After an historic year at Valley Parade, David Markham, who has covered City for the T&A for 25 years, selects his Bantams team of the century.

HUNDREDS OF players have turned out for Bradford City in their chequered 96-year history.

So, picking City's best team from that span of league football is fraught with difficulty . . . but here goes!

My criteria is to concentrate on excellence, focusing not only on what players achieved at City but how their careers developed when they left Valley Parade.

Contenders for goalkeeper include 1911 cup final hero, Mark Mellors, Scottish international Jock Ewart, another Scot James McLaren, Matt Middle-ton, Geoff Smith and, from more recent times, Paul Tomlinson, Peter Downsborough and current No 1 Matt Clarke.

But my choice goes to Gary Walsh, who has proved a fine all-round keeper since he joined the club from Middlesbrough just over two years ago.

He played in all the matches in last season's promotion triumph and had established himself as one of the top keepers in the Premiership before illness and then injury robbed him of his place in the side.

Before formations became more fluid and we began to see the emergence of wing-backs, full backs were linked in pairs.

Greg Abbott and Chris Withe, the club's record appearance holder Ces Podd and Ian Cooper, and Jock Whyte and George Mulholland spring to mind from the modern era.

But my choice goes back to the 1930s when Charlie Bicknell and Sam Barkas were a byword for consistency.

Bicknell, who left City for West Ham in 1936 and was player-manager at Bedford Town in his early 40s, made 224 consecutive league appearances - all in the old Second Division after coming to Valley Parade from Ches-terfield in 1930.

His partner Barkas joined City as an 18-year-old in 1927, and was one of five brothers who played league football.

Barkas, who made 202 league appearances over six years, is remembered as a constructive full back who liked to play the ball out of defence. He was so skilful on the ball that City also played him at left half - the equivalent of a left-sided midfield player today.

Barkas was sold to Manchester City towards the end of the 1933-34 season for £5,000, helped them win the First Division title in 1936-37, gained five England caps and also captained his country.

For the two centre backs I am spoilt for choice, but I have not seen a better left-sided centre back in City colours than Roy McFarland, who was player- manager at Valley Parade for 18 months between 1982 and 1983.

During that time he led them to promotion from the Fourth Division to herald a modern era of higher-division football.

To partner him at the heart of the defence I choose Peter Jack-son, captain of City's 1984-85 Third Division championship team. Not only was Jackson a strong defender and natural leader, but he proved a wonderful ambassador for the club after the fire disaster.

There can be no argument about my right-sided midfield player - the most popular player in the post-war period, inspirational captain Stuart McCall.

Signed by City when 16, Mc-Call played for the club for eight years before joining Everton for £875,000 to pursue his career in the top-flight. He gained league and cup honours in a seven-year spell with Glasgow Rangers and 40 Scottish caps before returning to Valley Parade in June, 1998.

As captain, he led City to promotion in his first season back and is playing a leading part in the battle for Prem-iership survival.

For McCall's central midfield partner, I go back 45 years to one of City's player- managers, Ivor Powell. The Welsh international joined City in 1952 towards the end of his career, and for 18 months he was their most influential player. 'Give it to Ivor' was the call, and most passes went to him and from him.

My two wide midfield players or wingers include an important member of the current squad, Peter Beagrie, to play on the left. Beagrie played a key role in last season's promotion campaign and has a big part to play in the battle for survival. He is a skilful, hard-working winger who not only delivers telling crosses, but can also defend well.

My right winger comes from the club's most successful era before and after the first world war and is arguably the outstanding player and personality in the club's history.

Dickie Bond was an England international when City signed him from Preston in 1909, but there were doubts about a knee injury - a fact reflected in the modest £900 fee.

Fortunately for City, Bond played for 13 years, making a club record 301 league appearances at top level, scoring 60 goals before he left for Blackburn on a free transfer following City's relegation from the old First Division in 1922.

Bond, a crowd pleaser, is one of only three players to be capped for England while at City, playing in three home internationals in 1910.

He was captured by the Ger-mans in the war, and they were so pleased they had taken him prisoner they put up a poster announcing the fact!

For my two central strikers I was tempted to choose David Layne and the Scot John Mc-Cole. Layne scored a club record 34 goals in 1961-62 and was a superb striker of the ball.

McCole - surely one of the most gifted players to wear a City shirt - also broke the club record with 28 goals in 1958-59.

But my choice goes to the club's record goal-scorer Bobby Campbell and his team-mate from the 1985 championship team John Hendrie, who didn't miss a league match in his first three seasons at Valley Parade.

Campbell, one of the great cult figures in the club's history, scored 121 league goals in 274 appearances and 16 cup goals in two spells at City, and was capped for Northern Ireland while he was at Valley Parade.

The skilful Hendrie - one of City's best free-transfer signings - played mainly on the right wing during his four years at Valley Parade, but often played as a central striker later in his career at Newcastle, Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Barnsley.

Team of the Millennium

1 Gary WALSH

2 Charlie BICKNELL

3 Sam BARKAS

4 Stuart McCALL

5 Peter JACKSON

6 Roy McFARLAND

7 Dicky BOND

8 John HENDRIE

9 Bobby CAMPBELL

10 Ivor POWELL

11 Peter BEAGRIE

Subs:

12 Peter

DOWNSBOROUGH (gk)

13 David LAYNE

14 John McCOLE

15 Tommy CAIRNS

16 Ces PODD

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.