Perhaps unexpectedly, Bradford City find themselves in a three-horse race for a ‘back-to-back’ promotion to the Championship at the halfway stage of the season.
They sit third, but with a game in hand on the team a place above them, Lincoln City.
If the Bantams can win that they will climb into the top two.
They have also beaten sides in the top ten very comfortably, seeing off four of the early promotion favourites, Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City, Stockport County and Luton Town within the first two months of the season.
They have lost only four games in the league, the fewest of any team in this campaign, and it is only the seven draws that have cost them a place at the summit.
Most impressively, there has not been a standout player for the Bantams contradictory to previous seasons where they have been nicknamed ‘Andy Cook FC’.
The Bantams have even outgrown their former talisman after he joined Grimsby Town on loan.
‘City’ seem to be silencing claims that their start to life back in the third tier was a product of momentum and that they would fall off at some point, and injuries, busy schedules and big budgets can’t seem to slow Graham Alexander’s side down.
So, what should January look like, and how do I believe they get over the line for the second time in as many seasons?
Outgrowing fan favourites can always be difficult following a promotion, as we have seen the likes of Wrexham and Stockport County leave behind the likes of Paul Mullin and Paddy Madden in the past few years.
And we have another similar situation as Andy Cook, who is just a handful of goals from a century in claret and amber, has left for Grimsby Town on loan until the end of the season, at which point his contract is out.
As the saying goes, ‘there is no room for sentiment in football’, and his departure shows the intent to progress as a club.
He is not the first Bantams promotion hero to depart, as news broke last week that midfielder Alex Pattison would be making a permanent move to Walsall, who are again pushing for promotion in League Two.
Meanwhile, Brad Halliday also departed as he joined Scottish Premiership outfit Dundee.
There are four other players that I would be looking to move out from Valley Parade in January if Bradford are serious about promotion, and one of those is striker Calum Kavanagh.
Kavanagh handled the pressure of leading the City line very well in the second half of last season when Cook ruptured his ACL, but has not managed to break into the team too often this season, let alone trouble any goalkeepers.
Still only 22, perhaps a loan move to try to gain some more experience may benefit him, but if his side does get promoted to the Championship, I can’t see a world where his City career continues.
Secondly, Irish defender Neill Byrne has been haunted by a stat in recent weeks which recently surfaced, Bradford City have not won a game in which he started this season.
As awful as it sounds, we do not believe it is a coincidence either; some of his performances this season have suggested that the step up is too much and at 32 years old, there is not going to be any growth.
We would suggest a move to someone mid-table in League Two could work for the Irishman.
Another departure we believe is inevitable is that of attacking midfielder George Lapslie, who has really struggled to cement a place in the City side since his arrival this time last year.
He was hardly the first name on the team sheet in League Two, so it is no surprise that he is often an absentee in Bantams ‘ line-ups this campaign.
They have good depth in midfield, especially after the arrival of Oxford’s Louie Sibley on loan and we can’t see space for Lapslie so a move looks imminent.
The final departure we see for the Bantams this month is that of Lewis Richards.
Despite showing glimpses of quality and signing a new deal in the summer he has not been able to break into the City side.
Meanwhile, with the signing of Harrison Ashby on loan, there may be potential for a loan move for Richards following an exclusive by The Lower Tiers on the topic.
So far The Bantams have added three loan signings to their squad, Louie Sibley from Oxford and Newcastle duo Harrison Ashby and Joe White.
We believe that this leaves them a centre-back and a striker away from having a squad that could definitely finish in the automatic promotion places.
In terms of a centre-back, there were early rumours that Accrington Stanley’s Benn Ward may be on his way to West Yorkshire, but those rumours have since calmed down.
Personally, I’d be looking to make a swoop for Jack Fitzwater from fellow League One Exeter City, who has had a standout season for the Grecians and has been one of the best centre-backs in the league this year.
Fitzwater is very comfortable on the ball, with his in-possession stats being almost as impressive as his defensive numbers.
His interceptions, ball recoveries and duels won all rank close to the 80th percentile for the division (FotMob) and with Exeter currently sat in 14th position these numbers become even more noticeable.
At 28 years old a move to a side chasing promotion could be his last chance at playing at a higher level.
There are two strikers that we believe Graham Alexander’s side could potentially benefit from and both fit very different profiles but have one thing in common, a consistent goal scoring record.
Preston North End’s Micheal Smith has struggled for game time at Deepdale this season and, with Milutin Osmajic ahead of him, we cannot see that changing as Preston push for promotion to the Premier League.
He only joined from Sheffield Wednesday in the summer, for whom he scored 18 goals in their 2022/23 League One season, and a loan move to the Bantams could be beneficial for all three parties as he offers something different to the forwards that city currently have.
The second option is another striker who has scored goals at a lower level and struggled to adapt to life in the Championship.
Macaulay Langstaff has fallen down the pecking order at Millwall since his move from Notts County, where he broke all sorts of goal-scoring records.
Again, a loan move is probably the most sensible option here to discover where Langstaff is currently at but I think a move to a side like Bradford City could help him find his scoring boots once again.
What should the Bantams do this month if they seriously want promotion?
