We are delighted to let you know that after being stretchered off during the Boston United game on Monday evening, Ryan, who received incredible treatment from Tally, attended hospital where his foot was x-Rayed. It has been confirmed that despite being sore and having minor lacerations Ryan did not have any fractures.
This is great news as Ryan’s fantastic performances this season have epitomised that of the team and we look forward to seeing him back soon in the green and white!!
#UTA
We are aware of an issue with our website over the last 2 home games against York and Boston, where the site is crashing just before KO with people trying to access the link to our games.
We do try to nullify this by also posting out the link on our social media platforms, although there is an understanding that not everybody uses these sites and as such prefer to use the website.
So as a further measure to try and make sure that you, the Green Army, can access our games, rather than use the website on game day, if you would like us to email you the link direct on the day we generate it we can do that!
Simply email our operations manager on calum.cullen@bpafc.com and use the subject ‘Streaming Link Request’ and we will add you to the list to make sure you don’t miss out! The link for the re-arranged Chester game will be set up this Friday am, so if you want the email, we need it in by close of play on Thursday.
Once again, thank you for your unwavering support!
#UTA
The Avenue took the lead after an hour thanks to a Will Longbottom header before Jordan Thewlis equalised with his own header.
The Pilgrims enjoyed plenty of possession in the opening 45 minutes, forcing Avenue goalkeeper Dan Atkinson into a few decent saves.
Joe Leesley, on loan from Harrogate Town, caused problems down the Avenue’s right edge and it was his attempts on target that nearly broke the deadlock.
Firstly, a well-taken free-kick was pushed wide by Atkinson before the winger rose above Jordan Windass to nod a cross towards goal, which was expertly tipped wide by the Avenue’s goalkeeper.
With the Avenue struggling to win the battle in the middle of the park, and despite an optimistic handball appeal from Lewis Knight, Craig Elliott’s men continued to push forward.
Jay Rollins used his pace to beat Ryan Toulson before pulling the ball back to Thewlis. The striker hit a first time effort that was well saved by Atkinson, and from the rebound, Jordan Burrows tried to place his shot but the ball was cleared off the line by the returning captain Luca Havern.
The Avenue offered more of an attacking threat in the second half but were dealt a huge blow when Toulson appeared to suffer a serious looking injury to his leg. The defender was stretched off and replaced by the returning Isaac Marriott, seeing Nicky Clee drop into the left-back position.
And then, Bradford took the lead. After watching Adam Nowakowski’s shot blocked by Scott Duxbury for a corner, Clee swung in a delivery which was nodded home by Longbottom from close range.
From the restart, the Pilgrims equalised, ending any celebrations from the home side. The Avenue failed to clear the danger in the corner and Leesley delivered a cross to Thewlis. The striker directed his header past Atkinson into the top corner.
Confident from levelling the score, the away side could’ve scored a vital second goal, but were denied by the sensational shot-stopping of Atkinson.
After watching Luke Shiels’ close range effort, somehow, trickle wide of the post, the Avenue number one denied Thewlis from 14 yards with a stunning save with his feet.
Both managers made attacking substitutions to try and win the game and it was Bradford who finished strongly.
Longbottom, after scoring his first goal in Avenue colours, received a pass from Knight, who sprinted 30 yards down the right wing. After taking a touch, 20 yards from goal, he struck a low right-footed shot towards the bottom corner, but Ross Fitzsimons made a fine save to tip the ball wide.
Into added time, Mark Bower’s side continued to push forward and came close to snatching a dramatic winner. Following some excellent football, involving Clee, Regan Booty and substitute Oli Johnson, Marriott had the opportunity to win the game. But, the midfielder’s effort from 14 yards was saved by the Pilgrims number one. Seconds later, the referee blew his whistle to end an entertaining game in difficult conditions.
Bradford (Park Avenue): Atkinson, Ross, Toulson (Marriott 59), Booty, Havern, Windass, Longbottom, Nowakowski, Dockerty (Johnson 75), Knight, Clee
Subs not used: Sanyang, Fawcett, Hussain.
Goal: Longbottom (66)
Boston United: Fitzsimons, Tootle, Duxbury, Platt (Green 17), Bird, Shiels, Thanoj, Leesley (Dimaio 86), Burrow, Thewlis, Rollins (Preston 76)
Subs not used: Garner, Hawkridge
Goal: Thewlis (67)
Yellow: Tootle
Referee: Mike Barlow
Attendance: Behind-closed-doors
We are happy to announce the live streaming details for this Monday’s National League North fixture vs Boston United.
Follow the link below to access the game, we go live from 19:15 on the day, where you can expect;
And one or two new features!
All this will cost you just £5.00. If you are a first-time user of the system, you will need to set up a free account.
Season ticket holders will of course get the game free of charge!
Follow the link – https://streaming.insightfour.com/stream/SzNBdzl0
The heavy snow and cold weather conditions have put pay to the game tomorrow with Chester City. Manager Mark Bower has been down to the ground this afternoon and after consultation with Chester City and the National League it has been decided to postpone tomorrow’s match on safety grounds. We are working with Chester and the league to try and re-arrange the fixture for later in January.
It would’ve been the first game that new loanee Alex Wollerton would have been available for, after we secured him on a 30 day loan from York City. We can also confirm that Harry Boyes loan spell with the club has come to an end with it highly unlikely that he will return to the Horsfall. We would like to thank Harry for his performances and total commitment in games he played for the Avenue.
We are absolutely delighted to announce that Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC and Bradford College are teaming up to provide a top-class football academy for aspiring 16-18 year old male and female footballers.
We have been reviewing our Academy provision since the early ending of last season. This detailed review has been taken with input from the clubs main stakeholders and then underpinned with a clear vision of what we fundamentally believe a leading community Academy program should deliver in terms of footballing and academic education. At the centre of this is a the sense of responsibility we have to our students and their development as young adults. With the help of Robert Clunas of the Horsfall Community Trust and the input of our Academy Manager, Bradford College were identified as being the perfect partner to offer the best learning environment with the broadest range of courses to suit all learning levels and interests.
The academy will provide a full-time football training and games programme alongside full-time education from September this year.
Asa Gordon, Assistant Principal at Bradford College, added: “This is a fantastic opportunity to engage young people in education and sport, combining football and study in a full-time environment.”
Players will have access to GPS data, match analysis and a potential pathway into professional football – all under the supervision and guidance from experienced UEFA qualified professional coaches.
As well as potentially becoming footballers, the academy will also offer pathways to other areas of the football profession as healthcare, sports science, management and coaching. Alongside the football training side, a range of courses at Bradford College across different curriculum areas will be available to choose from and will cater for a wide range of educational needs.
All football activity will take place at the Horsfall Community Stadium on the state-of-the-art 4g surface while the education will be based at Bradford College campuses.
Tom McStravick, BPA Academy Manager, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Bradford College to deliver a top-quality education provision alongside a five-star football service for young males and females. This partnership will ensure we are able to provide a high-quality scholarship programme like no other for the local people. I’m looking forward to working together to ensure a long a fruitful relationship.
Beverly Fox, Head of Professional Services & Leisure at Bradford College, said: “Through this partnership, we are offering young people with a passion for the sport a unique opportunity to create exceptional careers in the field and join a new generation of football heroes.”
Anyone wishing to trial for the academy should get in touch with Tom McStravick on 07821579451 or email thomas.mcstravick@bpafc.com
The club are pleased to announce that Will Huffer has sealed a deal with Bradford City and makes his move back into fulltime football in the EFL. With City having a long term injury to their Captain and first choice keeper, they moved quickly to secure the services of The Avenues ex England youth international Will Huffer. Huffer who only joined Avenue in October of this year and made one appearance for the first team in the FA Trophy loss away at this weekends opponents Chester City.
Lee Turnbull was instrumental in getting the deal done and we would like to thank Lee and Bradford City for their courtesy and professionalism in concluding the arrangement.
Martin Knight – Director of Football Operations
‘I am really happy for Will, when he agreed to join us it was always with a view to getting him fit and playing again so that he would have the chance to fullfill his obvious potential. In any other season Will would’ve made a lot more appearances for us, but we have been in the fortunate position of having the best two ‘keepers in the league in Dan and Will.
When I came into the club it was on the premise that we would bring in and develop young players who for a variety of reasons had not quite made it in the full time game. We aimed to give them the playing time to ‘learn on the job’ and help them achieve their goal of being full time professional footballers. I think Will, could be the first of a few this season that push onto the EFL, with the likes of Brad, Luke, Matty, Isaac and Lewis all putting in strong cases for making the step up. The game time they are getting here playing along side the likes of Nicky, Luca, Mark and Ryan teaches them way more than spending time in a football league clubs under 23’s.’
Mark Bower –
‘We have been very fortunate to have had two excellent senior goalkeepers at the club for the past couple of months and whilst disappointed that Will is leaving us, I’m pleased that we have been able to help Will regain some fitness and get himself back into the Football League. City have got themselves an excellent goalkeeper and Will leaves with our best wishes.’
#UTA
We are happy to announce the live streaming details for this Saturday’s National League North fixture vs Chester.
Follow the link below to access the game, we go live from 14:30 on the day, where you can expect;
And one or two new features!
All this will cost you just £5.00. If you are a first-time user of the system, you will need to set up a free account.
Season ticket holders will of course get the game free of charge!
Follow the link – https://streaming.insightfour.com/stream/NGpISmY1
We are happy to announce the live streaming details for the Boxing Day National League North fixture vs York City.
Follow the link below to access the game, we go live from 14:30 on the day, where you can expect;
All this will cost you just £5.00. If you are a first-time user of the system, you will need to set up a free account.
Season ticket holders will of course get the game free of charge!
The streaming link is https://streaming.insightfour.com/stream/b1NqRXpj
Merry Christmas!
Stay safe, and Up The Avenue!
This has been a crazy year and has tried our patience, but despite all the headwinds against us we have made significant progress as a club. Most visibly we have obtained a 35-year lease on Horsfall Community Stadium, installed a new security fence and put in a new 3G pitch. Behind the scenes we have created The Horsfall Community Trust as a full charity, which in turn has created the Horsfall Community Stadium CIC (HCS). HCS is managed by a board which includes representatives from Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC CIC (BPA for short) and our partners, West Bowling Amateur Rugby League Football Club and Bradford Airedale Athletics Club.
At our football club we are indebted to the business team for setting up a sustainable business plan and for hiring our able staff in the form of Calum and Thomas. Mark, Neil and others have also been instrumental. Likewise, on the field our managerial trio and our players have been putting in an incredible effort in difficult circumstances which is greatly appreciated by those that love this club. Also particularly exciting is the academy development and that we are now 5-18 years and we have Ladies and Men’s 1st teams – all under the official banner of Bradford (Park Avenue).
To get to where we are today has taken the efforts of many people, too numerous to thank in this letter, but they have done a tremendous service on behalf of the club and indeed for the City of Bradford. I especially want to thank the volunteers from BPA and West Bowling for the work that they have done at the Stadium. We look forward to the day when we can enjoy it.
Our club is now managed as a Community Interest Company and I am lucky to be supported by my co-Directors John Dean and David Little. Keith Bonney continues to do an outstanding job as our Accountant. John is known to most of you and an avid fan. David has a strong background in commercial law and in football. He is the legal affiliate to Swans Supporters Trust since 2004 and formerly a director of Supporters Direct until it merged with the Football Supporters Federation. David is also our BPA Company Secretary.
We began trading on 1 November 2019 as the new Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC CIC and we have just completed our 31 May 2020 annual accounts. These accounts have been audited by Armstrong Watson and will be published shortly. The accounts show a loss of £1,678,179. Do not be alarmed as this figure is mostly a non-recurring loss related to the assumption of past deficits from our predecessor companies. The money is not owed externally but to John and myself as Directors. Although we expect to have losses in our 2020/21 fiscal year accounts, after the pandemic we expect our company revenues to grow over the next few years to eventually develop surpluses and guarantee future sustainability, which is our ultimate goal as a club. We feel that our business plan is robust, but it has been badly affected by the pandemic and we have been grateful for government support and that of the various sporting authorities. Despite that support there are still major financial challenges potentially ahead of us, which of course is not unique to our club.
On 6 August 2020 we transferred the stadium operations to the newly formed company, HCS. That company now operates the stadium including the bar and cafe. Its main activity is the hiring out of the stadium to third party users which brings in new revenue. Our club will be working closely with HCS as anything which helps stadium economics helps our economics. I ask you all to keep this mantra in mind as we move forward.
I should also like to take this opportunity to thank the Bradford (Park Avenue) Development Fund for the financial help it has given the CIC. During the period November 2019 to May 2020 the Fund gave us a magnificent £11,500. Amongst other things, the money was used to pay for away travel and a GPS training aid system. The club is extremely grateful.
To those of you who make donations to the football club on a regular and on-off basis I also express my thanks. I can assure you we take care of every incoming pound and we make sure every outgoing pound is spent wisely.
Our accounts omit one huge figure. That is the value of the time given by our heroic green army of volunteers as I mentioned above. Our helpers turn out in all weathers and perform essential tasks. They often go unnoticed and unthanked. It is impossible to put a value on their contribution but I reckon it runs well into six figures. Without our helpers there would be no Bradford (Park Avenue). Thank you doesn’t come close to expressing my gratitude.
Contrary to popular belief I do not have bottomless pockets. The Horsfall project is stretching me to the limit but I am determined to succeed.
In October 2020 the government announced the National Lottery would be making awards to all football clubs in the National League. We were awarded a grant of £90,000. We are extremely grateful to the National Lottery and its players. We would not have been able to start our season without this help.
I appreciate these are difficult times for all of us. If you can find it in your budget to make a one-off or regular donation to the CIC that would be brilliant. We have a donate button on the website. Better still make a transfer to our bank. The details are:
Account Name: Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC CIC
Sort Code: 20 76 92
Account Number: 93972291
If you confirm your donation to our accountant Keith Bonney (keith.bonney@bpafc.com) we shall acknowledge your kindness.
Finally, thank you for your support. Over the last twelve months we have become a better football club both on and off the field. Like any business, football is about getting the right people in the right roles. We are getting there. Please keep supporting us. Encourage others to join. We are Bradford.
Gareth Roberts
Chairman
Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC CIC
