Private Cider(cider army) Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 Bradford Park Avenue boss Trevor Storton today weighed up Sunday's mouthwatering FA Cup duel for his minnows and grinned: "Bring on Bristol City!" The 53-year-old former centrehalf was at Liverpool as a youngster under Bill Shankly in the early 1970s - after moving from Tranmere for £25,000 - before winding up his professional playing career with Chester. So having performed on such an illustrious stage, Storton, who now has his own window cleaning business, will hardly be fazed by the visit of the Second Division club as his Unibond Premier League outfit aim to claim a big scalp in the Cup's first round. The Bradford manager was at Ashton Gate last Saturday to watch City draw 1-1 with Luton. And while he insists his side will need "no motivating" when the game kicks-off at 1pm on Sunday, Storton admits they will "have to go some" if they are to engage in a giant-killing act. "We are all looking forward to it immensely and we're ready to give it a really good go, " said Keighleyborn and bred Storton. "But it's asking a lot of our lads to beat them. I was down in Bristol with my wife at the weekend and made to feel very welcome by everyone, the chairman (Steve Lansdown) especially. "I was impressed with what I saw of Bristol City and they're obviously missing that bit of luck you need in front of goal. They bombarded the Luton goal in the second half, having taken their foot off the gas a bit when they took that early lead. "There's no doubting they are a strong side and will do very well in the League. "If we both play to our true capabilities on Sunday, then Bristol will surely win. "You often get cases of professional teams failing to motivate themselves properly for whatever reason when they play smaller clubs, so we'll be hoping they take their eye off the ball against us." Bradford tend to be watched by a hard-core 300 or so for league games at the Horsfall Stadium and Storton confessed: "From a financial viewpoint we'd have loved it to have been played at Ashton Gate but unfortunately you don't get the chance to switch it these days. That is purely for financial reasons because our crowds are small given the size of the city and we aren't one of the better wage-payers in our league. "But we'll be disappointed if we don't get a full house of 3,000 or so on Sunday and the public appear to be capturing the mood of the occasion. "I am not so sure Bristol will relish coming here.We have a nice stand but the surrounding areas of the pitch are not the best; it's a case of standing behind the ropes along the touchline! "The surface should be excellent, though. Two months ago it was a disgrace but the council got a firm in from Manchester to sort it out and the Bristol City players can have no complaints." Storton, who won an FA Trophy winners'medal with Telford in the 1980s, and described City boss Danny Wilson as "a very good player" on the strength of their many battles during their days with Chester and Chesterfield respectively, admits keeping his players' enthusiasm in check this week has proved troublesome! "The boys are very excited about the game, " he said. "We had a little five-a-side on Monday night at training and I could see then that everybody wanted to play against Bristol City. "The motivation is there alright and it won't take me to have to do it for them. "But there'll be none of this telling them to go out and enjoy themselves as managers tend to do in these games. I'll tell them to go out and do the right things first, from which they can then start gaining some enjoyment." These days the genial and unassuming Storton lives in the village of Wilsden, near Bingley. And while he cannot wait for Sunday, the most pressing goal is to haul his Bradford team out of the lower reaches of the Unibond Premier and into contention for the new Conference II. On Saturday they won their first home game of the campaign, 6-2 against Vauxhall Motors in front of 360 diehards, to haul themselves up to fifth-from-bottom spot. Storton understandably sees that as a timely boost to their hopes in Sunday's match but maintained: "That win has long been coming. Our away form has been excellent and we've only lost the once. "We have had some terrific injury problems but, thankfully, people are on the way back now. "Had we had a better wage budget at our disposal, I'm certain we'd already be out of this division." Of his past, Storton, who had a spell in charge at Chester City in the mid80s, said: "It was fantastic playing alongside players like Larry Lloyd and Emlyn Hughes at Liverpool. But Tommy Smith was in his prime and wouldn't be shifted! I only made 12 appearances in the end. "I also just missed out on a UEFA Cup winners'medal in 1973, even though I'd played in two of the games leading up to the final." City's allocation of 868 tickets is now on sale to priority groups at Ashton Gate before going on general sale tomorrow. Bradford have sold about 1,000 of their 1,900 tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfc seattle Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 Sounds like it should be a good day out, hopefuly you all won't be standing in mud behind the rope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ciderhead Reynolds Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 bah !! the ones behind rope are the best ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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