Bradford City 3, Leicester City 1; Richard Sutcliffe reports from Valley Parade.

City boss Paul Jewell put the emphasis on attacking football and was rewarded by a resounding victory which sent out a clear message to his side's knockers: Don't write us off.

The Bantams' hopes for their first season of top-flight football in 77 years were dismissed by the pundits almost as soon as they clinched promotion last May.

The jump from the First Division to the Premiership is undoubtedly the hardest to bridge and with City having scored just six goals in their opening ten games, the vultures were out in force. Led by Sky Television's 'expert' summariser - and I use the word loosely - Rodney Marsh, they have been proclaiming City's demise long before the end of the season.

However Jewell and his side rammed those taunts back down the throats of Marsh et al with a performance packed full of passion, power and slick football to sweep aside high-flying Leicester. And that left the Valley Parade crowd asking 'Are you watching Rodney Marsh?' in the closing stages.

Of course, one result does not make a season. But such was the manner in which the Bantams carved open the visitors that it must hearten even the most sceptical of supporter as to what lies ahead.

Jewell had vowed in midweek that it was time "to let the opposition worry about us" and he followed that up by switching his side to a 4-3-3 formation with Robbie Blake pushed forward on the left alongside Lee Mills and Dean Saunders.

The City boss also employed three men in the centre of midfield and instructed his full backs to get forward as often as they could.

It was a welcome contrast from many of the opening games where City have appeared to be more concerned with getting men behind the ball than trying to attack the opposition.

And they were rewarded for a much more adventurous approach with a return to the sort of form which powered them to promotion last season.

And when you consider that England boss Kevin Keegan was in the crowd to watch three members of a talented Leicester side, it shows just how well City performed.

Right from the first whistle, City hassled and harried Leicester out of their stride by closing them down quickly and clattering them with some strong tackles. This continued for the full 90 minutes and provided the platform for the slick passing game which opened up the Foxes time and time again.

And as if to underline just how well the bantams played, Leicester changed their tactics just nine minutes after half-time before desperately launching an aerial bombardment in the closing stages.

Stuart McCall sat deep in midfield and battled hard while both Dean Windass and Neil Redfearn produced comfortably their best personal displays of the season. Both men love to get forward from midfield to bolster the attack and they did just that on a memorable afternoon for City.

The passing of this midfield trio was also very impressive with the hopeful balls forward which have characterised some of City's worst displays being replaced by precise passes to feet.

City's commendable commitment to a three-man attack also meant that they found it much easier to break quickly out of defence.

In the past, City have defended very deeply with both wide midfielders sitting deep in their own half when the opposition had the ball.

However with Blake given much more licence to roam on the left against Leicester, it meant that a quick throw from Gary Walsh or a quick pass out of defence was causing problems for the visitors.

Foxes boss Martin O'Neill remarked after the game that the first half had been "the most open I have seen for years with one side's attack being quickly followed by the other side charging forward".

That meant great entertainment for the crowd and every one of the 17,655 crowd must have gone away impressed by the mercurial skills of Blake. The 23-year-old has come through his contract wrangles with the club and confirmed against Leicester that he has the ability to be a real star at Premiership level.

And with Blake admitting in the Telegraph & Argus last week that he is still not fully match fit, it is clear that there is much more to come from City's exciting young talent.

Blake's close ball skills and intelligent use of the ball with both feet were a joy to watch and he was rewarded when he struck a fine shot from 15 yards to beat Tim Flowers in the 12th minute after holding off a challenge from the dogged Matt Elliott. He also created City's third with a wonderful piece of skill which saw him trick Andy Impey before rolling a cross into the path of Neil Redfearn.

City's back-line also deserve tremendous credit for the superb manner in which they dealt with the twin threat of Emile Heskey and Tony Cottee.

Andy O'Brien and David Wetherall are fast becoming a very solid heart of the defence and they showed against the Foxes duo just how good their understanding has become.

Lee Sharpe also slotted in superbly at left back where he produced some brilliant tackles while it was pleasing to see Gunnar Halle again getting forward to bolster the attack.

It was a pinpoint cross from the Norwegian which created Lee Mills' third goal in as many games and his confidence has visibly soared as a result.

Dean Saunders also deserves huge credit for a fine display and it would have been fitting if he could have rounded it off with a goal only to be denied by Tim Flowers.

City's performance must leave players and supporters heartened and now they have buried their home hoodoo, it is to be hoped they can maintain this improvement in the coming weeks.

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