GARETH Southgate’s best mate cannot make the League Two fixture list look any more attractive for the Bantams.

A reminder that a sixth year of fourth-tier football is round the corner came with yesterday's news of the fixture release date.

Wednesday, June 26 at 9am is the date for the diary – or probably not in the case of City fans who are fed up to the back teeth with competing at the lowest level.

It took the club six attempts to escape last time under Phil Parkinson’s guidance in 2013. Can Graham Alexander match that in 2024/2025 and once more pull City out of this purgatory?

 

 

The same old names and same old hurdles must be negotiated for Alexander to mastermind only the second promotion this century.

There is the questionable novelty of a new venue on the calendar once the computer spills its info later next month.

Bromley’s Hayes Lane, minus the artificial pitch that is being hastily ripped up since their Wembley promotion, is a new one for all bar the most committed of ground-hoppers.

Those cheering Sutton’s demise at seeing a long London trip wiped off the fixture list were shut down by the appearance of a club who are located eight miles from Charlton on the Kent border.

Bromley may have impressive name-dropping connections – their boss Andy Woodman is big pals with England supremo Southgate, who is godfather to his son Freddie – but it hardly screams a bucket-list visit.

And you can absolutely guarantee that the Ravens will play out of their skins when they venture to Valley Parade.

Michael Cheek will be one City must watch after scoring 23 goals in their successful campaign, including two in the play-off final win over Solihull Moors.

Fans may also remember veteran skipper Byron Webster, who converted the decisive spot-kick on Sunday.

He was in the Millwall team that broke Stuart McCall’s heart in 2017 – and made a point of reminding the home crowd of that when he last set foot in BD8 during a spell with Carlisle.

But there are few box-office attractions until City can finally start climbing the ladder again.

On the 25th anniversary of Paul Jewell's Molineux marvels sealing their ascent to the Premier League, it's another reminder of how far this club have fallen.