of suspension ending his run of 42 consecutive games. Bradford manager Colin Todd had identified Wetherall as a key player for the season, but despite scoring four goals and striker Windass' 27 goals earning him the league's top scorer's crown, Bradford could only finish 11th. In October 2006, days after playing his 250th game for Bradford, he signed a new deal keeping him at the club until 2010 with a clause allowing him to move into a coaching role when his playing career ended or continue playing beyond 2010. He received the first red card of his career in a 2–2 draw with Cheltenham Town on 30 December for two bookable offences. When he took over as Bradford caretaker manager, Wetherall stepped down as captain and instead handed the armband to centre-back partner Mark Bower. But when McCall was appointed the new manager in June 2007, Wetherall was reinstated as club captain for the 2007–08 season. On 20 February 2008, he announced the 2007–08 season would be his last as a player, although Bradford City would keep his registration, and instead he would join the club's coaching staff. Wetherall said: "I was becoming increasingly frustrated at not being able to do the things that I used to be able to do. Situations I would normally deal with comfortably were suddenly becoming a struggle." Bradford fans held a special day to celebrate Wetherall's career, when they took banners and wore fancy dress and laboratory coats during the club's 1–1 draw with Rotherham United on 22 March 2008. In his penultimate month as a footballer, Wetherall was also named the League Two fans' player of the month by the Professional Footballers' Association. He played his final game for Bradford against Wycombe Wanderers on 3 May 2008 in a 2–1 defeat. Managerial career Wetherall was one of four senior players to act as Bradford City manager for two weeks during November 2003, following the sacking of Nicky Law. He, as well as Peter Atherton, Wayne Jacobs and Dean Windass oversaw training but just one game when Bradford City lost 1–0 to Stoke City with Jacobs taking charge from the touchline. Wetherall took his first full steps into management on a caretaker basis when he was appointed player-manager at Bradford City following the sacking of Colin Todd on 12 February 2007. The side were on a poor run of form but Wetherall, whose role