THIS is my 22nd season following City’s fortunes for the T&A and Mark Hughes has become the 16th permanent manager in that time.
And one of them had three cracks at it of course.
As Hughes prepares for his first appearance in the dug-out against Mansfield at Valley Parade tomorrow, here’s how all those previous gaffers fared in their first game.
CHRIS HUTCHINGS
(June 2000-November 2001)
City kicked off life after Paul Jewell in Lithuania with their debut in the Intertoto Cup.
Goals from Isaiah Rankin, Dean Windass and Robbie Blake earned a 3-1 for the new boss against FK Atlantas.
I arrived at the T&A in October with a 2-0 home defeat to Ipswich being the first of my 1,082 games reporting on the club. It would be another two months before I wrote about a win.
JIM JEFFERIES
(November 2000-December 01)
Dean Windass and Benito Carbone gave the Scot a dream start at Middlesbrough where City went two up in the first 10 minutes.
But relegation rivals Boro hit back to level with a last-minute equaliser from Paul Ince.
NICKY LAW
(January 2002-November 2003)
Two goals early in the second half condemned Nicky Law to an opening loss in an FA Cup third-round tie at Walsall.
BRYAN ROBSON
(November 2003-May 2004)
Captain Marvel oversaw a stunning Valley Parade comeback to beat Millwall 3-2 live on TV.
Trailing 2-0 at half-time, Danny Cadamarteri and Andy Gray hit back before Michael Branch netted a dramatic last-gasp decider in front of the Kop.
COLIN TODD
(June 2004-February 2007)
Having survived administration during the summer, Dean Windass gave Colin Todd’s reign the perfect lift-off at Hartlepool.
But the home side fought back to ruin the party for the travelling fans with a 2-1 win.
STUART McCALL
(June 2007-February 2010)
Stuart McCall part one began with plenty of pomp and fanfare at Valley Parade despite City's relegation to the bottom tier.
But Macclesfield clearly had not read the script and grabbed an early lead.
Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu rescued a point late on when he netted the rebound after Barry Conlon’s penalty had been saved.
PETER TAYLOR
(February 2010-February 2011)
Peter Taylor admitted he was tempted to head straight back down the motorway to Essex after an awful performance at Accrington in his first game in the dug-out.
City got off lightly with a 2-0 defeat amid angry scenes on the away terrace.
PETER JACKSON
(February 2011-August 2011)
Club legend “Jacko” did not fare any better a year on when he was handed the reins following Taylor’s exit.
He started off with the long trip to Gillingham and it proved just as fruitless with the home side scoring either side of half-time to settle it.
PHIL PARKINSON
(August 2011-June 2016)
Having watched on during a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tie with Sheffield Wednesday, Phil Parkinson took charge properly for the first time at Morecambe.
City were heading for defeat until Ross Hannah netted an injury-time equaliser before disappearing in a mob of teammates and fans.
STUART McCALL
(June 2016-February 2018)
The second coming of Stuart McCall again attracted plenty of excitement for the first game of the Edin Rahic and Stefan Rupp era.
But despite creating plenty of chances, the Bantams were left frustrated with a goalless Valley Parade stalemate against Port Vale.
SIMON GRAYSON
(February 2018-May 2018)
Simon Grayson’s short-term contract began with a daunting midweek trip to Charlton.
But City fought back from behind at the Valley thanks to a header from Tyrell Robinson 10 minutes from time.
MICHAEL COLLINS
(June 2018-September 2018)
The controversial promotion of under-18s coach Michael Collins to the City hot-seat began in positive fashion.
With a team entirely made up of new signings, a Jack Payne strike and two goalline clearances from Anthony O’Connor earned a 1-0 win at Shrewsbury.
DAVID HOPKIN
(September 2018-February 2019)
The Scot did the “reverse Robson” as his first game ended in crushing defeat from 2-0 up.
Eoin Doyle’s penalty and a quick second from Jack Payne had City firmly in command at Blackpool.
But the game turned completely on its head in a disastrous final six minutes as the Seasiders struck three times to snatch the unlikeliest victory.
GARY BOWYER
(March 2019-February 2020)
Gary Bowyer had Valley Parade rocking with three second-half goals seeing off Peterborough.
The goalless contest sprung to life in the last 20 minutes with Jacob Butterfield, Eoin Doyle and Lewis O’Brien netting to seal a 3-1 home victory.
STUART McCALL
(February 2020-December 2020)
A crowd of 17,668 witnessed the start of the final part of the Stuart McCall trilogy against Grimsby.
Lee Novak deflected home Callum Cooke’s shot to send the vast majority into raptures. But current City defender Luke Hendrie delivered a cruel postscript by equalising in added time.
MARK TRUEMAN
(December 2020-May 2021)
Mark Trueman and Conor Sellars had just two days to get their heads round taking City to Crawley.
In one of the few games last season with fans allowed, Lee Novak stunned the boisterous crowd with an early goal.
But a Harry Pritchard own goal midway through the first half meant it finished honours even.
DEREK ADAMS
(June 2021-February 2022)
City made the first of what turned out to be three trips to Exeter to kick off the much-heralded Derek Adams era.
Levi Sutton was denied on the line as the Bantams competed well in an entertaining goalless draw.
MARK HUGHES
(February 2022-)
?
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here