Is Simon Grayson The Best Man For The Job?

There are some quality managers around at the moment that are out of work or coming towards the end of their contracts whilst there are a few others getting the dreaded vote of confidence. Here is a bit of a lowdown on some of the names bandied about and some managers we should consider. Let’s look at the bookies favourite and a few of the contenders.


Simon Grayson at time of writing is odds on favourite to become City’s next manager, this will split fans straight away due to his links with Huddersfield Town and Beeston United, Grayson also boasts a short loan stint with City about 16 years ago. Grayson is highly experienced having managed Blackpool, Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End and Sunderland. Maybe not my first choice, but the winds are blowing in Grayson’s direction at the moment. Boz rating 7/10

Gary Caldwell has thrown his name into the hat and a young manager that won the league 1 title with Wigan 2 years ago. More recently he managed Chesterfield winning 3 time in 29 games. He did well at an Ex Premiership club with funds in a lower division, but nevertheless it is a division that clubs such as Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Leeds United and many more big clubs have found it difficult to escape from. Boz rating 5/10

Gregg Abbott is City’s current chief scout and is responsible for signings such as Charlie Wyke. Abbott has been manager of Carlisle United for about 5 years, he did ok with United finishing higher than the previous season in his final 3 full seasons. Only thing is, Carlisle finished higher in the league the couple of seasons before his appointment. Abbott knows our club, he knows our players, he is experienced, but his record isn’t exactly great compared to some of the other candidates. Boz rating 4/10

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is thinking out of the box, his contract is up at the end of the season at Northampton Town and although Town are struggling, Hasselbaink isn’t a bad manager at all. Hasselbaink did very well at Burton winning 33 of 54 games and then when onto QPR before ending up at Northampton. This is one manager our chairmen should test the water with, and would an interim manager till end of the season be a bad thing if it meant we got the right man? Boz rating 7/10

Phil Brown is available after recently getting shoved out of Southend. Big Phil got Hull to the Premiership via the play offs and turned Southend United from a 4th division club into a top half 3rd division club challenging for the play off spots. Vastly experienced, will work at our level, and a manager our chairmen really should approach and highly consider. Boz rating 9/10

Mark Warburton got Brentford promoted to the Championship at his first attempt and in his maiden season as a manager. Warburton has also won the Scottish Championship and Scottish League Cup with Rangers in the very season he earned the PFA manager of the season and SFWA manager of the season awards. Highly respected and a possible signing at our level, who has also worked with Nottingham Forest. Boz rating 8/10

Nigel Clough is having a tough time this season as Burton Albion are propping up the Championship and looking very likely to be relegated. Every job Clough has had, the wins have always outnumbered the losses with his latest club record showing 234 wins, 139 draws and only 126 losses. I would seriously bide my time and watch what noises come out of the Pirelli Stadium as there is a chance Clough might be shown the door anytime between now and the summer. Boz rating 9/10

Paul Ince I see as a manager that cherry picks his managerial jobs, I see him going for the ‘easy’ ones so he appears better than he actually is. He usually goes for roles that offer funds and at clubs that are up there for promotion. There really is nothing more to say about Ince the manager. I think the Rooney rule has good intentions and anything that promotes equal opportunities has to be encouraged, but it can force farce onto proceedings and bypass common sense and logic. Could we see Ince at Valley Parade preparing for an interview whilst the chairmen have no intentions at all of signing him, wasting his time and theirs just to show clubs are equal with this new rule? Ince has not managed for 4 years and 1 month. Boz rating 1/10

Lee Clark another ex Huddersfield Town manager that burst onto the scene. Clark’s best spell was at Huddersfield Town when he set the record of being unbeaten in regular games in the football league to 43 games. Winning 87 times from 178 games whilst only losing 40 times during his time as Terriers boss. Since then Clarke has seen more defeats than wins in all of his roles since, is that down to ability or just bad luck in choosing his employers in Birmingham City, Blackpool, Kilmarnock and Bury. You decide. Boz rating 4/10

Steve McClaren is amongst the names linked with City. He came out quickly dismissing the rumours of Leeds United, but I’ve not seen any denying of links to Valley Parade. McClaren would have fans split as he has gone from the Wally with the Brolly to turning the odds on their heads with a very successful spell at FC Twente. Peter Taylor doesn’t count, but the thought of a proper ex England Manager in the City dug out is a bit of a novel dream. Boz rating 6/10

Michael Flynn has turned Newport County from relegation contenders into promotion hopefuls and hasn’t looked back since from taking over team affairs. Flynn’s name has been bandied about and the Exiles have acted very quickly tieing down Michael for the next couple of seasons. The ex Bantam will command a fee to get him on board, but would the chairmen be willing to fork out for a young promising manager that seems to both feet on the ground and making huge inroads early on in his managerial career? Flynn is a manager that I would like to see further up the football ladder. Boz rating 6/10

Jaap Stam is flirting with the relegation zone with Reading at the moment in the Championship, and if results dip could easily find himself out on the kerb. Stam boasts 40 wins from 90 with only 19 losses. Boz rating 6/10

Uwe Rosler is friends with the City chairmen and was linked to the role before Phil Parkinson had gotten out of his leather chair and taken down his family photos from his office. Rosler has had a mixed managerial career, finished above City last season with Fleetwood, struggling this season, did very well with Brentwood in his first managerial role and then ok at Wigan to then only win twice in 12 games at Beeston United. Legend. Rosler has me split and is one of those that can go either way on the field and in the stands. Boz rating 5/10

Gordan Strachan would be a bit of a coup for Bradford City and he will have no doubt have spoken with McCall about the set up at Valley Parade. This will either put Strachan off entirely, or it will make him ask the right questions and have conditions in place if he were to get the job, ie, to be left to his own devices. Strachan should have a good network of contacts in the sport and attract some players that wouldn’t normally play in the English 3rd tier. Wouldn’t it be funny if Strachan got the job, allowed to get his own staff in and hired Stuart McCall as his assistant. That I am sure every single Bantam would love to see, myself included. Boz rating 8/10

Hannes Wolf could be the first none British/Irish manager of Bradford City, but after reading a recent article by Telegraph and Argus’ Simon Parker, I can’t see this coming off at all. A total unknown, and from looking at the ‘Italian’ model that had been employed at our neighbours in a town near Leeds, I really didn’t want to see the same happening to us but with a German flavour. A total unknown with little to no knowledge of the English game. Boz rating 4/10