Who wouldn’t want to be a Bantam? From the despair and Twitter meltdown of only a few months ago, this Saturday represents our chance to fully establish ourselves among the top six in League One.
Since the back end of January our side has put in some monumental performances and has come up with some huge wins in the league. Phil Parkinson has assembled a team at Valley Parade full of passion, commitment and consistency which has come at the most perfect of times. With other teams crumbling around us the Bantams have struck a rich vein of form just at the right moment and are looking for another possible trip to Wembley come May.
Let’s talk about City first and what a couple of months it has been for us Bantams. We can all admit that at stages of this season doubt has been cast and everyone has worried about the squads potential at Valley Parade at some time or another. It’s understandable, a few bad results and any football fan can lose faith and patience in and with their side. We’ve all done it. Skip forward to the start of April however and we’re on the cusp of securing a League One play-off place. Yes there are seven games to go but we can all agree that we have a more than realistic chance of finishing in the top six this term.
Our recent form is magnificent. Over our last ten matches we’ve only lost twice, the one to Wigan was unfortunate too, and have won four of our last five League One encounters. Over the Easter period we managed to win both of our games, firstly we grabbed a fantastic 1-0 win over Millwall thanks to a great all-round team performance and secondly we grinded out a 1-0 win against Crewe at Gresty Road courtesy of a Jamie Proctor strike. Jamie Proctor in particular has impressed of late. Scoring three in his last four games, Proctor has shown the desire all Bantams fans want from their players. He challenges for every ball in the air, for a big man he’s good with his feet, he closes down all that he can and it’s no surprise that he has earned ‘Man Of The Match’ multiple times of late.
The key to our success this season though is largely thanks to our defensive line and Ben Williams in particular. Williams somewhat struggled at the start of the season but with the failed capture of Brad Jones who departed almost instantaneously, the shot stopper has thrived. Williams has recorded 17 clean sheets in the league this term and 22 overall meaning he now holds the record for most clean sheets in a season whilst donning the famous claret and amber. Due to this and the heroics of McArdle, Clarke and Burke at the centre back position when called upon, City have conceded only 38 times in 39 matches, the third least amount in the league behind top two Burton and Wigan.
With Lee Evans and Josh Cullen returning from their respective international breaks, Paul Anderson and Filipe Morais returning from lengthy spells out and even Rory McArdle in contention for the match on Saturday against Scunthorpe, the Bantams are at near full strength for the first time this season. Phil Parkinson has said that he believes the current competition is driving his players on. With our form already fantastic, the fact that we have our strongest squad of the season available at this crucial time is exciting to say the least. Only one major doubt this weekend as Kyel Reid has been ill the last few days due to a chest infection and could be rested at the weekend.
Scunthorpe are enjoying a good run of form at the moment too though. Losing only once in their last ten, the Iron have secured draws against high-flyers Gillingham, Walsall and Barnsley in recent times. Last time out on Easter Monday Scunthorpe absolutely hammed mid-table Swindon 6-0 at home. Expect them then to come to Valley Parade full of spirit and looking to attack from the off as the Iron need a win on Saturday if they are to keep their slim chance of a play-off place alive. The one to watch for Scunthorpe has to be striker Paddy Madden who has once again been in lethal form this season, bagging 21 goals in all competition for the Lincolnshire outfit. Earlier in the season at Glanford Park we ran away 2-0 winners against Scunthorpe thanks to a penalty from Tony McMahon in the 28th minute and a strike from Greg Leigh in the 52nd minute. However our recent record against the Lincolnshire side is poor with only two wins in our last ten attempts.
One thing I want to touch upon, for the first time in a long time we have a fantastic home record during a league campaign. Having played 19 times so far this season at Valley Parade prior to this Saturday we have managed ten wins, five draws and only four losses. That makes for great reading especially considering that if we are able to achieve a play-off position, home form in the semi-finals would be key to our success. As well as that the team has learnt to win even when not playing at its best. We’re grinding out results when needed like all good teams do and this is shown in the fact that we’ve won 1-0 on eight occasions in the league so far this season and by a margin of one goal on twelve occasions.
Another stat that impressed me when I saw it; in the 27 matches of which we have played against teams lower than us in the division, both home and away, we have only lost on six occasions.
Like the rest of our last seven League One encounters then, all of which will feel like cup finals to the team and fans alike, this Saturdays match up against Scunthorpe is huge. Win again and finishing in the top six could become even more of a reality.