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  • 2 days ago
Daniel Wales looks at the latest Bradford City transfer news.
Transcript
00:00Now for Bradford City, obviously promotion to League One.
00:03They are competing in the higher tier in a sort of situation
00:07where there are some big dogs obviously dropping down from the championship,
00:11the likes of Cardiff City.
00:12There's going to be teams in there who have rich Premier League experience,
00:16the likes of Bolton, Wigan as well, Reading.
00:19It's a very, very tough League One situation once again.
00:24Obviously, the goals for the window for Bradford City remain the same.
00:29They need to make sure they have a positive window
00:31and that they sort of make sure they are really going into the new season
00:35with a fresh start and fresh sort of ideas to ensure they remain in League One.
00:41I think that has to be the minimum goals at the moment.
00:43We obviously mentioned it before that they are certainly on the brink of building
00:46this sort of new era, this rejuvenated Bradford side
00:50that they need to remain in the top flight now.
00:55Sorry, in League One, sorry.
00:56But obviously, a lot of transfer situations going on for Bradford.
01:02What's the sort of latest?
01:03Because they need to make sure they get the right numbers,
01:07but they also keep that strong core that got them promoted
01:10and keep that momentum building throughout the side.
01:13Dan, our Yorkshire correspondent.
01:14Dan, what's your thoughts on where Bradford are at the moment,
01:17how they go about their business, how they make sure they are competitive?
01:21And, you know, at the end of the day, it's a massive window
01:24because they need to make sure they have that quality
01:27to remain in a Division One higher up than they were competing in
01:31for the last couple of seasons.
01:32Well, Charles, Bradford have wasted absolutely no time
01:35in getting going in the transfer market so far this summer.
01:38They've been so busy bringing in a player nearly every day,
01:42every other day, it feels like at the moment.
01:44Obviously, starting off with Max Power, a shrewd bit of business, that one.
01:49Of course, someone who knows this level of English football well.
01:51And then you've had the likes of Ibu Ture,
01:53you've had the likes of Matt Pennington come in,
01:55just to name a couple more.
01:56It's been some, you could argue it's a bit scattergun,
02:00but others would say it's very shrewd
02:01and they know exactly what they're doing
02:02and they're really trying to make sure that their squad has enough quality,
02:06but also, crucially, depth as well.
02:09Because, of course, it is a step up going from League Two to League One
02:12and they want the core of their squad that they had last season to remain
02:16as well as extra quality on top
02:18and, I think, most importantly, competition for places.
02:22Because, of course, squads can easily and very quickly go stale
02:26if you don't add to them
02:27and you don't bolster them regularly as well.
02:30And players, you know, they think,
02:32oh, they're securing the starting 11
02:34and they think, oh, yeah, okay, I'm fine,
02:36but then that on performance actually starts to dip a little bit.
02:38So, what they're doing is bringing in brand new players,
02:42new quality to test those who are already in the team
02:44and hopefully create this competition for places within Bradford's starting 11.
02:48The one worry or caveat to that is
02:50because you're bringing in so many new faces,
02:54does it take time for them to actually gel a little bit?
02:56I mean, they've just brought in another one recently as well in Will Swan.
03:00So, how long will it take for all these players to gel?
03:03Of course, pre-season is pretty much nearly here now.
03:05So, it's a case of, well, do they all suddenly just gel together really quickly?
03:11That never tends to be the case when lots of new signings come in.
03:14They tend to take a little bit of time,
03:15but I think they're probably going to be thinking,
03:17well, we've got them in that early,
03:19that they're all going to start pre-season together.
03:20Hopefully, that will go in our favour and play to our advantage
03:24and the fact that they've got lots of time to bed in into the club,
03:27into the feeling of the players and the city as well
03:29and understand the way that the club is thinking in terms of direction
03:33and the way Graham Alexander wants them to play too.
03:35So, it's hard to tell exactly what Bradford's transfer policy,
03:39whether it's going to be good or bad yet.
03:41Certainly, they're adding depth and adding quality to their squad.
03:44There's no denying that.
03:45It's just whether it pays off when they actually come to hit the pitch
03:48in mid-August when the League One season gets underway
03:51because, as I say, will they gel, will they not gel?
03:54It's hard to know.
03:55What they will certainly have and what they've all mentioned a lot
03:58in their signing interviews is that they can't wait to play at Valley Parade
04:02in front of the crowd there and really experience what that was like
04:06for the players who have already been at the club for some time now.
04:08Certainly, a lot of them had it really good last season
04:11in getting promoted and a lot of them want that to continue
04:14and also they want the new players to experience that as well.
04:18So, there seems to be a feel-good factor at the moment
04:20in this transfer window at Bradford City.
04:23Lots of players quite eager to come to Valley Parade
04:25and show what they can do just now, whether they can all fit into the system
04:29and also just work as a team with all the players who are already there as well.
04:35Graham Alexander certainly has a lot of work to do in that regard,
04:38but if anyone can do it, I'm sure the Bradford City supporters
04:40will have faith in him to do just that at Valley Parade.

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