# 2014–15 Bradford City A.F.C. season

The 2014–15 season was Bradford City's 112th season in their history, their 100th in the Football League and 102nd in the league system of English football. It was their second season back in League One after finishing 11th in the previous year.

## Pre-season news

After finishing 11th in the 2013–14 Football League One campaign the Bantams kept the majority of the squad for this season. However captain Gary Jones, winger Garry Thompson, midfielder Nathan Doyle, defenders Matthew Bates and Nathan Curtis were all released along with youth players Jack Stockdill, Louie Swain and Jack Bentley.
Bradford signed midfielder Matthew Dolan on a one-year permanent deal after spending the 2013–14 season on loan from Middlesbrough. Also defender Rory McArdle signed a new 3-year deal with the club. Midfielder Billy Knott signed for Bradford on a 2-year deal after being released from Sunderland, who is described as a 'high-intensity' and 'high-energy' styled player. Bradford made their 3rd summer signing ahead of the new campaign by signing midfielder Gary Liddle, after he was released by Notts County. Defender Stephen Darby signed a new 3-year deal with the club, who was also appointed as the club's new captain for the 2014–15 season.
It was announced that Blackburn Rovers would visit the Bantams in a pre-season friendly. A day after this news was announced the annual match against Guiseley was revealed to be played on 15 July. Bradford will also travel to Northern Ireland for a pre-season tour as they did in the previous year. There they will face University College Dublin and Shelbourne.
Another pre-season friendly match was confirmed on 29 May, it was announced the club would travel to Morecambe's Globe Arena on 2 August. That will be the first of two matches played within just over a week between the two clubs after they were both drawn together for the first round of the Football League Cup, which will be played in the week commencing 11 August again at the Globe Arena.

## Pre-season and friendlies

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 12 July 2014 | Guiseley | A | 3–0 | Clarkson (2) 13', 44', Dolan 27' | — |
| 15 July 2014 | U.C.D | A | 2–3 | Clarkson (2) 41', 54' | — |
| 19 July 2014 | Shelbourne | A | 4–0 | Sheehan 22' (pen.), Clarke (2) 29', 53', De Vita 76' | — |
| 26 July 2014 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0–0 | — | — |
| 2 August 2014 | Hartlepool United | A | 1–1 | Clarke 72' | — |

## League One
### Matches

The fixtures for the 2014–15 season were announced on 18 June 2014 at 9am.
The first game of the season saw City host Coventry City, the Bantams took the lead through a James Hanson goal however Coventry battled back to equalize through Reda Johnson. Bradford were awarded a penalty which Alan Sheehan converted, Johnson then netted for Coventry in the 89th minute only for Hanson to score a header from a Jason Kennedy cross in the 90th minute to ensure Bradford won their opening game for the first time in 6 years. The next game against Walsall ended with a 0–0 draw however the following game saw the Bantams win 3–1 against Crawley Town, Bradford took a lead early in the second half through a Hanson goal. Crawley equalized shortly after through Joe Walsh. Billy Knott fired the Bantams ahead before Mason Bennett wrapped the game up with a 3rd goal for Bradford. However the unbeaten run was short lived as Peterborough United came away with a 1–0 victory with City unable to score. Bradford's final game in August was a 2–0 win over Rochdale. Rochdale went close early on but former player Jason Kennedy slotted home a scrappy goal to give the Bantams the lead, 6 minutes later Hanson scored his 4th league goal of the season to ensure that City came away with the points.
| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 9 August 2014 | Coventry City | H | 3–2 | Hanson (2) 27', 90', Sheehan 49' (pen.) | 14,621 | 4th |
| 16 August 2014 | Walsall | A | 0–0 | | 4,520 | 8th |
| 19 August 2014 | Crawley Town | A | 3–1 | Hanson 49', Knott 62', Bennett 77' | 2,225 | 2nd |
| 23 August 2014 | Peterborough United | H | 0–1 | | 13,546 | 8th |
| 30 August 2014 | Rochdale | A | 2–0 | Kennedy 60', Hanson 66' | 4,758 | 4th |
| 6 September 2014 | Yeovil Town | H | 1–3 | McArdle 26' | 12,601 | 5th |
| 13 September 2014 | Swindon Town | H | 1–2 | Thompson 10' (o.g.) | 12,486 | 8th |
| 16 September 2014 | Milton Keynes Dons | A | 2–1 | McLean 24', Clarke 26' | 7,139 | 5th |
| 20 September 2014 | Colchester United | A | 0–0 | | 3,524 | 6th |
| 27 September 2014 | Port Vale | H | 1–1 | Yeates 45' | 12,703 | 9th |
| 4 October 2014 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 2–0 | McLean 72', Liddle 74' | 12,386 | 7th |
| 12 October 2014 | Barnsley | A | 1–3 | Kennedy 1' | 10,499 | 7th |
| 18 October 2014 | Sheffield United | H | 0–2 | | 14,784 | 11th |
| 21 October 2014 | Bristol City | A | 2–2 | Clarke 20', Routis 85' | 12,548 | 12th |
| 25 October 2014 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–2 | Halliday 45' | 5,832 | 12th |
| 1 November 2014 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 1–2 | Stead 45' | 13,348 | 14th |
| 15 November 2014 | Preston North End | A | 2–1 | McArdle 26', Yeates 86' | 10,302 | 13th |
| 22 November 2014 | Gillingham | H | 1–1 | Legge 56' (o.g.) | 12,434 | 12th |
| 29 November 2014 | Leyton Orient | H | 3–1 | Knott 42', Clarke 79', Stead 81' | 12,489 | 10th |
| 13 December 2014 | Chesterfield | A | 1–0 | Clarke 57' | 6,809 | 10th |
| 20 December 2014 | Scunthorpe United | H | 1–1 | McArdle 32' | 12,831 | 8th |
| 26 December 2014 | Fleetwood Town | A | 2–0 | Hanson 42', Morais 81' | 4,278 | 5th |
| 28 December 2014 | Notts County | H | 1–0 | Knott 41' | 14,518 | 5th |
| 10 January 2015 | Rochdale | H | 1–2 | Stead 32' | 13,571 | 5th |
| 17 January 2015 | Yeovil Town | A | 0–1 | | 4,009 | 6th |
| 31 January 2015 | Colchester United | H | 1–1 | Morais 77' | 13,917 | 8th |
| 7 February 2015 | Port Vale | A | 2–2 | Hanson 41', Morais 65' | 5,205 | 9th |
| 9 February 2015 | Milton Keynes Dons | H | 2–1 | Clarke 57', Hanson 70' | 11,948 | 6th |
| 18 February 2015 | Leyton Orient | A | 2–0 | Hanson (2) 21', 32' | 4,760 | 7th |
| 21 February 2015 | Walsall | H | 1–1 | Clarke 51' | 13,534 | 6th |
| 24 February 2015 | Swindon Town | A | 1–2 | Clarke 54' | 6,812 | 6th |
| 28 February 2015 | Peterborough United | A | 0–2 | | 6,494 | 8th |
| 3 March 2015 | Crawley Town | H | 1–0 | Zoko 9' | 11,683 | 8th |
| 10 March 2015 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | Yeates 69' | 8,566 | 9th |
| 14 March 2015 | Notts County | A | 1–1 | Stead 45' | 5,166 | 9th |
| 21 March 2015 | Fleetwood Town | H | 2–2 | Stead 10', Routis 50' | 12,963 | 12th |
| 28 March 2015 | Oldham Athletic | H | 2–0 | Clarke (2) 71', 90' | 14,010 | 10th |
| 31 March 2015 | Chesterfield | H | 0–1 | | 12,551 | 10th |
| 3 April 2015 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 3–0 | MacKenzie 55', Clarke 64', McMahon 90' | 8,592 | 7th |
| 6 April 2015 | Preston North End | H | 0–3 | | 16,032 | 9th |
| 11 April 2015 | Gillingham | A | 0–1 | | 5,221 | 9th |
| 14 April 2015 | Bristol City | H | 0–6 | | 12,609 | 11th |
| 18 April 2015 | Sheffield United | A | 1–1 | Clarke 83' | 21,879 | 12th |
| 21 April 2015 | Scunthorpe United | A | 1–1 | Clarke 63' | 3,176 | 10th |
| 25 April 2015 | Barnsley | H | 1–0 | Stead 17' | 15,560 | 8th |
| 3 May 2015 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 1–0 | Clarke 23' | 7,608 | 7th |

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Sheffield United | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 66 | 53 | +13 | 71 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 6 | Chesterfield | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 68 | 55 | +13 | 69 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 7 | Bradford City | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 55 | 55 | 0 | 65 | |
| 8 | Rochdale | 46 | 19 | 6 | 21 | 72 | 66 | +6 | 63 | |
| 9 | Peterborough United | 46 | 18 | 9 | 19 | 53 | 56 | −3 | 63 | |
* ↑ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to Football League Championship.

## FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 9 November 2014 | Round 1 | Halifax Town | A | 2–1 | Stead 50', Morais 53' | 8,042 |
| 7 December 2014 | Round 2 | Dartford | H | 4–1 | Clarke 10', Stead 31', Morais 58', Yeates 59' | 5,373 |
| 3 January 2015 | Round 3 | Millwall | A | 3–3 | Knott (2) 6', 76', Nelson 70' (o.g.) | 5,470 |
| 14 January 2015 | Replay | Millwall | H | 4–0 | Hanson 8', Stead 17', Halliday 39', Knott 57' | 11,859 |
| 24 January 2015 | Round 4 | Chelsea | A | 4–2 | Stead 41', Morais 75', Halliday 82', Yeates 90+4' | 41,014 |
| 15 February 2015 | Round 5 | Sunderland | H | 2–0 | O'Shea 3' (o.g.), Stead 61' | 24,021 |
| 7 March 2015 | Round 6 | Reading | H | 0–0 | | 24,321 |
| 16 March 2015 | Replay | Reading | A | 0–3 | | 22,908 |

## League Cup

The draw for the first round was made on 17 June 2014 at 10am. Bradford City were drawn at away to Morecambe.
Round 1 saw the Bantams take on Morecambe at the Globe Arena, a hard-fought game was decided in the last 10 minutes as Aaron McLean came off the bench to score the winner for Bradford. The second round draw saw Bradford pulled out alongside arch rivals Leeds United at Valley Parade. The Bantams went 1–0 down late in the game to 10 men Leeds however a 20-yard strike from Billy Knott a minute later leveled the score before James Hanson score the winner another 2 minutes later.
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 12 August 2014 | Round 1 | Morecambe | A | 1–0 | McLean 83' | 2,395 |
| 27 August 2014 | Round 2 | Leeds United | H | 2–1 | Knott 84', Hanson 86' | 18,750 |
| 23 September 2014 | Round 3 | Milton Keynes Dons | A | 0–2 | | 5,707 |

## Football League Trophy

Bradford were drawn against Oldham Athletic in the Football League Trophy. Bradford fielded a changed side from recent weeks and were unable to overcome the League One side eventually going out of the cup thanks to a late winner from substitute Jordan Bove.
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 2 September 2014 | Round 1 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–1 | | 2,535 |

## Squad statistics

| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | League Trophy | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Jak Alnwick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Stephen Darby | 45 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | James Meredith | 38(2) | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50(2) | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Matthew Dolan | 3(10) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5(13) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Andrew Davies | 28 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Alan Sheehan | 13(10) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19(10) | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 7 | FW | Aaron McLean | 7(6) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1(2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9(8) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Gary Liddle | 39(2) | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48(2) | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | James Hanson | 31(7) | 9 | 6(1) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 39(9) | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Billy Clarke | 32(4) | 13 | 3(3) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 38(8) | 14 | 7 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Billy Knott | 31(9) | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 41(10) | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | Ben Williams | 12(2) | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | FW | Francois Zoko | 3(13) | 1 | 0(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3(18) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Mark Yeates | 26(14) | 3 | 2(5) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30(19) | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Gary MacKenzie | 9(2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9(2) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | Jon Stead | 27(5) | 6 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35(5) | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Jason Kennedy | 17(3) | 2 | 1(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22(4) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | Christopher Routis | 16(2) | 2 | 0(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18(5) | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 19 | FW | Oli McBurnie | 0(7) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2(9) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Filipe Morais | 22(8) | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32(8) | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| 22 | GK | Matthew Urwin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Rory McArdle | 43 | 3 | 7(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 54(1) | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| 24 | MF | Oliver Burke | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Andy Halliday | 20(5) | 1 | 5(2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25(7) | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | Mason Bennett | 5(6) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 6(7) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | Tony McMahon | 4(4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(4) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 34 | FW | Reece Webb-Foster | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | Dylan Mottley-Henry | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| - | FW | Mo Shariff | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| - | GK | Jordan Pickford | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| - | – | Own goals | – | 2 | – | 2 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 4 | – | – |
Statistics accurate as of 3 May 2015

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 16 May 2014 | MF | Matthew Dolan | Middlesbrough | Free |
| 30 May 2014 | MF | Billy Knott | Sunderland | Free |
| 9 June 2014 | MF | Gary Liddle | Notts County | Free |
| 19 June 2014 | DF | Alan Sheehan | Notts County | Free |
| 27 June 2014 | FW | Billy Clarke | Crawley Town | Free |
| 5 August 2014 | GK | Ben Williams | Hibernian | Free |
| 5 August 2014 | FW | Mo Shariff | Queens Park Rangers | Free |
| 5 August 2014 | GK | Matthew Urwin | Blackburn Rovers | Free |
| 8 August 2014 | MF | Filipe Morais | Stevenage | Free |
| 8 August 2014 | DF | Christopher Routis | Servette | Free |
| 26 January 2015 | MF | Andy Halliday | Middlesbrough | Undisclosed |

### Loan In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Until |
| 21 July 2014 | GK | Jordan Pickford | Sunderland | 30 June 2015 |
| 12 August 2014 | FW | Mason Bennett | Derby County | 14 October 2014 |
| 17 October 2014 | FW | Jon Stead | Huddersfield Town | 30 June 2015 |
| 17 October 2014 | MF | Andy Halliday | Middlesbrough | 26 January 2015 |
| 22 November 2014 | FW | Francois Zoko | Blackpool | 30 June 2015 |
| 2 February 2015 | DF | Gary MacKenzie | Blackpool | 30 June 2015 |
| 24 February 2015 | MF | Oliver Burke | Nottingham Forest | 24 March 2015 |
| 13 March 2015 | GK | Jak Alnwick | Newcastle United | 30 June 2015 |

### Loan Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Until |
| 18 November 2014 | FW | Aaron McLean | Peterborough United | 30 June 2015 |
| 27 November 2014 | MF | Matthew Dolan | Hartlepool United | 31 December 2014 |
| 22 January 2015 | FW | Oli McBurnie | Chester | 19 February 2015 |
| 12 March 2015 | MF | Jason Kennedy | Carlisle United | 11 April 2015 |
| 26 March 2015 | DF | Alan Sheehan | Peterborough United | 30 June 2015 |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 7 May 2014 | MF | Garry Thompson | Notts County | Free |
| 7 May 2014 | DF | Matthew Bates | Hartlepool United | Free |
| 7 May 2014 | FW | Louie Swain | Released | Free |
| 7 May 2014 | GK | Jack Stockdill | Guiseley | Free |
| 7 May 2014 | GK | Jack Bentley | Released | Free |
| 7 May 2014 | DF | Nathan Curtis | Ossett Town | Free |
| 9 May 2014 | MF | Gary Jones | Notts County | Free |
| 9 June 2014 | MF | Nathan Doyle | Luton Town | Free |
| 16 June 2014 | DF | Carl McHugh | Plymouth Argyle | Free |
| 24 June 2014 | MF | Kyel Reid | Preston North End | Free |
| 22 July 2014 | GK | Jon McLaughlin | Burton Albion | Free |
| 25 July 2014 | DF | Matt Taylor | Cheltenham Town | Free |