Bradford City 2026-27 Season Preview: Unity crucial to Bantams' hopes of repeat show

If the number one had prefixed four and City had ended in 14th spot instead, few would have complained either.

Certainly not this time 12 months ago, when the club were about to embark on their first season at third-tier level since 2018-19.

But things change. If City had registered a satisfactory mid-table finish last term, then a push for the top 10 would have been viewed as the next realistic step in 2026-27.

Yet they didn't. If they fail to emulate their play-off finish in 2025-26, there will be some disappointment after impressively raising the bar. That's the way football goes.

What has been wonderfully consistent under Graham Alexander's watch is home form.

Over the two full seasons he has been in charge, City have lost just six times at league level in 46 matches, hitting the half-century of points milestone in both 2024-25 and 25-26. Serious numbers.

If that continues, City have the platform again to finish in the top six.

Whereas a few seasons ago, a visit to Valley Parade would energise many visiting sides, now the reverse applies and that needs to carry on.

Games at BD8 have become events to look forward to and the buy-in from the stands has been stirring and long may that continue.

There have been some summer departures from the playing ranks that few would have envisaged back in the Spring but, by and large, City have made contingencies.

If they currently look a bit light anywhere, it is perhaps in centre midfield following the exits of Max Power – to move closer to his home in the north west – and Jenson Metcalfe, a big-money sale to Millwall.

Power brought leadership and authority and it will be interesting to see who replaces him as captain. After a quiet start, Metcalfe began to announce himself. A player easy on the eye and with a goal in his locker.

Callum Connolly will provide a fresh option in midfield with the emerging Henry Cartwright also brought in. Adam Phillips – a player who needed a new challenge after four years at Barnsley – also further bolsters the goalscoring department in that central area.

With Antoni Sarcevic and Bobby Pointon also on deck, City can surely claim to possess arguably the strongest set of goalscoring midfielders in the division.

Recruiting another playmaking option to ping the ball around, direct the traffic and control the tempo of a game could well be occupying the attentions of the club's recruitment team before the closure of the summer window.

City currently look to be a touch light there in terms of depth.

At the back, Curtis Tilt's move to Burton – with the player returning closer to his Midlands roots – caught many by surprise, but it was soon assuaged by the arrival of his replacement in Charlton Athletic's Macaulay Gillesphey, an imposing centre-half with promotion credentials at this level with both the Addicks and Plymouth Argyle.

In terms of age, Gillesphey is in the senior bracket at 30, but still Tilt's junior by four years.

In goal, Jon McCracken, whose numbers were impressive in the Scottish Premiership with Dundee, provided a strong option alongside Sam Walker and the goalscoring department is taken care of.

At the top end of the pitch, the arrival of Jake Beesley, a player whom City have had their eye on for a fair amount of time, also constitutes shrewd looking business.

A haul of 13 goals in a struggling Burton Albion side last term was more than decent. Beesley's hard-working traits and refusal to give defenders a moment's peace should also further endear him to the City faithful. He looks a quintessential Alexander-type signing.

Once again, the bulk of City's business has been done nice and early to help the assimilation process. Unlike some rival clubs in League One, they should not be scrambling around in the final weeks of the window.

Something else that Bradford currently have going for them is their club togetherness. Where there was rancour not so long back, now there appears to be more harmony at a club where the momentum seems to be upward once again.

That was showcased back in May on the very night that City's season ended in the second leg of their play-off semi-final against Bolton Wanderers.

The backing from the claret and amber hordes at the final whistle following the hosts' elimination was inspirational.

Alexander was taken aback. He remarked that it was something he had never witnessed in 'nearly 40 years in football.'

It also served as motivational fuel in what will hopefully be the next chapter of their outstanding renaissance story under him.

The coming campaign won't be easy and City won't fly under the radar like last season, but they are a club with their mojo back and have a fair bit going for them these days.

That sense of unity also needs to remain the same, especially during the sticky moments. Togetherness has displayed the very best of Bradford City in recent times.