Bantams battering ram Hanson wants to lock heads with Terry

The City players had suspected something was afoot when the big names filtered past the open door. But they never imagined Arsene Wenger would name such a powerful line-up.

That night in December 2012 went down in Bantam folklore – reputations were made and stars born.

The task facing City this afternoon is even greater; away to the Premier League leaders who have swept all before them at Stamford Bridge this season.

And yet James Hanson hopes that Jose Mourinho will take a leaf out of Wenger’s books and throw in some of the big guns.

In particular, Hanson would love to lock horns – or should that be heads – with John Terry.

The former England skipper was given the day off in the last round against Watford – and Mourinho has stated his intention to do the same against the Bantams – although he did play his defensive partner Gary Cahill against the Hornets.

Hanson would love to see them both in tandem when the Chelsea team is unveiled an hour before kick-off.

He said: "Hopefully they will play because it will be nice to face two of England's great defenders. I'd rather they played to be honest, because you don't come up against John Terry every week.

“When you look back on your career, you want to say you have played against him. Although whatever centre-halves they have got, they will be top class and a good challenge for all of us.

"You will always raise your game if you come up against John Terry. I'd like to play against him, but we will see what team they pick. It is probably going to be a different team from the Liverpool game.

"We have got the scout report from the Watford game in the FA Cup and that team was full of internationals. There’s no real weakened side.

"It is a team who obviously should expect to beat us but we know we can go there and enjoy it and there's no pressure on us.”

Should Terry feature, Hanson might have a scrap on his hands for his shirt afterwards. Billy Knott has already put in a word with old Chelsea pal Josh McEachran for first dibs.

Chelsea will certainly know they’ve been in a fight if the Bantams can rekindle that giant-slaying spirit of two seasons ago.

It’s those fantastically improbable victories against Arsenal, Wigan and Aston Villa that offer some belief that today may not be the walkover that the world expects.

Like Sheffield United, City have forged a reputation as underdogs with a potentially big bite – especially at set-pieces. Per Mertesacker and Ron Vlaar will vouch for that.

No wonder Phil Parkinson almost had to drag Filipe Morais off the training pitch yesterday as the winger practised one cross and free-kick after another.

Thursday marked the second anniversary of Hanson’s header at Villa Park which sealed the glorious journey to Wembley. City’s first corner of the night produced the decisive goal.

With their aerial power, there is no more level playing field than a set-piece – regardless of the quality of opponent.

"Let's be realistic, it is our best chance of scoring a goal,” added Hanson. “One bit of good movement or a good ball and it is going on your head then.

“That is what we are all going to dream of as Bradford players. You just want one chance against the big boys.

"The way the Premier League is played, it is often total football and often goal kicks are placed out of the back. It will be a totally different challenge they will face, especially if we can get anywhere where we can put a ball into the box.

“They probably will see more balls going in there than in a normal Premier League game. We just need a bit of luck and something to bounce for us and you never know.”

Hanson knows the career-defining impact of such a moment. He still has a couple of photos of that Villa goal at home – “my dad’s got loads” – but it was the worldwide attention that it brought.

Suddenly Bradford City were the name on every football fan’s lips, not just across the country but way beyond. Imagine the impact if they manage to pull off the greatest cup shock of the lot.

For Hanson, what happened in 2012-2013 shows that anything is possible.

“That put the city on the map and we’ve got to believe we could do it again.

“A lot of the new signings we have got can go down as fans’ favourites if they get a goal or put in a great performance at Stamford Bridge.

“The lads who have been here for a couple of years know what it does for you as a player and the relationship with the fans.

“This is probably the biggest (cup tie) of all of them if you look at how the Premier League is going this year. Chelsea and Manchester City are probably the best two sides you could have got and to get them away is going to be really tough.

“We must have a good shape and discipline about us and earn our luck like we did against Arsenal when we had a fair bit of that.

“But it’s helped us with our league form being good. We can go there knowing we are in and around the play-offs so we can just enjoy it without any pressure.”