Misplaced Pages

Bradford City

2023–24 season
Chairman	Stefan Rupp
Manager	Mark Hughes (until 4 October) Kevin McDonald (caretaker - 4 Oct until 31 Oct) Mark Trueman (caretaker - 31 Oct until 6 Nov) Graham Alexander (from 6 November)
Stadium	Valley Parade
League Two	9th
FA Cup	First round
EFL Cup	Third round
EFL Trophy	Semi-final
Home colours Away colours
← 2022–232024–25 →

The 2023–24 season is the 121st season in the existence of Bradford City and their fifth consecutive season in League Two. In addition to the league the club are also participating in the FA Cup, the EFL Cup, and the EFL Trophy.

Current squad

As of 21 February 2024

No.	Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth (Age)	Previous club	Date signed	Fee	Contract end
Goalkeepers
1	Sam Walker	GK		Gravesend	(1991-10-02) 2 October 1991 (age 33)	Charlton Athletic	11 January 2024	Free	30 June 2025
13	Colin Doyle	GK		Cork	(1985-06-12) 12 June 1985 (age 39)	Kilmarnock	1 July 2022	Free	30 June 2024
29	Heath Richardson	GK		Norfolk	(2004-01-26) 26 January 2004 (age 20)	Academy	1 July 2022	Trainee	30 June 2024
40	Zachariah Hadi	GK				Academy	21 February 2024	Trainee	30 June 2024
Defenders
2	Brad Halliday	RB		Redcar	(1995-07-10) 10 July 1995 (age 29)	Fleetwood Town	10 July 2022	Free	30 June 2024
3	Liam Ridehalgh	LB		Halifax	(1991-04-20) 20 April 1991 (age 33)	Tranmere Rovers	1 July 2021	Free	30 June 2024
4	Ash Taylor	CB		Bromborough	(1990-09-02) 2 September 1990 (age 34)	Kilmarnock	1 July 2023	Free	30 June 2025
5	Matthew Platt	CB		Knowsley	(1997-10-03) 3 October 1997 (age 27)	Barrow	1 July 2022	Free	30 June 2024
15	Sam Stubbs	CB		Liverpool	(1998-11-20) 20 November 1998 (age 26)	Exeter City	31 January 2023	Free	30 June 2024
18	Ciaran Kelly	CB		Lucan	(1998-07-04) 4 July 1998 (age 26)	Bohemian	1 January 2023	Free	30 June 2025
22	Daniel Oyegoke	RB		Barnet	(2003-01-03) 3 January 2003 (age 21)	Brentford	1 July 2023	Loan	31 May 2024
31	Jonathan Tomkinson	CB		Plano	(2002-04-11) 11 April 2002 (age 22)	Norwich City	6 September 2023	Loan	31 May 2024
32	Lewis Richards	LB		Liverpool	(2001-10-15) 15 October 2001 (age 23)	Wolverhampton Wanderers	18 August 2023	Undisclosed	30 June 2025
Midfielders
6	Richard Smallwood	CM		Redcar	(1990-12-29) 29 December 1990 (age 33)	Hull City	1 July 2022	Free	30 June 2024
7	Jamie Walker	AM		Edinburgh	(1993-06-25) 25 June 1993 (age 31)	Heart of Midlothian	1 July 2022	Free	30 June 2024
10	Alex Pattison	CM		Darlington	(1997-09-06) 6 September 1997 (age 27)	Harrogate Town	1 July 2023	Free	30 June 2026
11	Alex Gilliead	CM		Shotley Bridge	(1996-02-11) 11 February 1996 (age 28)	Scunthorpe United	1 July 2021	Free	30 June 2025
23	Bobby Pointon	AM		Bradford	(2004-01-04) 4 January 2004 (age 20)	Academy	1 July 2023	Trainee	30 June 2024
26	Kevin McDonald	DM		Carnoustie	(1988-11-04) 4 November 1988 (age 36)	Exeter City	1 July 2023	Free	30 June 2025
39	Gabriel Wadsworth	CM				Academy	21 July 2023	Trainee	30 June 2024
Forwards
8	Calum Kavanagh	CF		Cardiff	(2003-09-05) 5 September 2003 (age 21)	Middlesbrough	1 February 2024	Undisclosed	30 June 2026
9	Andy Cook	CF		Bishop Auckland	(1990-10-18) 18 October 1990 (age 34)	Mansfield Town	1 July 2021	Free	30 June 2026
12	Clarke Oduor	LW		Siaya	(1999-06-25) 25 June 1999 (age 25)	Barnsley	1 July 2023	Free	30 June 2026
14	Tyler Smith	CF		Sheffield	(1998-12-04) 4 December 1998 (age 26)	Hull City	1 July 2023	Free	30 June 2026
20	Harry Chapman	LW		Hartlepool	(1997-11-05) 5 November 1997 (age 27)	Blackburn Rovers	1 July 2022	Free	30 June 2024
27	Matt Derbyshire	CF		Great Harwood	(1986-04-14) 14 April 1986 (age 38)	NorthEast United	9 January 2023	Free	30 June 2024
28	Jake Young	CF		Huddersfield	(2001-07-22) 22 July 2001 (age 23)	Forest Green Rovers	1 July 2022	Undisclosed	30 June 2025
33	Adam Wilson	LW		Ashington	(2000-04-10) 10 April 2000 (age 24)	The New Saints	28 August 2023	Undisclosed	30 June 2026
36	Tyreik Wright	RW		Ovens	(2001-09-22) 22 September 2001 (age 23)	Plymouth Argyle	15 January 2024	Loan	31 May 2024
Out on Loan
17	Luke Hendrie	RB		Leeds	(1994-08-27) 27 August 1994 (age 30)	Hartlepool United	31 January 2022	Free	30 June 2024
19	Vadaine Oliver	CF		Sheffield	(1991-10-21) 21 October 1991 (age 33)	Gillingham	10 July 2022	Free	30 June 2025
21	Timi Odusina	CB		Croydon	(1999-10-28) 28 October 1999 (age 25)	Hartlepool United	1 July 2022	Undisclosed	30 June 2025
25	Harvey Rowe	CM			(2003-10-04) 4 October 2003 (age 21)	Academy	1 July 2023	Trainee	30 June 2024
38	Freddy Jeffreys	CM		Leeds	(2005-08-25) 25 August 2005 (age 19)	Academy	9 October 2023	Trainee	30 June 2024
	Finn Cousin-Dawson	RB		Stockton-on-Tees	(2002-07-04) 4 July 2002 (age 22)	Academy	1 July 2020	Trainee	30 June 2024

Transfers

In

Date	Pos	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Ref
1 July 2023	DM	Kevin McDonald	Exeter City	Free Transfer
1 July 2023	LW	Clarke Oduor	Barnsley	Free Transfer
1 July 2023	CM	Alex Pattison	Harrogate Town	Free Transfer
1 July 2023	CF	Tyler Smith	Hull City	Free Transfer
1 July 2023	CB	Ash Taylor	Kilmarnock	Free Transfer
18 August 2023	LB	Lewis Richards	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Undisclosed
28 August 2023	LW	Adam Wilson	The New Saints	Undisclosed
11 January 2024	GK	Sam Walker	Charlton Athletic	Free Transfer
1 February 2024	CF	Calum Kavanagh	Middlesbrough	Undisclosed

Out

Date	Pos	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Ref
14 June 2023	LB	Matty Foulds	Harrogate Town	Undisclosed
30 June 2023	CM	Adam Clayton	Rochdale	Released
30 June 2023	LW	Abo Eisa	Grimsby Town	Released
30 June 2023	CF	Cole Roberts	Free agent	Released
30 June 2023	AM	Kian Scales	Scunthorpe United	Released
30 June 2023	DM	Yann Songo'o	Morecambe	Released
30 June 2023	RB	Oscar Threlkeld	Morecambe	Released
30 June 2023	CM	Jack Wilson	Brighouse Town	Released
30 June 2023	AM	Charlie Wood	Free agent	Released
11 September 2023	CM	Jay Tinsdale	Sheffield United	Free Transfer
1 January 2024	DM	Ryan East	Rochdale	Free Transfer
11 January 2024	GK	Harry Lewis	Carlisle United	Undisclosed
18 January 2024	RM	Emmanuel Osadebe	Forest Green Rovers	Undisclosed

Loaned in

Date	Pos	Player	Loaned from	Fee	Ref
1 July 2023	RB	Daniel Oyegoke	Brentford	End of Season
1 September 2023	LW	Chisom Afoka	Aston Villa	3 January 2024
1 September 2023	SS	Rayhaan Tulloch	West Bromwich Albion	1 February 2024
6 September 2023	CB	Jonathan Tomkinson	Norwich City	End of Season
15 January 2024	RW	Tyreik Wright	Plymouth Argyle	End of Season

1. Afoka returned to parent club Aston Villa early from his season-long loan.
2. Tulloch returned to parent club West Brom early from his season-long loan.

Loaned out

Date	Pos	Player	Loaned to	Date until	Ref
7 July 2023	RB	Finn Cousin-Dawson	Blyth Spartans	End of Season
2 August 2023	CF	Jake Young	Swindon Town	2 January 2024
4 August 2023	CF	Isaac Robinson	Farsley Celtic	End of Season
14 August 2023	DM	Ryan East	Rochdale	1 January 2024
1 September 2023	RB	Luke Hendrie	Hartlepool United	End of Season
15 September 2023	CB	Timi Odusina	Woking	End of Season
25 October 2023	CF	Dylan Youmbi	Farsley Celtic	End of Season
12 January 2024	DM	Harvey Rowe	Farsley Celtic	End of Season
17 January 2024	CF	Vadaine Oliver	Stevenage	End of Season
15 February 2024	CF	Dylan Youmbi	Scunthorpe United	End of Season

1. On 2 January, Young was recalled back from his season-long loan at Swindon early.
2. On 22 December, it was announced East would join Rochdale permanently in January.
3. On 5 January, Odusina's loan at Woking was extended until the end of season.

Pre-season and friendlies

On 15 June, Bradford City announced their pre-season schedule, with matches against Bury, Eldense, Bradford (Park Avenue), Hull City, Middlesbrough and Rochdale. In July, it was confirmed that Getafe replaced Eldense as pre-season opposition.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

8 July 2023 Friendly	Bury	0–6	Bradford City	Bury
15:00 BST		Report	Pattison 7' Cook 12' Osadebe 27' Ridehalgh 28' Derbyshire 53' Walker 88'	Stadium: Gigg Lane

14 July 2023 Friendly	Getafe	3–0	Bradford City	Oliva, Spain
17:00 BST	Mayoral 3' Iglesias 37' Altimira 71'	Report		Stadium: Oliva Nova Sports Center

19 July 2023 Friendly	Bradford (Park Avenue)	1–1	Bradford City	Bradford
19:30 BST	Longbottom 58'	Report	Youmbi 44'	Stadium: Horsfall Stadium Attendance: 2,354

22 July 2023 Friendly	Bradford City	1–1	Hull City	Bradford
15:00 BST	Stubbs 90'	Report	Slater 22'	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 3,411

26 July 2023 Friendly	Bradford City	3–3	Middlesbrough	Bradford
19:30 BST	Cook 12', 41', 58'	Report	Silvera 4' Gilbert 29' (pen.) Nkrumah 90'	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 4,378 (1,413 Middlesbrough supporters)

29 July 2023 Friendly	Rochdale	1–0	Bradford City	Rochdale
15:00 BST	Rodney 46'	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1,971 (697 away supporters)

Competitions

Overall record

Last updated: 17 February 2024
Source: Soccerway

League Two

League table

Results summary

Last updated: 23 April 2024.
Source: Soccerway

Results by round

• Matchday 21 (vs Salford City) was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
• Matchday 29 (vs Doncaster Rovers) was postponed due to a frozen pitch.
• Matchday 35 (vs Barrow) was postponed after the referee deemed the pitch to be unplayable.
• Matchday 36 (vs Notts County) was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Matches

On 22 June, the EFL League Two fixtures were released.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

5 August 2023 1	Crawley Town	1–0	Bradford City	Crawley
15:00 BST	Gordon  11' Wright 14' Kelly  15' Darcy  30' Conroy  72' Orsi  90' Henry  90+3'	Report	Kelly  12' Oyegoke  31'  41' Halliday  64' Walker  82'	Stadium: Broadfield Stadium Attendance: 3,883 Referee: Thomas Parsons

12 August 2023 2	Bradford City	2–1	Colchester United	Bradford
15:00 BST	Walker  7' Oduor 45' Platt  45+5' Pattison 58'	Report	Taylor 9'  57' Dallison  40'	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 17,177 Referee: Marc Edwards

15 August 2023 3	Stockport County	1–1	Bradford City	Edgeley
19:45 BST	Knoyle  20' Olaofe 80' Croasdale  87'	Report	Gilliead  20' Pattison 47' Oyegoke  52' Platt  52'	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 9,296 Referee: Seb Stockbridge

21 October 2023 14	Bradford City	1–1	Wrexham	Bradford
15:00 BST	Smallwood  6' Walker  26' Pointon  37' Wilson 85'	Report	Mullin  2' 68' (Barnett) Jones  29'	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 21,552 Referee: Ross Joyce

10 February 2024 32	Wrexham	0–1	Bradford City	Wrexham
15:00 BST		Report	Platt  25' Gilliead  45+2' Tomkinson  64' Cook 83, 90'	Stadium: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 12,447 Referee: Ben Speedie

27 April 2024 46	Bradford City	4–1	Newport County	Bradford
15:00 BST	Kavanagh 44' Cook 45+1' Pointon 44' Walker 90+3'	Report		Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 18,842 Referee: Thomas Kirk

FA Cup

Bradford were drawn at home to Wycombe Wanderers in the first round.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

EFL Cup

The Bantams were drawn away to Accrington Stanley in the first round, to Wrexham in the second round and at home against Middlesbrough in the third round.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

8 August 2023 First round	Accrington Stanley	1–1 (1–4 p)	Bradford City	Accrington
19:45 BST	Coyle  32' Whalley  39' Andrews 66' Hills  87'	Report	Pattison 45+1' Halliday  60' Stubbs  86'	Stadium: Crown Ground Attendance: 2,368 Referee: Martin Coy
	Penalties
	Leigh Nolan Adedoyin		Cook Gilliead Walker Oduor

EFL Trophy

The Group stage draw was finalised on 22 June 2023. After topping the group, they were drawn at home to Liverpool U21 in the second round, away to Derby County in the third round, then at home to Doncaster Rovers in the quarter-finals, and finally at home to Wycombe Wanderers in the semi-finals. If Bradford Beat Wycombe, they will face Peterborough United at Wembley Stadium.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

30 January 2024 Quarter-final	Bradford City	1–0	Doncaster Rovers	Bradford
TBC GMT	Chapman 58'	Report		Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 3,086 Referee: Will Finnie

References

1. ^ "Bantams Part Company With Hughes". Bradford City AFC. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
2. ^ "Men's First-Team Manager". Bradford City AFC. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
3. "Alexander Appointed City Manager". Bradford City AFC. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
4. "McDonald Arrives At City". Bradford City AFC. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
5. "Oduor Arrives At City". Bradford City AFC. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
6. "Bantams Snap Up Pattison". Bradford City AFC. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
7. "City Snap Up Smith". Bradford City AFC. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
8. "Taylor Becomes Second Summer Signing". Bradford City AFC. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
9. "City Recruit Richards". Bradford City AFC. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
10. "Bantams sign ex-Newcastle winger Wilson". British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
11. "City Snap Up Sam Walker". Bradford City AFC. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
12. "Kavanagh Becomes A Bantam". Bradford City AFC. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
13. "Foulds Departs Permanently". Bradford City AFC. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
14. ^ "Retained List: 2022/23". Bradford City AFC. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
15. "Rochdale sign ex-Bradford midfielder Clayton". British Broadcasting Corporation. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
16. "Eisa is a Mariner". Grimsby Town FC. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
17. "Kian Scales becomes Iron's latest acquisition". Scunthorpe United F.C. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
18. "Songo'o returns to Morecambe FC". www.morecambefc.com. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
19. "Bradford City pair make Brighouse move". Northern Premier League. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
20. "United add academy duo". Sheffield United FC. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
21. ^ "East Moves Permanently To Rochdale". Bradford City AFC. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
22. "Lewis Leaves The Bantams". Bradford City AFC. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
23. "Osadebe Departs Bantams". Bradford City AFC. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
24. "City Secure Oyegoke Loan". Bradford City AFC. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
25. "Afoka Joins On Loan". Bradford City AFC. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
26. "Afoka Returns To Villa". Bradford City AFC. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
27. "Rayhaan Tulloch joins Bradford City on loan". West Bromwich Albion FC. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
28. "Tulloch Returns To West Brom". Bradford City AFC. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
29. "City Complete Tomkinson Loan". Bradford City AFC. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
30. "Wright Returns On Loan". Bradford City AFC. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
31. "Cousin-Dawson Heads Out On Loan". Bradford City AFC. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
32. "Young In Swindon Loan Switch". Bradford City AFC. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
33. "Jake Young Recalled". Bradford City AFC. 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
34. "Isaac Robinson joins on loan from Bradford City". Farsley Celtic FC. 7 August 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
35. "East heads to Rochdale on loan". Bradford City AFC. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
36. "Luke Hendrie returns to Hartlepool United". Hartlepool United FC. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
37. "Odusina In Woking Loan". Bradford City AFC. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
38. "Odusina Loan Extended". Bradford City AFC. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
39. "Oliver Joins Stevenage On Loan". Bradford City AFC. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
40. "Dylan Youmbi becomes latest Iron loan recruit". Scunthorpe United FC. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
41. "2023/24 Pre-Season Schedule Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
42. "Getafe To Replace Eldense In Pre-Season Friendly Outing". Bradford City AFC. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
43. "EFL Regulations Section 3 – The League; subsection 9 – Method of Determining League Positions". EFL. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
44. "2023/24 Fixtures Released". Bradford City AFC. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
45. "Doncaster Clash Brought Forward". Bradford City AFC. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
46. "Salford Visit Rearranged". Bradford City AFC. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
47. "Match Postponed: Bradford City v Salford City". Bradford City AFC. 9 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
48. "Doncaster League Clash Rearranged". Bradford City AFC. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
49. "Match Postponed: City v Doncaster". Bradford City AFC. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
50. "Notts County Clash Rearranged". Bradford City AFC. 6 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
51. "Match Postponed: Bradford City v Notts County". Bradford City AFC. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
52. "Barrow Trip Rearranged". Bradford City AFC. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
53. "Barrow Trip Rearranged". Bradford City AFC. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
54. "Match Postponed: Barrow v City". Bradford City AFC. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
55. "Match Postponed: Barrow v City". Bradford City AFC. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
56. "City To Host Wycombe In FA Cup". Bradford City AFC. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
57. "First Round Cup Opponents Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
58. "City to face Wrexham in Second Round". Bradford City AFC. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
59. "Bantams to face Middlesbrough in third round". Bradford City AFC. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
60. "EFL Trophy Group Stage draw confirmed". www.efl.com. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
61. "City to host Liverpool U21s in BSM Trophy". Bradford City AFC. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
62. "Liverpool BSM trophy date confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
63. "City To Travel To Derby In BSMT". Bradford City AFC. 9 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
64. "Derby BSMT Date Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
65. "City To Face Doncaster Or Wigan In BSMT". Bradford City AFC. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
66. "Bristol Street Motors Trophy: Blackpool v Peterborough and Bradford v Wycombe in semi-finals". Yahoo News. 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
67. "Semi-Final Date Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 5 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.

• 2023–24 EFL League Two by team
• Bradford City A.F.C. seasons