Bradford City are enjoying a summer in which they are now training in the beautiful surroundings of the Austrian mountains. The bulk of their transfer business appears to have been done during the early stages of this transfer window and they seem geared up to begin a charge to the Championship.
Since the departure of Nahki Wells, it’s arguable that Bradford City have not boasted a strike-force with enough tenacity, or one that possesses that clinical edge in front of goal.
There is a list of names who have led the Bantams front-line since the departure of the Bermudian to City’s West Yorkshire rivals – Huddersfield Town.
The strikers who have featured for Bradford City since Nahki Wells’ departure during Phil Parkinson’s reign as Bradford City’s manager are as follows; Andy Gray, Jonathan Stead, Aaron McLean, Oliver McBurnie, Caleb Folan, James Hanson, Billy Clarke, Francois Zoko, Mason Bennett, Jamie Proctor, Steve Davies, Wes Thomas, Devante Cole, Jordan Bowery.
That list holds an interesting mix of players. The likes of James Hanson who has been an incredible servant to the club always offered a stable return of around ten goals a season but without his partner of Nahki Wells, it made the Bantams strikeforce slightly spearless. Billy Clarke offered a steady 13 goals in his first season with the Bantams but failed to recapture such blistering form in the following seasons after that 2014/15 campaign, especially with injury struggles.
The likes of Folan, Zoko and McLean massively flopped during their time at Valley Parade. Bowery, McBurnie, Cole and Bennett were all promising prospects but never posed the experience to make a clear difference at Valley Parade. Stead, Davies, Thomas and Proctor were relatively useful for the Bantams, but never were prolific enough and never lived up to the ‘Wells mould’ of the 20-goal-a-season striker the Bantams crave.
Jake Verity looks into why Bradford City’s strikeforce may well be one of the best in League One for this upcoming season, giving an insight into the club’s strikers and what to expect from them this season.
