I hear my friends say that supporting Bradford City has never been easy. I am inclined to agree with them as I think about my own experience, old Division Three football, Wembley with Kammy, the rise to the Premiership and then the downward spiral, the rise of Parkinson and more Wembley appearances, those cup runs and then down to where we are today, 18th in League Two.
Many fans will tell you that Bradford City has spent most of its time in lower-league football, and this is true. But throughout our history, our fans have experienced real momentum, big crowds that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when you hear the noise of a full Valley Parade. The rollercoaster ride that is following our club is addictive, and we continue to do that year after year. The club has done many positive things via its links with the community. They also spearheaded affordable football with the launch of the annual cost-effective season ticket campaigns which have seen families able to go to Valley Parade together thanks to that scheme.
As with any large group of people with a common passion, opinions always differ. Our supporters come from a multitude of backgrounds and have all had different experiences of following Bradford City. That is the beauty of following your club, the journey is unique to you. The situation right now is that some fans are content with the progress of the club and some are not.
Having alternative views to your peers is fine. We live in a democracy of freedom of speech, thought and mind. How you choose to support YOUR club and what you agree with and disagree with is, and always will be your individual choice.
The situation right now sees several views. Some are unhappy with the owner of our club, and the lack of communication. Some are unhappy with the current CEO of the club, and some are unhappy with the current manager. Some of our fans are unhappy that other fans are demanding answers and want change and then other fans are unhappy with those fans that do not want change. Can you imagine trying to run an independent supporters group in that environment?
We all want success for the club, both on-field and off-field. We did gain supporter insight from the many forums we read, conversations on matchday, the various spaces and podcasts, our social channels and many other places. The consensus from all these was that the greater number were unhappy with aspects of the club. We were asked by supporters, many times to pursue a fans forum, to ask questions of the club and so on. We take instruction from our members so if the biggest percentage requires us to construct action for the owner of our club to attend a fans forum then that is what we will do, and that is what we have done. We have not officially come out and stated that we want Stefan Rupp to sell the club, nor have we made a statement that says that Ryan Sparks should leave his role. However, as passionate fans, we have questions because information conduits have no official, verifiable data that we can use as fact. This is part of the problem right now…facts, and why the supporter base has a mindset that follows different paths.
Most fans want to know whether the club is up for sale due to a desire for stability in the club. A lot of fans want to know what the club plans to do to progress upward because it leads to further financial gain for the club and greater potential on the field and off it, commercially. Many fans want to know that the club has a plan to drive forward. We believe that these are not unreasonable questions from supporters because they invest their money every season, and incur additional costs such as travel expenses, food & drink, merchandise costs etc.. Not one supporter buys something blindly, when we purchase something as a consumer, we look at how that purchase benefits us, what difference it will make to us, and whether it is value for money. The other side we give outside of financial support is time. Many of our supporters sacrifice time with their families such as grandchildren. Many supporters will argue that time is the biggest expense they give to the club. If a supporter then starts to question whether their constant investment in the club is worth it anymore, then they will ask questions. That is where we are right now, supporters in different places on their journey supporting our club.
The reaction to the action we announced has been for the most part, good and positive. For others, they have voiced their disdain which is their right. But, as pointed out above, supporters are in different places in their supporter journey. Even if you are happy with everything the club is doing, you must have questions that you would like to ask the owner of our football club. We are simply asking for Stefan to come out and meet with fans at a forum, and we want him to dispel rumours about his intentions for the club. Clarity is good for all supporters, regardless of viewpoint right now. We do not believe that the club is in financial peril despite rumours of alleged budget deficits. As for Ryan Sparks, there are, in our opinion good things that he has done for the club. He hired David Longo who has performed well in the commercial department, communication aspects at one point were amongst the best we had ever seen in terms of fan engagement and frequency. He also needs to be congratulated for his steadfastness during the Covid period when fans could not come through the turnstiles. However, communication has degraded significantly in recent times, decisions he has made have caused questions amongst our supporters, and he does not seem keen to engage with supporters, preferring to provide interviews that do not answer the questions that many supporters have, Again, these are fair questions that revolve around the plan he is working to for our club.
Regardless of your viewpoint right now, our group is trying to represent the members we have. We are open to criticism just like any other supporter representation. If you fundamentally disagree with the actions that our members suggest to us then join us and put your argument across. We have a Discord Supporter Channel that we have built, which is moderated, and allows you to do just that. We will be running member polls with the action to be voted on by them. So, if you are a member then get logged into that. We have made it real-time so that you always have a conduit to make your feelings known. What we will say is that all views are respected, that we are only human and get hurt by personal comments just as everyone else does, but that we are trying to represent our supporters most professionally and with respect.
Thanks for reading and here’s to a fantastic performance on Saturday, and three valuable points.
Steve Hamilton