The bestselling book ‘One Day’ looks at how the lives of one couple evolve and change over the years, by sneaking a look into their fortunes on the same calendar day over time. It picks up their tale on the same day each passing year, demonstrating how quickly things can change in our lives whilst somehow remaining the same. Life turns from good to bad or vice-versa in the blink of an eye – and then returns back just as quickly.
By focusing on one day - January 24th to be precise - a similar novel following the fortunes of Bradford City might well make a cracking tale. What a difference a year makes.
All is not well in the world of Bradford City in January 2016. An impotent forward line, some unimpressive performances, and the departure of Devante Cole have led to disquiet. There have been calls for a change of manager and demands for an apology from the club. The year has not started well for Phil Parkinson and his men.
Compare this to a year ago, and it is a different world entirely. 365 days ago we watched the sublime happen whilst pinching ourselves. Back then we were putting four goals past the best team in England, and today we cannot put one past the ten-men of Bury. From champs to chumps, some might say.
The differences between these two games could not be starker, but here’s the thing - it is a neat microcosm of life supporting Bradford City. Good and bad. Ying and Yang. Life supporting this club is about taking the rough with the smooth. We have had a lot of the smooth lately. An awful lot more than we are used to.
Life following Bradford City usually entails long encounters with the rough, punctuated by occasional days out enjoying the smooth. Recently that has changed and we’ve seen an upturn in our fortunes. That is down to Phil Parkinson. So far, this season represents a bit of a coming down to earth. That must also be attributed to Phil Parkinson. Some are treating it less like a coming down to earth though, and more like a motorway pile up. Is this the Chelsea effect? I hope not. We have been spoilt recently but it doesn’t mean we should act it.
There are people who will mumble and grumble about celebrating the Chelsea game given the recent ‘turmoil’, but I make no apology to them. As Keith Wildman pointed out this week: “If you’re a City fan and don’t watch the Chelsea goals on YouTube on a daily basis, there’s something wrong.” A year on, this is very true - plus you get to witness City in the rare act of scoring goals.
Chelsea was more than simply the ‘greatest cup upset of all time’. The consequences of it go further than wonderful memories of a wonderful game. Of course, we will never forget the comeback, the goals, the crowd, the sheer disbelief and the snapshots. The third goal is the one that gets me every time. The calm controlled play of the build-up contrasted with the mayhem that burst forth all around when the ball hit the net. The build-up, the role of Stead, the composure, the strike, the slide, the disbelieving hands on face, the pile on, and the motion of the fans leaping around wildly are sublime. The magnitude of what we had just done simply completes it.
Without Chelsea there would have been no global adulation and no feverish joy across the city. The Sunderland Tifo and Scarf Parade would be a glint in James Mason’s eye, as possibly #149 would be. Yes, we’d be enjoying great crowds at VP this season but Chelsea helped to take it onto another level.
For those that want statistics to back that point up, the Bantams Banter podcast of the game has been downloaded and listened to more than 300,000 times. It went to number one in the iTunes sports charts and number three in the overall chart. Remember, this is a podcast about Bradford City.
This happened because Chelsea gave people outside the Bradford City ‘bubble’ a reason to feel proud of the club and to get behind it. Chelsea gave birth to the mantra “Why should I support a big name club, if I can follow the team playing down the road that keeps beating them?” Chelsea meant that supporting Bradford City became, whisper it, almost fashionable. Bradford City became something to show off. People suddenly wanted to find out more about the club. Loudly and proudly, people started to talk about City and take an active interest. “I’m going to watch Bradford City” became the thing to do. All because of Chelsea.
The club, to its credit, capitalised brilliantly on it. People in the city and beyond are enthused by the club. More kids wear claret and amber. More people are proud to associate themselves with the team that play League One football at Valley Parade. They know Chelsea was possibly once in a lifetime, but they’re still in for the ride. At home to Crewe in the pouring rain is a far far cry from Chelsea, but they’re in and they seem to be enjoying it. Up to now, anyway.
For a long time, Bradford City were a bit of a joke in the area. Outside of our supporter bubble, the club had no place in many people’s lives and hearts. Years of failure didn’t help. That is no longer the case. There are many reasons for that – the Capital One Cup run, promotion and the cheap prices are amongst them – but Chelsea is a massive reason behind the feeling of goodwill that has permeated the place.
The feeling remains, but a year on it faces its biggest crisis. Let’s be honest, it was never going to last forever. This is Bradford City after all, where life is not all roses. Recent results and performances have not been good enough, and there is concern. The atmosphere has started to flatten. The natives are getting restless. People are absolutely right to question the team and the staff when we go through bad patches like this. The football has been hard to watch and they pay good money so have every right to air their views. However it goes a bit far when people are demanding apologies from the club, requesting balance sheets, and throwing abuse around. Some of it has been extreme.
The 24th of January comes around at the right time. For a start it’s something to celebrate. We should always look back to Chelsea and say, ‘Bradford City, wow’. If we cannot celebrate something like Chelsea properly, what’s the point of supporting a football team?
It also serves as a timely reminder that there are downs like now and ups like a year ago. When the ups become a little more infrequent, it is not time to remove the manager or descend into blind panic. Bradford City’s resurgence and enjoyment of so many good times in recent years is partly down to stability. I hope that January 24th 2017 sees us enjoying that same stability. That would mean the Bradford City tale continues to be a good one, like it has for the past few years. Like every tale, it will have ups and downs but that's no reason to chuck it away.
Oh – and if you want to know what happens in the aforementioned book. The bloke goes off the rails and turns into an alcoholic for a while. The girl ends up dead. Things definitely aren’t that bad at VP are they?