In news coming through earlier today on the club’s website, Simon Grayson decided not to extend his time at Bradford City with the Bantams failing to reach the League One Play-Offs.
Grayson had been in the Valley Parade hotseat after the Bantams decided to dispense with the services of club legend Stuart McCall for the second time in February. McCall left after six successive league defeats, with City in the play-off places.
Grayson’s time in charge say the West Yorkshire side eventually settle in a disappointing 11th place on 63 points, five places and eight points shy of Charlton Athletic in the last of the play-off places.
Grayson said in a statement that clarified matters: “After conversations with the owners I have decided to turn down the option to extend my contract. This was an extremely difficult decision as I have enjoyed my time at Valley Parade.
I would like to thank everyone at Bradford City, from the owners to the supporters, who have turned out in their numbers both home and away since I have been manager of their club.
I wish the club all the best for the future.”
Grayson’s departure means that the Bantams are in the market for a replacement, the following are the top five names in line for the job according to bookmakers Sky Bet.
Top five favourites for Bradford City job
Steve Cotterill 9/4: Cotterill has been without a club since Birmingham City sacked him after just 27 games in charge in early March this year – the Blues replacing him with Garry Monk. Cotterill has previous managerial experience at Sligo Rovers, Cheltenham Town, Notts County, Portsmouth and Nottingham Forest. However, it was his three-and-a-half-year, 160-game stint as Burnley boss between 2004 and 2007 where he carved his managerial repute.
Uwe Rosler 7/2: Former Manchester City striker Rosler has been out of a job since his 102-game stint in charge of Fleetwood Town came to an end in mid-February of this year. Prior to that, Rosler has a 12-game stretch in charge at Leeds United under the revolving door manager policy of Massimo Cellino. His previous English managerial experience came at Wigan Athletic (55 games) and Brentford (136 games). Prior to that his experience in the hotseat at a club came in Norwegian football for Lillestrom SK, Viking FK and Molde FK.
John Sheridan 10/1: Former Leeds United midfielder Sheridan is currently in the hotseat at Fleetwood Town, yet is only there on a short-term deal that runs out at the end of June this year. Prior to his appointment to the top job with the Cod Army, Sheridan had seen three spells in charge of Oldham Athletic (196 games) alongside long spells in charge at Plymouth Argyle (126 games) and Chesterfield (155 games). He’s also been in charge at Newport County and Notts County, as well as caretaker manager at Oldham in 2001 before his first stint at the club.
Phil Brown 10/1: Brown has overseen his last game of his contract with Swindon Town, having signed a short-term deal in mid-March – a stretch of just 10 games. He has indicated that he’d consider a stay at the Wiltshire club, but a stint at Bradford City might appeal to him more. He’s managed at high-profile names such as Derby County (32 games) and Hull City (157 games). Additionally to this he also has experience in being in charge at Preston North End (51 games) as well as more recently 250 games in charge of Southend.
Graham Alexander 12/1: Scottish manager Alexander has been without employ since being sacked as Scunthorpe United manager in late March after 113 games in charge of The Iron. Before that he picked up another tranche of managerial experience as manager of Fleetwood Town between December 2012 and September 2015 – a spell that amounted to 145 games in charge of the north-west club.
