A new hope

When this blog launched in February, ahead of what we all bizarelly knew was Peter Taylor's final game as manager of Bradford City, in a bid to herald in a new period of Bantam Progressivism, we pinned our colours firmly to John Coleman's mast. Coleman had served 13 years in charge of Accrington Stanley catapulting them into the Football League with some aplomb. Still young, Coleman would not only have been a wise choice but he was also coveted by the board.

Alas, it does appear that Coleman's four-year contract will be a stumbling block in any attempts of the club prising him away from the club he has served so well. So, who next, from the shortlist of six? One tweet tonight has certainly taken this blog's fancy. Lee Duxbury.

Duxbury is a City legend. Having spent his tender years among the Valley Parade faithful and been a member of the club's youth set-up during the first period of Bantam Progessivism, Duxbury briefly flew the nest and played a part as Huddersfield missed out on promotion by a whisker. But he returned home, and played a key role during the first half of City's 1990s upsurge. He was a born winner and gained the rewards he deserved with the club he loved.

Again he left - this time to Oldham Athletic, a club to where he has returned and is now a coach. He has patiently served his apprenticeship at Boundary Park and seems to be well-respected. His years at Oldham have had their ups and downs, but he was a winner and knows our club. He deserves a chance.

Okay, appointing Duxbury, would certainly be a gamble. And secondly, we've been here before. Stuart McCall was the overwhelming popular choice when he walked in to the club he was destined to manage in 2007. His career reached heights Duxbury can only dream of, but both are of similar character and have similar background at City.

Now, I'm not going to re-write history here. But was McCall really the failure as City manager that he was made out to be? He certainly didn't achieve the success he wanted, but he came close to promotion in his second season. The foundations buckled, when first Omar Daley was pole-axed by Neil Austin, then secondly when Barry Conlon and Matt Clarke undermined a 5-0 win with a late night and a later morning. But all McCall's good work was undone. Instead of building on and improving his team, the budget was gone, and McCall was forced to dismantle. He began to lose his own belief, and the rest we all know.

What the club need to do is learn from those mistakes and give Duxbury the same backing they gave McCall, but do so in a measured way. None of us want to be in League Two in four years time, but no club is guaranteed anything and if that is the patience we require, then so be it.

Perhaps there are better choices out there; can we possibly afford Coleman given Accrington's troubles, Keith Hill has even been mentioned and there will be many who say Peter Jackson deserves a full chance. But Duxbury has the right background to finally herald in a long-awaited upturn.