Bradford City urged to avoid repeating Huddersfield Town mistake as 48-y/o manager eyed | OneFootball

Bradford City are being encouraged to not go down the novice coach route like Huddersfield Town did last year for their new manager

It's not often that a table-topping team will lose their manager so early in the season, but Bradford City are having to deal with being managerless after just seven League One matches played.

At times, there's a price for clubs to pay for being successful, and that is what the Bantams are going through after manager Graham Alexander departed this week to take on the vacancy at Championship strugglers Preston North End.

The City hierarchy did not stand in the way of the 54-year-old after the Lilywhites made their approach last Wednesday, and with the opportunity for the ex-Scotland international to return to a club he played over 400 times for and has already managed on an interim basis in the 2011-12 season, reluctant permission was granted, and just days later, a deal was done to take him and assistant Chris Lucketti to Deepdale.

Bradford City verdict issued on Michael Duff as Huddersfield Town claim made

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With Bradford back in league action against Reading this coming weekend, the need for a new manager is quite desperate, yet the club will likely not rush to make a quick appointment given the importance of it.

And a new name to enter the frame is Michael Duff, who Alan Nixon has reported is on the shortlist of the City hierarchy and in a final three with Paul Heckingbottom and an unnamed candidate.

Like Heckingbottom, who lost his job at Preston a couple of weeks ago, Duff was axed by Bradford's divisional rivals Wycombe Wanderers earlier in September after a five-match winless run to start the season, and stretching back into 2025-26 they had won just one of their previous 11 league contests.

Regardless of that, Duff seems to be on Bradford's radar as a potential Alexander successor, and whilst admittedly not the most exciting name, FLW's Bradford fan pundit Boris Thomson thinks it could be more ideal than a completely unproven name like a local rival went for recently.

"Again, like I said similarly with Heckingbottom, Duff is probably not the most ambitious or progressive option that we could go for,"

"I don't think the gulf in class between us and Wycombe is anything, if anything it may point to us being a more favourable job.

"It's maybe not the most ambitious option, but I think it's probably a safe one. I'd rather get someone in like Duff than take a risk like Huddersfield Town did for example with Lee Grant, where it was his first proper head coach job, and look how that ended up for him.

"I'd rather do that than get someone like Lee Grant in - but it's maybe not the most progressive and ambitious option for us."

Michael Duff has history of implementing Graham Alexander-esque tactics

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If he was to be appointed as Bradford's new manager, Duff has a positive next to his name - he's utilised a back three formation in the past, which is the one that really suits the current City squad.

Alexander was rather rigid in his usage of a 3-4-2-1, high-pressing formation, and it would make sense to appoint a manager who would follow on with a version of that rather than ripping up the tactical playbook and starting afresh.

Whilst Duff preferred a 4-2-3-1 at Wycombe with the tools he had to work with, his preference at Huddersfield Town was a back three, although mainly a 3-5-2 rather than a 3-4-2-1, whilst he flicked between a back three and back four in his short time with Swansea City.

Some managers nowadays are quite stuck in their ways when it comes to either a back three or four, but versatility may be key to Bradford's appointment.

Could Bradford City be more ambitious than a Michael Duff hiring?

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Duff was highly thought of at one time when he was plucked from League One outfit Barnsley to join Swansea City in the summer of 2023, but he has since had to settle in League One after failing to make much of an impact in South Wales.

You could also argue that he's since been sacked from two jobs where he's been backed with money and good players in the form of Huddersfield and Wycombe, so in that respect, should a table-topping club like Bradford be really considering hiring him?

Who should Bradford City hire as their next manager? Comment below!

The City vacancy should be a highly-coveted one after the job that Alexander has done with them, and it should really be getting targeted by managers who have been working in the Championship as recently as last season - Heckingbottom is one of those that could be seen as an ideal fit, but you also have the likes of Ryan Mason and ex-Bantams defender Alan Sheehan that may be considering an application.

We'll soon see who Bradford want, but there may be better potential fits for the job at Valley Parade than Duff.