Bradford City have had a strong start to the 25/26 League One campaign, with them being unbeaten in the League and Cup so far this season, which may hint at a stronger finish than expected come the end of the season.
Under manager Graham Alexander, who led Bradford City to promotion last season, the 10 new additions have proved to be successful, with the side giving everything for the badge and being relentless with their press from the front.
However, even with how promising the opening games of League One have been, the Bantams are still lacking depth in one or two areas, which may cause injuries and affect the side later on, given how intense Alexander’s playing style is.
With the squad just about full with waiting for two players to depart, Alexander confirmed in a recent press conference that they hope to get one more player in before the window shuts.
In our opinion, we think that this player could be a right-sided centre back or a striker, where issues regarding depth could be problematic.
The Need For Defensive Depth At Bradford City
With 32-year-old and a promotion winner last season, Neill Byrne picked up a knee injury during pre-season at home against Middlesbrough, and Alexander stated at the time of the injury that the Irishman could be sidelined for at least 2 months.
Additionally, with new summer signing and former Blackpool man Matthew Pennington has played a crucial part in Bradford City’s unbeaten run so far. However, picking up a swollen ankle against Peterborough after the match led to the 30-year-old missing the Stoke game. At this moment in time, Alexander is unsure on the time scale the Englishman is out for.
This has subsequently led to the Bantams being threadbare at the back, with only four defenders being available for selection. This is especially problematic for Alexander’s side as the formation includes a back three, so this leaves the Valley Parade outfit with only one backup defender.
So, an addition of a centre back before the transfer window closes will play a huge part in the Bantams keeping their unbeaten run alive, with it allowing them to rotate the back line and keep the defence balanced.
Bradford City’s Need For A Striker
Some could argue that they have the same issue at the other side of the pitch; the issue is based on depth again. The new addition, Will Swan, has been on fire when Alexander has called upon him, with the former Crawley man scoring 4 goals in 6 games. The 24-year-old has done everything asked of him so far, with him being relentless from the front with his press and being in the correct place at the correct time.
Whereas Stephen Humphrys has shown the fans what he can produce up front, like Will Swan, by scoring one goal and one assist, but he has had a slower start with him adapting to his new role after playing as a winger for his former club Barnsley.
As well as this, when Bradford City supporters saw manager Graham Alexander switch it up mid-game and go with two up top, as we saw away at Blackburn Rovers in the cup and against Stockport County when we were dominated by the Hatters in the first half.
This shows that Alexander may decide to change to two up top in the future, especially against the promotion favourites and tougher opponents in League One.
However, in order for this to be successful Bradford City will need to recruit at least one more striker to present Swan and Humphrys more competition and depth if one picks up an injury.
At the time of writing this article Andy Cook is still recovering from his ACL injury he suffered on New Year’s day against Barrow and Calum Kavanagh is still recovering from an injury he picked up in pre-season. This causes this need.
Overall, the Bantams are in need of a striker with pace who can come off the bench and stretch the opposition’s defence and press with high intensity to match Alexander’s relentless mentality.
This will be especially useful when away from home, as we have seen the Valley Parade outfit drop easy points and lack quality and goals, like against Northampton earlier in the season, where it was 0-0, which has led to away form being poor.
It will also be useful with the management team not knowing the return dates of Cook and Kavanagh, so if Bradford City do decide to bring in a striker, it will evenly distribute minutes, as it will add more depth and will give Alexander a different option off the bench when a game is tight.
