CITY fans will be hoping to see the managerial bounce when Simon Grayson takes charge at Valley Parade for the first time tomorrow.

In fact, they should expect it, given the weight of history that will be behind the newest Bantams boss when he faces MK Dons.

Incredibly, you have to go back 83 years to the last time a permanent City manager lost his first home game.

Dick Ray took the reins in April 1935 and lost his opening four matches in charge, including a 2-0 defeat to Blackpool at Valley Parade.

Since then, 35 managers – including Stuart McCall twice – have gained some reward from their home bow. A run of 21 wins and 15 draws have followed since Ray came unstuck.

The only fall guy in all that time was David Wetherall, during his spell in interim charge after Colin Todd's dismissal in 2007.

Wetherall, trying manfully to juggle the dual responsibilities of coaching while still playing, was unable to keep City up in the third tier following a 1-0 loss to Crewe at Valley Parade in his first game at the helm.

But in terms of full appointments, it is a proud record stretching back before the second world war.

Roy McFarland was in the stand when a record lowest league gate of just 1,249 saw Hereford avoid re-election with a 1-0 win on the last day of the season in May 1981.

But his appointment was not confirmed until the summer.

John Milburn's 5-0 win over Barrow in January 1947 remains the stand-out score in all that time, although Terry Dolan began his tenure in the Valley Parade dugout with his City side putting four without reply past Millwall.

The Lions were also the opposition for the most dramatic managerial entrance of the modern era.

Bryan Robson's stint in the City hot-seat proved short and not too sweet as the second administration buried his hopes of survival in the Championship.

But few will come close to matching his dramatic Valley Parade entrance.

Robson's reputation attracted the TV cameras for his Bantams bow against Millwall in November 2003.

First-half goals from Tim Cahill and Nick Chadwick put the visitors firmly in control. The feelgood factor that had heralded his appearance on the touchline before kick-off had already faded into the West Yorkshire air.

The transformation after the break was incredible.

Danny Cadamarteri, playing arguably his finest game for his home-town club, halved the deficit. Then Paul Heckingbottom set up Andy Gray to fire a low leveller.

The fairytale introduction for 'Captain Marvel' was then complete when substitute Michael Branch struck in the 90th minute to seal the most unlikely of wins.

Even for someone like Robson, who had been there, seen it and done it all during a stellar career at the very top, it was a game he would not forget in a hurry.

"I enjoyed the last minute!" he said later. "At half-time I thought, what am I doing here?"

McCall began both his spells in charge with draws – against Macclesfield in 2007 and Port Vale 19 months ago.

Phil Parkinson's first taste as home manager at Valley Parade also ended in stalemate in 2011. But he needed a stoppage-time penalty from Michael Flynn, his second of the game, to rescue a 2-2 draw against Bristol Rovers.

Six months earlier, another late goal – and one hotly disputed – ensured Peter Jackson's winning start on City soil.

Tom Adeyemi's 90th-minute winner against Rotherham crashed in via the bar and to this day Jackson will admit it probably did not cross the line.