I just want to say a big thank you to fans for
backing us in such massive numbers again.
"They had an expensive year following the team last season but are here
again in force and their support plays a big part in the money we are able
to spend on the squad."
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