L2 L1-3 (A) Cheltenham Saturday April 28, 2012. K.O. 3:00PM. #bcafc

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Signings, Loans and Injuries

Those leaving

Contracts terminated by mutual consent
Michael Flynn, Craig Fagan and Chris Mitchell


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Match Media & Stats

Pictures
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/sport_bantams_pics2011/
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"Last Match" Highlights on Bantams Player
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BBC highlights (uk only)
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Match stats
http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=234#teamTabs=results

Cheltenham    Bradford
9(2)    Shots (on Goal)    7(2)
9    Fouls    11
4    Corner Kicks    2
5    Offsides    1
53%    Time of Poss.    47%
1    Yellow Cards    2
0    Red Cards    0
2    Saves    1

Cheltenham Town: Brown, Elliott, Bennett, Garbutt, Jombati, Pack, Low (Lowe 90), Penn (Mohamed 42), Summerfield, Spencer (Duffy 90), Burgess.

Unused substitutes: McGlashan, MacLean.

Bradford City: Duke, Ramsden, Branston (Syers 76), Oliver, Kozluk, Jones (Bullock 55), Ravenhill, Atkinson (Smalley 76), Reid, Hanson, Wells.

Unused substitutes: McLaughlin, Baker.

Referee: D Drysdale (Lincs).

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Monday morning match report

Lack of goals remains Achilles heel for Bradford City
6:20am Monday 30th April 2012
By Simon Parker

Cheltenham 3, City 1

Nothing new came out of City's final away defeat.

A poor season on the road typically ended with another loss as once again the Bantams headed back north cursing points that had got away.

The manner of Saturday's setback – so positive and in command before the break, then chasing their tails after – rammed home the major flaw of a

frustrating campaign: City simply haven't scored enough when on top.

Don't point the finger at the front two. Nahki Wells made it a dozen goals for the season with the clinical strike that should have set his side

on the way to a third win on the spin and James Hanson put himself about all afternoon, bouncing one header on to the bar.

But it is the lack of input from the rest of the team that is an issue Phil Parkinson must solve during his summer shopping.

Departing duo Michael Flynn and Craig Fagan accounted for 14 goals of City's season, although the bulk of those were from the penalty spot. At

least the 26 the two strikers have rattled up all came from open play.

City need more from other outlets – central defenders at set-pieces and, in particular, midfielders.

So it was ironic that the post-match talk was dominated by the uncertain future of David Syers, the one midfield player who you can expect to

chip in with his fair share.

Syers has had a season to forget with the long-term knee injury, the red card on his return and the over-riding frustration of finding himself

sitting on the bench most weeks.

The revelation that he had apparently turned down a contract offer at the start of the year came as a bolt from the blue.

The ensuing shenanigans on Twitter did nobody any favours. His comments about crossed wires and stormy tea-cups implied an uneasy truce had been

declared with management.

Where it goes from here, nobody can be sure. Parkinson insists the deal is still there to be signed; the reaction from Syers suggests that he

will not be rushing back to the table.

Should the impasse not get resolved, then the pressure will be on the City boss to summon up a suitable replacement.

The name game has already begun on the message boards, as is the case at this time every year. But Parkinson, typically, will keep his cards

pressed closely to him.

Waving goodbye to Flynn frees up a chunk of the budget but the club may feel that should be directed more at another striker, particularly while

they try to tie down Wells to something meatier.

Ricky Ravenhill and Ritchie Jones are clearly Parkinson's preferred engine room but two goals from the 62 starts between them does not suggest an

untapped scoring source.

Ravenhill did hit the inside of the post at Whaddon Road – one of those chances that went begging when nervy Cheltenham were there for the

taking.

Will Atkinson arrived at Valley Parade with a reputation for goals here and there. Just one at Barnet so far has hardly convinced the fans that

he is the answer.

The Hull winger joined with a view to next season and there are rumours of a pre-contract already in place. But his first outing since Aldershot

in mid-March faded fast after a bright early flurry.

That was the general theme to City's afternoon. For 45 minutes there was only one team in it – and it was the same for the second half, only this

time it was the hosts who dominated.

Parkinson reflected: "That first half was as good as we've played away from home all season. We had chance after chance and should have come in

two or possibly three goals ahead.

"But we didn't and inevitably Cheltenham stopped giving us the space they had done. We also stopped doing the things that brought us success.

They're a good side and we let them back in the game.

"This season we've probably lacked goals from other areas, not just the front two. But when you have that amount of pressure you really do expect

to score more."

Wells' stock rose once more with the quality of his seventh-minute opener, capitalising on a poor defensive header to slip one way then the other

before whipping a low drive wide of Scott Brown.

But the Cheltenham keeper got his own back with a couple of key saves from the Bermudian to deny City the commanding lead their play warranted.

The home side, needing the win to secure their play-off berth, were edgy and out-of-sorts. Their midfield diamond was being bypassed time and

again.

Realising his tactical blunder, Mark Yates threw on winger Kaid Mohamed five minutes before the break and switched to a more conventional shape.

It turned the match on its head.

Having whistled an immediate shot wide, Mohamed kicked off the second half by breezing through a half-tackle from Simon Ramsden before teeing up

Jimmy Spencer's equaliser with the outside of his boot.

Just 45 seconds of the second half gone and City had paid the price for not pressing hard enough when they had Cheltenham by the throat.

The section of the crowd who had serenaded Yates with a chorus of "you don't know what you're doing" now acclaimed his substitution. What

followed was predictable.

Luke Summerfield shovelled a pass through to Spencer for the on-loan Huddersfield man to curl his second goal beyond Matt Duke's fingertips just

after the hour.

Hanson headed over before Cheltenham put the lid on the result with a Ben Burgess lob after Guy Branston had lost a long ball in the wind. The

defender's reaction at being subbed five minutes later showed what he thought.

Spencer and Mohamed went close to more before City found a late rally, Hanson clipping the woodwork and Syers flicking wide from six yards;

chances not taken again – a season-long problem.

Parkinson will spend the next couple of months seeking a solution. How he gets on will define whether anything will change come August 18 when we

start all over again.

Attendance: 3,930

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1911 FA Cup final winner's medal of Bradford City's Robert Torrance up for auction

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/bradford-city/9233952/1911-FA-Cup-final-winners-medal-of-Bradford-Citys-Robert-Torrance-up-for-

auction.html
or
http://tgr.ph/IB6xuz

The 1911 FA Cup final winner's medal of Bradford City defender Robert Torrance will be among a catalogue of prized items of sporting memorabilia

up for auction next month.

Torrance turned in a man-of-the-match performance as Bradford won their first and, to date, only FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Newcastle in the

replay at Old Trafford after the first game finished goalless. He went on to make 161 appearances for the club up until 1917.

Torrance and eight other Bradford players including captain Jimmy Speirs who lifted the Cup in 1911, were all killed in active service during the

First World War.
Torrance, who was born in Kirkintilloch - to the north-east of Glasgow - in 1888 joined the Royal Field Artillery and lost an arm during an

artillery barrage near the Belgian town on Ypes. The field hospital he was taken to was shelled into oblivion and his remains were never found.
The FA Cup winner's medal has been a prized possession of Robert's great grandson, Tim Braidwood, who was given a series of Torrance's medals by

his grandfather.
"We haven't felt comfortable having the medal out on display given its worth so have decided it could benefit and make a difference to our lives

financially to sell it," Braidwood said.
"Similarly I have a number of other medals of Robert Torrance's, including a cigarette case which was given to him, which I will be keeping."
The last two medals sold from the 1911 FA Cup winning Bradford City team sold for £26,000 and £23,000 respectively.
The auction, which will be held at Sotheby's on May 15, is completely made up of sporting memorabilia with Barry Sheene's 1984 Suzuki race-worn

leathers and an England No 20 red shirt issued to Ian Callaghan for the 1966 World Cup final also expected to fetch a healthy price.
For more information on the auction, visit http://www.grahambuddauctions.co.uk/

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CITY SHOW TRIO THE DOOR

Bradford City have terminated the contracts of Michael Flynn, Craig Fagan
and Chris Mitchell by mutual consent.

The contracts of all three players were due to expire in the summer and they
have all been released early by manager Phil Parkinson.

Midfielder Flynn, 31, who arrived on a free transfer from Huddersfield in
the summer of 2009, has made 36 appearances for the Bantams this season and
was captain on a number of occasions.

Striker Fagan, 29, was given a one-year deal in September when he signed for
an undisclosed fee, following his release from Hull the previous June.

Mitchell, 23, joined Bradford on a free transfer from Falkirk last summer
and made 17 appearances for the club.

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Bradford City door remains open for Syers
8:20am Monday 30th April 2012
By Simon Parker

Phil Parkinson today told David Syers: The ball is in your court if you want to stay at City.

The midfielder turned down the offer of a new deal in January – a decision which shocked the club. But Parkinson has made it clear the unsigned

contract remains on the table.

Joint-chairman Mark Lawn said: "David has a choice now. We offered him a contract, which we believe is a good one, and he hasn't chosen to sign

it.

"I'm flabbergasted he hasn't taken it but what can we do?"

Parkinson is clearing the Valley Parade decks for a summer rebuild. Michael Flynn, Chris Mitchell and Craig Fagan have all played their last

games for the club and others will follow.

Mark Stewart is also set to go and City are in talks with Inverness about Steve Williams making his move to Scotland permanent.

Parkinson is expected to discuss possible deals with Simon Ramsden and Lee Bullock – and also insists the door remains open for Syers.

He said: "We offered him a very good contract which he didn't take. But we certainly haven't withdrawn it.

"It was way back when he first got back in the team. We sat down and I explained to him how much I want him to be part of it here.

"The chairman then spoke to Dave and his agent and they decided they weren't happy with what the club were offering.

"I tried to be fair to him because he'd just recovered from a long-term injury and obviously you have concerns when you're in that position.

"We haven't spoken about it since then. But Dave's out of contract and he's got every right to see what's out there."

Syers, last season's player of the year, went on Twitter after Saturday's 3-1 loss at Cheltenham to dispute what was being said. But he later

admitted it was a "storm in a tea cup" after a further chat with the manager.

Parkinson has put out feelers with potential summer targets but City will not hurry to get their business done.

"Supporters might be waiting for announcements quickly but that won't happen," said the Bantams boss.

"We've spoken to a few people already but players are still coming out of contracts. They've got another game to play and some might be in the

play-offs.

"We're experienced enough to know that players out of contract are always in the market for clubs wanting to speak to them. That's the name of

the game."

As one of the best-paid players at the club, Flynn's departure will pave the way for more investment. Fagan was also near the top of the pay

scale.

Parkinson said: "We've got Ricky (Ravenhill) and Jonah (Ritchie Jones) already under contract and unfortunately the budget doesn't allow for

another experienced midfield player with Michael.

"Fages had plans to go back down south and one or two clubs have been speaking to his agent.

"Agreeing deals with players now saves money for us which we can utilise in the summer going forward."

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GROUNDSHARE MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE FOR BULLS & BANTAMS
By Ross Heppenstall (T&A)

A Bradford MP today led calls for the Bulls to leave Odsal and make Valley
Parade their new permanent home.

Bradford East MP David Ward insisted Odsal will be never be anything other
than a "big black hole" in the Bulls' finances and claimed a groundshare
with City held the key to a sustainable future for both clubs.

Ward said the Bulls' financial crisis was partly due to the cost of being at
Odsal and that City were paying an "absolute fortune" in rent to Valley
Parade landlord Gordon Gibb. His solution would see both the city's
professional sports clubs play at Valley Parade, with a potential long-term
possibility of buying the stadium from Gibb.

Ward told the T&A: "This needs to be raised as a matter of priority in any
discussions about the future of the Bulls and City.

"When you are on the terraces at Odsal it's awesome in terms of a venue, but
the cost is bringing the club to its knees.

"Odsal will never be anything other than a big black hole, sucking the
resources out of the playing side and detrimental to the development of the
club.

"You have a 25,000-seater, state-of-the-art stadium at Valley Parade and
there's room to develop it further.

"It's used little more than 23 times a year as things stand and that just
does not add up.

"If you look at the success of groundsharing at other clubs then it's the
only way forward. It makes economic sense and it simply has to happen."

Two years ago, ambitious plans for a £75.5 million Odsal Sports Village were
kicked firmly into touch due to a funding crisis.

Earlier this year the Bulls sold the lease on Odsal to the RFL, making them
tenants rather than owners of their historic home.

Ward added: "As long as the Bulls stay at Odsal they will always be just
sticking plasters over things until the next crisis – it would be throwing
good money after bad to stay there.

"If the Odsal Sporting Village had got underway they would have had to move
to Valley Parade for at least a couple of seasons anyway.

"Why not just bite the bullet on this one and recognise the economic
realities? Whatever happens to Odsal will happen.

"It's a highly developable part of the city with great links to the
motorway, as we know.

"But that's really a secondary issue. This is not about how the Bulls are
going to raise the next £500,000; it's about the development of both clubs
for the next 15 to 20 to 25 years.

"All the economic reality is pointing in one direction. Let's just get the
debate going.

"I actually think many people are put off investing in the Bulls because
they regard the stadium as being a lost cause.

"Once you've backed that with joint funding, you've got a fantastic stadium
in Valley Parade as it stands.

"But then you can start talking about the development of that stadium and
the surrounding area.

"We need to get some economic regeneration in the city centre and
in Manningham – this could kick-start that."

The Bulls played two seasons at Valley Parade in 2001 and 2002 during the
redevelopment of Odsal, the club's home since 1934.

Ward added: "Maybe it wasn't particularly friendly when the Bulls were
previously there but I know City would be very, very welcoming this time.

"City are paying an absolute fortune every single year in rent to Gordon
Gibb.

"Ideally, if both clubs came together then the prospects of buying out Gibb
at Valley Parade could be more of a possibility. Then you start to become
masters of your own destiny."

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