Experience helps Bantams boss deal with transfer window

An entertaining sideshow or an unwanted distraction? Whatever your view, the mid-term January market – which once again creeps into February this year - is now a firm fixture on the football calendar.

Graham Alexander, like most managers, is not a fan and would prefer a return to the old ways of transfer business being available until the third week of March rather than crammed into one mad month.

Harry Lewis, Vadaine Oliver and Emmanuel Osadebe have left Valley Parade so far with Sam Walker and Tyreik Wright brought in. Meanwhile, the Jake Young saga remains ongoing - with City rejecting three bids to date.

Fans have questioned why Lewis would choose Carlisle, a club fighting to avoid an immediate return to the fourth tier.

The Cumbrians have also made a well-documented attempt to take his good pal Young.

But as with any club in League Two, City will always be vulnerable to predators from above.

“From a financial perspective, everyone has a price,” said Alexander, who is looking to make a third signing.

“But from a player or coach perspective, you have ambitions. You want to go and play or manage at the highest level you can.

“It’s difficult then to sit in front of a player who’s got the opportunity to go up a level or even two and convince him it’s best to stay here. As you get lower down, it becomes harder for that sell.

“It’s not beyond the realms of reality that you can convince a player at a certain stage of their career that it’s good to stay with us or in League Two.

“But the figures through the divisions go up and players do have short careers.

“Players at this level don’t make millions, contrary to what everyone might think.

“All those little things come into the equation from our side and certainly with the players.”

The speed of the recent Lewis deal shows how fluid clubs must be during a month when it seems nobody is nailed down.

Sam Walker was first identified as a target last summer (Image: Bradford City)

Walker had been lined up previously to step in when it looked like the keeper was off to Barnsley last summer.

That move was quickly resurrected to ensure a smooth transition, underlining the importance of having other options identified for any position.

It’s also about having your ear to the ground for news of any potential movement – Walker’s short-term contract as injury cover at Charlton had run out just a couple of days earlier.

Alexander added: “It’s just having a knowledge and communication with people in the game to know that he might be available, or he’s not playing so he could be as well.

“You just have to keep your eyes and ears open.

“We have Stephen Gent who’s in communication with a lot of people. A lot of people speak to Ryan (Sparks), lots speak with me, Chris (Lucketti) and Truey (Mark Trueman) – and Doyler (Colin Doyle) obviously.

“We all have contacts and information and that’s how you have to do it. You almost have to smell something coming along.

“There’s not a defined list of 1,2,3. I’ve tried that in the past but it’s nye on impossible, certainly at this level.

“If you’re at the top end in the Premier League and you’ve got millions to spend, there are no blockages. But at this level it’s really difficult.

“You just need to be ready to react within the space of 24 hours to do something if you can.”

Experience counts for a lot. Alexander has learned to adapt and react fast during a period when it is unlikely to go exactly to plan.

"When you go in, you think in December you're going to do that, do that and do this and you get to February and think, 'that didn't happen, this didn't happen and that came from nowhere’.

"Over the years I've learnt to be ready and try and have our ideas and targets for what we want to get out of the window. The ultimate aim is to come out of it better than we came in.

“But it's the same as life, you don't know what can happen tomorrow and you've got to be ready to adapt and not lose your composure.”

Having played until he was 40, the former Scottish international has a good understanding of what the players are thinking during this unsettling period.

He has a good idea of what might be going through Young’s head with talk of this or that move.

That’s why the Bantams boss was keen to sit him down for a proper face-to-face chat.

"It wasn't just me talking to him, I wanted to see how he felt the whole scenario was going and what he ultimately wanted. I think it's just a grown-up way of doing it.

“My reference point is my own career and I'd rather be told a hard truth than a soft lie. At least you know where you stand.

Vadaine Oliver joined Stevenage on loan for the rest of the season (Image: @StevenageFC)

“I do want my players to trust me if they can because it's a difficult sport. There's a lot of noise and messages you get from different types of people, I've been there.

“I said to Jake there was a lot of talk out there but he hadn't actually heard me speak.

“I wanted to just put him in the picture about exactly what I thought about the situation and about him.

“I did the same with Vadaine and I'd do the same with any player that knocks on the door and wants to speak.

"Sometimes I say things they don't particularly want to hear but it is the truth – or how I see things.

"It's not a case of ‘how can we help you get exactly what you want’ - contracts are there for a reason, to hold both parties to their responsibilities.

"I felt Jake maybe needed a little bit of empathy and advice on the situation that he might not have had previously.

"I think it is important to have that honesty and respect. But sometimes two different parties want two different things and you have to find a happy medium.”