The fixture list is out and at last we can start counting down the days until the league season rattles into life again, with a trip to Swindon Town on August 8th. That’s 43 days until we can don our lucky undies, rummage around in the wardrobe for our City scarves and get behind the lads. A tough opener - bring it on.
There’s nothing quite like firing the starting gun on a new football season is there? The August weather is sunny and fine. The grass on pristine pitches is greener than it will be all season. A fresh start and fresh players mean fresh hopes. Everybody files into the ground in their shiny new kits, with dreams of glory beating underneath the crest on their chests. They say hello to faces they haven’t seen for a couple of months, exchange gossip, share their hopes for the season ahead and then settle down in their seat for the ride.
A thumping McArdle challenge, Billy Knott shot, or refereeing decision against Hanson later (if he stays!) and we’re off again. Forty six games of heaven, hell, and everything in between.
For City, there are certainly fresh hopes for this particular ride. The 2015/16 season brings a touch of added expectation. The general consensus amongst City fans is that more progress will do, thank you very much. That makes Phil Parkinson’s task pretty clear, as progress (in league position terms) on seventh spot last season means the playoffs or automatic promotion.
The optimism and expectation is heartening. It is deserved too, given the progress made over recent years. No matter how many season tickets are sold on the back of the club’s fantastic #onefournine campaign, the atmosphere for the first home game (Shrewsbury on August 15th) should be out of this world. If the crowd make the same progress that they’ve done in recent years in terms of backing the team, then surely our home form will turn in the face of possibly the best home support in the land. There is a real sense of goodwill behind this team. The big question is, will this lead to a happy crescendo with promotion in May 2016?
Very possibly, but a word of caution first. Getting into the playoffs is going to be very tough, and progress on last season is far from guaranteed. There is more pressure on the players as we head into this new season. Higher expectations mean less tolerance of failure. And this is a difficult league, make no mistake. The bookies seem to rate Sheffield United, Wigan, Peterborough, Millwall and Swindon as having a better chance than us, and Chesterfield and Barnsley could be there or thereabouts. There’s always a surprise package too, and the new boys from League Two often fare well. There will be stern competition.
The fairytale version of events says that this will be a great season following Bradford City, but fairytales are exactly that – tales by fairies. They don’t exist. In our first few games, we face Swindon and Barnsley, who could well be contenders come May. This is a good chance to set down a marker and start writing our own story. The opening day trip to the County Ground is the perfect test. Swindon made the play off final recently, and the corresponding fixture last season was a tough night in which we were second best to a good footballing side- albeit one who ruined their attractive play with some terrible theatrics.
Critically, there’s a lot to happen in the transfer market between now and the opener. We await news with keen interest because the faces that come in will be key protagonists in the 2015/15 plotline. Take Jon Stead for example. It’s a while until the Millwall game on the 31st October, when he has the opportunity to be punched by Millwall keeper David Forde again, if of course he signs for us.
A lot of players have left the club in recent weeks; Halliday, Yeates, Kennedy and Sheehan for instance. They were all squad players, but they made fine contributions at one point or another. They don’t just need replacing, they need improving upon. The fine balance for Parkinson now is how to improve the overall quality of the playing squad, whilst also maintaining a happy dressing room. These decisions are critical and could well decide whether this season has a happy ending or not.
None of us has a crystal ball but it looks like this season could be very significant. If we continue the momentum and progress of recent seasons, the playoffs could await at the very least. Failure to keep that momentum up, however, means that for the first time Phil Parkinson’s men could find themselves being accused of failing to meet expectations. Unthinkable.
There are great expectations this season, but these are great times. Here’s to more of them. With that in mind, here’s to a successful 2015/16 season for Bradford City. I know it is still 43 days away to kick off but come on City!
@jpieslak
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