Always hard to play in Netherlands away...and Germany, but hopefully you'll win! good luck with Europe!
Adam Chabukiani: Defying All Odds
The story of a young Georgian refugee, born through the chaos of the Abkhazia War to find his feet in the footballing world.
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An exciting group, for sure. Hopefully you can secure one of the two top spots and progress, although I do feel you'll be aiming for more than just progression to the knock-out stage
ninjaskill: Agreed, the draw could have been a lot worse and I believe it's realistic to reach the next round
BeanyUnited: Yeah, we've beaten both Aberdeen and Guimaraes very comfortably so there's no excuse to fail here!
mgriffin2012: Good to have you back on here dude! After two seasons in the Europa League I hope to go to the next level and achieve CL football next season
Balik: The Bayer Leverkusen tie looks very menacing to say the least! However it is in no way impossible to qualify for the next round
Justice: Indeed, after reaching the Second Knockout Round last year, I want to go that bit further with what I believe is a better team than last seasons!
BeanyUnited: Yeah, we've beaten both Aberdeen and Guimaraes very comfortably so there's no excuse to fail here!
mgriffin2012: Good to have you back on here dude! After two seasons in the Europa League I hope to go to the next level and achieve CL football next season
Balik: The Bayer Leverkusen tie looks very menacing to say the least! However it is in no way impossible to qualify for the next round
Justice: Indeed, after reaching the Second Knockout Round last year, I want to go that bit further with what I believe is a better team than last seasons!
An extremely underwhelming Premier League performance from us in September has seen ourselves drop down ten places into the mid-table struggle of 14th place. However in European and domestic competitions it is the opposite storyline, picking up wins in all games apart from league matches. We began our Europa League conquest very well with a 6-2 win over EAG and a narrow victory against Vitesse.
After three consecutive league losses to Man United, Spurs and Newcastle our fourth placed position is a distant memory after six games as we slide down into 14th place. Despite it being so early on in the season and having played some decent teams already, it is important to get the wins back on track very soon so it doesn't become too late to return to our former heights. In our Europa League group we currently top the table as ourselves and Bayer Leverkusen begin to shape the final position of Group D in 1st and 2nd places.
Possibly one of our biggest bargains of the transfer window so far this season. Signed for a free transfer from A.C. Milan, Troccoli has brought nothing but delight for our fans. With a hat-trick in the Europa League, the Italian winger is quickly becoming a fans' favourite with his darting runs down the wing. The stats confirm this with the 37 completed dribbles just throughout this month.
Bradford Park Avenue boss Adam Chabukiani has penned a new four-year term with the West Yorkshire team.
Off the back of a truly demoralising 5-1 defeat at the hands of Fulham at the weekend, fans will see the new deal as a light at the end of a recent dark tunnel for Avenue.
Chabukiani, 35, single-handedly took his Bradford team from the 6th tier of English football all the way into the Europa League. After winning the Championship title back in 2020, pundits doubted Chabukiani's ability to crack the top-flight.
Instead, the Georgian gaffer has absolutely flourished in the Barclays Premier League, finishing in top seven spots in both the seasons the club have been in the league.
On top of this, the Switzerland national team job that he took in 2020 has only enhanced his reputation as a fantastic young manager after La Nati's shock FIFA World Cup victory against Holland this summer.
However, the young manager has had a rough beginning to the 2022/23 season, with devastating losses against Fulham, Man United and Newcastle leaving the club four places from the bottom in 17th place after seven games of the Premier League season.
So far, though, Bradford have impressed continentally with a 100% win record in the UEFA Europa League this season with wins against Aberdeen, Vitória Guimaraes, EAG and Vitesse.
Mexican full-back Flavio Alcalá - one of Bradford's shining lights this season so far - has expressed his delight at his manager's contract extension, commenting that Chabukiani had proved himself to be an accomplished manager and that he was excited for more seasons under the Georgian's helm.
The new £50,000 per week contract ensured that Chabukiani's immediate future lies in the hands of Dr. John Dean at Bradford Park Avenue. The contract will expire in June 2026, four years from current day.
Great news mate, not that I could ever see you leaving in the first place
Not the best of starts to the league campaign, but that is a very important contract for both you and the club!
mgriffin2012: Absolutely not, I'm Avenue till I die 
Griffo: It's really going terrible this season to be honest
Cheers mate!
Justice: It certainly looks to improve the morale in the squad currently, I'm glad to be staying!
Griffo: It's really going terrible this season to be honest
Cheers mate!Justice: It certainly looks to improve the morale in the squad currently, I'm glad to be staying!
October was literally a pointless month. We did not manage to pick up a single point all of the month in the Barclays Premier League. In my time as manager at Bradford I don't think I have had a worse month than October 2022. We lost every single game in the league, with the consolations of a draw in the Europa League as well as scraping through the Capital One Cup against Nottingham Forest in extra-time.
Due to our incredibly poor form in the league throughout the past two months, we have fallen deeply into trouble and now find ourselves in the relegation zone with only six points to show for. Arsenal have regained control at the top of the table with 26 points, now several points clear of both of the Manchester teams. Crystal Palace are at the bottom of the table with just one point, with Sheffield United also in trouble.
In the Europa League we surprisingly sit at the top of our group after stealing a draw against Bayer Leverkusen at BayArena. We are halfway through the European campaign and must face the three teams in our group again.
In what has been a terrible month for us, Jack Hallahan has been a good player in contrast to the team performances. Hallahan edged us through against Nottingham Forest in the cup with a brace, but his other performances have also been uplifting in a time of demoralisation for most of the team.
1st November 2022.
"Wayne, will you call in Matty Fletcher once you're done sorting them prints out? I need a word with him." I asked my assistant and fellow Bradford Park Avenue legend Wayne Benn.
I often reminded myself that the club will never have a better backroom setup in terms of supporter gratification than the pair of myself as manager and Wayne Benn as assistant manager.
Benn had played as a centre-back for Avenue in the early and late 90's and I vaguely remember seeing him play when I came down to Horsfall Stadium as just a fan. His commitment and pride of the green jersey earned him legend status as he led the club to their promotion into the sixth tier.
However I had wanted a word with another Bradford legend in the form of Matthew Fletcher.
Fletcher had guided the club all the way to the Premier League with hundreds of goals for the club, becoming the highest goalscorer in the history of The Stans which included 190 league goals.
He left the club last season to join Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv but only appeared 12 times for them, scoring eight goals in the process. I had brought him back after he was released from Kyiv but has rarely appeared in the side all season.
With our season threatening to go down the pan after not a single point was won in October, I knew that I could only rely on one man to help pick up this potentially fatal form in the league.
Benn had left my office door open, which meant that Fletcher didn't have to knock to be granted his entry into the manager's office.
"G'd morning, boss!" Fletcher popped his head around the door.
"Morning, Matty! How are you today?" I asked the striker.
"Yeah not too bad, it's my daughters birthday tomorrow so you know, the family is in a bit of a panic to get her party all sorted out and everything!" He said in his Australian accent. Fletcher had his first daughter five years ago.
"Kids, eh? Who'd have 'em?!" I joked, tapping Fletcher's chest from across my desk. "Anyway Matty, I called you in here just to discuss your future here, particularly for this season."
"Fine by me, boss!" Fletcher smiled, allowing me to carry on with my plans.
"After that disastrous performance against Wolves and all of them before, the team has been long overdue for a switch-up. And if there's anybody me and the fans can rely on to dig us out of the shit, it's Matthew Fletcher." I looked up at the 27-year-old.
"I'm thinking of testing out a new 4-4-2 formation. Y'know, proper Mike Bassett style I know, but since Jurij is ineligible for the Bayer Leverkusen game I want you to go as our lone striker until Jurij is available, at which point he will be your strike partner," I explained to him.
"Yeah, boss, that sounds great. You know I'm more than capable of playing up top on my own!"
"I certainly am, and it will be refreshing for the fans seeing you and Hallahan on the pitch together, scoring and assisting each other's goals! I'm really looking forward to seeing you back in action myself!" I gleamed with a smile on my face.
"Thanks boss, it's really appreciated. I understand most of the lineup is undecided so I won't ask yet!"
"Yeah, but I'm thinking of putting Cabella out on the right in my 4-4-2 against Brentford, with maybe Hallahan on the left? I don't know, I've got plenty of time to decide yet. But thanks, Matthew. That's all I'll be needing you for today!"
"Thanks, Mr Chabukiani. It's good to be back." I held my hand out before shaking Fletcher's.
amazing story Jack! just hope the form can improve this season
2016-08-20 14:50#236487 Woodthorpe13 x : amazing story Jack! just hope the form can improve this seasonThanks Woodthorpe! I hope so too bro, can't be getting relegated now
After a quick change in formation to 4-4-2 following the 2-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen, we went on an unbelievable winning streak which we will drag on into December. It is a great time to hit form at Christmas, which is commonly a time where most clubs begin to slip up. We have qualified for the First Knockout Round of the Europa League which I am delighted with, considering our form earlier.
After slumbering down into the relegation zone at the end of October, we have swiftly recovered from our 2-month rut that we were stuck in and now lie in mid-table at 13th place. This position puts us in touching distance of Fulham in tenth place as we hope to reach closer to the Europa League spots.
In the Capital One Cup we cruise into the Semi-Finals after a 3-1 victory over Chelsea. We are yet to enter the FA Cup which will occur in January as we go automatically into the Third Round. We have also qualified for the First Knockout Round of the Europa League following our 4-2 win over Guingamp.
Yes, it's him again. Rémy Cabella is back again this season with his first Player of the Month award after an outstanding November. Despite a change in formation favouring the two striker Dinaburskij and Fletcher in terms of the goals, Cabella was the man who really made the team tick with six wonderful performances, featuring one goal and eight assists as well as many other fantastic statistics going in the Frenchman's favour.
The midfielder will be turning 33 years old in March next year and I must ponder whether to keep or get rid of a veteran who is earning £75,000 per week. But with performances like these, I would be stupid to let Cabella go now!
That 7-0 drubbing really kick-started your month! The league is so tightly contested at the minute that a couple of good results could catapult you to being within touching distance of the Top 4 in the next month or so. Let's hope the strike partnership of Fletcher & Dina can continue to produce the goods!
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