42-year-old enters race for Bradford City job following AFC Bournemouth and Middlesbrough spells | OneFootball

Former Real Madrid centre-back Jonathan Woodgate is interested in the managerial vacancy at League Two side Bradford City, according to the Daily Star (16/2 paper edition).

This news comes following the dismissal of Derek Adams yesterday morning, with a 1-0 home defeat to fourth-tier rivals Exeter City the final straw for the Bantams amid what has been a disappointing season for them.

Adams left Morecambe, who he had just won promotion with, to arrive at Valley Parade in the summer and with that and the club’s infrastructure, many people believed they would be one of the favourites to secure promotion back to League One.

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However, their 2021/22 campaign has been marred with inconsistency and with that, they currently sit eight points adrift of the play-off zone with just 15 more league games to go until the end of the season.

Not only this, but numerous sides above them including sixth-placed Mansfield Town have games in hand over them, making a play-off finish unlikely at the end of this term despite expectations.

It has now been reported by the Daily Star (via Sky Sports paper talk) that Woodgate has thrown his hat into the ring for the existing vacancy following two spells in the Championship, firstly linking up with a side he used to play for in Middlesbrough before guiding AFC Bournemouth to the play-offs in the latter stages of last term.

He came within 90 minutes of taking the Cherries to Wembley as they looked to secure a Premier League return at the first time of asking, but he was unable to and instead of opting to extend his contract, officials at the Vitality Stadium decided to appoint previous promotion-winning boss Scott Parker.

Woodgate is now interested in taking two steps down to take over at Bradford, though it remains to be seen whether that interest is mutual between both parties.

The Verdict:

This would be a risky appointment from Bradford, though some would see it as quite a coup given he was managing in the second tier not so long ago, making him more than suitable for his role.

There will continue to be big expectations at Valley Parade beyond the end of this term and with their desperation to get back to the third tier, the young coach won’t exactly be given the adequate time to rebuild and re-shape his squad.

In fairness to Woodgate, he was appointed Bournemouth boss after the January window had closed last year so it’s not as if he’s become too accustomed to having a big transfer budget, something he won’t have in League Two.

He may get the rest of this season to experiment though considering a top-seven place looks like an uphill battle, although that could be an underestimation of Bradford’s capabilities considering how widely tipped they were for promotion.

The ex-Boro defender won’t want another sacking on his CV though, so what expectations he will be expected to meet may determine whether he’s willing to take the job.