Jackson quits as Bradford City boss

Peter told the board that in light of the poor start to the season, he felt that to resign now would give the club the best possible chance for the rest of the season – Club statement.

Bradford City are looking for a new manager for the third time in as many years after Peter Jackson resigned from the club five games into the season at a board meeting on Thursday afternoon. Jackson is the first manager to leave his post in the 2011/2012 season.

Early reports suggest that Jackson’s resignation is prompted by poor results but – with only four games gone – there seems to be little reason that the ebullient Jackson who has talked at great length about the team he has been building as being “his team” would feel that he could not improve results.

Jackson’s managed Bradford City some nineteen times winning four times, drawing four times and losing eleven. One can only speculate on the reasons why he would leave but that speculation would point to the decision not being planned. Up to the news that Jackson was leaving there was not even a hint that the manager would be exiting the club with both manager and chairmen appearing side by side in the decision making.

Jackson had gone back on his stated aim of building and using a squad with the announcement – from both Jackson and joint-chairman Mark Lawn – that the club were looking at signing loan players and one will wonder what the squad which Jackson assembled will make of their manager leaving after less than a month of the season. Certainly the reactions from the squad point to the departure being far from expected.

Player reactions, via Twitter naturally

The Bantams begin the process – once again – of looking for a new manager with Colin Cooper expected to take over for the game with Barnet on Saturday. Having had Stuart McCall in situ from July 2007 to February 2010 City have employed Peter Taylor for just over a year and Jackson for some six months from February 2011 to August and naturally questions will be asked about the joint chairman’s involvement in the former City captain’s exit which – at this stage – seems eagerly accepted given the early stage of the season.

Lawn and Julian Rhodes have a plan for improving the club – a plan which Archie Christie was hired to create – and that plan seemed in keeping with Jackson’s experience at Huddersfield Town building a young squad and taking it to promotion but friction between that planning and Jackson’s aims could have been the catalyst for today’s decision either to tender a resignation, or to accept that resignation, or both.

In case of emergency, spend money

“The money has gone.”

It is an old story which has been heard at Bradford City – and at other football clubs – up and down the land for as long as the game has been professional and so as Mark Lawn revealed that cash from the cup ties against Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday, and the monies earned from Tom Cleverley’s contract at Manchester United had all gone it was all supporters could do to not roll their eyes.

The money is always gone, according to chairmen, but there are different levels of gone.

The Carling Cup game with Leeds United is rumoured to have brought the club in £200,000. Any good chairman would immediately put the necessary in a tax account (although not Gordon Gibb, another story) and then Lawn tells us the money was put into the playing budget. Said Lawn “We immediately upped the manager’s (playing) budget by £100,000, so that’s gone.”

City bid £100,000 for Romain Vincelot on the day the club played Silsden. At that time Guy Branston, Mark Stewart, Ritchie Jones, even Scott Brown had already signed for the club and the likes of Nialle Rodney and Nakhi Wells were on trial. There was talk of divesting the club of some players – Michael Flynn used to figure on that list but is in the first team now – and perhaps some of the budget has gone to keeping him. Perhaps too it has gone on retaining Robbie Threlfall rather than playing Luke O’Brien.

It seems impossible to believe that the players brought in since Silsden have represented an excess of £100,000 over the ammount club were planning on spending. Jack Compton does not a £100,000 spend, nor does Martin Hansen, nor does Oscar Jonnson. At least I assume they do not. Perhaps borrowing a Spurs keeper does cost six figures, but I would be very surprised if the money in the player budget is spent.

Not spent but gone from the club’s point of view in that it has been earmarked for spending. In this week that Peter Jackson looks for an experienced striker it will probably be spent this week – or a chunk of it will be – although it seems that City have found that bringing in a good forward on loan in the week before the transfer window closes is not easy. Go figure.

The money is always gone but this time – it seems – that it is gone on bringing in loan players and fresh recruits. It is probably wise to keep a cash reserve for emergencies – had Flynn left City then we would probably be looking at making a signing to cover David Syers – but you will have your own thoughts, dear reader, on if not being able provide supply to four capable forwards constitutes such an emergency.