Bradford City signed Wetherall for a club record £1.4 million, to give experience to a side who had just been promoted to the Premier League. Wetherall was aged just 28, but manager Paul Jewell had made a number of signings aged over 30, prompting journalists to call his team "Dad's Army". Bradford won their first game 1–0 with a last-minute goal at Middlesbrough scored by Dean Saunders who started a celebration pouring scorn at the club's cynics. Wetherall's first goal for Bradford was in a League Cup game at Reading before he scored again in the following round as Bradford were knocked out by Barnsley. His first league goal came in a 2–0 win against Newcastle United on 18 December. Wetherall missed only two cup game for Bradford City during his first season, and was the only player in the Premier League to have played every minute of the league season. His partnership with the emerging Andy O'Brien in central defence was the front line in Bradford's survival attempt. Bradford went into the final game of the season facing possible relegation. After only 12 minutes of their final game with Liverpool, Wetherall headed home a Gunnar Halle free-kick. Bradford held on for a 1–0 win and with Wimbledon's defeat at Southampton, Bradford stayed up with a then-record low of 36 points. The goal directly resulted in Wetherall's former club Leeds United qualifying for the next season's Champions League.