Football Season Guide

Bradford have won their League One ticket through the Play-offs, after finishing last season's League Two in 7th place. The Bantams finally managed to lose the tag of being perennial underachievers, and they will start life in League One looking to not only battle against the drop, but fight for a top half finish in the division. In Phil Parkinson, they have a manager who has a lot to prove in the third tier, given that his former club Charlton badly underachieved during his time there. What makes Bradford's promotion very impressive is the fact that central defender Luke Oliver, who was named their Player of the Year in the 2011/12 season, missed the majority of the previous campaign after undergoing surgery, and he will be like a brand new signing going into the new season. None of the key players left the club, while the Bantams strengthened their ranks with the arrivals of midfielder Jason Kennedy and winger Mark Yeates, who are both proven players at League One level and will both be expected to become regular starters for them. They don't have any strikers that are proven scorers at League One levels, but all eyes will be on young striker Nahki Wells, who scored 21 goals last season. Unlike the majority of sides that come from League Two, Bradford don't have a small squad: they have 21 professionals on their books at the moment, and this will surely come in handy during the long and demanding League One season. All in all, they are entering the season with cautious optimism and with a solid squad with several experienced League One players in it.