Bantamstrek patron Simon Ramsden has been named as part of the squad for tonights Johnstones Paint Trophy Quarter-Final North match with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. It is expected we will see him make an appearance at some point tonight after nine long months of injury misery for the highly rated defender.

Rammers in Squad for Sheffield United v Bradford City match.

Simon Ramsden has been very frustrated at not being able to be part of the playing team, but has done a lot of work behind the scenes to get back to fitness and also to support Bantamstrek and the Bradford Burns Unit.

He recently played in a practice match the reserves for an hour. But his return to first team action will be seen by a wider audience as the Sheffield United v Bradford City match will be shown on Sky Sports.

Simon Ramsden Dedicated to Bradford City

Phil Parkinson said about the plight of Simon Ramsden “I feel for Simon. He’s in a million times better place mentally now than when I first came to the club.” Also saying “He’s such a professional in terms of the way he’s worked while he’s been injured. His fitness when he came back in was like he had never been away”.

The manager went on to talk about the commitment Simon Ramsden has shown to Bradford City, something few supporters have been able to witness on a day to day basis, but for people like Graham Duckworth who sees him nearly every day, his dedication to the club and the fight ahead for Bradford City could never be called into question. Even though he has not been able to pull on a City shirt for a long time, behind the scenes his loyalty to the club is staunch. Phil Parkinson spoke of him after the defeat at home to Cheltenham on Saturday.

“Talking to Rammers, when you’ve been out as long as he has you can see how much it means. He was hurting when we got beaten and didn’t even play. Those are the type of characters we need to have around.

Hopefully we will start to see more of him on the come back trail, because the hunger for success with Bradford City that Rammers has, can only be a positive thing to have in the team.

Needless to say everyone involved with Bantamstrek is delighted to see Simon back and wish him the very best of luck tonight.