The wristbands are only 99p and are roughly the Bradford City colours (though a friend did describe them as Rhubarb & Custard!) Just in case you’re mystified by the significance of #bcafc well this is the hashtag of choice for Bradford City fans on twitter. Anyway the point of my post today is due to the fact that I’ve sold my 50th wristband and this enabled me to make my first donation to the appeal, it’s only a fiver (£6.25 with Gift Aid) but it’s a start and I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has purchased one so far If you’d like to buy one on eBay then please click the following link.

I would like clarify that I am not affiliated with the Bradford City FC Community Foundation in any way, it’s just that I’m making my donation through their JustGiving page that was set up to raise money for the Burns Unit Appeal in memory of the Bradford City Fire. Finally if you’d like to follow me on twitter then my username is @bantamsfancouk Thanks for listening!

O’Brien grew up as a Bradford City fan and joined the club’s Centre Of Excellence when he was eight-years-old, and signed professional terms at the age of 18. He made his debut for the first team in September 2007 after coming on as a substitute against Doncaster Rovers in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. He went on to make 149 appearances for the club & he was named player of the year at the end of the 2008/2009 season. I personally hope he gets sorted with a club soon….Good luck Luke.

Threlfall is quoted as saying: “I know a couple of Morecambe players and as soon as they started talking about the place I knew it would be a great place to come to. It looks a great set up and I wish the season was starting tomorrow.”

The former England U18 and U19 International joined Bradford City on loan from neighbours Huddersfield Town at the start of the 2009/10 season until the end of the year. He went onto play for us 28 times before Stuart McCall sent him back to the Galpharm Stadium.

The City boss is quoted today as saying: “It was a call from someone I know down in Portsmouth who told me he may possibly be available. He’s one of several players we’re speaking to, along with their agents. But there’s nothing imminent and it’s going to take a while for things to sort themselves out throughout the summer.”

The 23-year-old former Manchester City winger joined Portsmouth on a short-term deal in January, and he went on to make 13 appearances for the Championship side. Pompey’s financial problems mean they were unable to offer the midfield player a new deal, and so he is now looking for a new club ahead of next season.

Finally I’m selling some Bradford City silicone wristbands on eBay for only 99p…an absolute bargain and 10% of the sale price will be donated to the Bradford Burns Unit.

“Marcel’s (Seip) situation is slightly different because he’s based in Plymouth and ‘wanted to try and get something down that way. Kozzy’s (Rob Kozluk) a good lad and made a contribution for us, but I feel I need to try and bring in a couple of younger full-backs. For the moment I’ve got to look elsewhere and so has he and I think Guy (Branston) understands I’ve got to try and build my own squad up and put my own stamp on things.”

He added: “We thought we had a deal for Steve Williams to go to Inverness but that seems not to be happening at the moment. There will be one or two other clubs interested in him, though, so we’ll see what happens.”

The following players have been told they are free to find another club: Guy Branston, Steve Williams, Dean Overson, Andrew Burns, Dominic Rowe & Darren Stephenson. Whilst Jon McLaughlin, Matt Duke, Ritchie Jones, James Hanson, Ross Hannah, Ricky Ravenhill, Nahki Wells & Kyel Reid are all contracted to City for the coming season.

Before that, he had he had a trial at Valley Parade in February and he played in a behind closed doors friendly against Chesterfield. Parkinson said of him at the time: “He’s a young striker who we had watched last week. I was told that he is definitely worth looking at and has been unlucky not to be offered a new deal from them.” There’s probably no truth in the story as he’s currently have a trial at Scottish Premier League side St. Mirren.

It doesn’t seem 2 minutes since I was a 10 years old watching it on the news whilst on holiday in Morecambe. The memory of that day will stay with me forever and my heart goes out to those who lost their loved ones. With this in mind I was just reading the following poem on a Lincoln City website I thought I would share it with you, apparently it was posted by its author Harry Windsor:

56 stars are shining bright,
54 claret and amber, 2 red and white.
The tragic events that took you away,
Will be remembered always on the 11th of May.
Fans packed the ground, some young some old,
All unaware of what was to unfold.
To see the champions was the only aim,
56 lives lost at a football game.
The pain hasn’t eased after all the years,
Generations of fans all shedding tears.
The last home game is always sombre,
But heavens awash with claret and amber.
Your presence we’ll miss and the memories we’ll treasure,
We’ll love you always and forget you never.
So take a look at the sky tonight,
They’ll be 56 stars that are shining bright.

11.5.85 RIP 56

“When I was appointed Bradford City manager last September, one of the reasons I wanted to come here was that I knew if I could get this club going the sky was the limit. That is why it is a good job and I am relishing the challenge. You normally feel drained at the end of the season, but I feel ready to go and I am looking forward to next season, to the challenge of building a squad and to make sure we don’t feel the pressure we have felt this season. I want the pressure, but I want the pressure of challenging in the top half of the table not the bottom.”