VADAINE Oliver only had to glance down the cast list to know that City are not “all talk” this year.

The big target man is the latest high-profile recruit in a summer that has rekindled the excitement among the Valley Parade faithful.

And it’s not just the fans who view the hectic business of the last couple of months as proof that the Bantams are really going for it to make their fourth straight year in the bottom tier their last one.

Oliver was a League Two promotion winner with Northampton in 2020 – and can see strong similarities.

“If I hadn’t seen that ambition and heard it from the gaffer, I probably don’t think I would have signed,” he said.

“Seeing the players they’d brought in gave me a very similar feel to when I stepped in at Northampton with Keith Curle.

“He said the same sort of thing, telling me what they planned to do and the players they’d brought in. I think it was a similar amount at the time.

“We gelled brilliantly as a group and obviously got it over the line and won promotion.

“I just felt this was something again to be a part of and not miss that opportunity.

“As much as a big part of this move was for my family being up north and being able to come back for my kids, ultimately it was the selling point of the ambition of the club.

“It’s not just talk, it’s something you can fully believe in and get behind.

“You can see that they are trying with everyone they are bringing into the club. Players are coming from League One or Championship level and bringing their qualities and experience.”

Oliver, keen to get back to his Yorkshire roots after the last two seasons at Gillingham, is understood to have turned down higher offers both from League One and below to make the move to Valley Parade.

“I had a lot of offers. There were clubs in League One where I’ve played for the last two years.

“But they didn’t have everything in terms of location and the ambition and stature of the club. This seems like a perfect fit with everything.

“There were big teams that were hard to say no to, but it was also difficult for me to relocate with the family.

“Once I had that meeting with everyone at Bradford, it just felt like the right thing to do even if it was drop down a level.

“I didn’t want to be in League One just for the sake of it. I want to be moving forward.

It’s not just talk, it’s something you can fully believe in and get behind

“I want to look back on my career and see that I’ve achieved something. I don’t just want to be a player who ticked a few boxes and got so many career appearances.”

Geography was a factor, though not the main one, with Oliver now able to move back in with his family in Sheffield after two years up and down the motorway from Kent.

“It’s been really difficult with my kids and my missus. I’ve got three young boys.

“I was staying down there for the week training and then coming back after games.

“Gillingham’s a long way from anywhere so every game was an away game for me. I was going back to Sheffield to be there for less than 24 hours and that wasn’t fair to them.

“I didn’t want to do that again, so it was a big part of my decision process.”

Oliver netted 11 goals in Gillingham’s relegation season – and he also won the most aerial challenges in the entire four divisions.

A list posted by Playmakerstats on Twitter credited the 30-year-old with 884 successes in the air – nearly 300 more than his closest rival Michael Smith.

Oliver laughed: “I’ve had good stats since I’ve been at Gillingham and they’ve always tagged me in them. But I was surprised at how big the difference was.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Vadaine Oliver won the most aerial challenges in all four divisions last season Vadaine Oliver won the most aerial challenges in all four divisions last season

“I’m in my prime now and I know what’s required from me in a game.

“It’s not just about winning all my aerial duels, it’s being a focal point for the team and being somebody to play off and also scoring goals.

“I got into the swing of that of late with Gillingham and at the back end for Northampton but that was down to the quality I had around me.

“When you do go up and start to play with better players, it seems to bring something out of you that maybe had been laid dormant.

“As long as I’ve got the service in the right place, I can be a real handful and be successful for this club.

“We’re going to be a big target and I don’t think anyone is blind to that. Every game is going to be difficult, whoever we’re playing home or away.

“But as long as we match that intensity, you look at the quality and I do feel we can gel quick enough and get on a run.

“Once we do that, because of the size of the club and the fanbase, we could scare a lot of teams and get that fear factor in early.”