Soccer reporter Richard Sutcliffe reviews a remarkable year for Bradford City which saw them win promotion to the Premiership. It was a triumph which sparked massive celebrations among their supporters who had always dreamed of their favourites being in the big time.

IT WAS an afternoon of unbearable-tension which no Bradford City fan will ever forget.

Sunday May 9, 1999 was the day that Bradford ended their 77-year exile from the top flight and the whole city experienced a party the like of which had never been seen before.

Previously sane people spent hours driving round the city centre beeping their horns at everything from fellow car drivers to a stray dog wandering the streets. Fans, who had spent 90 gut-wrenching minutes watching their side's 3-2 triumph on television, poured out of homes and pubs across the city to share in a very, very special moment.

Down in Wolverhampton, the final whistle which confirmed City's promotion was met with a huge outpouring of relief from the visitors' enclosure.

Everywhere you looked, City fans were either embracing or screaming their heads off as the players danced around on the pitch.

Thanks to director David Richmond, I managed to sneak past three sets of security staff and into the Molineux dressing room where the party was already in full swing.

Bottles of champagne were being passed around as some players sat trying to take in their extraordinary achievement while others hugged each other warmly.

It was the end of a long and hard road which had started so badly just nine months earlier when a tally of just five points from seven games had left manager Paul Jewell under a lot of pressure.

However City gradually started to find their feet and by November were serious promotion contenders.

Lee Mills had started banging in the goals while Peter Beagrie's four years without a goal were firmly behind him.

A 3-0 defeat at home to QPR led to a few doubts creeping in but City responded in the best possible fashion with seven wins in eight games.

A heart-breaking 2-1 loss at Birmingham ended that fine run but with Bolton fading away badly, it was clear that City and Ipswich were head-to-head in the battle to join runaway leaders Sunderland in the Premiership.

And from mid-February onwards, the two sides started to alternate between second and third place - something which would continue right up until the end of the season.

City fans had started to draw parallels with the 'nearly' season of 1987-88 when fingers were pointed at the board for not investing in new players at the time of transfer deadline.

However chairman Geoffrey Richmond was determined not to waste what was looking increasingly like a golden opportunity and sanctioned more spending for Jewell.

The City boss beat off competition from Huddersfield Town to entice Dean Windass to Valley Parade in a deal which eventually rose to £1 million. The former Oxford and Hull man went on to grab three goals, including two crucial strikes at Bury which sealed a 2-0 win.

Jewell's second deadline transfer was more of a surprise with former England ace Lee Sharpe arriving on loan until the end of the season.

Sharpe also fitted in well and impressed out of position on the right side of midfield during the run-in.

Despite the arrival of two new players, City continued to look nervy with the prospect of Premiership football tantalisingly close.

Thankfully, Ipswich were also looking distinctly edgy as both sides continued to swap places in the league table.

City's draw at Port Vale was followed by a defeat at home to Huddersfield Town and with Ipswich having a game in hand, the race looked to have swung in favour of the Suffolk side.

However the final Saturday of April saw the situation change again as struggling Crewe pulled off a shock win at Ipswich while City won 3-1 at QPR.

The smiles on the faces of the City players after the game told their own story because they were again in the driving seat.

Unfortunately, a goalless draw at home to Oxford handed Ipswich yet another lifeline only for George Burley's side to blow that with a 1-0 loss at Birmingham the following day.

That set the scene for what many view as City's most glorious afternoon, when they came from behind to beat Wolves and clinch promotion.

The unbelievable had happened and City were a top flight club again after spending 77 years in the wilderness. The cynics were quick to claim that City would be like lambs to the slaughter among the big boys of Premiership football but I doubt anyone from Bradford cared on May 9 or on the days which followed.

Recent displays suggest that the Bantams have found their feet in the top flight and everyone in the city is hoping that the next five months will see Jewell's men consolidate their new-found status.

However even if they don't, no-one will ever be able to take away the fantastic achievement of 1999.

The moment McCall felt he had blown his chance

The sight of Stuart McCall trudging off the Valley Parade pitch with tears in his eyes after the goalless draw with Oxford United is a sight I will never forget.

The City captain had just blown a glorious chance in stoppage time to grab a winning goal which would have left the Bantams in the driving seat for automatic promotion with just one game remaining.

However his header passed inches over the crossbar from six yards and like many leaving the ground that afternoon, McCall felt he had blown City's best chance of the top flight.

Thankfully, it all came right in the end on that glorious afternoon at Wolves just eight days later when McCall led from the front in a nerve-wracking 3-2 win.

The pre-season capture of the legendary City hero certainly boosted optimism at Valley Parade, but few could have imagined just what a huge impact the copper-haired midfielder would have.

The former Scotland international was the first signing made by Paul Jewell and no matter who he signs in the future, I don't think he will be able to find anyone more influential.

Some fans wondered whether Stuart would be able to do himself justice at 34 and when he picked up an injury in his first game, the 'Told you so' brigade were ready waiting to crow.

However the City skipper returned to the side with a goal at Crewe in late August and although results did not pick up for a couple of games, McCall's influence was apparent straight away.

He used all his experience to give himself as much time on the ball as possible and his enthusiasm and energy put countless opposing midfielders to shame.

McCall's role in anchoring midfield provided the platform for some scintillating attacking displays from City while his never-say-die spirit was an inspiration to players and fans alike.

I lost count of the number of times that City looked to be under pressure at vital times last season, only for McCall to pull off a perfectly timed tackle which re-fuelled belief both in the stands and out on the pitch.

He was deservedly elected supporters' Player of the Year and I doubt last season's promotion meant more to anyone at Valley Parade than the club captain.

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