IT IS 14 years since a City game was graced by the presence of the England manager.

Sven Goran Eriksson joined a freezing 47,000-strong crowd at the Stadium of Light in January 2001 to run the rule over Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips.

Instead, he witnessed a masterclass in man-marking from Robert Molenaar to nullify the threat of targetman Niall Quinn as the Bantams pocketed a rare point on their slide out of the Premier League.

It will be a very different Bradford City on display when Roy Hodgson takes his seat in the Valley Parade directors' box this afternoon. But the emotion he will witness before kick-off has not changed.

The whole footballing nation will come together at the same moment to stand silent and reflect on the victims of the fire tragedy.

The events of 1985 will be acknowledged at every ground across the country; not before time, according to some.

But at Valley Parade, the protocol will remain the same. Hodgson and Football Association chairman Greg Dyke will see the occasion marked in the 'Bradford way'.

A wreath will be laid in the centre circle, either by manager Phil Parkinson or captain Stephen Darby. Opponents Barnsley will lay their own, made up of 56 white Yorkshire roses.

There will also be cheques presented to the Burns Unit on the pitch during half-time. The ritual will be kept deliberately low key and under-stated, as it always has been.

"We've always listened to the friends and family of the people that were lost on that tragic day," said joint-chairman Mark Lawn.

"This time it has been taken away from us a little bit but as long as it's always done respectfully, then we're happy to keep doing what we normally do.

"I think it's nice that the country is remembering what happened. I believe that those who lost people will feel comforted knowing that the whole country is thinking about them at a terrible time.

"It isn't the actual day, of course, but here in Bradford we will remember as we have always done."

While certain sections of the national media continue to press forward with their own agenda over the horrors that transpired 30 years ago next month, the City community will stick with their traditional show of respect.

If Hodgson cares to glance towards the back of the Kop, he will see the giant memorial flag bearing the legend 'You'll never walk alone', evocative words that link the Bradford fire with the disaster at Hillsborough four years later.

The flag had previously been draped on unused seats in the north west corner, which meant removing it for the high-capacity occasions.

The new perch at the loftiest point of Valley Parade now means it is in the eyeline of every vantage point around the ground.

"It means a lot to a lot of people," said Andy Hindle from the White Abbey supporters' branch, one of the groups that had helped to raise the £1,000 to buy the flag in the first place.

They have spent the last week putting it back in pride of place, cleaning off the "dust and bird muck" to make sure the flag will be present once again for this most sensitive of home matches.

The fans have done that in their own spare time. Hindle also pointed out that "Tommy the scaffolder" had erected the flag on poles in the upper tier free of charge.

He said: "The flag is a symbol. It is close to our hearts.

"We are the football team that's kept quiet about our tragedy. We've just gone on quietly with our business and been respectful in the way we can."

The outside attention will not deflect from that.