22 replies to this topic

[juliancaine]

http://www.bbc.co.uk...league/18675339

[Blue Monkey]

• They would have been better to have stayed as Bradford Northern. All this tacky Americanisation of our British game has caused a whole lotta bovver in my 'umble opinion.

[lionsfanusa]

So they went into bankruptcy because they changed their name from Northern to Bulls? I don't think so.

The fact that Bradford Bulls/Northern failed says more about their management than geopolitics.

I don't ever remember the Yanks ever having played much of a part, unless you are referring to the space taken up by the old baseball field behind the old Pendlebury library??
Or maybe I missed someone from the US coming over and promising millions of dollars to clubs that would change say from Bradford Northern to Bradford Bulls?

Last time I looked it was the Aussies, and in particular their sugar daddy Rupert Murdoch, who ruined the game. To be truthful, Americans in general don't care!

[juliancaine]

i think blue monkey may be reffering to the ludicrous non promotion and relegation/franchise system we have now which is favoured by american sports, i agree with your views on murdoch though the game in the uk is dying on its xxxx (backside) in my opinion because of this. as for the baseball pitch behind the old pendlebury library i seem to recall the team whom played baseball there was run by an american whom had a barbers shop in the area and my grandad was part of the team. and if bradford do go out of existance imagine the red faces at rl headquarters with a lease on a ground with no team playing there.

[mark richardson]

I bet the contributors to the almost one million that was raised are pleased. They may as well have flushed their money down the toilet.

[PaulT]

To be honest, if Bradford are not in Super League, I'd be suprised, be it as they are now or as a newco.

There is no way the RFL will throw them out. A usual case of moving the goalposts depending on what club you are.

[PhillH]

Perhaps they ought to have taken the name change a bit further and added *hit* on the end, as they are deep it.

As things stand they are not saleable as a going concern. No doubt someone will be interested in keeping pro RL going in Bradford, but may as well wait for the eventual collapse and writing off of the debt. So in the interim the remaining people will have to limp on, while the RFL scrambles to try and paint a side with no coach as still being a credible entity in Super League. Potential investors can probably rest assured the RFL will keep the Bulls in the top flight even if the current version is liquidated, maybe even with a peppercorn rent thrown into the deal. Nowadays it doesn't take long to assemble a new team, as there are scores of players off contract at the end of every season.

Yet more evidence that licensing for the top division is not effective in delivering improved governance of the clubs, even despite the lack of any threat of being relegated. The RFL rated the Bulls as Grade B only last year. Questions ought to be asked about how that was possible and the validity of the RFL's whole process of judging the strength of licenses.

But even that negligence by the governing body is insignificant compared to the RFL's decision to buy the lease for Odsal, which far from helping avert a financial crisis actually made it worse by removing the security against which the Bulls had obtained a loan from RBS. Clearly entered into on a wing and a prayer and without a proper audit of the club's finances.

The same can indeed be said for the sham fund raising effort - either rank shameful or rank incompetant to set a target that didn't reflect the true amount needed. Again questions should be asked as to whether the people who championed those fund raising efforts were also creditors of the old company and therefore stood to directly pocket the proceeds.

A very sorry episode. The only saving grace is that RL in Bradford will probably survive. At Swinton we were not so lucky.

[duffymoon]

It seems the playing staff were due to meet the Administrator today but the meeting was cancelled at the last minute.i cannot see how any newly formed club under the Bradford banner could be allowed to stay in Super League even with their large fan base.The only glimmer of hope seems to be from. Christ Caisley consortium and most Bulls fans seem to be dead against him.

[lionsfanusa]

i think blue monkey may be reffering to the ludicrous non promotion and relegation/franchise system we have now which is favoured by american sports, i agree with your views on murdoch though the game in the uk is dying on its xxxx (backside) in my opinion because of this. as for the baseball pitch behind the old pendlebury library i seem to recall the team whom played baseball there was run by an american whom had a barbers shop in the area and my grandad was part of the team. and if bradford do go out of existance imagine the red faces at rl headquarters with a lease on a ground with no team playing there.

That's the field I'm talking about!
Back to Americanization: Blue Monkey has a thing about "American" names. Bulls, Warriors etc.
To your point, I've said before that to model Super League on the NFL is folly. But the RFL chose that route. Nobody forced it on the RFL. I'm just as concerned with the Ozziefication of RL. The fake scrums, the fake play-the-balls, the 10 meter rule, summer rugby...... essentially forced on the RFL by Murdoch money.

[duffymoon]

I cannot believe that anyone wants to revert to playing in the winter? Being able to attend games without hats,Coates,gloves etc is a vast improvement.

[wberry]

without a coat!!!!!! are you mad lol

[Blue Monkey]

So they went into bankruptcy because they changed their name from Northern to Bulls? I don't think so.

The fact that Bradford Bulls/Northern failed says more about their management than geopolitics.

I don't ever remember the Yanks ever having played much of a part, unless you are referring to the space taken up by the old baseball field behind the old Pendlebury library??
Or maybe I missed someone from the US coming over and promising millions of dollars to clubs that would change say from Bradford Northern to Bradford Bulls?

Last time I looked it was the Aussies, and in particular their sugar daddy Rupert Murdoch, who ruined the game. To be truthful, Americans in general don't care!

Sorry, but the Americanisation of British RL did happen. It happened via Australasia.

Geoff, please don't get me wrong, I'm NOT anti-USA, I'm just very pro-British and firmly believe sport in this country should retain all that should be dear to us all not rush eagerly into adopting all things foreign just to make a "fast buck" or give it a nice new shiny makeover (just because the clever Australasians have done so).

[lionsfanusa]

Sorry, but the Americanisation of British RL did happen. It happened via Australasia.

Geoff, please don't get me wrong, I'm NOT anti-USA, I'm just very pro-British and firmly believe sport in this country should retain all that should be dear to us all not rush eagerly into adopting all things foreign just to make a "fast buck" or give it a nice new shiny makeover (just because the clever Australasians have done so).

We can both agree on that! Where is the next Daz going to come from if there is no real scrum to build from?

[juliancaine]

just get rid of the scrums altoghether make the game quicker then, i believe the aussies are contemplating 4 quarters to a game to increase advertising revenue and dont get me started on the waste of space exiles matches.

[Barnie]

Scrums are in RL for one reason only, to take the forwards out of the defensive line and give the smaller backs chance to put the ball through some hands. If we get rid of scrums we promote the ‘big ‘uns’ driving it in every time. The Exiles matches had potential. The game needs some passion in the SOR series in OZ the refs left things go and don’t clamp down on the silly little things in the game. This causes niggles between the players and then the passion that makes it the best 3 games of rugby on the planet comes through. The Exiles games lack passion, we need a good 26 man all in brawl to get this series off the ground.

RL is a game about passion. Like everything in our country it is becoming sanitised. We need the passion back. Bans for striking and the like need to be scrapped and the wars that we all grew up watching need to be back on the pitch.

Edited by Barnie, 05 July 2012 - 12:41 PM.

[juliancaine]

speaking of the match last night i noticed the england team were wearing electronic tags behind their necks to monitor performance heart rate etc perhaps they should have changed to tags round their ankles as the poor way they played was bordering on criminal

[lionsfanusa]

Scrums are in RL for one reason only, to take the forwards out of the defensive line and give the smaller backs chance to put the ball through some hands. If we get rid of scrums we promote the ‘big ‘uns’ driving it in every time. The Exiles matches had potential. The game needs some passion in the SOR series in OZ the refs left things go and don’t clamp down on the silly little things in the game. This causes niggles between the players and then the passion that makes it the best 3 games of rugby on the planet comes through. The Exiles games lack passion, we need a good 26 man all in brawl to get this series off the ground.

RL is a game about passion. Like everything in our country it is becoming sanitised. We need the passion back. Bans for striking and the like need to be scrapped and the wars that we all grew up watching need to be back on the pitch.

Agree completely! Instead of arguing about whether to copy the NFL, we should look at the NHL. In my humble opinion, ice hockey and rugby league are the two best intimidation sports and not necessarily in that order. Attempts to sanitize ice hockey fall on deaf ears, quite rightly, and rivalries built up over decades are fierce. Imagine non-competitive face-offs!
As to those who would drop scrums, they obviously never saw RL at its finest with the likes of Daz Davies, Alex Murphy, Dave Bolton etc. Hate to be an old fart, but it was a much better game then!

[juliancaine]

my point on getting rid of scrums now is that they are pointless unless you bring back real contested scrums. on the bradford situation why no points deduction yet or is that another rule bending moment from those at rfl (ivory towers) headquarters, if that would have been swinton or others along those lines would we have been treated the same i think not, imo its one rule (make it up as we go along) for the white rose teams and hammer the red rose teams.

[juliancaine]

ps as for the expansion clubs even oscar wilde couldnt think of a better rule bending story than whats gone on with them.

[marshy1]

my point on getting rid of scrums now is that they are pointless unless you bring back real contested scrums. on the bradford situation why no points deduction yet or is that another rule bending moment from those at rfl (ivory towers) headquarters, if that would have been swinton or others along those lines would we have been treated the same i think not, imo its one rule (make it up as we go along) for the white rose teams and hammer the red rose teams.

They can't deduct points yet the club is in administration, by this friday it may be liquidated in which case what would be the point of a points deduction against a club that is no longer around.
I suspect once the outcome is known then a decision will be made as to what punishment they will get.