Nick Powell said Bradford City’s play-off run is exactly the sort of stage where a player can make a name for himself as the club prepared for Tuesday night’s second leg of their League One semi-final against Bolton Wanderers.
The 32-year-old came off the bench in Saturday’s first leg at Bolton and used the build-up to make a pointed case for Bobby Pointon, who has missed the last five games with an ankle injury suffered against Stevenage. Powell said the play-off stage is there to put people in the spotlight, and that he would be “unbelievably pleased” if Pointon were the one to seize it.
“I think that’s what play-off stages are for - to put people in the spotlight,” Powell said. “I’m hoping someone in my team can do that and it’d be nice if it was Bobby, if he is available.”
Pointon is one of the local figures in the Bradford squad and Powell called him the epitome of the club. The midfielder said he has known Pointon for about 10 months and would love to see him flourish if he is fit enough to play, saying it would be a lovely story if someone at Bradford could step forward because it would mean he does not have to do as much.
Powell’s admiration for the moment is shaped by his own career. He recalled scoring a Wembley goal for Crewe in 2012 when they beat Cheltenham in the League Two play-off final, and said he understands the feeling of seeing a route to the end of a career. “I’ve been very open about my career, I’ve had it, I’ve enjoyed it,” he said. “You see it from that point, when you see yours coming to an end. If that was for someone at Bradford, which I hope it is, because it means I don’t have to do as much, it would be a lovely story.”
Bradford’s situation is simple enough. They are one game away from reaching the final, with Tuesday night’s tie carrying everything that comes with a promotion chase. Powell said the squad knows what is at stake and wants the club to go through as a team, adding that it would be nice to be part of something that could be etched into Bradford’s history.
That is the tension inside the dressing room: an experienced squad figure talking about legacy while a younger, local player waits on the edge of fitness and selection. Powell’s words were not about sentiment alone. They were also about the hard edge of a play-off campaign, where one good night can change how a player, and a club, is remembered.
Bradford now have to get over the line against Bolton. If they do, Pointon’s return could become part of the story Powell wants to see — and the club’s place in its own history would move one step closer.
