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.

Bradford City

2021–22 season
Chairman	Stefan Rupp
Manager	Derek Adams (until 15 February)[1] Mark Hughes (from 24 February)[2]
Stadium	Utilita Energy Stadium
League Two	14th
FA Cup	First round
EFL Cup	First round
EFL Trophy	Group Stage
Top goalscorer	League: Andy Cook (12) All: Andy Cook (12)
Highest home attendance	18,283 vs. Carlisle United
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2020–21 2022–23 →

During pre-season, Derek Adams was appointed as Bantams new manager.^[3]

Pre-season friendlies

Bradford City revealed they would have pre-season friendlies against Bradford (Park Avenue),^[4] Eccleshill United,^[4] Doncaster Rovers,^[4] Guiseley,^[4] Brighouse Town,^[4] Blackburn Rovers,^[4] Chesterfield^[4] and Accrington Stanley^[5] 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[6]
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

Main article: 2021–22 EFL League Two

League table

Pos	Team v t e	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

Source: EFL Official Website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences^[7]

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	14	16	16	53	55	−2	58	6	10	7	29	29	0	8	6	9	24	26	−2

Last updated: 7 May 2022.
Source: ^{[citation needed]}

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

Updated to match(es) played on 7 May 2022. Source: Statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The Bantams' fixtures were released on 24 June 2021.^[8]

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

Main article: 2021–22 FA Cup

Bradford City were drawn at home to Exeter City in the first round.^[9]

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[10]	—	3,509
30 November 2021	Round 1 replay	Exeter City	A	1–2	Angol 11'	3,228

EFL Cup

Main article: 2021–22 EFL Cup

Bradford City were drawn away to Nottingham Forest in the first round.^[11][12]

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

Main article: 2021–22 EFL Trophy

Group game fixture dates were announced on 22 July.^[13]

Pos	Div	Team v t e	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
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

Source: EFL.com

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		FA Cup		EFL Cup		EFL Trophy		Total		Discipline
			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	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2021	CF		Lee Angol	Leyton Orient	Free transfer	[14]
1 July 2021	CF		Andy Cook	Mansfield Town	Free transfer	[15]
1 July 2021	LW		Abo Eisa	Scunthorpe United	Free transfer	[16]
1 July 2021	RW		Alex Gilliead	Scunthorpe United	Free transfer	[17]
1 July 2021	CB		Fiacre Kelleher	Wrexham	Free transfer	[18]
1 July 2021	LB		Liam Ridehalgh	Tranmere Rovers	Free transfer	[19]
1 July 2021	DM		Yann Songo'o	Morecambe	Free transfer	[20]
1 July 2021	RB		Oscar Threlkeld	Salford City	Free transfer	[21]
2 August 2021	CF		Caolan Lavery	Walsall	Free transfer	[22]
31 August 2021	CF		Theo Robinson	Port Vale	Free transfer	[23]
31 January 2022	RB		Luke Hendrie	Hartlepool United	Free transfer	[24]

Loans in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date until	Ref.
4 January 2022	LW		Dion Pereira	Luton Town	End of season	[25]
11 January 2022	LW		Jamie Walker	Heart of Midlothian	End of season	[26]
18 January 2022	AM		Matty Daly	Huddersfield Town	End of season	[27]
24 January 2022	GK		Alex Bass	Portsmouth	End of season	[28]
27 January 2022	CF		Tom Elliott	Salford City	End of season	[29]
31 January 2022	CF		Nathan Delfouneso	Bolton Wanderers	End of season	[30]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date until	Ref.
12 November 2021	CB		Reece Staunton	Bradford (Park Avenue)	10 December 2021	[31]
31 January 2022	GK		Sam Hornby	Colchester United	End of season	[32]

Transfers out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
15 May 2021	GK		Tom Donaghy	Fleetwood Town	Undisclosed	[33]
30 June 2021	SS		Billy Clarke	Retired	—	[34]
30 June 2021	CF		Clayton Donaldson	York City	Released	[35][36]
30 June 2021	GK		Will Huffer	Stalybridge Celtic	Released	[35][37]
30 June 2021	RM		Zeli Ismail	Hereford	Released	[35][38]
30 June 2021	CF		Lee Novak	Retired	—	[39]
30 June 2021	RB		Anthony O'Connor	Morecambe	Released	[35][40]
30 June 2021	LM		Harry Pritchard	Eastleigh	Released	[35][41]
30 June 2021	AM		Connor Shanks	Huddersfield Town	Released	[35][42]
30 June 2021	LB		Connor Wood	Leyton Orient	Released	[35][43]
28 September 2021	RW		Ollie Crankshaw	Stockport County	Undisclosed	[44]
17 January 2022	CB		Jorge Sikora	Free agent	Mutual consent	[45]
31 January 2022	CB		Niall Canavan	Barrow	Undisclosed	[46]

References

1. "Club Statement: Derek Adams". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
2. "Mark Hughes Unveiled As New City Manager". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
3. "Adams Unveiled As New Bantams Boss". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
4. "Supporters To Return As Pre-Season Schedule Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
5. "Accrington Pre-Season Friendly Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
6. "Eccleshill Friendly Cancelled". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
7. "EFL Regulations Section 3 – The League; subsection 9 – Method of Determining League Positions". English Football League. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
8. "2021/22 Fixtures Released". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
9. "EFL Clubs Enter The Emirates FA Cup, Following Sunday's first round proper Draw". The Football Association. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
10. Pilnick, Brent (18 November 2021). "Exeter City: FA Cup game with Bradford to be replayed after hosts use extra substitute". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
11. "First-Round Opponents Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
12. "Nottingham Forest Carabao Cup Date Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
13. "Papa John's Trophy Dates Confirmed". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
14. "Lee Right Angol For Bantams". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
15. "City Get Cooking With First Summer Signing". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
16. "City Beat Off Competition For Eisa Signature". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
17. "Gilliead Returns As Sixth Summer Signing". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
18. "Kelleher Becomes Seventh Summer Signing". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
19. "Bantams Welcome Ridehalgh Aboard". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
20. "City Secure Songo'o Signing". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
21. "Threlkeld Becomes Third Summer Signing". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
22. "Bantams Land Lavery". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
23. "Bantams Complete Robinson Deadline-Day Capture". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
24. "Hendrie is back at Valley Parade as City snap up defender". The Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
25. "Dion Pereira joins Bradford City on loan". Luton Town. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
26. "Bradford sign Hearts winger Walker". BBC. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
27. "Daly Joins Bradford On Loan After Hartlepool Recall". Huddersfield Town. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
28. "Bradford City snap up Portsmouth goalkeeper Bass on loan". The Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
29. "January transfer window: Ex-Leeds United forward Tom Elliott makes pledge after joining Bradford City". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
30. "Nathan Delfouneso completes move away from Bolton Wanderers as Bradford City transfer". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
31. "Staunton Joins On Loan". Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC. 12 November 2021. Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
32. "Hornby Joins Colchester On Loan". Bradford City AFC. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
33. "Tom Donaghy joins the Cod Army". Fleetwood Town - Official Site. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
34. "Former Blackpool, Bradford City, Charlton Athletic and Ipswich Town forward announces his retirement from football". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
35. "Nine Bantams To Depart". Bradford City - Official Site. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
36. "Clayton Donaldson returns to York City". York City FC. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
37. "Club News - Former Leeds United and England youth team goalkeeper joins Celtic". Stalybridge Celtic. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
38. "Bulls Bring in Zeli Ismail". Hereford FC. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
39. "Former Bradford City striker Novak on his new challenge". Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
40. "SIGNING | Anthony O'Connor". Morecambe FC. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
41. "Harry Pritchard Joins The Spitfires". Eastleigh FC. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
42. "B TEAM: CONNOR SHANKS & MAX DEARNLEY SIGN!". Huddersfield Town. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
43. "Left-Back Connor Wood Signs For Orient". Leyton Orient FC. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
44. "Crankshaw Departs Bantams". Bradford City Association Football Club. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
45. "Sikora Leaves By Mutual Consent". Bradford City AFC. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
46. "Niall Canavan Signs For Barrow". Barrow AFC. Retrieved 31 January 2022.