2013–14 Bradford City A.F.C. season

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Bradford City A.F.C.
2013–14 season
Co-chairmenMark Lawn and Julien Rhodes
ManagerPhil Parkinson
StadiumValley Parade
League One11th
FA CupFirst Round
League CupFirst Round
Football League TrophyFirst Round
Top goalscorerLeague: Nahki Wells (14)
All: Nahki Wells (15)
Away colours

The 2013–14 season was Bradford City's 111th season in their history, their 99th in the Football League and 101st in the league system of English football. It was their first season back in League One following six years in League Two, after they beat Northampton Town 3–0 in the 2012–13 League Two Playoff Final.[1]

Pre-season[]

Former sponsors JCT600 signed a three-year deal to become the club's main shirt sponsors once again after a seven-year absence.[2] Coach Phil Parkinson signed a new three-year deal with the club, along with assistant Steve Parkin and Head of Sports Science Nick Allamby.[3]

Parkinson took up one-year options on Jon McLaughlin, Gary Jones, Kyel Reid and Garry Thompson to keep them at the club for another season,[4] while Andrew Davies signed a new two-year contract to stay with the Bantams.[5] However, Steve Williams and Dean Overson were released after being deemed surplus to the club's requirements.[6] Goalkeeper Matt Duke also left the Bantams to join League Two side Northampton Town, Duke stated that he loved his time at Bradford but at 36 years of age he is looking for more 1st team football.[7] Parkinson announced that he had released winger Zavon Hines stating that the winger needed first team football and Bradford could not promise him that.[8] The first signing of the season came as the Bantams announced that they had signed Rochdale midfielder Jason Kennedy on a 2 Year Deal.[9] On the same day, young defender Carl McHugh also signed a 1 Year Extension to his contract after an impressive 2012–13 campaign.[10] Another important player for the Bantams, Nathan Doyle, also signed a 1 Year Extension after impressing the coach and becoming a key figure in the Bradford side.[11]

The second signing of the campaign came as Parkinson signed Watford winger Mark Yeates on a 2 Year Deal.[12] Winger Will Atkinson left Bradford as he signed a 2 Year Deal with League Two side Southend United.[13] During pre-season it was announced that trialist Raffaele De Vita had signed a 1 Year Deal with Bradford.[14] Bradford announced that they had signed defender Matt Taylor from Charlton Athletic on a 2 Year Deal whilst Michael Nelson leaves City to join Scottish side Hibernian.[15]

Pre-season and friendlies[]

The Bantams started their pre-season with a 4–0 win against Guiseley. Bradford opened the scoring early with Alan Connell before the game evened out a little. Finally in the 73rd minute Nahki Wells rounded a defender and the keeper to score. This opened the floodgates and Ricky Ravenhill scored City's 3rd before trial player Raffaele De Vita scored the goal of the game to finish the scoring.

The next part of the Bantams pre-season was a tour of Ireland. They started this tour with a 4–1 win against Athlone Town. The Irish opened the scoring as Bradford defender James Meredith scored an own goal in the 23rd minute, however this was short lived as last season's top scorer Nahki Wells drove a shot into the bottom corner to equalize. The Bantams took the lead 8 minutes later as Mark Yeates blasted a drive into the other bottom corner, this soon became a 3–1 lead to Bradford when Raffaele De Vita's cross was bundled into the net by Rory McArdle. Alan Connell rounded off the scoring by slotting home a shot to make it 4–1. The second game on the Irish tour saw the Bantams face Bohemians, City once again went behind however this time it wasn't an own goal but rather an opposition player heading the ball in. This 1–0 lead was soon rubbed out by an equalizer to Garry Thompson who headed home a Jason Kennedy cross. Just after halftime the Bradford side dominated and this dominance paid off as Michael Nelson scored to make it 2–1. Youngster also added a goal before the game was wrapped up by a goal from Nahki Wells to ensure the Bantams won 4–1.

Bradford came back to England to face Grimsby Town, it was a hard-fought match and it took the Bantams until the 60th minute to score when James Hanson tapped in Garry Thompson's cross. Then Mark Yeates scored near the full-time whistle as he curled as free-kick into the bottom corner. Bradford won the game 2–0 and that meant they were unbeaten in 4 pre-season games. This run came to an end as the Bantams faced EFL Championship side Doncaster Rovers at Valley Parade. The Rovers took the lead in the 23rd minute but Bradford bounced back as Garry Thompson charged down the goalkeepers kick and the ball rolled into the net. However Doncaster scored with 5 minutes to go to ensure that Bradford lost for the first time this pre-season. A young Bradford side lost 2–1 to Harrogate Town in the final pre-season match before facing Huddersfield Town. Harrogate took the lead after 5 minutes but pressure from the Bantams allowed them to equalize with a Nathan Curtis goal, however soon after Harrogate took a 2–1 lead which they kept hold of despite some good chances from City.

Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
13 July 2013 Guiseley A 4–0 Connell 15', Wells 73', Ravenhill 79', De Vita 84'
16 July 2013 Athlone Town A 4–1 Wells 31', Yeates 38', McArdle 40', Connell 82'
20 July 2013 Bohemians A 4–1 Thompson 21', Nelson 45+1', 48', Wells 78'
23 July 2013 Grimsby Town A 2–0 Hanson 60', Yeates 86'
27 July 2013 Doncaster Rovers H 1–2 Thompson 55' 2,850
30 July 2013 Harrogate Town A 1–2 Curtis 36'
12 August 2013 Bradford Park Avenue A 1–0 De Vita 14' (pen.) 395

League One[]

The fixtures for the 2013–14 season were released on 19 June at 09:00 BST.

Bradford's League One campaign started with a 2–2 draw against Bristol City, after going behind last season's top scorer Nahki Wells equalized before Bristol scored their second. However Rory McArdle headed in a cross to make sure the Bantams got a point from the match. The Bantams first home game was a 4–0 win against Carlisle United, Bradford raced into a 3–0 lead after half an hour with Mark Yeates scoring a spectacular goal followed by goals from Nahki Wells and James Hanson before Gary Jones added a second half goal. Bradford's first loss of the season came against Port Vale as the Bantams went down 2–1, their only goal coming from in form striker Nahki Wells. Bradford bounced back from this defeat with an outstanding 2–0 win over Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United with Wells scoring both of the Bantams goals. Bradford's last game of September was a 1–1 draw with Stevenage, the Bantams trailed earlier on due to a penalty but just after halftime Kyel Reid scored to equalize to ensure Bradford came away with a point.

September started great for Bradford as two James Hanson goals (followed by one each from Nahki Wells and Garry Thompson) ensured that they came away with a 4–0 win against Brentford. This performance was backed up by a 2–2 draw against Colchester United with Nahki Wells netting both times. A solitary goal from skipper Gary Jones was enough to secure a 1–0 win against Gillingham. The month ended on a high as Bradford beat Shrewsbury Town 2–1 thanks to a late 90th-minute winner from James Hanson after Kyel Reid had nabbed an equalizer earlier on in the game, this win took the Bantams to 5th place in the league.

Fixtures[]

Date Opponents H/A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance League
position
3 August 2013 Bristol City A 2–2 Wells 33', McArdle 84' 13,862 10th
10 August 2013 Carlisle United H 4–0 Yeates 20', Wells 25', Hanson 29', Jones 67' 13,641 5th
17 August 2013 Port Vale A 1–2 Wells 60' 6,552 9th
24 August 2013 Sheffield United H 2–0 Wells (2) 45', 87' 18,041 6th
31 August 2013 Stevenage A 1–1 Reid 48' 3,242 7th
7 September 2013 Brentford H 4–0 Hanson (2) 41', 69', Wells 60', Thompson 64' 13,621 5th
14 September 2013 Colchester United H 2–2 Wells (2) 15', 53' 13,570 7th
21 September 2013 Gillingham A 1–0 Jones 9' n/a 6th
28 September 2013 Shrewsbury Town H 2–1 Reid 60', Hanson 90' 14,128 5th
5 October 2013 Walsall A 2–0 Reid 45', Hanson 47' 5,364 4th
13 October 2013 Tranmere Rovers H 0–1 14,674 4th
19 October 2013 Crawley Town A 0–1 3,836 5th
22 October 2013 Preston North End A 2–2 Hanson 5', McArdle 73' 11,485 5th
26 October 2013 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–2 De Vita 14' 18,044 6th
2 November 2013 Crewe Alexandra A 0–0 5,428 6th
17 November 2013 Coventry City H 3–3 Wells (3) 17', 28', 90' (pen.) 14,322 7th
23 November 2013 Milton Keynes Dons A 3–2 Wells 21', Reid 43', Kennedy 85' 8,970 6th
26 November 2013 Notts County H 1–1 Yeates 69' 12,808 6th
1 December 2013 Oldham Athletic A 1–1 Wells 21' 7,180 8th
14 December 2013 Leyton Orient H 1–1 Wells 90' 14,292 7th
21 December 2013 Peterborough United A 1–2 Gray 76' 6,597 9th
26 December 2013 Rotherham United H 0–1 18,218 11th
29 December 2013 Swindon Town H 1–1 McArdle 16' 13,461 10th
1 January 2014 Notts County A 0–3 4,919 12th
11 January 2014 Bristol City H 1–1 Hanson 1' 13,050 12th
18 January 2014 Sheffield United A 2–2 Jones 56', Hanson 63' 18,794 13th
28 January 2014 Preston North End H 0–0 13,686 12th
1 February 2014 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–2 19,498 13th
8 February 2014 Crewe Alexandra H 3–3 Hanson 58', Jones (2) 59', 84' 13,343 13th
11 February 2014 Carlisle United A 0–1 3,267 13th
18 February 2014 Port Vale H 1–0 McHugh 90' 12,106 11th
22 February 2014 Milton Keynes Dons H 1–0 Hanson 72' 13,501 11th
1 March 2014 Stevenage H 2–3 Reach 11', Hanson 42' 13,033 11th
8 March 2014 Brentford A 0–2 8,063 13th
11 March 2014 Colchester United A 2–0 Hanson 16', Bennett 56' 2,605 11th
15 March 2014 Gillingham H 1–1 McLean 10' 13,089 12th
22 March 2014 Shrewsbury Town A 1–2 Davies 79' 5,181 13th
25 March 2014 Walsall H 0–2 12,165 15th
29 March 2014 Leyton Orient A 1–0 McLean 27' 5,165 12th
1 April 2014 Coventry City A 0–0 1,673 12th
5 April 2014 Oldham Athletic H 2–3 Reach 36', Jones 90' 14,920 12th
11 April 2014 Rotherham United A 0–0 9,228 12th
18 April 2014 Peterborough United H 1–0 Reach 26' 13,820 13th
21 April 2014 Swindon Town A 0–1 8,377 14th
26 April 2014 Crawley Town H 2–1 McLean 49', Thompson 85' 13,247 13th
3 May 2014 Tranmere Rovers A 2–1 Stead 81', McLean 87' 9,598 11th

League table[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
9 Port Vale 46 18 7 21 59 73 −14 61
10 Milton Keynes Dons 46 17 9 20 63 65 −2 60
11 Bradford City 46 14 17 15 57 54 +3 59
12 Bristol City 46 13 19 14 70 67 +3 58
13 Walsall 46 14 16 16 49 49 0 58
Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 2014. Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored

FA Cup[]

City will enter the FA Cup at the First Round stage with the other League One and Two clubs. The draw was made in October and the Bantams were drawn against Rotherham United. Bradford lost 3–0 after Rotherham played some good football to take an early lead.

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
9 November 2013 Round 1 Rotherham United A 0–3 7,667

League Cup[]

City will enter the League Cup at the First Round stage. The draw for the first round was made on 17 June 2013 and the Bantams were drawn away against local EFL Championship side Huddersfield Town.

Bradford City were runners up in last years League Cup campaign however this time they failed to progress through the first round as Huddersfield Town beat them 2–1. Huddersfield went 2–0 up thanks to a brace from James Vaughan before Nahki Wells scored a consolation goal in the 15th minute.

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
6 August 2013 Round 1 Huddersfield Town A 1–2 Wells 90' 11,630

Football League Trophy[]

City will begin their Football League Trophy campaign in the First Round stage along with the other clubs from League One and League Two.

The Bantams were drawn against League Two side Hartlepool United for the First Round however they were knocked out as the League Two side hammered the Bantams 5–0 with ex Bradford players Jack Compton and Nialle Rodney among the scorers.

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
3 September 2013 Round 1 Hartlepool United A 0–5 1,740

Squad statistics[]

No. Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup League Trophy Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Yellow card.svg Red card.svg
1 GK Scotland Jon McLaughlin 46 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 48 0 1 0
2 DF England Stephen Darby 46 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 49 0 4 0
3 DF Australia James Meredith 24(2) 0 1 0 0(1) 0 1 0 26(3) 0 2 0
4 DF England Matthew Dolan 9(2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9(2) 0 1 0
5 DF England Andrew Davies 28 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 1 2 0
6 DF England Adam Drury 11(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11(1) 0 3 0
7 MF England Kyel Reid 21(5) 4 1 0 1 0 0(1) 0 23(6) 4 3 0
8 MF England Jason Kennedy 5(4) 1 0(1) 0 1 0 1 0 7(5) 1 0 0
9 FW England James Hanson 34(1) 12 1 0 0(1) 0 0 0 35(2) 12 4 0
10 FW Scotland Andy Gray 2(6) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2(6) 1 1 0
11 MF England Garry Thompson 29(15) 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 31(15) 2 4 0
12 GK England Arron Jameson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 MF Republic of Ireland Mark Yeates 10(19) 2 0(1) 0 0 0 1 0 11(20) 2 2 0
15 DF England Matt Taylor 1(1) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3(1) 0 0 0
16 DF Republic of Ireland Carl McHugh 11(3) 1 0 0 1 0 0(1) 0 12(4) 1 4 0
17 FW England Jon Stead 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 0 0
18 MF England Gary Jones 43(2) 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 44(2) 6 4 0
19 MF England Jordan Graham 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0
20 MF Italy Raffaele De Vita 6(14) 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 9(14) 1 1 0
21 FW England Aaron McLean 18(2) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 18(2) 4 1 0
22 DF England Matthew Bates 20(2) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 21(2) 0 0 0
23 DF Northern Ireland Rory McArdle 41 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 43 3 9 0
24 MF England Nathan Doyle 34(5) 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 37(5) 0 6 1
25 - England Lewis Clarkson 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0
26 FW England Louie Swain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
27 FW England Oli McBurnie 2(6) 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 2(7) 0 0 0
28 MF England Adam Reach 18 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 3 1 0
29 MF England Chris Atkinson 1(3) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1(3) 0 0 0
32 MF England Kyle Bennett 14(4) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 14(4) 1 0 1
- MF England Forrayah Bass 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- DF England Connor Erangey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- FW England Nathan Curtis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- MF England Calum Hepworth 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- GK England Connor Ripley 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
- FW England Caleb Folan 0(6) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(6) 0 1 0
- FW Bermuda Nahki Wells 18(1) 14 1 0 0(1) 1 0 0 19(2) 15 1 0
- MF England Ricky Ravenhill 3(4) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 5(4) 0 2 0
- DF England Luke Oliver 3(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3(1) 0 1 0
- FW England Alan Connell 0(13) 0 0 0 1 0 0(1) 0 1(14) 0 0 0
- – Own goals – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – –

Statistics accurate as of 3 May 2014

Transfers[]

Main articles: List of English football transfers summer 2013 and List of English football transfers winter 2013–14

In[]

Date Pos. Name From Fee
2 July 2013 MF Jason Kennedy Rochdale Free
3 July 2013 MF Mark Yeates Watford Free
30 July 2013 MF Raffaele De Vita Swindon Town Free
1 August 2013 DF Matt Taylor Charlton Athletic Free
28 September 2013 FW Caleb Folan T-Team Free
13 October 2013 DF Matthew Bates Bristol City Free
16 January 2014 FW Aaron McLean Hull City Undisclosed Fee

Loan In[]

Date Pos. Name From Until
10 January 2014 GK Arron Jameson Sheffield Wednesday End of Season
10 January 2014 MF Jordan Graham Aston Villa 8 February 2014
23 January 2014 MF Adam Reach Middlesbrough 21 April 2014
24 January 2014 MF Chris Atkinson Huddersfield Town End of Season
24 January 2014 MF Kyle Bennett Doncaster Rovers End of Season
8 February 2014 DF Matthew Dolan Doncaster Rovers End of Season
7 March 2014 DF Adam Drury Leeds United End of Season
27 March 2014 FW Jon Stead Huddersfield Town End of Season

Loan Out[]

Date Pos. Name From Until
24 January 2014 MF Jason Kennedy Rochdale End of Season

Out[]

Date Pos. Name To Fee
28 May 2013 FW Adam Baker Released Free
30 May 2013 DF Steve Williams Macclesfield Town Free
30 May 2013 DF Dean Overson Released Free
24 June 2013 GK Matt Duke Northampton Town Free
1 July 2013 FW Zavon Hines Released Free
4 July 2013 MF Will Atkinson Southend United Free
1 August 2013 DF Michael Nelson Hibernian Free
27 December 2013 FW Caleb Folan Released Free
10 January 2014 FW Nahki Wells Huddersfield Town £1.5 million + Add Ons
30 January 2014 FW Alan Connell Northampton Town Free
30 January 2014 MF Ricky Ravenhill Northampton Town Free
31 January 2014 DF Luke Oliver Released Free

See also[]

  • List of Bradford City A.F.C. seasons

References[]

  1. ^ Doyle, Paul (18 May 2013). "Bradford City smash Northampton Town in half an hour in play-off final". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  2. ^ Parker, Simon (14 May 2013). "Bradford City stalwart Jack Tordoff happy to be back as kit sponsor". Telegraph & Argus.
  3. ^ "Parkinson signs a new deal". Bradford City AFC. 22 May 2013.
  4. ^ "Options taken". Bradford City AFC. 23 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Davies re-signs". Bradford City AFC. 8 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Duo released". Bradford City AFC. 30 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Duke joins Northampton". Bradford City AFC. 24 June 2013.
  8. ^ "Hines released". Bradford City AFC. 1 July 2013.
  9. ^ "Kennedy signed". Bradford City AFC. 2 July 2013.
  10. ^ "McHugh extension". Bradford City AFC. 2 July 2013.
  11. ^ "Doyle extension". Bradford City AFC. 3 July 2013.
  12. ^ "Yeates signed". Bradford City AFC. 3 July 2013.
  13. ^ "Atkinson leaves". Bradford City AFC. 4 July 2013.
  14. ^ "De Vita signed". Bradford City AFC. 30 July 2013.
  15. ^ "Taylor signs while Nelson leaves". Bradford City AFC. 1 August 2013.
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