The lines of sweaty, fed-up fans stuck outside the ground were proof that Sven-mania had hit Meadow Lane.

Some supporters had to wait for nearly an hour to buy a ticket for the hottest show in town.

Little did they know at the time but the City fans among them spent far longer in the queue than their team were in the game.

Sven Goran Eriksson's welcome bash went with a swing all right. City might as well have turned up festooned with balloons, streamers and party poppers.

The former England boss could have been forgiven for thinking his new employers were up against San Marino, Andorra or Liechtenstein. The resistance - after the first 15 minutes or so - was that minimal.

By the time that referee Phil Gibbs finally put an end to their misery, the Bantams had sunk to the heaviest first-game thrashing in their history.

And the scoreline did not flatter County, who could have rattled in more but for a few decent saves from Simon Eastwood.

So much for County wilting under the media spotlight. Instead it was City doing their best rabbit in the headlights impression, particularly the two centre halves.

The travelling army began the game by dishing out merciless stick to Graeme Lee but it wasn't long before City's current central pairing were facing their fury.

Without Lee's presence at the back, this was the chance for Matt Clarke and Zesh Rehman to show they could cope with the job of muzzling arguably the division's deadliest strike force. Unfortunately, they were not up to it.

Clarke looked shaky from the start, while Rehman committed the blunder for the second goal that killed City's afternoon stone dead.

The opening quarter of an hour gave no warning of what was to follow. True, County looked dangerous with every attack but City were holding their own on and off the pitch, with the travelling army in their usual powerful voice.

A Luke Rodgers effort smartly saved by Eastwood was matched at the other end by Joe Colbeck's header from a superb angled pass by Simon Ramsden.

But Craig Westcarr was looking a bundle of tricks on County's right wing and it was his ball down the line that sparked the opening goal. Rodgers hooked it back over Clarke and into the mix, where Ben Davies nodded home via the post.

A presumptuous chorus of "It's just like watching Juve" broke out from the home fans; City's 2,200-strong followers began to fear the worst.

The contest was effectively nailed six minutes before half-time on a fatal misjudgement from Rehman.

Ricky Ravenhill's long ball bounced a couple of yards in front of the City defender and carried it over his despairing reach. Suddenly Lee Hughes was away and even with 40 yards to cover to goal, the outcome was inevitable.

Hughes is no League Two striker - and he demonstrated the prowess that was thrown away by his spell in prison, coolly advancing on Eastwood and rounding him to slot home.

Now it felt like last season revisited. Several of the names may have been changed but the action that followed was depressingly predictable.

As City heads crashed against chests, County made it 3-0 before the break. Westcarr again proved too much for Luke O'Brien and whipped in an early cross which Hughes bundled in at the second attempt, despite Eastwood's best efforts on the line.

Sven's smile radiated from the directors' box. It may not have felt quite the same as beating Argentina but it was a great start and he milked it with every well-wisher.

For City, surely it could not get any worse. Stuart McCall, as he had done in the same dressing room last term, demanded pride to keep the final scoreline in some kind of check. But the second half proved no different.

Hughes immediately tested Eastwood at the near post, blazing the rebound over the bar as his hat-trick beckoned.

He did not have to wait much longer for his debut milestone. County's next attack two minutes later did the trick.

Rehman failed to cut out another ball over the top and Rodgers was man-handled to the ground after slipping goalside of Clarke, allowing Hughes to clinch his treble with a confident penalty.

Clarke was hauled off along with Colbeck as McCall switched in vain to a 4-3-3. Chris Brandon, who had spent most of his afternoon looking to cut in from the left, was moved to the right side, while Steve Williams got his first professional outing.

County's control was so complete that Hughes left to a standing ovation minutes later.

James Hanson was given a late run-out but City's pain was still not finished. Michael Flynn, who showed bite on occasions, whipped a half-volley over the bar but it was no more than a pebble against the tide.

City's attacking intentions had long disappeared but County were hunting more goals through Rodgers, substitute Karl Hawley and Lee with one of those thudding free-kicks.

The pressure predictably brought a fifth four minutes from time. Right back Brendan Moloney, no doubt bored with the lack of activity at the other end, bolted forward to take a Rodgers pass and drifted inside Lee Bullock and Williams before gleefully finding the roof of the net.

The vast majority of City fans had missed it. Most had drifted away disillusioned well before the closing stages.

Peter Thorne was stunned at the way his first outing as skipper had panned out and admitted: "It's an eye-opener. I wasn't expecting to be talking about a 5-0 defeat.

"We knew that Notts County are a good team. Anyone who can bring in the sort of players they can and pay those wages is going to be up there.

"But I really felt we'd give them a better game. We gave them goals and that's worrying."

Luckily, a first-day defeat is not terminal. Gillingham still celebrated promotion last season despite taking a 7-0 walloping at Shrewsbury early on.

But Saturday's dose of "Sven flu" was a terrifying shock to the system. The soft underbelly tendencies which cost City dear in the run-in last term were exposed for all to see once again.

And with Nottingham Forest waiting in the Carling Cup on Wednesday, their troubles on the Trent are not over yet.

NOTTS COUNTY	BRADFORD CITY
1 Russell Hoult	1 Simon Eastwood
2 Brendan Moloney	2 Simon Ramsden
5 Graeme Lee	3 Luke O'Brien
6 John Thompson	4 Michael Flynn
8 Ricky Ravenhill	5 Zesh Rehman
9 Lee Hughes	6 Matthew Clarke
10 Neal Bishop	8 Lee Bullock
11 Ben Davies	10 Peter Thorne
18 Stephen Hunt	11 Chris Brandon
19 Luke Rodgers	14 Michael Boulding
20 Craig Westcarr	15 Joe Colbeck
Substitutes:	Substitutes:
4 Mike Edwards	9 Gareth Evans for 11 (67)
7 Matt Hamshaw for 20 (75)	12 Steve Williams for 6 (57)
12 Kevin Pilkington	13 Jon McLaughlin
14 Sean Canham	16 Jonathan Bateson
15 Karl Hawley for 9 (62)	17 James Hanson for 15 (57)
17 Jamie Clapham for 11 (46)	20 Leon Osborne
22 Delroy Facey	25 Steven O'Leary

MATCH OFFICIALS:
Referee	P N Gibbs
Assistant Referee	D Drysdale
Assistant Referee	I Smedley
4th Official	M Griffiths

GOALSCORERS:
NOTTS COUNTY	BRADFORD CITY
Davies (17)
Hughes (39, 43, 53 pen)
Moloney 86

DISCIPLINARY:
NOTTS COUNTY	BRADFORD CITY
Rodgers	Bullock
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