The Bradford City Retained List


Back in May it was announced that ten Bradford City players were due to leave when their contracts expired at the end of June and to be honest it was no surprise at all especially with McCall coming back as manager and the team not performing as well as they should be. In recent years many players have come and gone from the club but others have somehow miraculously stayed yet they have been massively under performing. But after seeing this seasons retained list some of those players have finally gone and it looks like McCall is really trying to change the team to suit his playing style and bring City back to winning ways. Some names on the released list however, came as a bit of a surprise but it does make you wonder if the club are getting ready for any of the rumoured salary caps or just trying to cut the wage bill back a bit to prepare for the future as clubs finances are definitely going to feel the impact of the Coronavirus.

So here is how the City retained list is looking...

There were ten players who weren't offered new contracts when there's expired and those players were:

Kelvin Mellor - Mellor was hit and miss at City he suffered a few injuries, his long throws could have been great if he actually used them more than once every three games. The right back often looked so out of place during games and gave up possession and wasn't tracking back enough. I just hope we bring in a decent right back as we have definitely been slacking in this area.

Jake Reeves - This came as a bit of a surprise. Reeves had been missing for a while but returned last season and found himself getting plenty of game time. Granted I personally wasn't too impressed with his performances but it was nice to see him playing again after so long missing.

Shay McCartan - I think this is the biggest surprise for me as in my opinion McCartan is perfect for League 2 however, last season he didn't really have the chance to prove that. McCartan showed everyone just what he could do in League 2 when we loaned him to Lincoln a few seasons ago and he was on the team that won them promotion. Whoever picks him up is going to be getting a great player.

Jordan Gibson - Gibson just never really seemed to find himself getting opportunities at the club and honestly I think one of the best things we did was release him as hopefully he will find a club where he slots right in and gets plenty of playing time.

Jermaine Anderson - Now Anderson was the player that puzzled me when we gave him his last contract extension as he didn't exactly get play time and he just didn't seem to fit into the team dynamics.

Hope Akpan - Now there are certainly mixed opinions on Akpan however, I actually didn't mind him at all. He got us goals last season when we needed them and on his good days he did play well but it seems some people just remember him for the bad days. I think if Akpan gets to the right team he could really help make an impact.

Adam Henley - The left or right back (can easily play in either position) only really seemed to get playtime due to injuries but when he did play I don't think he played that bad. I think if he did get more playtime he could have really grown as a player and helped the team out but it is going to be interesting to see where he ends up.

Daniel Devine - The local lad seems to have been at the club forever, in fact it is the only club he has played for. So to see him go is a bit of a sad day as I really think he has the potential to be a great midfielder, but at least with him now being a free agent he might get picked up by a team that is willing to give him some play time.

Joe Riley - Riley is another player who just never seemed to hit the ground running for City. Whether it was poor performances leading to lack of game time or injuries it just didn't seem to work out for him.

George Sykes-Kenworthy - Sykes-Kenworthy has spent his time at the club as a back up 'keeper but has rarely had game time, I am interested to see where he ends up next and if he gets game time who knows what sort of 'keeper he will end up being.

Loanees Glenn Middleton, Luke McGee, Callum Cooke, Jamie Devitt and Dylan Connolly all returner to their parent clubs but to be honest I think the only one I really bothered about losing was Connolly as he had some fantastic games for the club, got the crowd going and you could see just how much he cared for the result and how he was playing for the badge on the shirt even though he was just a loanee. Chris Taylor and Dylan Mottley-Henry were also released after just short spells at the club, who knows if they may end up returning again in the future.

Goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell is out of contract however, talks are ongoing to negotiate him a contract which to be honest would be great for the club as he is actually a good 'keeper and has performed really well in his previous seasons with a questionable defence in front of him although I am sure some will disagree. Clayton Donaldson & Zeli Ismail's one year extensions were automatically activated and I am looking forward to seeing these players as we definitely didn't get to see enough of them both in the 19/20 season due to injuries.

When you look at the players we have under contract for the 20/21 season on paper you would think we would have already been out of league 2 but we just couldn't get going so hopefully McCall can change the players attitudes and get them playing like they should.

The players under contract are:
Jackson Longridge
Paudie O'Connor
Ben Richards-Everton
Anthony O'Connor
Harry Pritchard
Lee Novak
James Vaughan
Sam Hornby
Tyler French
Connor Wood
Kurtis Guthrie
Reece Staunton

Vaughan spent the majority of last season on loan but I hope we do end up keeping him as I think under McCall's management he could end up doing really well in the league especially when alongside Donaldson or Novak.

I think with the effects of the season ending and the financial impact from the Coronavirus it is certainly going to be interesting to see if anyone else leaves the club or who else we bring is as we need to really rebuild after the past few years and hopefully be challenging for the automatic promotion we should be gaining.

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