Richard Sutcliffe reflects on an eventful transfer deadline day for Bradford City and assesses the impact.

Three players on their way out of Valley Parade, two coming in and the rumour-mongers having a field day - it has been quite a 48-hour period for Bradford City.

The Bantams are a club where life is rarely dull and the run-up to 5pm on the final Thursday of March is always a hectic period. And this year proved to be no different.

Chris Wilder, Eddie Youds and Peter Beagrie all departed while Lee Sinnott and Steve McAnespie were drafted in on loan.

Just what happens in the coming weeks is unclear. Three good quality players have left Valley Parade, albeit one of these being on loan, in deals which are certainly good for the players involved.

All three are strong characters and immensely likeable with Beagrie's personality in the dressing room being particularly missed as anyone at Valley Parade will tell you he is comfortably the loudest member of the first team squad.

The thinking behind selling on transfer deadline day is good - premium fees are paid and that money can then be reinvested in players the following summer.

And that is where the true test of what has happened in the past 48 hours will come. Judgement can only really be passed once next season kicks off as to whether City's policy of cashing in now has taken the club forward

Quite naturally there will be anxieties among the fans who fear that City might have left themselves thin in terms of cover for the final seven matches of the season.

But Richmond has always said he would reduce the club's transfer account deficit once the play-offs were out of reach.

That is exactly what he has done and provided there is no catastrophic loss of form City should not become embroiled in the relegation fight.

The transfer roundabout has certainly created plenty of activity and speculation. On Wednesday morning Richmond said he expected two or three players to be leaving the club before the deadline.

That immediately started the rumours flying with stories of Chris Wilder's move the first to gain any credibility.

The defender had joined City exactly 12 months earlier and although Bradford's policy is never to comment on speculation, it became clear in Sheffield that moves to take the likeable defender to Bramall Lane were afoot.

Earlier in the week, stories about Youds joining West Ham had been doing the rounds - much to the surprise of all at Valley Parade.

However by Wednesday morning it was clear that there had been interest from the capital, but it had come from City's First Division rivals Charlton Athletic.

The Bradford board had accepted their £550,000 offer on Monday and the player set off from his Merseyside home to thrash out a four-and-a-quarter-year deal with the South London club.

While this was going on, Wilder confirmed his £150,00 move to Sheffield United.

With Wilder being 31 next September, the fee is a good one but I believe his accomplished passing game will be missed by City. This will be particularly apparent if they decide to use the three-man defence again as he slotted into the centre with ease.

City fans were becoming anxious about the lack of defenders at the club with Darren Moore's injury again flaring up. But it soon emerged late on Wednesday that the Bantams would be bringing in some defensive cover for a depleted back-line.

Yesterday as the Youds deal was going through, the loan deals involving Sinnott and McAnespie were revealed at breakfast time.

Then at 10.40am, the surprise news broke: Peter Beagrie had agreed to move to Everton on loan. A favourite with the City crowd, the 32-year-old's return to Merseyside was met with more than a few grumbles by the Bantams fans in the office with several asking just what was going on. The dreaded 'r' word was even mentioned by one fan.

Just two days earlier in an interview with the T&A, Beagrie had been speaking about facing former club Manchester City on Saturday and he said he was as surprised as anyone by yesterday's development.

Despite rumours growing by the hour of further deals, City's squad remained intact by the 5pm deadline. Now we await the results of all the wheeling and dealing.

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