Two minute guide to: Bradford City
Here’s our lightning quick guide to Vale’s next opponents in League Two – Bradford City.
Man in charge
Former Colchester and Charlton manager Phil Parkinson is in charge of his fourth league club. Parkinson has managed Bradford for 59 games, winning 21, losing 21 and drawing 17.
Last time we met
Andrew Davies’ late equaliser saw it end 1-1 at Valley Parade back in February. Vale had taken the lead through Louis Dodds’ 39th minute strike (right).
Overall record
Bradford have won 40 times, Vale have won 30 times and there have been 26 draws. However, Vale boast an excellent away record against the Bantams after being unbeaten during their last five visits to Valley Parade.
Featured connection
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (right) was signed in 2000 by the Valiants and went on to make 124 league appearances, scoring 24 goals. He also scored the first goal in our 2-1 LDV Vans Trophy final win over Brentford in 2001. In 2004, he turned down a new contract to join Stockport County but after a loan spell with Bradford, he joined on a permanent basis in 2005. He went on to make 83 appearances (12 goals) for the Bantams before being released in 2007.
Other connections
Former Vale boss Lee Sinnott has been named as one of a hundred “Legends of Bradford City” by local journalist David Markham. Other players to appear for both sides include Ron Futcher, Neville Southall, Ashley Westwood, Jake Speight, Peter Griffiths, Bernie Wright and Lee Mills.
Team news
Bradford duo Jon McLaughlin and Luke Oliver both hope to return to the starting line-up after being rested for the midweek Capital One cup clash. Phil Parkinson, who has no new injury or suspension problems, faces several selection dilemmas after making six changes in midweek.
Micky Adams may make changes to his starting line-up for the first time since the opening day of the league season. With Adams hinting at changes, OVF noted earlier this week that Ryan Burge, Ben Williamson and Rob Taylor (right) were not included in the reserve-team squad that played Morecambe.
Pre-match quotes
“Micky’s saying he might make some changes and we’ll have to wait and see. But to go that many games without a change through injury is unusual. We’re going to have to push ourselves mentally and physically. Port Vale work very hard for each other and are very committed, like we are. We’ve got to make sure we match that.”
– Phil Parkinson
Bradford are a good side at home, and they’re particularly strong at set-pieces. If we don’t switch on, we’ll get punished. But the sign of a decent team is whether you can bounce back from defeat.”
– Micky Adams