NOBODY can dispute that Chelsea are the true champions of England.

Boring, boring? Pragmatic at times, maybe. Best in the country? That's beyond any doubt.

Out of 51 games this season, Jose Mourinho's blue machine have lost only three.

The last of those was in January. At home. Against a team from League One. After being 2-0 up.

Just let that sink in one last time.

Chelsea have conceded only seven goals in 17 Premier League games at Stamford Bridge. In the FA Cup fourth round, they leaked four in the space of just 49 minutes against opponents 49 places beneath them in the football pyramid.

Again, take a breath and read that again.

The magnitude of that gloriously unbelievable afternoon in west London should not diminish four months on.

Whatever the arguments of whether or not it was the FA Cup's greatest shock of all-time, there surely has not been a more out-of-this-world scoreline in the history of Bradford City.

And who would have imagined we'd be saying that two years after rewriting the history books by reaching the Capital One Cup final from the basement division?

As the dust begins to settle on the 2014-15 campaign, the words "if only" will dominate the thoughts of many fans.

When the play-off lottery kicks off tomorrow night, the overriding feeling in West Yorkshire will be "that could/should have been us".

Four points – four measly points – eventually separated the Bantams from the top six; one win, one draw.

Think back to those points jettisoned in stoppage time: Gillingham, Scunthorpe, Rochdale, Port Vale and, worst of all, the late, late two-goal fightback from Fleetwood.

City were also one of only two teams to lose both home and away to rock-bottom Yeovil.

And ultimately, had they beaten Chesterfield at Valley Parade in late March rather than losing 1-0, then it would have been Phil Parkinson's men and not the Spireites hosting Preston.

But to feel a bit flat at missing out would be doing a memorable campaign – and one stand-out "pinch yourself" cup tie – a disservice.

For 6,000 lucky away supporters who got tickets to Stamford Bridge, they have a memory that will never fade.

In Mark Lawn's address at last week's awards' night, he described beating Chelsea as his best day in a lifetime supporting the Bantams that began in 1964.

Even those spine-tingling nights against Arsenal and Aston Villa have to take a back seat.

There was also the small, but hugely significant, matter of putting one over the old enemy from the other side of Pudsey in August.

Beating Leeds at Valley Parade for the first time since 1932 would have been the pinnacle any other year, particularly how it was achieved with two goals in the final ten minutes beneath a pulsating Kop.

And yet that was completely upstaged five months later.

It was the same with the win over Sunderland that almost felt routine, given the heroics of the previous round and the lack of any fight from the visitors. The only passion shown by the Black Cats that day came in the bizarre post-match rant at the media from Gus Poyet.

His departure soon after came as no surprise; nor that of Ian Holloway from Millwall, another equally lily-livered side unable to withstand a Bantams tour de force.

Unfortunately Reading in the FA Cup quarter-finals proved one hurdle too far. The sense of disappointment at coming up short against another team from the next division up should be tempered with the knowledge that they boast a wage budget at least ten times that at Parkinson's disposal.

And that brings us neatly to the proposed takeover and the off-field machinations that will now dominate the coming weeks.

Gianni Paladini has made no secret that he wanted to buy Birmingham, the club he has grown to love as his own since arriving in England 47 years ago.

When that door remained firmly shut, he looked elsewhere; the former QPR chaiman admitting he was "bored" and missing the cut and thrust of football life.

City's cup antics caught the eye of the man who used to act as an agent for fellow Italian Benito Carbone.

With the club happy to extend the exclusivity period for his proposed buy-out, it appears that progress is being made. Paladini is in the box seat – but there are also others waiting in the wings.

As Parkinson told the T&A this week, the burgeoning interest should come as no surprise.

City are an upwardly mobile club, debt-free and powered by a manager intent on progressing year on year.

Remember, expectations had been lower for the season just gone after his wage budget was trimmed by £500,000. They finished with a highest league position since dropping out of the Championship 11 years ago – and, of course, among the last eight survivors of the 736 who entered the FA Cup.

The performances of the likes of Rory McArdle, Gary Liddle and Jon Stead mirrored their boss; fiercely-committed, honest and never giving in.

Parkinson's decision to hand McArdle a three-year deal last summer was questioned by some. Those doubts were surely silenced by the sheer consistency of the "proper" defender, who deservedly took the season's individual plaudits from his team-mates and the fans.

The clichéd jibes about "stone-age football" also took a back seat with the injection of more flair through the quick feet of the two Billys, Clarke and Knott, and Filipe Morais.

The more direct games came more through necessity than choice as City tried to pick their way through a minefield Valley Parade playing surface – a problem that should be resolved, not before time, when repair work begins next Wednesday.

City's indifferent league home form cost them dear. If Valley Parade had only matched the 35-point haul on the road – the fifth best in the division – then they would have been building up to an added instalment of the season tomorrow.

Ifs, buts, maybes ... but 2014-15 will always boast one result that is sure to stand the test of time.