Cyril (Ces) Podd

Born St Kitts; August 7, 1952.

I suppose as much as anything Ces Podd is famous for his name. Right through the 1970’s and well into the 80’s football fans everywhere recognised his name even if they didn’t know much about the player himself. His commitment to the cause of Bradford City during that period ensure that he is fondly remembered for more substantial reasons in that city, however, and his career, modest in achievement but rich in consistency of performance and loyalty of service, is well worth reviewing.

Cyril Podd came over to England with his family as a nine year old boy from his native St Kitts to settle in West Yorkshire. The youngster was a talented natural athlete and developed quickly as a footballer of outstanding promise. From the start one of his obvious assets was genuine pace and he used this to good effect in becoming an eye catching schoolboy right winger.

Several scouts took notice of Podd’s potential and he was invited for trials at both Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers. These turned out to be demoralising experiences for the youngster, however, with the trip to Wolves being a particular disappointment as Podd did not even get to play in the arranged trial match.

It was a somewhat disillusioned young man who headed back to Bradford after this setback and Podd put his footballing ambitions to the back of his mind as he enrolled at Bradford’s Art College to study commercial design in advertising. A friend of Podd’s remained convinced that he had what it takes to make it as a footballer, however, and wrote to Bradford City recommending him for a trial. Podd was invited but history looked to be repeating itself as he waited to be given a chance in his favoured right wing position.

With no immediate prospect of this happening Podd jumped at the chance to try his luck at left back when volunteers were requested for that position and the rest, as they say, is history.

Podd impressed in his new found position and began training with the club as well as developing his game playing for the reserves while continuing his studies. Having completed his course at college Podd signed professional forms with City when he turned eighteen in August 1970 and it was not long before he was making his first team debut in a 1-0 win at Chesterfield.

It was not easy for Podd to step into a side struggling at the wrong end of the third division but he did enjoy two decent runs in the Bradford first team as they narrowly avoided relegation. For the newcomer, learning his trade in a relatively new position, this was good experience and his development must have been helped by the presence at the club of Ray Wilson who had recently joined the in a player coach capacity.

Wilson, recognised as one of England’s greatest ever full backs, had helped his country lift the World Cup only four years earlier but was now in his mid thirties and a series of debilitating injuries meant that he was unable to manage more than a couple of appearances for his new club. His presence and experience must have been of benefit to the promising Podd as the raw youngster took his first steps in league football, however.

Podd was included in the Bradford side as left back at the start of the following season but would lose his place after a disappointing start culminated in a 7-1 hiding at Bristol Rovers. There would only be a handful of further appearances in the first team for Podd during the remainder of the 1971-72 season which ended unhappily with The Bantams relegated at the foot of the table.

Podd’s footballing education continued in the reserves, however, with the player impressing both at full back and in his original position on the right wing. In fact it is surprising that Podd was not given more than the occasional first team outing as a winger given the problems he caused as an attacker in the second team.

With Bradford falling into the fourth division the time was right for Podd, now approaching twenty, to step back into the first team and this time he would make a position his own. The club had by now signed a solid, experienced left back in John Ritchie from Preston which made it natural for Podd to be given his chance at right back. The move was an immediate success and Podd would rarely be absent from the City starting line up for over a decade.

At this stage Podd was a hugely enthusiastic player who never knew when he was beaten. Experience would undoubtedly make him a better defender, his positional sense and reading of the game would improve steadily during his career, but any deficiencies he might have had in those areas early on in his career were more often than not compensated for by his genuine pace, always one of his greatest assets.

It should also be noted that Podd always realised that his first duty to the team, when selected as a full back, was to defend. As a natural winger it might have been suspected that Podd would approach his full back role in a dangerously cavalier fashion and often be found charging forward at the wrong moment but this was never the case. Podd would certainly back up the attack when the situation allowed but he never forgot where his priorities lay.

Bradford did not fare particularly well on their return to the fourth division but excitement was generated by a decent run in the FA Cup which provided Podd with his first taste of big crowds and top class players. Having disposed of Grantham and Tranmere in the first two rounds Bradford were paired with Blackpool in the third. The Seasiders were a strong second division side who boasted several fine individual talents in their attack.

Podd was faced with the likes of Alan Suddick, Alan Ainscow and Mickey Burns and he played his part as Bradford earned a splendid 2-1 win. This victory earned them a 4th round tie away to Arsenal and Podd showed up well in a staunch rearguard action which brought Bradford credit but, ultimately, a 2-0 defeat.

Over the next couple of seasons Podd developed rapidly as a highly dependable full back but his own progress was not mirrored by his club as Bradford remained unable to make any real impression on the fourth division. The clubs’ defence was bolstered by the arrival of the experienced and extremely capable goalkeeper, Peter Downsborough, but City could do no better than a couple of mid table finishes.

It would again be the FA Cup that provided Podd and Bradford City with some light relief and in 1975-76 the competiton really brought both the player and club to national attention. Victories over Chesterfield, Rotherham United and Shrewsbury Town took City to the 4th round where they were given a home draw against non league Tooting and Mitchum. Such was the interest in this tie that a massive crowd of 21,152 squeezed into Valley Parade to see the home side prevail by three goals to one.

Next up was a trip to first division Norwich City boasting the attacking talents of Martin Peters, Phil Boyer and Ted MacDougall. On one of the most famous nights in the clubs’ history City pulled off a shock 2-1 victory with Podd’s most telling contribution being a dramatic goal line clearance as the Bradford defence came under intense pressure.

Into the 6th round and a home draw with second division Southampton had the whole of Bradford dreaming of the semi finals and, perhaps, Wembley as well but this was not to be. A controversial free kick by Jim McCalliog proved to be the only goal of a hard fought, tense battle.

Interestingly only 14,195 fans were allowed in to see this game as the club made the fixture an all ticket affair and The Saints, famously, went marching on the lift the cup with victory over Manchester United.

Podd only missed one game, the final league fixture, in all competitions during the course of this season and was part of a defence that was virtually ever present with Ian Cooper, John Middleton and David Fretwell completing the back four in front of Downsborough. This unit was especially formidable in the cup run as it surrendered only four goals in the six ties played.

This defence was altered the following season as Peter Hardcastle came in at right back with Podd switching to the left to accommodate the newcomer. An excellent start to the season saw City finally mounting a promotion challenge in Division Four and a 1-1 draw at home to Bournemouth in the penultimate game saw Bradford clinch a place in Division Three, thereby giving Podd his first real taste of success in professional football.

The club looked equipped to consolidate at the next level but this did not prove to be the case and City ended up dropping back into Division Four immediately.

Podd was now at his peak as a footballer having developed into an assured, intelligent defender and retaining the pace that had always been such an ally. When going forward he was the provider of many inviting centres that helped feed a succession of centre forwards. The main beneficiary of these had been the brave, strong Joe Cooke but the arrival of the bullish Bobby Campbell gave the club a striker even better qualified to take advantage of anything decent crossed into the penalty area.

It would take Bradford four seasons to rise out of the fourth division but the team was improving throughout this period and when they did win back a place in Division Three they were definitely equipped to handle the higher standard.

City had come agonisingly close to promotion in 1980 when they missed out on a frantic final day after losing 1-0 at Peterborough while Portsmouth were winning at Northampton to overtake them. This was the season that saw Podd scoring his first goal for the club as he notched in a 2-1 win at Northampton in his 317th league game.

The 1980-81 season was disappointing from the point of view of league performances but provided Podd with further career highlights. He was part of the side that scored a fine 1-0 victory over Liverpool in the first leg of their League Cup tie and he would have also enjoyed the return trip to Anfield even though this resulted in a 4-0 defeat.

This was also the defenders’ testimonial season and a team of black players assembled at Valley Parade to provide the opposition which contained a host of the countries’ top stars. The crowd of 3,381 which turned out to pay tribute to Podd’s sterling service might not seem that big but it was larger than most of the league crowds City could muster during that campaign.

Recognition of Podd’s consistency of performance also came as he was voted into the PFA Division Four team of the season by his fellow professionals for the first time, a richly deserved accolade.

Podd would be voted into the PFA side again the following season and this time he had double cause for celebration as Bradford clinched promotion back to Division Three as runners up behind Sheffield United.

By now this was a fine City side with Roy McFarland having taken over as player manager. Peter Jackson helped the new boss form a fine defensive partnership while the nippy David McNiven was a good foil for the abrasive Campbell at the other end of the field. City also received a boost during the campaign with the re-signing of Joe Cooke.

The basis for the promotion push came early on in the season when City won nine league games on the trot and confidence was also boosted by a couple of excellent performances against an outstanding Ipswich Town side in the League Cup. The Bantams managed a 1-1 draw at Portman Road before losing 3-2 after extra time in the replay.

Podd was a model of consistency during this season and ended it as an ever present, the only time he would manage the feat during his career despite several other near misses.

This was undoubtedly the strongest side Podd had played in during his time at Valley Parade and it would continue to improve as Trevor Cherry stepped into McFarland’s shoes as player manager. Unfortunately for Podd the team was moving forward just as he was beginning to pass his best. He remained a regular in the side for two seasons as City adapted well to life in the third division but the arrival of strong young defenders like Greg Abbott and Chris Withe spelt the end of Podd’s reign as Bradford’s first choice full back and at the end of the 1983-84 season he was released by the club on a free transfer.

Highlights of Podd’s final couple of seasons with Bradford were the two legged League Cup meeting with Manchester United in which City earned a goalless draw in the first leg before going down 4-1 at Old Trafford in the second. Ces also notched a couple of goals to add to his meagre career tally. He found the net in the local derby at Huddersfield on New Years Day 1983 in a frantic 6-3 defeat and also scored City’s goal in a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Sheffield United in the following seasons’ League Cup.

On leaving Bradford Podd made the short journey down the road to join Halifax Town but the move proved to be a tough one for the seasoned full back. Despite having spent his entire career in the lower divisions Podd had not experienced the privations of life at The Shay during his time at Bradford.

Halifax was a club struggling to survive and everything at the club was done on a shoestring. The team reflected this and ended the season having to apply, successfully, for re-election to the Football League. There was some excitement in the form of a two legged League Cup tie against Tottenham but this was lost resoundingly on a 9-1 aggregate as an attack boasting John Chiedozie, Tony Galvin, Mark Falco and Garth Crooks proved emphatically too strong for a defence containing Podd and the accident prone former Manchester United goalkeeper Paddy Roche.

Podd had been a virtual ever present during his first season at Halifax but he found himself marginalised the following year as the club scored something of a coup in signing the powerful Phil Brown from Hartlepool United. Now in his mid thirties Podd preferred to drop down into the Conference in search of first team football rather than play in the reserves at Halifax and this decision brought him a final taste of glory as he was part of the Scarborough team that was promoted into the Football League as Conference champions in 1987.

Podd was just about ready to hang his boots up at this stage but played another three league games for Scarborough during their first season in Division Four, his final appearance coming in a 1-0 defeat at Tranmere.

Podd’s final total of 562 league appearances provided ample testimony to his resilience, consistency and actual ability. Despite having never played in a higher standard than the third division Podd had become a respected player throughout the game and was undoubtedly one of the most reliable lower league defenders anywhere during the 1970’s and early 80’s.

It is a little surprising that he never had the chance to prove himself at a higher level. The first division would have provided a challenge that Podd appeared equipped to meet while he was surely more than good enough to prosper in Division Two.

Somehow he seemed to be part of the fabric at Bradford City, however, and this may have played a part in his remaining at Valley Parade for so long. The club and the player became synonymous with one another during the 70’s with Podd being the most likely name mentioned if you asked supporters of other lower league clubs to name a Bradford player.

As with all black players of that period the ugly spectre of racist abuse inevitably plays its’ part in the story of Ces Podd and there is no doubt that he suffered his share of taunts from terraces up and down the country. As a full back he was a particularly easy and convenient target in fact. I think it is fair to say that overall, however, Podd became a well liked and much respected player all around the country through his honesty and quality of performance as well as his sheer longevity.

Since hanging up his boots Podd has brought his experience and talents to bear on several jobs within the game; as national coach of St Kitts, coaching at the Leeds United academy and as a Football in the Community officer with Bradford City while he has also provided the West Yorkshire public with his expertise as a dance instructor.

Not surprisingly when a Bradford brewery ran a competition in 2004 to find three City legends after which three specially brewed real ales would be named Ces Podd was one of the players chosen. Maybe an unusual tribute but certainly a fitting one.

Bradford City 502 appearances, 3 goals

Halifax Town 57 appearances

Scarborough 3 appearances