Bradford City should consider gambling on ex-West Brom manager | OneFootball

Bradford City should consider Ryan Mason as they begin their search for a new boss after Graham Alexander joined Preston North End.

Bradford City are on the lookout for a new manager after Graham Alexander decided to join Championship strugglers Preston.

With the Bantams top of League One, and North End in the relegation zone, some may be baffled as to why Alexander made the move, but they are a club close to his heart from his playing days.

Action Images

So, whilst it’s disappointing for Bradford, attention is now on identifying his successor, and whoever is appointed will inherit a squad in a very good place, as the Yorkshire side have made progress under Alexander, and they currently sit top of League One.

Ryan Mason was highly-rated as a coach

A host of names have been suggested for the vacancy, but one potential appointment that the hierarchy should consider is Ryan Mason.

The 35-year-old would come with obvious risks that may put the Bradford fans off, and, you can understand why, as Mason has only had one permanent managerial job, and he struggled at West Brom.

However, he will have learned a lot from that, and Mason was a very highly-rated young coach prior to moving to The Hawthorns.

Having worked at Spurs, Mason made a positive impression with the Londoners, and he even had two spells as an interim boss, where he often handled himself well in difficult circumstances.

Those who have worked with Mason have praised his knowledge of the game, including former boss Mauricio Pochettino.

West Brom were unfortunate during Ryan Mason’s time in charge

As well as that, Mason’s time at West Brom is harshly judged when you consider the stats from his time in charge.

He picked up 31 points from 26 games, which left the side seven points clear of the relegation zone, so there was no immediate concern of going down under his guidance.

Plus, there were signs that Albion were improving. For his final ten games in charge, West Brom had the fourth best xG ratio in the Championship, yet they picked up just nine points in that period.

Simply put, that’s not down to the manager, as he had coached the team to get results, but a combination of bad luck and poor finishing cost the team. Mason would’ve expected that to even itself out over the course of the season.

That’s not to say that Mason didn’t make mistakes with the Baggies, as he clearly did, and the away form was a major concern, but if he did have a bit more luck, it’s no exaggeration to say he could still be in charge of Albion right now.

Ryan Mason would instantly command the respect of the Bradford City dressing room

Whoever does take over will need to build on the positive work that Alexander has done at Valley Parade, and results show that Bradford have a good team.

So, it’s not a case of ripping things up and starting again. Instead, whoever comes in will look to make a few tweaks, but the most important thing is that they get a buy-in from the group.

And, given Mason’s pedigree in the game, he would command the respect of the players straight away.

They will see him as someone who spent the bulk of his career in the Premier League, and he also won an England cap, whilst he also coached some top talents at Spurs.

That should give Mason a chance to get his ideas across to the group, and that top-level experience will be welcome to the Bradford players.

Ryan Mason would arrive at Bradford City with a point to prove

Finally, the Bantams would be getting a new boss that is arriving with a point to prove.

Mason will know that his reputation suffered from his time with West Brom, so if he struggled at Bradford, he would be left in a very difficult position in terms of trying to make his name as a head coach in a top league.

That’s not to say that alternatives wouldn’t show the same commitment, but Mason would be desperate to make this work.

There’s no getting away from the fact it would be a risk, but if it did work out, Bradford could have the perfect replacement for Alexander as they look to reach the Championship.