In the span of a week, the Bantams have witnessed the weather cancel two consecutive fixtures. The match was called off by the referee last weekend, which caused The Bluebirds to publicly criticise the decision. As a result, the journey to Barrow garnered significant media attention.
Before the match, everything seemed to be going well for Notts County, who were supposed to visit Valley Parade. However, yesterday morning, Bradford declared on social media that there would be no pitch inspection. But thereafter, footage of the ground in a terrible condition appeared, sparking suspicions that the game would be in jeopardy.
Only 75 minutes before kickoff, the inevitable was confirmed, despite Bradford’s heroic efforts to force a tie. The decision caused controversy, particularly since a lot of people had already made the trip to the stadium. Graham Alexander, the manager, has stood up for the referee, saying that waiting until the very last minute to make the call was the proper decision:
Everyone concerned was in a situation where they would be damned if they did or not. They would have come under fire for needlessly delaying the match if they had called the game early and the weather held off. Regretfully, waiting put them in an unfortunate scenario where the decision was made for them by the relentless rain.
There is ample documentation regarding the condition of the surface at Valley Parade, and Bradford deserves praise for their endeavours. They are limited in how many additional postponements they can afford to make because there are only two months left in the season.
