2007–08 Bradford City A.F.C. season

With just 13 players on the books,[8] McCall's first job was to sign a number of new players to build a first-team squad. McCall's first signings were strikers Barry Conlon, from Mansfield Town, and Peter Thorne, from Norwich City, both on free transfers, on 2 July 2007.[12][13] No more players were signed by the time City played their first pre-season friendly away at Harrogate Town on 16 July 2007. However, there were eight trialists in the team which won 1–0. The only goal of the game was a header from David Wetherall.[14] Two days later, City were defeated 2–1 by Conference side Farsley Celtic,[15] before a 2–0 victory against North Ferriby United.[16] Scott Phelan, who had played all three of the pre-season games during a trial, became McCall's third signing on 24 July from Everton.[17] The same day, City drew 1–1 with Burnley in their only home pre-season friendly open to fans, with a goal from Paul Evans.[18] McCall signed full back Darren Williams, from Hartlepool United, Kyle Nix on a monthly contract, and Nathan Joynes on loan from Barnsley but released three other trialists.[19] Joynes had been the third loan signing from Barnsley, following Paul Heckingbottom, who had played for Bradford in the 2003–04 season, and Thomas Harban.[20] The following two friendlies both ended in defeat; first 1–0 to York City,[21] then 2–1 to Blackpool in a private practice match, with another goal from Evans.[22] Evans completed his transfer the following day,[23] to be followed by Alex Rhodes, who had been on trial from Brentford, and Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu on loan from Gillingham, the following week.[24]

A new home and away strip for the season was announced, with the home shirts worn for the first time in the friendly against Burnley.[25] The club also sold more than 12,000 season tickets, with 12,019 fans buying one before the end of the deadline for the cheap offer on 31 July.[26]

Bradford City became the first visitors for a league game at New Meadow

Bradford started their league season on 11 August 2007 with a 1–1 draw with Macclesfield Town, when a crowd of 14,345 was inside Valley Parade, 1,000 more than was originally announced.[27] The attendance was more than 6,000 higher than any other game in the division.[28] Macclesfield had taken the lead, with City equalising shortly before half-time when Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu scored with a rebound after Barry Conlon's penalty was saved.[29] Four days later City were at Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers, for the first round of the League Cup. Wolves scored twice in the first five minutes of the second half, and despite Kyle Nix pulling one back for Bradford, City went out 2–1.[30] City's second league game of the season was the first league game to be played at Shrewsbury Town's new £15m ground the New Meadow, when an early penalty from former City player Dave Hibbert gave the home side a 1–0 win.[31] McCall's first win as manager came in the third game when a debut goal from Luke Medley secured a 2–1 victory over Wrexham.[32]

Bradford started September with consecutive defeats; first 2–1 in the league against Barnet,[33] before a 5–1 loss to Doncaster Rovers in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.[34] For the latter game, McCall had named a weakened team, which included debutants Ben Saynor and Sean Taylforth,[35] and City faced a £5,000 fine from The Football League,[36] but were eventually only fined £3,000.[37] Two victories in the league followed against Lincoln City—the first time the two teams had met in a league game since the fire disaster in 1985—[38] and Peterborough United.[39] But the month ended as it had started with back-to-back defeats against Hereford United and Wycombe Wanderers.[40][41]

The run of consecutive defeats extended to five during the first two weeks of October. After a 3–0 defeat to Accrington Stanley,[42] McCall added two more loan signings to the squad, Nicky Law, son of former City manager Nicky Law, and goalkeeper Rhys Evans.[43] Both played as City lost 2–1 to both Milton Keynes Dons, when Barry Conlon scored his first goal for the club,[44] then Morecambe.[45] The run of defeats came to an end when City drew 0–0 with Darlington,[46] but the month ended without a single victory after another draw, this time 1–1 with Grimsby Town, when Rhys Evans was substituted after 24 minutes for City, and Ndumbu-Nsungu scored a late equaliser following Grimsby's own goalkeeper Phil Barnes' red card.[47] Evans' loan deal was cut short following the injury and he returned to Blackpool after just four games.[48] Young midfielder Joe Colbeck, who had been one of several players McCall wanted to send out on loan to gain first team experience,[49] was loaned out to Darlington for a month.[50]

Bradford's run without a league victory extended to eight games after a 2–1 defeat to Brentford.[51] The run, which stretched back to 15 September came to an end with a 2–1 win over Chester City on 6 November 2007 when Alex Rhodes scored his first goal for the club.[52] City again defeated Chester City four days later, this time in the FA Cup, when Peter Thorne's first goal for the club secured a 1–0 win.[53] City won their third game in a row with a 4–1 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge—their highest victory of the season,[54] before the month ended with a 1–1 draw against Stockport County.[55]

Bradford were eliminated from the FA Cup with a 3–0 defeat to League One side Tranmere Rovers.[56] They returned to league action with two more draws, away to Mansfield Town and Chesterfield,[57][58] the latter game of which featured Joe Colbeck, who had returned from Darlington early despite his one-month loan spell being originally extended.[59] The following week City signed Willy Topp for £35,000—the first time they had paid a transfer fee for a player since Andy Tod in November 2001—nearly three months after he first came on trial.[60] City were given two weeks off before their next game, when their home game against Rotherham United on 15 December was postponed because of a frozen pitch.[61] But they could not take advantage of the extra rest and despite taking the lead against Peterborough United, two second half goals gave Peterborough a 2–1 win and helped them to second in the league.[62] The highest attendance of the season for a League Two game attended City's next game on Boxing Day against Lincoln City.[63] It was the first time the two teams had met in the league at Valley Parade since the fire of 1985 and the crowd of 15,510 observed a minute silence and wreath-laying ceremony before the game. Peter Thorne gave City the lead, and despite an equaliser from Lincoln, Barry Conlon secured a 2–1 win for Bradford in the last minute.[64] The 2007 calendar year finished with another home game, but this time City lost 3–1 to Hereford United.[65]

Lee Bullock joined from Hartlepool United in January on a free transfer after a loan spell

The New Year started with a number of changes off the field. Loan signing Ndumbu-Nsungu returned to Gillingham but Heckingbottom's deal was extended to allow him to play against Accrington Stanley on New Year's Day,[66] before a permanent deal was finalised the following week.[67] Midfielder Lee Bullock was also signed on a loan transfer from Hartlepool United.[68] City beat Accrington 2–0 with Matthew Clarke scoring his first for the club and Joe Colbeck adding his first since he returned from his loan spell at Darlington.[69] It was followed up with another win, when Thorne scored City's first hat-trick for two years, to defeat Notts County 3–0.[70] Two away draws followed at Bury and Wrexham,[71][72] but City returned to winning ways with a 4–2 victory over Shrewsbury Town to finish the month unbeaten.[73]

McCall had also been busy in the transfer market during January, with the trio of Ben Starosta,[74] Scott Loach[75] and TJ Moncur all arriving on loan.[76] Bullock made his loan permanent and signed an 18-month contract, and David Brown signed after impressing on a trial.[76] Five players also left Valley Parade on loan deals during January, with Craig Bentham joining Farsley Celtic,[77] Luke Medley joining Cambridge City,[78] Sean Taylforth and Luke Morgan both going to Droylsden,[78] and Simon Ainge joining Halifax Town.[79] Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts was also expected to leave but his transfer to Queens Park Rangers collapsed after the Home Office rejected his application for a work permit.[80]

City's unbeaten run was extended to six games when David Brown scored on his debut to beat Macclesfield Town 1–0.[81] The run came to an end with consecutive 2–1 defeats to Bury and Rochdale.[82][83] On 20 February 2008, David Wetherall, who had played nearly 300 league games for City since he joined in 1999, announced he would retire at the end of the season.[84] City won their first win in three games when they beat Notts County for the second time in as many months, with a 3–1 win.[85] Three days later City added a second consecutive win by defeating Rotherham United 3–2 in the game which had been postponed in December, with Lee Bullock scoring his first goal for the club.[86] The same day, club chairman Julian Rhodes announced a new season ticket offer in a bid to fill more of the 25,000-seater stadium for the following season by offering free tickets if more than 9,000 adult tickets were bought.[87]

March started with two more consecutive defeats. Dagenham & Redbridge defeated City 2–0 in their first game at Valley Parade, when Barry Conlon missed a penalty and then an open goal both when the score was 1–0.[88] In the following game, Peter Thorne scored a penalty to give City the lead against Stockport County, but County scored twice to win 2–1.[89] Four days later, Bradford recorded their third victory of the season against Chester City, when Conlon scored the only goal of the game in a 1–0 victory.[90] Conlon scored another in the following game but City again were beaten, 2–1 by Mansfield Town.[91] Following Wetherall's announcement that he would retire, City's supporters staged a special day to celebrate his career and contribution to the club, during the away fixture on 22 March 2008 at Rotherham United, where the team had lost 4–1 the previous season during Wetherall's spell as player-manager.[92] The result of the game finished 1–1, during which Omar Daley was sent off.[93] City played a second game two days later, because of the Easter fixture list, when Peter Thorne scored the 150th league goal of his career to help City beat Chesterfield 1–0.[94] The month finished with a 3–1 victory over Darlington, when Tom Penford scored his first goal for the club, and both Barry Conlon and Joe Colbeck scored against their former club.[95] The victory put City into the top half of the table for the first time since September.[96] During March, City also won a Football League award for their season ticket deal at the start of the season.[97]

On 1 April 2008, first City's keeper Donovan Ricketts was blocked from coming back into the country following a Jamaica call-up,[98] before City lost 2–1 at Rochdale, following a late winning goal from Rochdale's Adam Le Fondre.[99] City returned to winnings ways four days later, when Eddie Johnson scored the only goal of a 1–0 victory over Morecambe.[100] Johnson scored for a second successive game, three days later to secure a 1–1 draw with Barnet in a rearranged game at Valley Parade.[101] A second successive draw on 12 April, this time 2–2 against Brentford,[102] meant that City could no longer reach the play-offs, ensuring that they would again be playing in League Two during 2008–09.[103] A late goal from Joe Colbeck on 19 April prevented a third successive draw and gave City a 2–1 victory over Grimsby Town.[104] Colbeck was named the club's player of the season at the annual award ceremony on 23 April,[105] but was sent off in the club's final home of the season against Milton Keynes Dons. Bradford were already 2–0 behind when Colbeck was dismissed, and despite a goal from Omar Daley, they lost 2–1, which crowned Milton Keynes as the league champions.[106]

On 29 April 2008, McCall announced the list of players he would be keeping and releasing at the end of the season. As well as Ricketts, who was unlikely to be given a new work permit, the first team players to be released were Darren Williams, Paul Evans, Tom Penford and Alex Rhodes. Craig Bentham, who had spent three months on loan at Farsley Celtic, and Scott Phelan, who had not featured since December, were also deemed surplus to requirements. Back-up goalkeepers Ben Saynor and Jamie Waite, neither of whom had played a first team league game, and youngsters David Brown, Luke Morgan and Damian Hopkins completed the list of 13 players to leave the club. Barry Conlon and Kyle Nix were the only first team regulars to be offered new contracts, along with juniors Luke Medley, Luke O'Brien and Sean Taylforth.[107]

City finished the season with a 2–1 defeat at Wycombe Wanderers, when Luke Medley scored a penalty on his first start for the club. McCall had made a number of changes to the side, after his decision to release 13 players, giving a debut to Sean Taylforth and also giving places to three of the released players. It was also David Wetherall's final game for the club.[108]

In the week after the season had finished, Barry Conlon was the first to sign a new deal keeping him at the club until January 2008,[109] before Kyle Nix and Luke O'Brien signed their season-long contracts.[110] By the end of the week, McCall made his first transfer of the summer when he signed goalkeeper Jonathan McLaughlin from non-league Harrogate Town.[111] It was not until the end of the month that he added his second signing, when midfielder Chris Brandon, a former club trainee, joined from Huddersfield Town on a free transfer.[112] Defender Paul Arnison, who had been released by Carlisle United in May, became the club's third summer transfer, when he signed a two-year contract on 18 June 2008.[113] On 30 June 2008, the final day before City would return to pre-season training, City signed a second defender, when Graeme Lee joined on a free transfer from Doncaster Rovers. He also signed a two-year contract.[114]