Riverside Stadium, Kickoff
12:27 PM, Riverside Stadium
The steel skeleton of the Riverside glints in the pale northern sun, the river just beyond the stands barely visible through a low, moving mist. Flags ripple gently. Fans trickle into their seats. The tannoy hums faintly overhead, then fades.
In the tunnel, Jake Wilson stands with arms folded, eyes locked on the far end of the corridor. He says nothing. He doesn't need to.
On the whiteboard behind him back in the dressing room, the shape had been crystal-clear.
4–2–4. Not disguised. Not diluted.
Risk? Always. But control would not come from passivity today.
Commentator – Sky Sports (Ian Darke)
Ian Darke:
"Welcome to the Riverside, where the air is sharp, the crowd restless, and Jake Wilson's Bradford City—fresh off a bruising European draw—are here with a bold look. It's not often you see a flat front four in modern football, but Wilson's made his statement clear: he's come to win."
Co-Commentator (Steve Sidwell):
