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OPPOSITION INSIGHT: Bradford City
Swindon are back at the County Ground on Saturday as they host Bradford. Total Sport spoke to Katie Whyatt, the co-editor of award-winning website The Width of a Post which provides news on all things about the Bantams.
1) Bradford are sitting pretty in fourth at the moment, but are struggling away, winning just two of their last eight - why is that?
"I don’t think the Southend result last week (a 3-0 defeat) was necessarily a fair reflection of where we are as a club and the season we’ve had so far.
"City play fast, attacking football and that comes with an element of risk that will leave them vulnerable - but the owners have said that’s fine because it shows they’re going out to try and win the game, which is what they want.
"I think Bradford have come into a bit of a purple patch in the last few weeks and really hit upon something that will work for them in the long-run."
2) Former manager Phil Parkinson was in charge for five years but departed for Bolton this summer, is there a surprise that the club does not seem to have been affected much, if at all?
"Yeah, I think so.
"The whole set-up as a club relied on him, largely – financially, they needed his cup runs to keep them ticking over, and his backroom staff and fitness coaches were really important in revising what was important to the club’s identity at the time in terms of mental resilience and character.
"But I think the seamlessness of the transition comes down to having new two owners now in Edin Rahic and Stefan Rupp who are so in tune with their manager and scouts.
"That’s not only in the immediate focus of what they want to do this season, but more broadly, in terms of blooding young players and the culture they want to create. To be fourth now, given where they started, is remarkable, but they bought wisely in the summer and found the right players for the system.
3) Bradford seem to be, if not a sleeping giant, a club that should be in at least the Championship. How far off and/or what needs changing to get the Bantams up into tier two and stable?
"I don’t think too much. The thing with the Championship is that the finances render it a really difficult division to compete in.
"A lot of the reaction to Newcastle beating Leeds last week was just acceptance from Leeds fans, almost: that Newcastle are a cut above financially, that their squad depth and quality meant it was always going to be hard for Leeds to get something with Newcastle able to attract the coach they have in Rafa (Benitez).
"But for us, a lot of the off-field talk comes down to infrastructure, and making sure the financial components are there to make sure City survive if they go up. I’m not privy to that aspect of the club, but they talk a lot about a football ethos that runs from the first team to the academy, and that’s what the best teams have."
4) Legendary striker Bobby Campbell passed away last Tuesday and Bradford's 1-0 win over Northampton was a poignant one. Is this club and squad particularly tied to its community and history, do you think?
"Yeah, definitely.
"You hear about how the whole city came together after the fire in 1985 and the way everyone pulled together – that set a tone that’s carried on to this day.
"The fans helped the club out of two spells of administration and the club repaid that faith with the cheapest season tickets in the Football League – they’re the cheapest again this year, and it shows in the atmosphere on a matchday.
"Everyone thinks their club is a bit like a family but we genuinely are – the unity and noise in the ground is something you have to experience and be a part of to really understand. The tributes to Bobby on Tuesday were beautifully observed."
5) What is the Bradford team news? Any injuries and/or suspensions?
"Midfielder Timothee Dieng and striker Billy Clarke are hopefully going to be back available for tomorrow, but it’s still looking too soon for Tony McMahon."
6) What player(s) should Swindon fans be watching with a worried look on their face?
"Nicky Law is the standout man. He’s so intelligent in his runs – when you talk about Bradford, everything pings back to this idea of freedom and how clever they look offensively, and he’s at the heart of that in how he constantly, constantly keeps the squad ticking over.
"They’re so good at interchanging and the movement, on and off the ball, is so cohesive and fluid.
"Left back James Meredith is key to how the system works and is so confident in bombing forward He’ll make an overload on the left hand side that teams find quite difficult to deal with, especially when he’s playing with Billy Clarke."
7) And finally, what sort of match are you expecting on Saturday?
"I think, from the outside, it looks like it’s taken time for you (Swindon) to find yourselves a little – you’ve had massive wins, like beating Charlton 3-0, then losing the week after by quite a heavy margin.
You clearly carry a goal threat and the goals have been spread throughout the team, but your defensive vulnerabilities can come to the fore also and I’m keen to see which way it will go this weekend."
Benjamin Wills (@_BenWills)
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