Are you watching, Rodney Marsh?

Rankin and Blake: City's best shot

Sorry to sound pessimistic, Geoffrey, but the fat lady's staggered to her feet and the orchestra have struck up the opening bars.

I haven't given up hope yet, but City are now in danger of a swift return to the lowlands of the Nationwide with some fans already unstitching the Premiership logo from their shirts.

But one bright spot from the Saints defeat - yes, there was one - was the welcome return of Prophet Isaiah Rankin. The team have been lacking pace up front and Rankin's return from his loan spell at Birmingham was overdue. He makes the league's meanest defences work hard for their big money.

OK, he might not score a bag-full of goals but he can turn a defence and create chances for others.

You only had to hear the crowd chanting his name in the first half to know Jagger should never have loaned him out.

Look at the other striking guys we've got:

Dean Saunders - yes he gives 100 per cent but he's near the end of his career.

Dean Windass - struggles as a main striker, he's much better in the centre of midfield.

Lee Mills - probably kicked his last ball for the Bantams, might as well get splinters in his backside at Maine Road as at the Valley of Dreams.

Jorge Cadete - a perfect example of a panic buy if ever I saw one. At first I thought he was unfit, now I just think he's rubbish. Come back Bruno Rodriguez, all is forgiven.

I'm worried about the rest of the season - but I'm also worried about next season, whatever league we end up in.

The team's getting old - McCall, Saunders, Jacobs, Beagrie, Windass...need I go on? - and a team of near-pensioners is not what we need to get us out of the intense bear-pit of Division One should the worst happen.

Watching Rankin and Robbie Blake together against Southampton made me realise the pair could form a formidable partnership in Division One and give us a decent shot at promotion back to the big league.

Blake's definitely got talent, even if he's been short of confidence, and if he's put his unsettled spell behind him, he'll be great for the Bantams.

The Prophet and the Boy Wonder are definitely our best chance for the rest of this year - and next season too.

Jon Francis

Can't help falling asleep...

I sat in my seat the other Sunday watching a very average neighbouring city's team, who are supposed to be conquering Europe this season, luckily beat the Mighty Bantams.

I suddenly realised that there has been a steady decline in the number of football songs at Valley Parade and at away grounds over the seasons.

Our repetoire ran to about three songs, or four if you count the "ner ner".

Now I'm not saying the chants from the old days in the Bradford End and the Paddock were Simon and Garfunkel in lyrical standard but at least there was variety. Where have all the old chants gone?

Just hold on while I put on my flat cap and braces. When I was a lad, at the home games against Millwall and Sheffield Utd and on away trips to Burnley, Rotherham, Derby, Hull and the like, the best part was the singing from the terracing. It always seemed non-stop with one different song after another.

For all you 30 somethings out there you will remember that the best times were the beating of a team on the field and the louder singing off it.

I wonder if it's a lot to do with the abolition of the terracing.

Is the football chant dyng like Joe Six-pack from the terracing and being replaced with the odd "ner ner" from the bums on seats and in the corporate boxes?

I know the good old days of 100 or so City fans singing our hearts out in the old fourth division may never return - and I hope they don't. But have we forfeited the togetherness of an elite shoulder-to-shoulder group and replaced it with a larger more successful following with less camaraderie?

If that's the case, I can't help wondering what kind of atmosphere there might be at the Valley of Dreams if we still had the some of the old songs and solidarity.

I just hope the chants never die completely - they are what make certain games special.

Now, welcome to all you footie-fancying pop-pickers out there. It's the Bradford City top-five songs of yesteryear from the terraces. Hold on to your turntables cause here they come.

Straight in at number 5 with a bullet - and, yes, I did listen to them - 'My Old Man Said Be A City Fan...' A great song taken from them cheeky little Cockneys. Dodgy ending, though. God Bless the Queen Mum.

Holding its own at number 4 - 'She wore, she wore, she a yellow ribbon...' Always a favourite in December for some totally inexplicable reason. Only sung for one week, and it never seems to be merry in May for me.

Moving up two places to number 3 are the guys and gals giving it Beetlemania with 'Na Na Nanan Na City'. Some musical press are quoted as saying 'Valley Parade was the fifth Beetle'.

Dropping down from the top spot to number 2 because of its boring repetitiveness at corners is 'Come on you yellows'. Admittedly it never seems to work. But it trips off the tongue better than 'Come on you ambers'.

But at number 1 for all you soccer songsters out there, it's the king of rock 'n' roll with 'Can't Help Falling In Love'. 'Take my hand, only fools rush in...' Elvis was spotted at the Valley of Dreams a few weeks ago at the Leeds game eating 12 Balti pies before kick-off. Sadly he didn't sing, but he wore a fetching green top, had a moustache and called himself Neville.

Mark Beetham

Bantams Banter

SIR - City's slim chance of survival was dealt a cruel blow on Saturday - a fluke deflection and a lack of concentration in defence after a Southampton substitution.

Back-on-form Robbie Blake gave us hope with his skills and trickery, and City were aided by the welcome return of Isaiah Rankin. But it was always too much to expect Boy Wonder and Messiah to pull off a miracle.

I'm sure the belief among the players and coaching staff is still there and that three or four wins from our remaining fixtures will see us safe. But there also has to be belief from the supporters.

A relegation dogfight is a tough enough task anyway. But having to compete against the poor quality of referees and their assistants does make it even harder.

But the boys done good - whatever happens. I'm proud of them. Let's get behind them and give them some Premiership cheer.

Lindsay Wilburn, Ovenden Road, Halifax

SIR - If we do get relegated which is looking certain, how do we expect to get back into the Premiership if our top scorer from last season Lee Mills is not going to be here?

In the press one day Jewell says he's going nowhere and the next thing he's gone on loan to Man City.

If they are to sort out their differences then they have to talk to each other instead of Mills running away to another club.

Jewell says Windass and Saunders have been playing well, but they're appalling. They play some good stuff when in possession but to no avail.

In the Premiership you have to be able to turn possession into goals which is something they just cannot do.

If Jewell kept playing Mills we probably wouldn't be in this position. Everyone says he's crap but last season he had a poor start and then scored more than 20 goals.

Anthony Guy, Ringwood Road, Bradford

SIR - I met some of City's loyal fans coming back on the train the other week. I was coming back from watching Brighton at Lincoln.

The City fans were really downhearted, they said there was no effort from the players. There is no excuse for that.

Geoffrey Richmond, most of the money you have put into City has been into bricks and mortar. You should have been backing your manager with some serious cash, and you should get rid of the overpaid Cadete. He's a waste of money.

All the Brighton Boys send there regards, we do have some fond memories, let's hope you stay up.

Brighton Bill, Idle

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Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.