2015–16 Bradford City A.F.C. season

Bradford City

2015–16 season
Chairman	Mark Lawn Julian Rhodes
Manager	Philip Parkinson
Stadium	Valley Parade
League One	5th - Play Off Semi-Final
FA Cup	3rd Round Replay (knocked out by Bury)
League Cup	1st Round (knocked out by York City)
FL Trophy	2nd Round (knocked out by Barnsley)
Top goalscorer	League: James Hanson (11) All: James Hanson (13)
Highest home attendance	19,317 vs. Sheffield United (League One, 20 September)
Home colours Away colours
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

The 2015–16 season will be Bradford City's 113th season in their history, their 101st in the Football League and 103rd in the English football league system.^[1] Along with League One, the club will also compete in the FA Cup, League Cup and Football League Trophy. The season covers the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016. The new kits were announced in April 2015 - a claret and amber checked home kit, and an all-black away kit.^[2]

Pre-Season Friendlies

On 5 June 2015, Bradford City announced their first pre-season friendly against Guiseley.^[3] On 10 July 2015, the club confirmed as part of the Scotland tour they will face St Mirren.^[4] A day later the Bantams announced they will play host to Carlisle United on 25 July 2015.^[5] A pre-season friendly against Burnley was confirmed on 12 June 2015.^[6] On 19 June 2015, Bradford City confirmed a friendly against Farsley.^[7] On 30 June 2015, the Bantams confirmed their second friendly during the week-long stay in Scotland.^[8] On 20 July 2015, Bradford City announced they will send a XI side to Ossett Albion.^[9] On 23 July 2015, Bradford announced another friendly addition against Whitby Town.^[10]

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
11 July 2015	Farsley Celtic	A	3–0	Hanson (2) 19', 27', Watt 36'	-
14 July 2015	Motherwell	A	3–0	Leigh 45', Sheehan 63', Hanson 70'	-
18 July 2015	St Mirren	A	1–0	B.Clarke 15'	-
21 July 2015	Guiseley	A	1–2	Drury 34'	-
25 July 2015	Carlisle United	H	2–0	Morris 58', Liddle 72'	-
28 July 2015	Whitby Town	A	0–1
1 August 2015	Burnley	A	0–2

League One

Matches

On 17 June 2015, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.^[11]

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Position
8 August 2015	Swindon Town	A	1–4	Morris 4'	8,090	23rd
15 August 2015	Shrewsbury Town	H	1–1	B. Clarke 43'	18,039	24th
18 August 2015	Gillingham	H	1–2	Hanson 7'	17,496	24th
22 August 2015	Barnsley	A	0–0		10,342	22nd
29 August 2015	Port Vale	H	1–0	Cole 90'	17,806	16th
5 September 2015	Oldham Athletic	A	2–1	Burke 21', Cole 63'	5,619	11th
12 September 2015	Fleetwood Town	A	1–1	Hanson 20'	4,044	14th
20 September 2015	Sheffield United	H	2–2	Meredith 33', Cole 47'	19,317	12th
26 September 2015	Peterborough United	H	0–2		17,970	18th
29 September 2015	Colchester United	A	0–2		3,334	19th
3 October 2015	Rochdale	A	3–1	Evans 34', Cole 59', Lancashire 61' (o.g.)	4,534	16th
17 October 2015	Doncaster Rovers	A	1–0	Cole 1'	8,410	15th
20 October 2015	Bury	H	2–1	McArdle 45', Brown 51' (o.g.)	17,575	11th
24 October 2015	Wigan Athletic	H	1–1	Hanson 63'	19,171	14th
31 October 2015	Millwall	A	0–0		9,367	14th
3 November 2015	Blackpool	H	1–0	Hanson 45'	17,435	9th
14 November 2015	Crewe Alexandra	H	2–0	Liddle 45', B.Clarke 58'	17,546	7th
21 November 2015	Scunthorpe United	A	2–0	McMahon 28' (pen.), Leigh 52'	4,865	7th
24 November 2015	Coventry City	H	0–0		17,757	6th
28 November 2015	Walsall	A	1–2	Evans 64'	4,668	9th
19 December 2015	Chesterfield	A	1–0	McMahon 72'	6,795	8th
28 December 2015	Sheffield United	A	1–3	Liddle 83'	24,777	10th
2 January 2016	Gillingham	A	0–3		6,446	12th
16 January 2016	Oldham Athletic	H	1–0	McMahon 50'	18,522	10th
23 January 2016	Port Vale	A	1–1	Proctor 65'	4,849	10th
26 January 2016	Barnsley	H	0–1		17,470	11th
30 January 2016	Fleetwood Town	H	2–1	Hanson 67', Davies 90+3'	17,554	10th
6 February 2016	Burton Albion	A	1–3	McArdle 90+2'	3,796	12th
13 February 2016	Peterborough United	A	4–0	Hanson (2) 45', 68', Reid 56', Davies 77'	5,816	11th
16 February 2016	Southend United	H	2–0	McMahon 17', Hanson 74'	17,701	8th
20 February 2016	Rochdale	H	2–2	McArdle 40', Davies 62'	17,936	8th
27 February 2016	Blackpool	A	1–0	Reid 54'	8,780	7th
1 March 2016	Colchester United	H	1–2	Thomas 17'	16,786	9th
5 March 2016	Bury	A	0–0		4,036	8th
8 March 2016	Burton Albion	H	2–0	Reid 13', Burke 28'	17,500	7th
12 March 2016	Doncaster Rovers	H	2–1	Proctor (2) 7', 49'	17,889	6th
19 March 2016	Wigan Athletic	A	0–1		10,890	7th
26 March 2016	Millwall	H	1–0	Davies 79'	18,538	6th
28 March 2016	Crewe Alexandra	A	1–0	Proctor 50'	5,320	6th
2 April 2016	Scunthorpe United	H	1–0	Davies 68'	17,873	5th
9 April 2016	Swindon Town	H	1–0	B.Clarke 20'	18,043	3rd
16 April 2016	Shrewsbury Town	A	1–1	Proctor 71'	6,247	4th
23 April 2016	Walsall	H	4–0	Morais 54', Hanson (3) 58', 72', 73'	19,336	5th
30 April 2016	Southend United	A	1–0	Evans 12'	8,571	5th
8 May 2016	Chesterfield	H	2–0	Evans 7', B.Clarke 87'	20,807	5th

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
3	Walsall	46	24	12	10	71	49	+22	84	Qualification for League One play-offs[lower-alpha 1]
4	Millwall	46	24	9	13	73	49	+24	81
5	Bradford City	46	23	11	12	55	40	+15	80
6	Barnsley (O, P)	46	22	8	16	70	54	+16	74
7	Scunthorpe United	46	21	11	14	60	47	+13	74

Updated to match(es) played on 1 July 2016. Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted.
Notes:

1. Four teams play for one spot and promotion to Football League Championship.

Play-offs

After finishing fifth in League One, City were entered into the end-of-season play-offs to determine who would get promoted to Championship for the 2016–17 season. Bradford were against fourth-placed Millwall in the semi-finals and played them over two legs.

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
15 May 2016	Semi-final First leg	Millwall	H	1–3	McMahon 13' (pen.)	19,241
20 May 2016	Semi-final First leg	Millwall	A	1–1	Proctor 44'	16,301

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
8 November 2015	Round 1	Aldershot Town	A	0–0		2,640
18 November 2015	Round 1 Replay	Aldershot Town	H	2–0	Leigh 61', McMahon 76' (pen.)	2,930
6 December 2015	Round 2	Chesham	H	4–0	Reid 22', Hanson 43', Liddle 90', Cole 90'	6,047
9 January 2016	Round 3	Bury	A	0–0		6,962
19 January 2016	Round 3 Replay	Bury	H	0–0 (2–4p)		6,227

League Cup

On 16 June 2015, the first round draw was made, Bradford City were drawn away against York City.^[12]

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
11 August 2015	Round 1	York City	A	2–2 (2–4p)	Routis 21', Hanson 90'	4,201

Football League Trophy

On 5 September 2015, the second round draw was shown live on Soccer AM and drawn by Charlie Austin and Ed Skrein. Bradford will host Barnsley.^[13]

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
13 October 2015	Round 2	Barnsley	H	1–2	Knott 22'	4,127

Squad Statistics

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		League Trophy		Total		Discipline
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Ben Williams	44	0	5	0	1	0	1	0	51	0	1	0
2	DF	Stephen Darby	47	0	5	0	0	0	1	0	53	0	4	0
3	DF	James Meredith	40(3)	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	43(3)	1	3	0
4	MF	Lee Evans	35(1)	4	3	0	0	0	0(1)	0	38(2)	4	10	1
5	DF	Nathan Clarke	20(6)	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	24(6)	0	3	1
6	DF	Alan Sheehan	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	1	0
7	MF	Mark Marshall	8(23)	0	2(3)	0	1	0	1	0	12(26)	0	2	0
8	MF	Gary Liddle	17(3)	2	3(1)	1	1	0	1	0	22(4)	3	3	0
9	FW	James Hanson	30(10)	11	4	1	0(1)	1	1	0	35(11)	13	7	0
10	FW	Billy Clarke	21(8)	4	3(2)	0	0(1)	0	0	0	24(11)	4	0	0
11	MF	Billy Knott	17(7)	0	3	0	0	0	1	1	21(7)	1	3	0
12	MF	Josh Cullen	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	0	4	0
14	MF	Josh Morris	7(5)	1	0(2)	0	0(1)	0	0	0	7(8)	1	0	0
15	DF	Greg Leigh	6	1	2	1	0	0	1	0	9	2	1	0
16	DF	Reece Burke	33	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	35	2	4	0
17	MF	Kyel Reid	33(2)	3	3	1	0	0	0	0	36(2)	4	3	0
18	DF	Christopher Routis	9(2)	0	2(1)	0	1	1	0	0	12(3)	1	1	0
19	FW	Jamie Proctor	14(5)	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	13(5)	6	1	0
20	MF	Filipe Morais	3(4)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3(4)	1	0	0
21	DF	Tom Thorpe	2(2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2(2)	0	0	0
22	GK	Brad Jones	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0
23	DF	Rory McArdle	36	3	5	0	1	0	1	0	43	3	6	0
24	FW	Steve Davies	6(19)	5	0(1)	0	1	0	0(1)	0	7(21)	5	5	0
25	MF	Sam Wright	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	MF	Paul Anderson	5(8)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	6(8)	0	2	0
27	MF	Joe Brennan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	MF	Dylan Mottley-Henry	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0
29	DF	Tony McMahon	40(1)	5	5	1	1	0	1	0	47(1)	6	9	0
30	GK	Joe Cracknell	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	DF	James King	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	FW	Luke James	1(8)	0	1(2)	0	1	0	1	0	4(10)	0	0	0
34	FW	Reece Webb-Foster	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
39	FW	Wes Thomas	6(4)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6(4)	1	1	0
44	FW	Devante Cole	12(7)	5	2(2)	1	0	0	0(1)	0	14(10)	6	1	0
-	FW	Jonathan Lewis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
-	FW	Jordan Bowery	1(2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1(2)	0	0	0
-	–	Own goals	–	2	–	0	–	0	–	0	–	2	–	–

Statistics accurate as of 20 May 2016

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2015	CF		Steve Davies	Blackpool	Free transfer	[14]
1 July 2015	LM		Josh Morris	Blackburn Rovers	Free transfer	[15]
3 July 2015	RB		Tony McMahon	Blackpool	Free transfer	[16]
7 July 2015	CF		Jonathan Lewis	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	Free transfer	[17]
13 July 2015	LM		Mark Marshall	Port Vale	Free transfer	[18]
28 July 2015	CB		Nathan Clarke	Leyton Orient	Free transfer	[19]
1 August 2015	RW		Paul Anderson	Ipswich Town	Free transfer	[20]
6 August 2015	GK		Joe Cracknell	Hull City	Free transfer	[21]
6 August 2015	LB		Greg Leigh	Manchester City	Free transfer	[22]
17 August 2015	GK		Brad Jones	Liverpool	Free transfer	[23]
28 August 2015	CF		Devante Cole	Manchester City	Free transfer	[24]
1 February 2016	CF		Jamie Proctor	Fleetwood Town	Free transfer	[25]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2015	CB		Andrew Davies	Ross County	Free transfer	[26]
1 July 2015	DM		Matthew Dolan	Yeovil Town [lower-alpha 1]	Free transfer	[28]
1 July 2015	AM		Andy Halliday	Rangers	Free transfer	[29]
1 July 2015	CM		Jason Kennedy	Carlisle United	Free transfer	[30]
1 July 2015	CF		Aaron McLean	Barnet [lower-alpha 2]	Released	[32]
1 July 2015	GK		Matt Urwin	Free Agent	Released	[29]
13 July 2015	CF		Oliver McBurnie	Swansea City	Undisclosed	[33]
25 August 2015	RW		Mark Yeates	Oldham Athletic	Free transfer	[34]
22 January 2016	CF		Devante Cole	Fleetwood Town	£75,000	[35]
1 February 2016	MF		Gary Liddle	Chesterfield	Undisclosed	[36]

1. Following Dolan's release he joined Yeovil Town.^[27]
2. Following McLean's release he joined Barnet.^[31]

Loans in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date until	Ref.
10 July 2015	CF		Luke James	Peterborough United	End of season	[37]
20 August 2015	CB		Reece Burke	West Ham United	20 September 2015	[38]
20 August 2015	CM		Lee Evans	Wolverhampton Wanderers	9 January 2016	[39]
22 January 2016	CF		Jamie Proctor	Fleetwood Town	1 February 2016	[40]
29 January 2016	CF		Wes Thomas	Birmingham City	29 April 2016	[41]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date until	Ref.
25 September 2015	LB		Alan Sheehan	Notts County	26 December 2015	[42]
26 September 2015	ST		Jon Lewis	Farsley Celtic	24 October 2015	[43]
22 January 2016	LB		Alan Sheehan	Luton Town	31 July 2016	[44]

References

1. "History". Statto.
2. http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/news/article/new-home-kit-revealed-2429494.aspx
3. "Guiseley Friendly Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 5 June 2015.
4. "St Mirren Friendly Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 10 June 2015.
5. "Carlisle United Friendly Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 11 June 2015.
6. "Burnley Friendly Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 12 June 2015.
7. "Farsley Friendly Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 19 June 2015.
8. "Motherwell Friendly Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 30 June 2015.
9. "Ossett Friendly Confirmed For City XI". Bradford City AFC. 20 July 2015.
10. "Whitby Town Friendly Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 23 July 2015.
11. "CITY TO START WITH SWINDON TRIP". Bradford City AFC. 17 June 2015.
12. "Capital One Cup 2015/16 Round 1 Draw". Capital One Cup. 16 June 2015.
13. "Johnstone's Paint Trophy Round 2 draw". Football League. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
14. "Davies Becomes City's First Summer Signing". Bradford City AFC. 30 June 2015.
15. "Morris Deal Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. 1 July 2015.
16. "McMahon Returns To The Bantams". Bradford City AFC. 3 July 2015.
17. "Lewis Arrives At The Bantams". Bradford City AFC. 7 July 2015.
18. "Marshall Moves To The Bantams". Bradford City AFC. 13 July 2015.
19. "Clarke Joins The Bantams". Bradford City AFC. 28 July 2015.
20. "Anderson Arrives!". Bradford City AFC. 1 August 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
21. "City Add Cracknell To Their Squad". Bradford City AFC. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
22. "City Sign Up Leigh". Bradford City AFC. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
23. "Brad Jones: Bradford City sign ex-Liverpool goalkeeper". BBC Sport. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
24. "City Sign Cole". Bradford City AFC. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
25. "City Sign Proctor". BBC Sport. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
26. "Defender Leaves The Bantams". Bradford City AFC. 30 June 2015.
27. "Matt Dolan: Yeovil Town sign midfielder". BBC Sport. 17 June 2015.
28. "Dolan To Leave The Bantams". Bradford City AFC. 15 May 2015.
29. "Duo To Leave The Bantams". Bradford City AFC. 22 May 2015.
30. "Kennedy Leaves The Bantams". Bradford City AFC. 19 May 2015.
31. "Aaron Mclean: Barnet sign striker after Bradford City exit". BBC Sport. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
32. "Aaron McLean To Leave City". Bradford City AFC. 5 June 2015.
33. "Swans complete McBurnie signing". Swansea City. 13 July 2015.
34. "Mark Yeates: Oldham Athletic bring in former Bradford winger". BBC Sport. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
35. "Fleetwood Sign Cole". BBC Sport. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
36. "Chesterfield Sign Liddle". BBC Sport. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
37. "James Arrives On Loan". Bradford City AFC. 10 July 2015.
38. "City Sign West Ham Defender On Loan". Bradford City AFC. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
39. "Evans Arrives At City". Bradford City AFC. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
40. "Proctor Joins City". BBC Sport. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
41. "Thomas Joins City". BBC Sport. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
42. "Sheehan Rejoins Notts County On Loan". Bradford City AFC. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
43. "Lewis Joins Up With Farsley Celtic". Bradford City AFC. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
44. "Sheehan Joins Luton On Loan". BBC Sport. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.