Most liked posts in thread: BRADFORD'S Bouncing Backwards!

I fully support immigration, fully. I am the son of an immigrant.

However I am willing to acknowledge that it can have consequences that are not ALL beneficial.

But if we as a country/city/town/village etc are unwilling to accept that mass immigration to anywhere can cause problems and, crucially, accept and discuss those problems in an open manner without having the racist card thrown out every time then we have no way of moving forward.

 

Is it really? Or are you over PC and can't take someone telling their opinion?

 

Bradford's wealth was founded on industries that no longer exist, or at least not on the scale they did.

The big employers in the 1980s all left the City as first automation and then the Internet came along.

Nothing has come along to replace this, hence the ongoing decline of the city. Relatively poor transport links and the rise of Leeds have prevented any sort of recovery.

Add the levels of poverty within the city and you have a recipe for continued decline. I'd argue the failure to address poverty in the city is ultimately the biggest issue for the decline.

From a footballing perspective, virtually all successful clubs in either the Premier League or Championship are bankrolled by foreign investment or have foreign owners with wealth derived outside the UK.

 

I think a more valid argument is to point towards public perception in general and whether that has prevented the level of investment in Bradford's sporting teams that has been afforded to other towns/cities. I don't know but it surely doesn't help. The lack of a community or publicly funded stadium or facilities is an easy issue to point to, in a city which population exceeds half a million. We are not talking about Scunthorpe/Oldham etc here.

From a small sample size I can say that most of my friends who were able to left Bradford the first chance they had. Most were ardent City fans and now support from afar, the lack of opportunities and decline in the city was obvious 20 years ago when they were finishing University. Potentially they were fans at heart who could have been involved in their community at large, including the football team. It's that brain drain which really hurts down the line.

It's not a race based argument, more of a socio-economic one, much of it to do with how Bradford is seen by the world at large and what can be done to arrest the slide. I'm speaking as someone who works in BD9 and has done for more than 15 years so I am fully aware of the situation in terms of white middle class flight etc.

 

Do you genuinely think there isn't one point of logic in any of his posts in the above thread?

 

Yep, I can relate to that. Born and lived in Bradford all my life, then a better education was available out of Bradford and subsequently a better job opportunity outside of Bradford.

The same job in Bradford pays thousands of pounds annually less than the same job in Leeds, which shows just how far behind our City is.

 

Bradford been a shithole affects eveything from football / rugby / nightlife / restaurants / attractions / jobs / pay etc etc . Why would anyone want to invest here or move here ? Everyone with any common sense is leaving due to all of the above . It’s a dump and mass immigration has played a huge part of that . Its a poor city and is down in the dumps . It’s past repair .

Let’s work our way from the list of teams given

Leicester - Decent town centre with things going on and historic football club
Wolves- stones throw from the second biggest city in england who are expanding there ground to 38000 huge potential
Newcastle - huge crowds massive city centre huge potential
Fleetwood/Rotherham - Carnt really class them towns as having the same issues as the city of Bradford .
Both are run by local business men . I wouldn’t call it outside investment .

Our max crowds will never rise above 25k . We don’t have the city population interested in football and it stops us having any potential . We can do as many promotions to the Asian community as we want and it won’t work . It hasn’t worked previously and see no reason why it will in future .

Anyone who thinks that the above city’s are worse than Bradford do really have they head in the clouds . Just drive up leeds road , bakerend , great Horton road , manningham , white abbey , lidget green and have a good nosey about at how poor these areas are and the Knock on effect it has as a city as whole .

It’s not racist it’s reality . Immigration and constant council Mis spending has all played a part in us not having wealthy investors in the city centre and due to that our sports teams suffer .

 

It’s a typical case of throw the race card in , everyone else is wrong your all racist , am not interested no longer , good bye

 

Alas. You are absolutely right.

 

Pretty obvious isn't? I can bear listening to opinions, but will 'out' those that I don't agree with. The comment about 'excessive multiculturalism' has the distinct whiff of being, at least a tad, racist I suggest. I am sure that my friends Sajid and Ahmad would be less than impressed, just as I am. Nowt more, nowt less. Your post implies that City and The Bulls are sh*t, partially as a result of Bradford having a multicultural population. What utter bollox.

 

Though I don't agree completely I do understand your argument and can see why this is put forward from a business perspective but from a sports team view it just doesn't hold water.

Bradfords professional sports teams have been serially poor for close to a century. Bradford City, BPA, Bradford Northern, Bradford Speedway have had brief periods in their histories of success and long periods of swimming around the bottom and none of this is due to 'excessive multiculturalism'. If that where the case then Leicester, Birmingham, Wolverhampton etc would be in a similar position. But generally they are not.

Bradford has a history of underfunded, poorly supported, badly managed sports teams. Again nothing to do with 'multiculturalism'

With regard to the city in general.

Bradford has its problems. Some of these have been caused by immigration but not all. Poor management, decisions and investment by local, county and central government has also played its part,

And no it's not racist to have this conversation or acknowledge that there are cause and affects.

 

Walk through Bradford City centre for an hour.

Then walk through Leeds City centre for an hour.

You then have your answer as to which City is prospering and which is a more attractive investment.

The club in the city that is prospering is much likelier to succeed, therefore proving to be a more attractive investment proposition.

 

My entire family are immigrants to the UK.

Problem is, with some people, you even mention the word “immigration” or “multiculturalism” and people blindly call you a racist. Almost trying to shut down the debate because you mentioned a taboo word.

My parents are foreign immigrants to the country so if I want to discuss issues and consequences as a result of excessive immigration and/or multiculturalism then I should be able to do so without getting laughably accused of being something I’m absolutely not.

Anybody should be able to discuss it but unfortunately it’s such a taboo subject in this day and age.

 

You have a point regarding the decline of Bradford as a city but your link to multiculturalism is wrong. Mass immigration of low skilled workers has gone in Bradford for decades, right back to before the turn of the century, many of them of Irish and Polish descent. It is nothing new.

There is a good discussion as to what the perceived merits of multiculturalism are but thats for another day.

 

Unfortunately, any point of view that doesn't comply with the state-sponsored motion of multiculturalism and diversity is considered as 'racist' to those who have bought in to that motion.

 

Ah the Bradford Superdome. What a laugh that was.

 

Excessive multiculturalism within Bradford has driven the City down the sh*tpan, unfortunately, and it is no coincidence that our city's Sports teams are heading in the same route.

Wealthy, educated people are leaving Bradford which is hitting the City in more ways than one.

 

Lots of quality people, but far too few quality jobs.
It's been like it for years. Out of 45 working years ..... I spent 5 years in further education, about 25 years working in other parts of the country - So only 15 working within the Bradford area.

 

I am not exactly sure where you are going with this argument, but it is already beginning to stink a little.

 

What do you mean?