League Two side Bradford City are on the verge of an unlikely trip to Wembley after beating Aston Villa 3-1 in Tuesday night’s League Cup semi-final first leg clash at Valley Parade, so Football Burp popped over to Bantams message boards Claret and Banter and BCFC Fans to see what folk had to say about it all…

Bradford City on their way to Wembley?

cuznav, Claret and Banter…

It’s great to be a Bradford fan at the moment!

Max, BCFC Fans…

My god! Do we park the bus for the second leg?

I’d say no but this is unreal.

Kop Kred, Claret and Banter…

So proud of the boys tonight.. got a little tear in my eye as I’m writing this but I’m not embaressed to admit it.

I have been a city fan since ’66 but I have to say I haven’t seen as much passion and effort in one of our teams as much as tonight.

We have had our moments but at present we are basement league and this cup run has got to be our greatest testament to belief and courage in our history.

Half our team look like schoolboys but they manned up tonight and beat a PL side in normal time… no need for penalties this time(yes i know.. before you say..you know what I mean.).

For those of you who see this competition as a distraction.. I respect your stance but I also feel a little sad for you.

Sussex Bantam, Claret and Banter…

What a terrific performance – how on earth do we take on a Premier League side like Villa, score 3 goals, hit the post and have one kicked off the line ?

Sure they had a lot of chances too but other than the first 15 minuetes of the second half I thought we went toe-to-toe with them and fully deserved to win.

We are 90 minutes from Wembley with a two goal start….Villa probably still favourites but what a chance we have !

Brid Bantam, Claret and Banter…

We could be pissing league 2 by now. Its no fluke, we are a bloody good team.

Shipley_Bantam, Claret and Banter…

Agreed. The irony is that if it wasn’t for these cup runs I think we would be! People overreacted to the Rochdale performance, but we’re still a cracking team.

BingleyBantam, Claret and Banter…

Its just un real, how it feels to be a City fan at the moment. Like you say the WUM and moaning has to take a back seat as we are seeing history being made here. 1911 is a life time away, we are actually living this!

Skyebantam, Claret and Banter…

astonishing!! amazing!! every one of em. great to knock third in just as villa fans giving it the big i am after getting their goal!

can’t believe i wasn’t there . still cant believe we scored 3. we have a chance for wembley and actual chance, but we are still underdogs. them 6000 will sell out quick.

Karl Philip Nilsson, Claret and Banter…

And then the followup question, HOW DID WE LOSE AGAINST BARNET?

Really good game, apparently we had more shots than them. Only 90 minutes to go.

Mallorcabantam, Claret and Banter…

Its great for the players to come good for all their hard work, and its terrific for the loyal fans

old grey fox, BCFC Fans…

Last nights superb effort could leave the manager with a big problem,what does he do with Kyel Reid.Despite his undoubted talent,in the few games he has played after coming back from injury,his inclusion has given the side an unbalanced look,whereas last nights line up provided the perfect unit,with Wells linking up with Hines in a way he does not do with Reid.Interesting that when Hines tired,it was Turgott who was brought on,as he plays in a very similar way to Hines.Parky could have a problem here.

TR Bantam, BCFC Fans…

touchline. hines never seems to last a full 90 minutes which also makes me doubt his fitness. id still (and hope to see) play reid on saturday against oxford. he has a lot more pace and can put in a better ball which will be more effective at league 2 level!

ZainoCTID, BCFC Fans…

I’d start the same team that started last night like im sure many would do, and then make as many changes as possible for the Crewe Alex game on the tuesday, giving the likes of Reid a chance to shine, along with the likes of Gray, Connell, R.Jones. I’d try to rest a couple of defenders too but I dont know if thats even possible with the size of our squad and injury list!! Atkinson was absolutely superb last night, hopefully, if and when Reid gets his chance, this will bring the best out of him, giving Parky an even bigger headache – a nice one obviously

mitch_fc, BCFC Fans…

I live in Aus but have followed City for some years as my old man is from Bradford and being a football fan, I got behind them from a young age. I’ve never been to the UK but have said if we make Wembley I will fly over and sell my left nut for a chance to see the Bantams at the great stadium.

Realisticly, what are my chances of obtaining a ticket should the dream come true and we get past Villa with our sweet little 2 goal buffer? I would do anything to see this, and obviously a few league games if I’m gunna fly half way around the world.

Any advice etc would be appreciated as obviously this is a long way to go for a football match with approx 4 weeks notice……

CTID!

borderlescott, Claret and Banter…

I must admit, when McArdle crashed that header in, I had a tear in my eye too. Watching City over the years has been a chore, I remember skipping midweek lectures at uni to come home, missing the last buses when my train had got in, and then walking home in the dark after shocking defeat after shocking defeat before and under Todd. People used to asked why you bother going, and there wasnt really and answer, other than, its the done thing, supporting your team.

I look back to the group of mates that started going with me, and most have sold out, a couple of plastics now have season tickets at Man Utd, others play themselves on a weekend and some just gave up football completely for whatever reason. Even my dad gave up going when he decided walking was a better way to spend his weekends. But I have carried on going with my brother and spent money and time watching City playing shite like Accrington, Aldershot and Morecambe. We haven’t had a great deal to cheer about in the last decade have we, a couple of admins, three relegations, its reached the point where we could have easily packed it in.

But nights like tonight justify the decision to keep on going, and we’re living the dream. Wigan was unreal, Arsenal even better, and Villa even better again considering we smashed in three past them. You really do appreciate the good times better when you’ve gone through the bad. This is our reward for sticking with this beast they call Bradford City. It is also superb to see for Rhodes and Lawn who, although he has his knockers, has done his bit for the club. Remember, had they not splashed their cash in the summer, we would not have got the likes of Doyle et al to this club, and its brilliant for them. Its also excellent to see the profile of the City raised. Michael Owen is tweeting about us, Benito Carbone is being interviewed in Italy for the Daily Mail about us – we are back on the map.

We are the best team in league two. I am certain of it. No other League Two club would have done what we have. We are writing history, and go to Villa Park in two weeks time with a slight chance of making a Wembley final potentially against World Cup winners like Juan Mata and Fernando Torres. That is a very scary thought.

Saviour the moment folks, since magical moments like tonight don’t come around very often. As the OP said, so proud to be a City fan tonight.

matty21, BCFC Fans…

Duke – 10 – Cant fault him, kept us in it and that first 5 mins of 2nd half they couldve scored 2 and won but Duke kept us in it, deserves his place

Darby – 8- Solid as usual, kept Agbonglahor extremely quiet

McHugh – 8 – Solid all game, dealt with Benteke and Bent very well, obviously got the winner as well

McArdle – 8 – Same as above

Good – 7 – Didnt do anything wrong, played great but just because he isnt used to that position, but filled in very well

Hines – 8 – Great pace and trickery to create some chances, Deserves to keep his place on Saturday

Jones – 10 – Words cannot describe, I said before the match that this could be the perfect game for him to find his form, and he did! Won countless challenges, and even when he lost the ball he won it straight back, and WHAT a cross for the 2nd goal! sat just behind it and the curve and accuracy was immense, and good corner for the 3rd goal.

Doyle – 9 – Nearly as good as Jones, helped Jones to control the midfield, won countless challenges and good passes and vision

Atkinson – 8 – Good at what he was meant to do, good cover for Good and got forward as well and again some good passes and vision

Hanson – 8/9 – Won header after header, SO unlucky, 2 games, 1 marginal offside goal, 2 cleared off the line, one off the bar, deserved a goal, foot finishing needs a lot of work though

Wells – 8/9 – He’s back! good runs and dribbles, does what he does best, only reason its not a definite 9 is because IMO hes too greedy, obviously you want a striker who has an eye for goal and wants to score, but on may occasions he shot when a pass was a better option, one example was the free kick, perfect position for Jones to put a ball in where we looked dangerous and possibly score, Wells shot under/round the wall and easy save for Given, waste.

Turgott – 7 – didnt do much, but some good runs

Howard Webb – 10 – Fantastic, when a player was brought down, foul, but no petty hanson fouls where he does nothing, dealt well with Villa fans as well (They threw the ball at a lady steward and Darby had a go at them, they started throwing coins so Webb said move away from them which was forward to take the throw!

everyone should be proud of their performance last night, not gonna be easy but we can get to wembley!

Can Bradford City go all the way? Have your say in the comments section below…