Bantams in flight

So it is a measure of the magnitude of Bradford City’s achievements this season that not only did they visit the home of English football twice, actually reaching the final of the League Cup, but on the second occasion they also achieved promotion from League Two with a magnificent 3-0 routing of Northampton Town.

The manner of this triumph, providing a fairytale ending to an astonishing season, is all the more poignant when it is remembered that, only a week ago, the club was marking the anniversary of the disastrous fire at their Valley Parade ground, which claimed 56 lives.

Indeed, this is a city that seen more than its fair share of tough times in recent decades and surely it is not too much to hope that the resurgence of its football team is a harbinger of a brighter future.

It has long been said that a city of Bradford’s size and importance deserves a football club of equal prominence. And while that may not yet be the case, the Bantams are at last heading in the right direction.