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Bradford City: Arsenal win 'secures club's future'

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Bradford City players celebrate victory over Arsenal

Bradford City director of operations Dave Baldwin believes that progressing to the semi-final of the Capital One Cup has safeguarded the club's financial future.

The Bantams pulled off one of the greatest shocks in League Cup history with a penalty shoot-out win over Arsenal on Tuesday.

"It has secured our long-term future," Baldwin told BBC Radio Leeds.

"Two televised ties will bring the club in an extra £1m in revenue."

He added to BBC Radio 5 live: "The game last night has made a massive impact on the club's deficit. Half of the overspend has gone in one game. Of course, it's only an estimate at this stage, but it's a massive boost for the financial position of the club."

Baldwin said the club, who are fourth in League Two, was projected to overspend on wages by £600,000 as they push for promotion to League One.

He estimated Tuesday's match, which was watched by the club's biggest gate since 1960, would earn £300,000.

The Bantams have twice been in administration in the past 10 years and only secured their Football League future in their penultimate home fixture of last season.

Baldwin is hopeful that the cup success will spur Phil Parkinson's men on to achieve a first promotion since Paul Jewell led the club to the Premier League in 1999.

"Our priority is getting out of this division," he continued.

"We have to make sure we achieve that because this is a team and a club on the up. We're on the crest of a wave and we're going to ride it out of this league."

Bradford are the first club from the fourth tier of English football to reach this stage of the League Cup since Wycombe were knocked out by Chelsea in the 2006-07 semi-finals.

They led Arsenal for much of the quarter-final after Garry Thompson volleyed them into a first-half lead, only for Thomas Vermaelen to head in a late equaliser and force extra time.

But the Belgium international then hit the post with the decisive penalty in the shoot-out to send Bradford through.

The win maintained the Bantams' unbeaten record in cup competitions this season, although they are appealing against their expulsion from the FA Cup on Wednesday after fielding an ineligible player in their second-round tie against Brentford.

The draw for the semi-finals takes place straight after the Leeds v Chelsea quarter-final next Wednesday. Along with Bradford, Aston Villa are already in the draw, with Swansea taking on Middlesbrough on Wednesday in the other quarter-final.

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111 comments

  • Comment posted by User0952452360, at 12:40 12 Dec 2012

    To much was made of Arsenal losing rather than Bradford winning.

  • Comment posted by Craig, at 14:09 12 Dec 2012

    @41, what a bitter post. BCFC still pull in the biggest crowds in lge 2 by a mile and have had an avg attendance of over 10k for at least the last 5 years of the club languishing in the bottom tier of the football league. That on top of successive relegations from the Premier to Lge 2 in between, oh and two periods in admin. Have any of the examples you cite suffered that kind of ignomony - no.

  • Comment posted by User0724153323, at 13:32 12 Dec 2012

    I hope for their sake that a large proportion of "the club's biggest gate since 1960" (ie glory hunters) turns up to watch a few league games too. now that they have found out where the club is!

  • Comment posted by birch123, at 12:51 12 Dec 2012

    @ 5 JHeeley - You must have been watching a completely different match. Bradford were unlucky not to win it in normal time.

  • Comment posted by MoonInUranus, at 12:43 12 Dec 2012

    @1 Maze - how far do you think they'd have gone in the FA Cup? There's always a chance of a big draw but that's a bit of a long shot (you can't budget for cup revenues if you're a lower league team). This is assured revenues so his comments make sense.

    @2 - agree completely.

  • Comment posted by User0331344479, at 15:53 12 Dec 2012

    Isn't this what cup football is all about? Arsenal are not the first nor the last of cup giant killing victims.

  • Comment posted by User0705604682, at 12:49 12 Dec 2012

    what a load of rubbish Maze - are Bradford City supposed to sit idly by and watch another potential form of revenue just vanish because of the (in my opinion) WRONG decision of the FA? Of course not

  • Comment posted by User0099907775, at 17:16 12 Dec 2012

    Well done Bradford, great win. From all at LUFC

  • Comment posted by User0375704668, at 15:47 12 Dec 2012

    Ian, no substitute for ability...really? I think you'll find hard graft, a tricky pitch & every player playing to their full potential is more that a match for ability on a given winters night! Arsenal had 3/4 decent chances, City had 2/3 good ones also, but our defending was fantastic & there wasn't an ego on the pitch in Claret & Amber FACT. ;-)

  • Comment posted by User0675907561, at 16:05 12 Dec 2012

    @68 - I thought Bradford were magnificent, played so much better than their league position suggests and as a Spurs fan, the best result I could have wished for. I genuinely hope they get promoted as they can clearly attract good attendances for the bigger games. FACT!!

  • Comment posted by D1679469040776, at 15:50 12 Dec 2012

    I am an Arsenal fan, and am really pleased for Bradford, they played well last night. It's good to see the smaller clubs get some glory for a change. Well done.

  • Comment posted by User0138791583, at 13:24 12 Dec 2012

    I'm glad some real good has come from this. Arsenal showed no passion, Bradford were essentially fighting for their short-term stability. For once, the right team won. Enjoy the two semis and I really wouldn't be surprised if you made the final with Chelsea struggling and Leeds being a bit inconsistent.

  • Comment posted by Gareth, at 13:23 12 Dec 2012

    The 600K overspend is covered by add-on payments due on the sales of Cleverley, Wisdom and others. If those payments don't materialise and we need them (which we now don't) the contracts could have been bought out by the clubs. We haven't just overspent 600K and crossed our fingers. So it isn't financially irresponsible, careless spending.

  • Comment posted by KCBantam, at 13:18 12 Dec 2012

    City aren't in financial turmoil – we're one of the best run clubs in the league. The overspend is the extra money the directors decided to pump into the club in order to try and gain promotion, it does not place the future of the club in jeopardy and is budgeted for. The cash from the cup run just means we can rest easy with our finances for the next few years. And well done City last night!

  • Comment posted by User0301188528, at 14:24 12 Dec 2012

    46.applemike
    16 Minutes ago
    I've always said Bradford were a good team.

    At rugby leaugue?

  • Comment posted by User0516677080, at 13:01 12 Dec 2012

    Bradford fan here. Of course we knew we weren't as technically as good. But to use a cliche, we played as a team, not a bunch of gifted individuals who thought all they had to do was turn up to win. We rode our luck, yes, but for all their massive salaries and pedigrees AFC looked ordinary.

    Their players who were subbed showed more enthusiasm leaving the pitch than they did during the game.

  • Comment posted by Craig, at 13:24 12 Dec 2012

    How so? BCFC had a £600k deficit, £300k of which has now been wiped out. BCFC will make in excess of £1m from TV revenue for the two-leg semi so, purely in terms of the TV money and last night's receipts, the club stand to be approx £700,000 up on where they thought they would be. Who needs their head checking? We haven't even touched on receipts from two more full houses, home and away!

  • Comment posted by Unbelievable Tekkers, at 13:54 12 Dec 2012

    38. wirral18
    That is rididulous for a League 2 side. Splashing wages to get into the prem and all the TV rights involved in that is one thing but to get into League 1 seems totally foolish!!

    ----

    Please explain how a club can advance from League 2 to the Premiership without first getting into League 1 and then the Championship...

  • Comment posted by User0952452360, at 12:54 12 Dec 2012

    @5

    So what would you propose Bradford done then to make your viewing a lot more satisfying? Pretend they are an EPL team, open up, pass and move which leads to a 6-0 thumping. Or would it not be Bradford to just not give a flying monkeys about how they won the game, just that they won it. Tell you what pal, it shows a lot more of Arsenal dominating and not managing to win then BC defending.

  • Comment posted by D1679320136907, at 16:12 12 Dec 2012

    Bradford are back in the FA Cup after a successful appeal! nice one

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