Ten things you didn't think you'd know about -
Bradford
1 Their 16th century cathedral is of Perpendicular style with modern additions. Valley Parade was modernised but has a lop-sided look, aligned ninety degrees on a West to East orthodox axis.
2 St Blaise is the patron saint of wool workers. Bradford & Bingley is the sponsor of un-Godly Kop End, wage slave worshipers.
3 A filthy black Gothic Town Hall facade scrubbed up clean. They wanted to paint it Claret and Amber but settled for 'in the buff' instead.
4 There is a statue in Darley Street of Richard Oastler, who tried to stop child labour in the Bradford mills. He obviously didn't start a Youth Academy at Manningham Lane, where their first football club was founded in 1903.
5 In 1914 City played in Germany just prior to beginning of World War 1. They lost to Frankfurt when a Zeppelin airship flew over the pitch. Thus beware of the Hun in the sun.
6 City went bust in 1928, a season after relegation to the lowest tier. Bradford Park Avenue won third division north that year to save locals from having a split personality in attending the derby game.
7 During the sixties both Bradford clubs were in div4 and often sought re-election to the league. Park Avenue went to the wall and City tried to pinch their supporters and become Bradford Metro. It received something of a seventies backlash.
8 In 1985 City were promoted to div2 for a first time since 1927 after relegation. They'd gone into receivership in 1983 following a rise from div4 in 1982 but bounced back, similar to in 1929. Talk about life's ups, downs, ins, outs and twists again.
9 Bradford hit heights of top flight football in 1999, a whole 77 years since old Valley Parade hosted such matches. It certainly was in a different age, to be replaced by an aspiring brand new generation of premier Yorkshire fans.
10 2002 and guess what? Yeah, not one Bradford curry house went into administration after 100 years dyed in the wool.
|