Bradford (Park Avenue) have today announced the signing of Ben Hedley from Morecambe as the first signing of Garry Thompson’s tenure as manager.
Hedley joins The Avenue from League 2 Morecambe where he was named Reserve Team Player of the year last season .
A physical midfielder, 20 year old Hedley impressed Thompson during their time together at The Globe Arena.
Thompson
said :
“Ben was excellent last season at League 2 standard but lacked opportunities. When he was provided the chance to show his ability he excelled. Ben’s character and attitude fit exactly what we are looking for and for him to show his commitment to the club to drop back and prove himself, is exactly the ethic and focus we admire and respect.
Thompson
continued :
“I said when I started a few weeks ago that supporters of Bradford (Park Avenue) who support the club with a season ticket purchase and their time and commitment week in week out, should expect us to build a team that reflects their level of commitment. Ben will work hard and leave nothing on the pitch for the supporters who come to Horsfall to watch us and he has quality and youth on his side which makes him a really pleasing first signing for us”
Ben Hedley explained what attracted him to Bradford (Park Avenue) over rival options:
“I am really excited about joining Bradford (Park Avenue) and can’t wait to start working with Gary who I know well from my time at Morecambe and know how professional he is.”
Hedley
continued :
“I had a few options higher up but after discussing the clubs plans with Gary and Shaun I am really interested in what they’re building here and I’m really excited about the upcoming season and can’t wait to get going. It is a great opportunity and I plan to help the club challenge for promotion this season”
Bradford (Park Avenue) continue to offer one of the leagues most affordable football packages with their #Properbradford season ticket campaign providing incredibly affordable football for families and supporters of all ages.
Bradford (Park Avenue) can today confirm the pre-season schedule for Garry Thompson and his squad for the month of July
An exciting mix of local non-league opponents and EFL clubs has been put together to provide Bradford (Park Avenue) with a robust pre-season in preparation for Thompsons first season at the helm.
Opening with an away visit to Hemsworth Miners on July 6th, Horsfall Stadium will then host League 2 Mansfield Town on July 11th.
The Avenue will then
travel to nearby Brighouse Town for what will be an enjoyable fixture
for local supporters of both clubs on July 13th as
Thompson intends to use the pre season to finalise his squad ready
for the August 3rd season opener.
A visit to Horsfall by Rotherham United on Wednesday 17th July will be highly anticipated, followed by Sheffield Wednesday’s under 23s on Saturday 20th July.
The annual battle for the “Tom Banks Memorial Trophy” against neighbours Bradford City will take place on Tuesday 23rd July with a bumper crowd expected as both managers look to put the final touches on their squads late in the pre-season.
Finally Bradford
(Park Avenue) will complete their pre-season preparation against a
Huddersfield XI on Tuesday July 30th.
Garry Thompson spoke
about the pre-season schedule :-
“It’s a great schedule and one I hope the fans enjoy as much as we will. It’s important to get game time for our squad and any lads on trial early in the pre-season and we need time to have a good look at a number of players.”
Thompson Continued
:-
“I spoke earlier in the week about the great relationships the club has with some fantastic development clubs, and to have Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield town bring their best young talent over to Horsfall is extremely beneficial for us. They are big clubs and a pleasure to work with.”
CEO Damian Irvine
added :
“A meaningful and strong pre-season was one of the areas that supporters have suggested the club could be doing better. With a new manager in place and many fresh faces, this pre-season schedule will allow supporters to see plenty of football before the season starts and build into a very exciting period for the club “
Irvine Added :
“Our relationships with local non-league clubs and larger EFL clubs are both very important to us and we’re delighted to deliver a pre-season program that contains a great blend of levels whilst giving Garry and Shaun (Gardner) ample time to get to know and build their squad”
Bradford (Park Avenue) are delighted to welcome Garry Thompson to his first managerial position as he arrives at Horsfall Stadium to take the reigns as Player Manager ahead of the 2019/2020 season.
Thompson is no stranger to the city of Bradford and is remembered fondly for his committed heroics across town at Bradford City during the 2012 League Cup run, scoring against Arsenal before featuring in The Bantams successful promotion push later that season.
Successful spells at Morecombe, Scunthorpe Utd, Notts County and Wycombe Wanderers saw Thompson earn over 650 appearances at league level, finishing with his home club of Morecombe last December.
The experienced attacker will bring experience, excitement and quality alongside exciting prospects Lewis Knight and Alex Hurst who, along with last season’s Player of the Year Conor Branson, will form the core of Thompsons new squad.
Thompson’s appointment comes after Bradford (Park Avenue) announced a new major partnership with the University of Bradford last week in an exciting period of new impetus for the historic club.
Of his new role , Garry Thompson said :-
“I’m incredibly excited and can’t wait to get started. I’ve been working on coaching and looking towards my career after I finish playing. This is such a great opportunity at a fantastic club. I was attracted to the values and positivity of the Directors and we agree on what a strong club requires in terms of attitude and culture.”
Thompson Continued
:-
“It’s fantastic to come back to Bradford, a city I’ve such great memories of. Bradford (Park Avenue) have been doing some really hard work and the contacts and support they have made available to us is impressive. I’ll be using every resource they’ve made available to me to achieve the best for the club.”
Damian Irvine, CEO of Bradford (Park Avenue) said: ]
“It’s been an extremely busy 2019 for the club as we’ve focused on taking a fresh perspective and approach to every facet of our operation and structure. We have plenty of experience in seeing what successful and sustainable clubs look and feel like and it’s genuinely exciting to deliver positive change and a culture of progress to Horsfall Stadium.”
Irvine Continued :-
“The club has made its presence felt on the pitch over the past few years and that’s a credit to everyone involved, but if we keep doing what we have always done hoping for a vast improvement in performance on, or off the pitch, we wouldn’t be doing the right thing by our supporters and our owners.”
Striker Shaun Gardner joins Thompson at Horsfall as Playing Assistant Manager.
Gardner has earned over 300 starts at clubs such as AFC Liverpool, Kendal Town, and most recently Penrith AFC
Attackers Thompson and Gardner join The Avenue, who retain highly regarded Conor Branson, Lewis Knight and Alex Hurst on contract for the 2019/2020, with Thompson announcing further additions in coming weeks.
Bradford (Park Avenue) will be releasing their pre-season schedule later this week along with further major sponsorship news.
On the back of a week landmark announcements, the clubs push for a record number of season tickets continues with their #Properbradford season ticket campaign providing incredibly affordable football for families and supporters of all ages.
Bradford (Park Avenue) have agreed by mutual consent that Mark Bower will leave his role as First-Team Manager with immediate effect.
The club would like to place on record its gratitude to Mark, for his hard work and dedication in his management of the team during three exciting seasons.
Mark Bower said of his departure :
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Bradford (Park Avenue) over the past three seasons and I’m proud of what we have achieved together as a club in that time.
I would like to thank everybody who has contributed to our success, in particular Gareth Roberts as, without his support, the incredible moments and memories we have from the past three years, would not have been possible.
I wish everyone at Bradford (Park Avenue) the best of luck for the new season and beyond.”
Assistant-manager Danny Boshell also departs his role and the club also thanks Danny for his contribution and commitment to The Avenue on and off the pitch in recent seasons.
The club will be making a further announcement regarding the Management and Coaching staff for 2019/2020 and beyond at 7pm this evening (May 21st)
Please note, the coach to Spennymoor is now full, however the club is taking names for a reserve list and may look to book a 2nd
A fantastic response from the Green Army sees the coach to Spennymoor booked to full capacity.
The club is still taking names as a reserve should any bookings be cancelled, however should enough names be taken the club will look to book a second coach.
Make sure to get your name down as soon as possible so that a decision can be made in good time.
The Avenue will make the journey up the A1 on Wednesday to face playoff rivals, Spennymoor Town.
With the travelling Green Army spurring the squad on all season, the team needs you now more than ever to make some noise and be that 12th man at The Brewery Field.
The coach will leave the Horsfall Stadium at 4pm on Wednesday, and will leave Cedar Court Hotel at 4:15pm.
Tickets cost just £15 for an adult, or £10 for under 16’s.
Spaces are limited, so book now to avoid disappointment.
After a roller coaster season that saw Bradford top the league at Christmas before hitting a bad run of form in early 2019, the Avenue has secured the final playoff spot in a nail biting season finale.
The next challenge for Bradford awaits this Wednesday at The Brewery Field, home of Spennymoor Town.
The hosts come into the game confidently and on a strong vein of form, with a 5-0 win at Curzon Ashton on Saturday sealing a 4th consecutive win.
Avenue will be raring to go, having defied the bookies odds yet again to secure a playoff spot. Bradford narrowly lost to Chorley on Saturday, but will be buoyed by the superb performance that saw them briefly take the lead against the title contenders.
Bower’s men have already proven they can best the Moors home and away, haven taken all 6 points from the last two fixtures.
With yet another shot at promotion to the National League, the squad needs you, the 12th man, to be heard at The Brewery Field this Wednesday.
Despite it being a dreary day at Victory Park the game was far from it with a 3-2 thriller which saw both sides confirm their spots in the playoff places.
Mark Bower made one change from Monday’s starting eleven following on from a 1-3 defeat against York City with Danny East dropping to the bench in place of Jamie Spencer. Chorley on the other hand made a couple of changes to their starting eleven with both Teague and Challoner both dropping out for Jordan and Anson respectively as they aimed for the National League North title.
Chorley started off the stronger side, fashioning themselves some early half-chances including an early long range drive in the 2nd minute by Chorley centre back Meppen-Walters which was easily held by ‘keeper Charlie Andrew.
After weathering an early storm Bradford then grew into the game with some good combination play by Knight and Ross down the Bradford right, which was ultimately comfortably dealt with by the Chorley defence. Avenue’s best chance of the match up to that point then fell Lewis Knight who found himself free at the back post, however he was unable to get his header on target. A trio of Bradford corners followed but they were unable to make the most of the opportunities presented to them.
It was then heart-in-mouths moment for the Avenue supporters when some good play by the Chorley attackers saw them get in behind and get the ball in the back of the net, thankfully however the linesman had flagged for offside. It then got even better as just a few minutes later in the 34th minute Knight was brought down in the box by ‘keeper Matt Urwin after being played in behind by Jake Beesley. It was of course Beesley who took the resultant penalty, giving Bradford the lead and taking Beesley’s tally to twenty for the season. Bradford then would have been through again in the 37th minute had it not have been for Johnson slipping on the edge of the area.
For the rest of the half Chorley regained control having a couple of chances which again were easily dealt with by Andrew, up until the 43rd minute when a good ball in from Bradford’s left hand side was superbly held up by Almond who thumped it into the roof of the net to level up the game. Chorley then came close again through a Carver header which was brilliantly saved by last weeks man of the match Charlie Andrew.
After the break, both sides came racing out the blocks with Andrew again being forced into making a couple of saves in the 46th and 47th minute. Bradford then created a chance of their own when following a brilliant bit of play by Knight he forced Urwin into making a save.
In the 54th minute a long ball down field from a Chorley goal kick was misjudged by Andrew, allowing Louis Almond through again and seeing him put the ball into the back of the empty net, giving him his second of the match. A minute later however, Bradford immediately fired back when a cross in by Knight was bundled home by Oli Johnson at the back post.
Chorley came close again in the 57th minute with a free kick which hit the post and eventually ended up being dealt with by the Bradford defence.
For then on the game appeared to be fizzling out with neither side really being able to create any clear-cut chances as they had done earlier in the half. This continued until the 87th minute when yet another long ball by Urwin wasn’t dealt with by Bradford’s defence allowing Almond to slot away, in off the post, rounding off his hat trick. For the remainder of the match, Bradford struggled for possession however Chorley rarely did enough to truly threaten scoring again.
Despite the 3-2 defeat, Bradford qualified for the playoffs on goal difference as Telford fell to a 1-0 defeat to previous games opponents York City. This now means that Bradford will travel to Spennymoor Town on Wednesday for the start of their playoff campaign.
It’s all to play for on the final day of the season in what should be an exhilarating fixture for both sets of fans.
With just one point separating Chorley from top of the league Stockport, the Magpies have to better Stockport’s result in order to be crowned champions.
With the Hatters away to rock bottom Nuneaton Borough, it looks to be a tall order for Chorley to gain automatic promotion, but with nothing to play for, Nuneaton may be just the banana skin the Magpies need.
Regardless of the result at Liberty way, Chorley will still need to best a determined Bradford side, who come into the game looking to secure a chance at promotion via the play offs.
Avenue supporters will be keeping a close eye on the fixtures at Bootham Crescent and Croft Park as Bradford will need to either match Telford’s result against a strong York City, or better in-form Blyth’s result against Southport.
With everything to play for, it’s not a fixture to miss. Get to Victory Park and get behind Bower and the boys on Saturday. Make The Difference. Be the 12th Man. Be #ProperBradford.
Read on to find out more about the opposition and what to expect on the day.
Welcome to the last Pre-Match Programme of the regular season for 2018/19.
This Easter Monday sees the Avenue play host to York city in the last home game of the season proper. The fixture comes after a close 1-0 defeat away at Darlington on Good Friday, meaning 3 points will now be vital for Bradford to clinch a much coveted playoff spot.
York come into the Bank Holiday on the back of a close 3-2 defeat to playoff placed Spennymoor town. Although the Minster Men have only pride to play for at this point in the season, York will be looking for revenge after Bradford thrashed the full time outfit 4-1 in the reverse fixture back in November.
Bradford will be hoping for a Good Friday on the pitch as they head to Darlington FC today to kick off a vital Easter weekend push to secure a lucrative playoff spot.
With the current standings, 6th placed Avenue need to secure 5 points from the last 3 games in order to mathematically guarantee a place in the playoffs.
Despite sitting just 2 places off the relegation zone, 18th placed Darlington come into today’s game with only honour to play for, having secured enough points to to avoid the drop with 3 games left.
