Saturday 5 April 2008
Coca-Cola Football League 2
Bradford City vs Morecambe

Welcome to the Coral Windows Stadium for this afternoon's visit of Morecambe.

As well as marking our visitors' first ever visit to Bradford City for a league game, today is also a monumental occasion for our long-serving defender Mark Bower. Although many may still think of Mark as being a youngster in the side, it is actually exactly a decade since he made his league debut for the club in a memorable 3-2 victory at Carrow Road, the home of Norwich City.

In an age where most footballers tend to move between clubs at an increasingly regular rate, it is a real pleasure to pay tribute to the loyalty and dedication of Mark Bower today. He has been a great servant to this football club and this makes him an increasingly rare commodity these days and I am sure all Bradford City fans will join me in thanking Mark for his efforts today.

I am writing these notes after the visit to Rochdale on Tuesday evening where our defeat, unfortunately, means that the play-offs are now no longer a realistic target for us this season. However, while there are still enough points to play for to make it mathematically possible for us to reach the top seven, then we will continue to give it a go and look to put pressure on those clubs above us. If they do slip up, then we should put ourselves in the best possible position to capitalise on that.

I would like to say a huge thank you today to those 1,414 supporters who made the trip to Spotland - a fantastic effort especially for a midweek game. They almost doubled the crowd at the game and I am sure their vociferous support helped spur the lads on to an excellent performance.

We also received tremendous backing at Darlington a week ago and I am pleased those fans were rewarded with a great second half performance and a super win. Those two displays against sides towards the top of the league do show just what this team is capable of on its day.

Both Julian and myself will be meeting with Stuart in the not too distant future to go through our plans for next season. I know that we are all looking to strengthen the squad with the aim of securing a play-off spot at least.

Looking forward to next year, can I again call on all supporters to play their part in helping us to build for the future by buying their season tickets as soon as they can afford them. They not only represent excellent value at £150, but don't forget that if we hit our magical target of 9,000 adult season ticket sales, then that will trigger our offer of a second ticket - it's probably the best deal ever proposed in the Football League. Can I stress that the deadline for the £150 offer is June 15 and not August 1 as wrongly published in the season ticket application form.

Thanks again for your continued terrific support, and enjoy the game.

Mark Lawn
Joint Chairman