Derek Adams, the manager of Morecambe now, spent eight months managing Bradford City before being fired two-thirds of the way through the 2021–2022 League Two season.
The Scot has led Plymouth Argyle and Morecambe to promotion in England’s fourth division, demonstrating his success there. After leading the Shrimps to an unexpected 2020–2021 campaign that culminated in a victory against Newport County in the play-off final, Adams left the Lancashire team to seek a position at Valley Parade.
The 48-year-old’s services were quickly snapped up by the Yorkshire team, a former Premier League team hoping to go up the football ladder. Three seasons before their relegation from League One, there was a great deal of excitement around Adams’ appointment and the notion that he could lead them back.
However, 31 games into the 2021/22 campaign and following a 1-0 home loss to Exeter City, Bradford relieved the former Burnley midfielder of his duties and ultimately replaced him with Mark Hughes. At the time, Claret and Amber sat 11th and eight points below the play-off spots.
An unsuccessful reign resulted in just nine victories with a win percentage of a meager 24.3%. Speaking to Telegraph and Argus, Derek Adams opened up on his time in Yorkshire.
“Bradford City has the biggest support base in the league. It’s one of the smallest clubs in the league.
“It’s got no structure, no idea of its way out, doesn’t own its stadium, doesn’t own its training ground, and has no foundation to it.
To be fair to the CEO, Ryan Sparks, he has spent the club’s money on getting new seats for the stadium,” he added.
“They have to spend £500,000 on rent each year just to start the season. They then have to do all the maintenance on that stadium as well and it’s not easy”.
When reflecting on his time in charge, Adams stated: “I, like many managers, think they can go there and change it. I thought I could, and I probably could have. The problem is, you’ve got to keep the supporters onside for long enough.
“I didn’t win enough home games at the time. We drew too many. I still think I would have gotten them in the play-offs that season and probably gotten them out.”
Writer’s View
Bradford City are currently in their fifth successive campaign in the lowest division of recognised professional football in England. A former Premiership competitor, it has been 21 seasons since they last spent time in just the second tier. Based on that, it’s clear to see that behind the scenes, the club is failing which in turn is leading to failure on the pitch.
Different clubs have different aspirations and expectations of managers. At Bradford City, Derek Adams felt unable to achieve the desired aim of promotion. However, as revealed, he believes he wasn’t given enough time to prove his worth and help Bradford return to League One.
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