# 2021–22 Bradford City A.F.C. season

The 2021–22 season is Bradford City's 119th year in existence and third consecutive season in League Two. Along with the league, the club will also compete in the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy. The season covers the period from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.
During pre-season, Derek Adams was appointed as Bantams new manager.

## Pre-season friendlies

Bradford City revealed they would have pre-season friendlies against Bradford (Park Avenue), Eccleshill United, Doncaster Rovers, Guiseley, Brighouse Town, Blackburn Rovers, Chesterfield and Accrington Stanley as part of their preparations for the new season.
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 13 July 2021 | Bradford Park Avenue | A | 5–0 | Kelleher 6', Cook 63', Scales 71', Crankshaw 78' (pen.), Eisa 87' | 1,106 |
| 14 July 2021 | Eccleshill United | A | P–P | | |
| 17 July 2021 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 2–0 | Eisa 10' (pen.), Cook 55' | 1,000+ |
| 20 July 2021 | Guiseley | A | 2–1 | Angol (2) 35', 38' (pen.) | |
| 21 July 2021 | Brighouse Town | A | 3–1 | Crankshaw 20', Evans 34', Scales 36' | |
| 24 July 2021 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–0 | Angol 19', Cooke 58' | |
| 27 July 2021 | Chesterfield | A | 1–2 | O'Connor 48' | |
| 31 July 2021 | Accrington Stanley | A | 2–0 | Cook (2) 4', 21’ | 1,097 |

## Competitions
### League Two
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 11 | Newport County | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 67 | 58 | +9 | 69 |
| 12 | Crawley Town | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 56 | 66 | −10 | 61 |
| 13 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 62 | 47 | +15 | 58 |
| 14 | Bradford City | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 53 | 55 | −2 | 58 |
| 15 | Colchester United | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 48 | 60 | −12 | 55 |
| 16 | Walsall | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 47 | 60 | −13 | 54 |
| 17 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 44 | 64 | −20 | 54 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 7 May 2022. Source:

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | W | W | W | L | D | L | D | L | W | D | D | L | W | D | D | D | L | D | D | D | W | L | W | D | W | L | D | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | W | W | L | D | L | D | D | L | W | W | W |
| Position | 12 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 14 |

#### Matches

The Bantams' fixtures were released on 24 June 2021.
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 7 August 2021 | Exeter City | A | 0–0 | — | 5,609 |
| 14 August 2021 | Oldham Athletic | H | 2–1 | Angol (2) 32', 90+8' (pen.) | 17,624 |
| 17 August 2021 | Stevenage | H | 4–1 | Cook (3) 1', 30', 38', Canavan 88' | 14,257 |
| 21 August 2021 | Mansfield Town | A | 3–2 | O'Connor 19', Vernam 61', Cook 87' | 6,058 |
| 28 August 2021 | Leyton Orient | A | 0–2 | — | 4,901 |
| 4 September 2021 | Walsall | H | 1–1 | Watt 14' | 15,822 |
| 11 September 2021 | Salford City | A | 0–1 | — | 2,863 |
| 18 September 2021 | Barrow | H | 1–1 | Vernam 59' | 15,403 |
| 25 September 2021 | Crawley Town | A | 1–2 | Cooke 81' | 2,435 |
| 2 October 2021 | Rochdale | H | 2–0 | Gilliead 37', Cook 75' (pen.) | 15,809 |
| 9 October 2021 | Newport County | A | 0–0 | — | 4,089 |
| 16 October 2021 | Bristol Rovers | H | 2–2 | Vernam 42', Cook 50' | 16,664 |
| 19 October 2021 | Hartlepool United | H | 1–3 | O'Connor 72' | 14,334 |
| 23 October 2021 | Swindon Town | A | 3–1 | Lavery 16', Sutton 40', Robinson 75' | 9,461 |
| 30 October 2021 | Forest Green Rovers | H | 1–1 | Cook 10' | 14,873 |
| 13 November 2021 | Port Vale | A | 1–1 | Angol 74' | 7,010 |
| 20 November 2021 | Northampton Town | H | 1–1 | Vernam 67' | 15,372 |
| 23 November 2021 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–2 | Sutton 26' | 5,962 |
| 27 November 2021 | Scunthorpe United | A | 1–1 | Songo'o 68' | 3,823 |
| 8 December 2021 | Colchester United | H | 0–0 | — | 14,658 |
| 11 December 2021 | Sutton United | H | 2–2 | Robinson 34', Angol 81' | 14,658 |
| 1 January 2022 | Barrow | A | 2–1 | Angol 8', Cook 49' | 3,463 |
| 8 January 2022 | Carlisle United | A | 0–2 | — | 4,996 |
| 15 January 2022 | Salford City | H | 2–1 | Watson 57' (o.g.), O'Connor 85' | 14,671 |
| 22 January 2022 | Rochdale | A | 0–0 | — | 4,941 |
| 25 January 2022 | Walsall | A | 2–1 | Daly 37', Cook 88' (pen.) | 4,097 |
| 29 January 2022 | Crawley Town | H | 1–2 | Cook 31' | 14,623 |
| 1 February 2022 | Leyton Orient | H | 1–1 | Watt 83' | 13,646 |
| 5 February 2022 | Harrogate Town | A | 0–2 | — | 2,778 |
| 8 February 2022 | Stevenage | A | 1–0 | Walker 55' | 1,953 |
| 12 February 2022 | Exeter City | H | 0–1 | — | 15,058 |
| 19 February 2022 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–2 | — | 7,716 |
| 22 February 2022 | Harrogate Town | H | 1–3 | Foulds 12' | 14,512 |
| 26 February 2022 | Mansfield Town | H | 0–2 | | 16,797 |
| 5 March 2022 | Swindon Town | H | 1–2 | Evans 18' | 15,008 |
| 12 March 2022 | Forest Green Rovers | A | 2–0 | Cooke 64', Cook 90+5' | 3,339 |
| 15 March 2022 | Hartlepool United | A | 2–0 | Foulds 70', Songo'o 76' | 5,106 |
| 19 March 2022 | Port Vale | H | 1–2 | Vernam 70' | 16,046 |
| 26 March 2022 | Newport County | H | 0–0 | — | 14,716 |
| 2 April 2022 | Bristol Rovers | A | 1–2 | Pereira 46' | 9,186 |
| 9 April 2022 | Northampton Town | A | 0–0 | — | 5,548 |
| 15 April 2022 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1–1 | Walker 19' | 17,257 |
| 18 April 2022 | Colchester United | A | 3–0 | - | 2,893 |
| 23 April 2022 | Scunthorpe United | H | 2–1 | Walker 1', Vernam 5' | 15,248 |
| 30 April 2022 | Sutton United | A | 4–1 | Vernam (2) 16', 77', Songo'o 85', Cook 90+7' | 4,010 |
| 7 May 2022 | Carlisle United | H | 2–0 | Angol 13', Walker 69' | 18,283 |

### FA Cup

Bradford City were drawn at home to Exeter City in the first round.
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 6 November 2021 | Round 1 | Exeter City | H | 1–1 | Robinson 28' | 3,236 |
| 16 November 2021 | Round 1 replay | Exeter City | A | 0–3 (a.e.t.) Void | — | 3,509 |
| 30 November 2021 | Round 1 replay | Exeter City | A | 1–2 | Angol 11' | 3,228 |

### EFL Cup

Bradford City were drawn away to Nottingham Forest in the first round.
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 11 August 2021 | Round 1 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–2 | Cooke 54' | 9,514 |

### EFL Trophy

Group game fixture dates were announced on 22 July.
| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Sunderland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Lincoln City | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Manchester United U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Bradford City | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 2 | |
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 31 August 2021 | Group game 1 | Lincoln City | H | 0–3 | — | — |
| 21 September 2021 | Group game 2 | Manchester United U21 | H | 0–3 | — | 2,022 |
| 9 November 2021 | Group game 3 | Sunderland | A | 1–1 (4–2 p) | Robinson 36' | — |

## Squad statistics

| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy | EFL Trophy | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Richard O'Donnell | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Oscar Threlkeld | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 27(1) | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Liam Ridehalgh | 28(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Paudie O'Connor | 45 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 3 | 12 | 2 |
| 6 | MF | Yann Songo'o | 39(2) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43(2) | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | Abo Eisa | 1(3) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Callum Cooke | 28(14) | 2 | 1(2) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 32(16) | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Andy Cook | 35(4) | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 37(5) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Jamie Walker | 14(5) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14(5) | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Alex Gilliead | 38(5) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 44(6) | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | Alex Bass | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Matty Foulds | 18(5) | 2 | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 22(7) | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Charles Vernam | 19(9) | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 23(11) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Fiacre Kelleher | 6(3) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8(4) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Gareth Evans | 13(7) | 1 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16(9) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Elliot Watt | 41 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 46(1) | 2 | 13 | 1 |
| 19 | FW | Lee Angol | 14(4) | 6 | 1(2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17(6) | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| 20 | FW | Theo Robinson | 5(18) | 2 | 2(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8(19) | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Reece Staunton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Levi Sutton | 23(9) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 28(11) | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Tom Elliott | 2(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Finn Cousin-Dawson | 8(3) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10(4) | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Matty Daly | 8(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | Kian Scales | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | Luke Hendrie | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | Dion Pereira | 9(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Caolan Lavery | 5(14) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 5(15) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | Nathan Delfouneso | 4(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | Charlie Wood | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | Olivier Sukiennicki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players out on loan for rest of the season |||||||||||||||
| - | GK | Sam Hornby | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players left during the season |||||||||||||||
| - | DF | Niall Canavan | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| - | MF | Ollie Crankshaw | 0(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(7) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| - | DF | Jorge Sikora | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
As of 7 May 2022.

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2021 | CF | Lee Angol | Leyton Orient | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2021 | CF | Andy Cook | Mansfield Town | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2021 | LW | Abo Eisa | Scunthorpe United | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2021 | RW | Alex Gilliead | Scunthorpe United | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2021 | CB | Fiacre Kelleher | Wrexham | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2021 | LB | Liam Ridehalgh | Tranmere Rovers | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2021 | DM | Yann Songo'o | Morecambe | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2021 | RB | Oscar Threlkeld | Salford City | Free transfer |
| 2 August 2021 | CF | Caolan Lavery | Walsall | Free transfer |
| 31 August 2021 | CF | Theo Robinson | Port Vale | Free transfer |
| 31 January 2022 | RB | Luke Hendrie | Hartlepool United | Free transfer |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until |
| 4 January 2022 | LW | Dion Pereira | Luton Town | End of season |
| 11 January 2022 | LW | Jamie Walker | Heart of Midlothian | End of season |
| 18 January 2022 | AM | Matty Daly | Huddersfield Town | End of season |
| 24 January 2022 | GK | Alex Bass | Portsmouth | End of season |
| 27 January 2022 | CF | Tom Elliott | Salford City | End of season |
| 31 January 2022 | CF | Nathan Delfouneso | Bolton Wanderers | End of season |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Date until | Ref. |
| 12 November 2021 | CB | | Reece Staunton | Bradford (Park Avenue) | 10 December 2021 | |
| 31 January 2022 | GK | | Sam Hornby | Colchester United | End of season | |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 15 May 2021 | GK | Tom Donaghy | Fleetwood Town | Undisclosed |
| 30 June 2021 | SS | Billy Clarke | Retired | — |
| 30 June 2021 | CF | Clayton Donaldson | York City | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | GK | Will Huffer | Stalybridge Celtic | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | RM | Zeli Ismail | Hereford | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | CF | Lee Novak | Retired | — |
| 30 June 2021 | RB | Anthony O'Connor | Morecambe | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | LM | Harry Pritchard | Eastleigh | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | AM | Connor Shanks | Huddersfield Town | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | LB | Connor Wood | Leyton Orient | Released |
| 28 September 2021 | RW | Ollie Crankshaw | Stockport County | Undisclosed |
| 17 January 2022 | CB | Jorge Sikora | Free agent | Mutual consent |
| 31 January 2022 | CB | Niall Canavan | Barrow | Undisclosed |