# 2020–21 Bradford City A.F.C. season

The 2020–21 Bradford City A.F.C. season was the 118th edition of Bradford City A.F.C. and the second consecutive season in EFL League Two, Along with League Two, the club contested in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy.
The season covers the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

## Pre-season

On 18 August 2020, Bradford faced Doncaster Rovers in a behind closed doors friendly, the Bantams lost the match 4–3 with Kurtis Guthrie scoring a brace of goals with another one added by Billy Clarke. Two days later it was announced that Bradford would face local rivals Huddersfield Town in a behind closed doors friendly at the Terriers training ground. Later on that week the match against Huddersfield was given the green light to play at Kirklees Stadium. Bradford's final pre-season match ended in a 3–2 defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic.
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 18 August 2020 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 3–4 | Clarke 49', Guthrie (2) 59', 70' | 0 |
| 26 August 2020 | Huddersfield Town | A | 1–2 | Mottley-Henry 2' | 0 |
| 29 August 2020 | Wigan Athletic | H | 2–3 | Scales 19', Pritchard 81' | 0 |

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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 11 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 53 | 55 | −2 | 61 |
| 12 | Crawley Town | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 56 | 62 | −6 | 61 |
| 13 | Port Vale | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 60 |
| 14 | Stevenage | 46 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 60 |
| 15 | Bradford City | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 48 | 53 | −5 | 59 |
| 16 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 57 | 55 | +2 | 58 |
| 17 | Harrogate Town | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 52 | 61 | −9 | 57 |
| 18 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 72 | 81 | −9 | 54 |
| 19 | Walsall | 46 | 11 | 20 | 15 | 45 | 53 | −8 | 53 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 8 May 2021. Source: BBC

#### 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 | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | D | D | W | L | W | D | L | L | L | W | D | L | L | L | L | L | D | W | W | W | D | D | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | D | L | L | D | L | W | W | D | W | L | L | L | L | L | D | L |
| Position | 14 | 15 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss  Postponed
The 2020–21 season fixtures were released on 21 August.
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 12 September 2020 | Colchester United | H | 0–0 | | 0 |
| 19 September 2020 | Forest Green Rovers | A | 2–2 | Novak 49', Watt 66' | 1,000 |
| 26 September 2020 | Stevenage | H | 2–1 | Novak (2) 61', 81' | 0 |
| 3 October 2020 | Grimsby Town | A | P–P | | |
| 12 October 2020 | Harrogate Town | H | 0–1 | | 0 |
| 17 October 2020 | Mansfield Town | A | 3–1 | Štěch 8' (o.g.), Wood 14', Donaldson 69' | 0 |
| 20 October 2020 | Walsall | H | 1–1 | Clarke 76' (pen.) | 0 |
| 24 October 2020 | Newport County | H | 0–3 | | 0 |
| 27 October 2020 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | | 0 |
| 31 October 2020 | Barrow | A | 0–1 | | 0 |
| 3 November 2020 | Southend United | H | 3–0 | Cooke 5', Watt 33', Pritchard 43' | 0 |
| 14 November 2020 | Exeter City | H | 2–2 | Clarke 10', Staunton 45+1' | 0 |
| 21 November 2020 | Salford City | A | 0–3 | | 0 |
| 24 November 2020 | Leyton Orient | A | 0–1 | | 0 |
| 1 December 2020 | Cheltenham Town | H | 1–2 | Donaldson 23’ | 0 |
| 5 December 2020 | Carlisle United | H | 0–1 | | 0 |
| 12 December 2020 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–3 | P.O'Connor 85' | 0 |
| 15 December 2020 | Crawley Town | A | 1–1 | Novak 11' | 0 |
| 19 December 2020 | Cambridge United | H | 1–0 | Pritchard 42' | 0 |
| 22 December 2020 | Grimsby Town | A | 2–1 | Novak 21', Sutton 45' | 0 |
| 26 December 2020 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–0 | Novak 62' | 2,000 |
| 29 December 2020 | Port Vale | H | 0–0 | | 0 |
| 2 January 2021 | Morecambe | H | P–P | | |
| 9 January 2021 | Scunthorpe United | A | P–P | | |
| 16 January 2021 | Crawley Town | H | P–P | | |
| 23 January 2021 | Cambridge United | A | 0–0 | | 0 |
| 26 January 2021 | Southend United | A | 3–1 | Evans (2) 23', 74', Rowe 57' | 0 |
| 30 January 2021 | Barrow | H | 2–1 | Rowe 5', Cooke 49' | 0 |
| 6 February 2021 | Exeter City | A | 2–3 | Vernam 17', Crankshaw 45' | 0 |
| 9 February 2021 | Scunthorpe United | A | P–P | | |
| 13 February 2021 | Salford City | H | P–P | | |
| 16 February 2021 | Morecambe | H | 2–1 | A.O'Connor 28', Vernam 63' | 0 |
| 20 February 2021 | Cheltenham Town | A | 2–0 | Cook (2) 12', 51' | 0 |
| 23 February 2021 | Leyton Orient | H | 1–0 | Cooke 81' (pen.) | 0 |
| 27 February 2021 | Walsall | A | 2–1 | Sutton 43', Cook 66' | 0 |
| 2 March 2021 | Mansfield Town | H | 1–0 | Rowe 32' | 0 |
| 6 March 2021 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1−1 | Rowe 90+3' | 0 |
| 9 March 2021 | Newport County | A | 1−2 | Cook 46’ | 0 |
| 13 March 2021 | Carlisle United | A | 1–3 | Evans 64' | 0 |
| 20 March 2021 | Oldham Athletic | H | 0–0 | | 0 |
| 23 March 2021 | Scunthorpe United | A | 0–2 | | 0 |
| 27 March 2021 | Colchester United | A | 2–1 | Scales 10', Cook 58' | 0 |
| 2 April 2021 | Forest Green Rovers | H | 4–1 | Watt 11', Cook (2) 47', 76', Rowe 90+4' | 0 |
| 5 April 2021 | Stevenage | A | 1–1 | Donaldson 27' | 0 |
| 10 April 2021 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–0 | A.O'Connor 42' | 0 |
| 13 April 2021 | Crawley Town | H | 0–2 | | 0 |
| 17 April 2021 | Harrogate Town | A | 1–2 | Cook 72' | 0 |
| 20 April 2021 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 0–1 | | 0 |
| 24 April 2021 | Port Vale | A | 1–2 | Donaldson 14' | 0 |
| 27 April 2021 | Salford City | H | 0–1 | | 0 |
| 1 May 2021 | Scunthorpe United | H | 0–0 | | 0 |
| 8 May 2021 | Morecambe | A | 0–2 | | 0 |

### FA Cup

The draw for the first round was made on Monday 26, October. The second round draw was revealed on Monday, 9 November by Danny Cowley.
Win  Draw  Loss
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 7 November 2020 | First Round | Tonbridge Angels | A | 7–0 | A.O'Connor 6', Clarke (2) 14', 45', Donaldson 55', Samuels 69', Pritchard 83', Wood 90+1' | 0 |
| 28 November 2020 | Second Round | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–2 | Donaldson 11' (pen.) | 0 |

### EFL Cup

Win  Draw  Loss
The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on Sky Sports, by Paul Merson. The draw for both the second and third round were confirmed on September 6, live on Sky Sports by Phil Babb.
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 5 September 2020 | Round 1 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 2–1 | Novak 26', Pritchard 75' | 0 |
| 15 September 2020 | Round 2 | Lincoln City | H | 0–5 | | 0 |

### EFL Trophy

Win  Draw  Loss
The regional group stage draw was confirmed on 18 August.
| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Oldham Athletic | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | ACA | Wolverhampton Wanderers U21 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 5 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Bradford City | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 | |
| 4 | L1 | Doncaster Rovers | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 2 | |
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 8 September 2020 | Group Stage | Doncaster Rovers | A | 0–0 (1–4 p) | | 0 |
| 6 October 2020 | Group Stage | Wolverhampton Wanderers U21's | H | 1–1 (3–5 p) | Donaldson 83' | 0 |
| 10 November 2020 | Group Stage | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–3 | Sutton 60' (o.g.) | 0 |

## 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 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Bryce Hosannah | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Paudie O'Connor | 41(1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47(1) | 1 | 11 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Niall Canavan | 15(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Anthony O'Connor | 45 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | Harry Pritchard | 11(5) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1(1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15(6) | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Callum Cooke | 30(4) | 3 | 1(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33(5) | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Lee Novak | 15(2) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16(2) | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Clayton Donaldson | 19(16) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1(1) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 24(17) | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Zeli Ismail | 1(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Jordan Stevens | 1(15) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(15) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Sam Hornby | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Matty Foulds | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Charles Vernam | 15(6) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15(6) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | Billy Clarke | 20(9) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24(9) | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Gareth Evans | 19(8) | 3 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19(9) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Elliot Watt | 44(2) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47(2) | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Rumarn Burrell | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | Will Huffer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Reece Staunton | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 10(3) | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Levi Sutton | 30(4) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34(4) | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| 23 | DF | Connor Wood | 46 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Finn Cousin-Dawson | 20(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 23(3) | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | Jorge Sikora | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | Kian Scales | 6(14) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9(14) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | Connor Shanks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Andy Cook | 16(5) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16(5) | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | Ollie Crankshaw | 11(8) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(8) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | Charlie Wood | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | Olivier Sukiennicki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players out on loan for rest of the season |||||||||||||||
| Players left during the season |||||||||||||||
| - | DF | Tyler French | 7(7) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 10(9) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| - | FW | Kurtis Guthrie | 4(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 6(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| - | DF | Jackson Longridge | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| - | MF | Dylan Mottley-Henry | 4(7) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7(10) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| - | DF | Ben Richards-Everton | 9(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| - | FW | Danny Rowe | 8(10) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8(10) | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| - | FW | Austin Samuels | 6(6) | 0 | 1(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7(7) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| - | – | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | – |
As of 11 May 2021.

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 11 July 2020 | RB | Levi Sutton | Scunthorpe United | Free transfer |
| 17 July 2020 | AM | Billy Clarke | Grimsby Town | Free transfer |
| 25 July 2020 | AM | Callum Cooke | Peterborough United | Free transfer |
| 27 July 2020 | CM | Elliot Watt | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Undisclosed |
| 25 September 2020 | AM | Gareth Evans | Portsmouth | Free transfer |
| 7 January 2021 | GK | Will Huffer | Bradford (Park Avenue) | Free transfer |
| 12 January 2021 | CB | Niall Canavan | Plymouth Argyle | Undisclosed |
| 16 January 2021 | LB | Matty Foulds | Como 1907 | Free transfer |
| 20 January 2021 | CF | Danny Rowe | Oldham Athletic | Undisclosed |
| 1 February 2021 | AM | Charles Vernam | Burton Albion | Undisclosed |
| 1 February 2021 | AM | Ollie Crankshaw | Wigan Athletic | Undisclosed |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until |
| 29 September 2020 | RB | Bryce Hosannah | Leeds United | End of season |
| 10 October 2020 | CF | Austin Samuels | Wolverhampton Wanderers | January 2021 |
| 8 January 2021 | RW | Jordan Stevens | Leeds United | End of season |
| 14 January 2021 | CF | Rumarn Burrell | Middlesbrough | End of season |
| 27 January 2021 | CF | Andy Cook | Mansfield Town | End of season |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2020 | CM | Hope Akpan | SJK Seinäjoki | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CM | Jermaine Anderson | Aldershot Town | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CM | Danny Devine | Carlisle United | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | LW | Jordan Gibson | St Patrick's Athletic | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | RB | Adam Henley | Chorley | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | SS | Shay McCartan | Ballymena United | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | RB | Kelvin Mellor | Morecambe | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CM | Jake Reeves | Notts County | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | RB | Joe Riley | Carlisle United | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | GK | George Sykes-Kenworthy | Derby County | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | LM | Chris Taylor | Barrow FC | Released |
| 11 August 2020 | CF | James Vaughan | Tranmere Rovers | Mutual consent |
| 17 October 2020 | CM | Eliot Goldthorp | Frickley Athletic | Free transfer |
| 11 January 2021 | CB | Ben Richards-Everton | Barnet FC | Mutual consent |
| 15 January 2021 | CF | Kurtis Guthrie | Port Vale | Free transfer |
| 19 January 2021 | LB | Jackson Longridge | Livingston FC | Mutual consent |
| 31 January 2021 | CB | Tyler French | Wrexham A.F.C. | Mutual consent |
| 31 January 2021 | MF | Dylan Mottley-Henry | Larne FC | Mutual consent |
| 22 April 2021 | CF | Danny Rowe | Chesterfield F.C. | Undisclosed |