Current Morecambe manager Derek Adams endured eight months with Bradford City before facing the axe two-thirds of the way into the 2021/2022 League Two campaign.
The Scot has enjoyed success in England’s fourth tier by guiding both Plymouth Argyle and Morecambe to promotion. Following his miraculous effort of leading the Shrimps to a surprise 2020/2021 campaign, capped off with a play-off final win over Newport County, Adams exited the Lancashire side to pursue a role at Valley Parade.
A former Premier League club looking to return up the footballing ladder, the Yorkshire outfit grasped the opportunity to secure the 48-year-old’s services. After relegation from League One, three seasons prior, there was huge optimism around the appointment of Adams and belief he could lead them back to the third tier.
However, 31 games into the 2021/22 campaign and following a 1-0 home loss to Exeter City, Bradford relieved the former Burnley midfielder of his duties and ultimately was replaced with Mark Hughes. At the time, The Claret and Amber sat 11th and eight points below the play-off spots.
An unsuccessful reign resulted in just nine victories with a win percentage of a measly 24.3%. Speaking to Telegraph and Argus, Derek Adams opened up on his time in Yorkshire;
“Bradford City has the biggest supporters base in the league. It’s one of the smallest clubs in the league.
“It’s got no structure, no idea of its way out, doesn’t own its stadium, doesn’t own its training ground and has no foundation to it.
To be fair to the CEO Ryan Sparks, he has spent the club’s money on getting new seats for the stadium.” he added.
“They have to spend £500,000 on rent each year just to start the season. They then have to do all the maintenance on that stadium as well and it’s not easy”.
When reflecting on his time in charge, Adams stated. “I, like many managers, think they can go there and change it. I thought I could, I probably could have. The problem is you’ve got to keep the supporters onside for long enough.
“I didn’t win enough home games at the time. We drew too many. I still think I would have got them in the play-offs that season and probably got them out.”
Writer’s View
Bradford City are currently in their fifth successive campaign in the lowest division of recognised professional football in England. A former Premiership competitor, it has been 21 seasons since they last spent time in just the second tier. Based on that, it’s clear to see that behind the scenes, the club is failing which in turn is leading to failure on the pitch.
Different clubs have different aspirations and expectations of managers. At Bradford City, Derek Adams felt unable to achieve the desired aim of promotion. However, as revealed, he believes he wasn’t given enough time to prove his worth and help Bradford return to League One.
