25 replies to this topic

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

A terrible indictment of R L that the bulls are £1m in the red!!! They need half by mid April. Got no sympathy though, as no one shed a tear when the bears went bust. Look forward to a newly reformed Bradford playing in the third tier!

[oldhamer]

Keighley must be peeing themselves laughing. The Bulls had no shame in advertising themselves in Keighley and taking away fans from the Cougarmania enduced club back in early days of SL, kicking a club that was on the verge of big things only to be denied by Caisley/Lindsay and co. Keighley should now reciprocate and have 4/5 wagons advertising the Cougars and their next game offering discounts to Bradford season ticket holders, and drive them round the streets of Bradford 24/7.

No sympathy at all. And the real kick between the legs is that Halifax had a viable and workable plan for SL that would of been more in line of their budget than what Bradford overspent with.

Edited by oldhamer, 27 March 2012 - 09:40 AM.

[roughyed48]

No sympathy at all. they didn't care when the Bears where in the same boat.
Demegraphics of Bradford has changed...asians ain't gonna pay to watch it.
Plus an outdated ground, needs to be like Warrington somewhere
Plus big contract overseas players no doubt
Welcome to Championship One.

[oldhamer]

The SL will not demote Bradford, in the same fashion that they handled the London and Wales debacle, adminstration with no serious penalties. The RFL and SL bodies will support the top tier clubs to the hilt, always will after they saw the mess Oldham/Paris/Workington left when they exited the competition.
How London were allowed to reform and stay in the competition was bad enough, followed by the whole Celtic farce shows that once you are in the top flight, the SL will look after you come what may.
If the do step and help, it will be another kick in the whatsits for teams in the Championship and below. And they wonder why people are staying away from RL beneath the SL? The whole game is run by cretins, and having listened constantly to what the RFL are trying preach at various meetings, nothing will convince me otherwise.

To play devils advocate, I would love someone to have the balls to say to all SL clubs at the end of the season is that all monies paid by SL to the clubs each year is being suspended for one year only, to allow clubs to stand on their won two feet and not rely on a huge cash hand out. Yes, it would cause up roar. Yes, it would enforce a reduction on salaries paid at the top (at a level clubs now could afford), and change cultures that have been allowed to grow for the detriment of the game. There would be an outcry that the top talent would go elsewhere, where? The NRL? I don't think so for the majority, maybe 3/4 at tops.
The whole game is being run by people who are looking after their own interests and creating a culture of 'YES' men, that has to change.

[thecrab]

I have no sympathy either.
I already feel bitter about the way our club and others below SL have been treated by the RFL.

It'll be interesting to see how this is handled
Will they be bailed out by the RFL?
Will they be relegated? Will another team take their place?

It's no wonder theres a lot of apathy among the heartland clubs below SL

[Bedford Roughyed]

If they go bust they will get a 6 point (3 game) deduction, the same as anyone else. As SL has no relegation they can finish bottom.

[saints10coach]

I don't know if the same rules apply still, but RFL Operational rules did say a club can be relegated if they go into Administration. Although they did not apply it to London or Widnes after their best planned move of the day, at Headingley when they lost to Castleford.

[oldhamer]

"If they go bust they will get a 6 point (3 game) deduction, the same as anyone else. As SL has no relegation they can finish bottom"

Yep, I am sure that Bradford will be dealt with like they handled Doncaster and Barrow etc. To go into administration is relegation material irrespective if it's not a relegation season otherwise it's simple. Overspend in years 1 and 2, and when the franchises are up for renewal and relegation could happen in Year 3, run back into the black and keep your place - easy peasy. A 6 point deduction is ###### all for Bradford, as it means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. The RFL and SL should take a leaf out of the NRL and grow a set of gonads and deal with them severly. But we all know that will not happen.

Bradford should take the punishment end of and not morph into something London did years ago.

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

There is one question that I keep asking..... Are Bradford the only ones?

[oldhamer]

By my reckoning, the likes of Hull/Leeds/Wigan/Castleford/St Helens/Warrington are operating within their means. Take your pick from the rest. If I was a betting man, my tip for the bottom to fall out will be Huddersfield followed by Salford.

Edited by oldhamer, 27 March 2012 - 03:33 PM.

[Bedford Roughyed]

The RFL and SL should take a leaf out of the NRL and grow a set of gonads and deal with them severly. But we all know that will not happen.

How many teams have the NRL relegated?

[oldhamer]

I only gave the NRL an example that they deal with any infringements in/off season seriously.

The NRL showed Melbourne how serious it was to breach the cap, and dealt with them in a manner that the SL would never do over here. They didn't give a flying fig of what the rugby world felt on the issue, they repremanded them to a level that would warn others. And well done to them. However, if there was a three tier system place in Australia, and had a P&R franchise system similar to ours, then I am sure that a club going to adminsitration by bascially overpsending, would be dealt with in a just a severe way.

And they should of relegated London years ago when they went bang and reformed under another name.

Edited by oldhamer, 27 March 2012 - 03:45 PM.

[Bedford Roughyed]

And they should of relegated London years ago when they went bang and reformed under another name.

Under what rule? I'll give you a hint... there wasn't one. No one had thought a club would go bust and restart under a new company name in the way they did. The rules were not in place to cover the scenario (they are now, due to Broncos leading the way...).

Try hitting a pro-sports club with a retrospective rule change and see how you get on.

[thecrab]

It may only be a matter of time before it happens again at London....wonder if the RFL will relegate them then?

[Steve the Roughyed]

If they go bust they will get a 6 point (3 game) deduction, the same as anyone else. As SL has no relegation they can finish bottom.

And that is quite simply pathetic. Because finishing bottom doesn't matter. In fact it is regarded as being better than finishing top of the championship. No wonder we are losing interest in the game.

[roughyedspud]

. The RFL and SL should take a leaf out of the NRL and grow a set of gonads and deal with them severly. But we all know that will not happen.

what like how the NRL are dealing with the gold coast titans??...who are $30million in debt...yet the NRL have allowed them to sign dave taylor on a $1.8m contract and it's looking likely that they've signed cooper cronk on a massive $3m+ contract too......


sure they deal with the salary cap issues severly.........but the £1m bradford owe is chicken feed compare to how much in debt most NRL clubs are.....and thats not being dealt with at all

[oldhamer]

Wait until the findings of the Titans are made completely public as was the Melbourne case as there is alot of speculation of what is happeing and what is not happening i.e. alot of newspaper talk.

When London and Widnes went bang and reformed under a different operating name was similar to when Oldham Bears went under. Oldham had to start in the lowest division possible, London and Widnes were allowed to continue in the same division. And it will be no different to what will happen to Bradford and that is why the game is a complete and utter joke!

[Phil Loxton]

The RFL are a joke..They bought Bradfords ground knowing full well what was around the corner..They will not be relegated because they would have to relegate about six more if everything was revealed; I have no sympathy with the club; In Mr Caisleys reign there he was quoted in the press as saying "he did not want the likes of Featherstone Rovers being used in the same breath as Bradford Bulls" speaks volumes for the club;

[Bedford Roughyed]

When London and Widnes went bang and reformed under a different operating name was similar to when Oldham Bears went under. Oldham had to start in the lowest division possible, London and Widnes were allowed to continue in the same division.

But they weren't similar. Oldham went bust (that's the same) but how long was it before a new company was formed? If we had reformed almost instantly we could of been the test case like London was...we didn't, so weren't.

[oldhamer]

It makes no difference, both clubs ceased to exist, the timescale is irrelevant. Both clubs in their respective division went defunct, and then reformed. Yes London was more immediate than Oldham, but it wasn't the same club legally. If the same rules applied then Oldham RLFC 1997 would have reformed in Division 1 and not 2 that same year. Not having ago about London, as Widnes did exactly the same and carried on as normal. It looks that Bradford could follow suit - which is totally wrong in my book.