Bradford City's defeat at home to Queens Park Rangers was yet another result which illustrates just how open the First Division is this season.

Rangers went into the game in the bottom three while City had lost just twice in 13 league matches. Despite everything pointing to a home win, it was the Londoners who deservedly took the points.

The following day, crisis club Oxford pulled off a fine 3-1 win at Norwich when a victory for the Canaries would have seen them fly into fourth position.

With the season approaching the halfway stage, the only certainty seems to be that Sunderland will go up as champions while Crewe look destined for the drop after a dreadful run which has seen them pick up just five points from their last 16 games.

However the rest of the division is shaping up to be something of a lottery. From Ipswich in second position to Crystal Palace down in 14th, any one of these sides could be realistically challenging for a place in the top six next May.

Before the season started, most people were predicting that Bolton and Birmingham would be the main challengers with Sunderland for a place in the top two.

Both clubs may be in the top five but they have also already lost games against clubs in the lower half of the table.

After the next three fixtures, City will have played all their rivals in the First Division at least once - if you count those farcical 45 minutes against Crystal Palace as a game. And I have to say there is nothing for City to be intimidated by.

Saturday's defeat against QPR was disappointing for everyone at Valley Parade but it should not detract from what has been achieved in the last few months.

The Bantams have come a long way under Paul Jewell since the start of the campaign where they were briefly in the bottom three. That was always a false position - as subsequent results have proved.

Gerry Francis obviously did his homework on City before last Saturday's game and used a formation which frustrated the Bantams.

With the lively strike pairing of Kevin Gallen and Mike Sheron in fine form up front, the R's justifiably took the points.

It was a rare off day for the Bantams although it should be noted that the pitch certainly did not help.

When a team uses the 3-5-2 formation to close themdown then it is imperative that City pass the ball quickly. They need to try and get behind their opponents and the best way to do that is keep them moving.

However the Valley Parade pitch is heavy at the moment which means moving the ball is that little bit more difficult. And it also means that Peter Beagrie and Robbie Blake are finding it fsr more difficult to dribble round opponents.

That is why the move to play the reserve games at Farsley has to be a welcome one. Many of the top clubs, including Chelsea and Manchester United, play their reserve games away from their main ground to preserve their pitch.

Already this season, Valley Parade has hosted 12 first team games, three friendlies and another six reserve games. That is a lot of football in a short space of time and with Bradford having more than its fair share of rain the past couple of months, it is no surprise that the pitch has been suffering.

A pitch in perfect condition is imperative to the football City try and play and anything which can help it has to be a good thing.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.