Bradford City will hope off-field recruit follows Mansfield blueprint: View | OneFootball

Bradford City has had another season of failure under current owner Stefan Rupp, and the fans have been on the backs of the owner and CEO Ryan Sparks. A pre-game protest even took place at a recent home game, and potential further protests are in the works.

One of Bradford supporters' biggest calls has been the need for an experienced head knowledgeable about the football side of the game from a boardroom perspective.

Although Sparks is more than capable of overseeing the club from a marketing perspective, his ability on the football side of things leaves much to be desired.

After owner Rupp's open letter in March 2024 promising a lot to supporters moving forward, the club has taken a step towards that plan by appointing the former Wigan Athletic chairman and former Mansfield Town CEO, David Sharpe, as its new head of football operations.

Let’s examine how Sharpe can bring success to the Bantams in the footballing department.

David Sharpe was a football chairman at the age of 23

Sharpe became chairman of Wigan Athletic after his grandfather, Dave Whelan, stepped down in 2015. At the time of his appointment, Sharpe was the youngest chairman in the domestic game and was subject to media scrutiny due to his young age.

Sharpe stated, at the time of his appointment: “We also need to create a modern and robust player recruitment process, where every targeted player is researched, statistically measured, and watched in different conditions to ensure we have a complete picture of the player.”

Under Sharpe, Wigan had four different managers and a significant turnover of players, with transfers in and out of the club each transfer window, many under undisclosed fees. A few notable names came into the club, including Dan Burn, who currently plays for Premier League club Newcastle United, in 2016 and Jamie Walker, a current Bradford City player, in 2017.

During Sharpe's tenure as the club's chairman, Wigan were promoted twice from EFL League One and relegated once from the EFL Championship.

Will David Sharpe continue his blueprint from Mansfield Town?

The most similar role that Sharpe had previously held to his new role at Bradford City was during his first five months at Mansfield Town, where he held the title of director of football between May 2020 and September 2020.

While Sharpe was the Stags' director of football, the club brought in numerous players who haven’t gone on to bigger and better things since.

As of 2024, almost every player brought into the club is now playing at the same level or at a lower level, except Jamie Reid (Stevenage) and Corey O'Keeffe (Barnsley), who are the only exceptions. Both currently play in EFL League One.

Mansfield did sack manager Graham Coughlan early into the 2020-21 season in late October after a dismal run of no wins in nine games. Coughlan was replaced by Nigel Clough, who has gone on to be somewhat of a success at the club, with a win rate of 44.9% win percentage as of early April 2024.

As Sharpe was then appointed the chief executive officer in September 2020, it is more than likely that he was involved in the decision to appoint Clough as the new Stags manager, which has gone on to be a good decision by the club.

Furthermore, under Sharpe, the club used the loan system well, with Nathan Bishop joining on loan from Manchester United (now at Sunderland) and Matty Longstaff joining on loan from Newcastle United (now at Toronto FC) being standouts.

In addition, Mansfield has managed to build a team capable of promotion, with top-ten finishes under Sharpe. Permanent signing Davis Keillor-Dunn, who joined the club from Burton Albion, is a notable name who has shown his talent at the EFL League Two level this season.

It is worth noting that many, if not all, of these decisions were made by others at the club at the time, including first-team manager Clough. However, Sharpe was involved in an important role at the club at that time and was likely involved in these transfers to some degree. So, hopefully, this has provided Bantams fans with some optimism about the new head of football operations.

Sharpe left Mansfield to focus on his family business but did leave the club with a glowing review from Stag owners John and Carolyn, which will be an important read for many at Bradford.

Upon his departure, the Mansfield owners stated: “We owe David a debt of gratitude for his loyalty to the club. During his time at One Call Stadium, he has declined offers to join other football clubs. He has an exceptional reputation as a first-class operator within football.”

It is unknown how Bradford will fare off-field in the near future. However, with the current EFL League Two season coming to an end, Sharpe and first-team manager Graham Alexander, alongside other key staff members, will have a long summer ahead. Hopefully, the club can meet fan expectations, and next season will be a success.