Scubby Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 I am old enough (just) to have been at Odsal on a pss wet Wednesday night in the 1991/92 season when Bradford were scrapping to stay up and there were about 3,000 there. I was also there just 7 years later on one of the most magical nights in SL - 24,020 for a game between the then Champions Bradford and Leeds. Now in just 6/7 years it really shows what can happen if your momentum is going in the right place. No one could have convinced me (soaked to the skin that Wednesday night) that something like that could ever happen at that club. Other Bulls fans will know better than me but I don't think this was done with a large benefactor. It was just a swirl of momentum timed perfectly around the switch to a summer season (and some great back office recruitment). So it really does beg the question of whether the Bulls can be a real force again in 5-10 years with a bit of luck and direction? Or was that meteoric rise and golden decade just happenstance and a complete one-off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whippet13 Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Yes, they have huge and very realisable potential and SL needs them back as soon as possible - by which I mean when they have stable ownership and finances in place. As an outsider the club seems to be steadily going in the right direction in those regards and also building a steadily improving team on the pitch. SL is a poorer competition without them, I hope they get back soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo5 Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 I’d have thought they’d need a home that doesn’t swallow large amounts of cash just to make it safe for supporters to attend to kickstart any recovery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owls Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Yes without a doubt, they will be back in Super League, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RigbyLuger Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 As much as any other club in their situation. Too many journalists pine for the days of 15-20 years ago, forgetting the recent, and past history of RL in the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUBRATS Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 , no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hela Wigmen Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 38 minutes ago, Davo5 said: I’d have thought they’d need a home that doesn’t swallow large amounts of cash just to make it safe for supporters to attend to kickstart any recovery This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnM Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Yes they can. However, the current financers, owners and operators have a huge amount of work to do it they are to rebuild even a tiny but of trust of the fans and the trust of the game as a whole. No more mixed metaphors of houses of cards built on foundations of sand. No more chancers, wheeler-dealers, speculators, smart-derriere treasure hunters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubby Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 5 minutes ago, JohnM said: Yes they can. However, the current financers, owners and operators have a huge amount of work to do it they are to rebuild even a tiny but of trust of the fans and the trust of the game as a whole. No more mixed metaphors of houses of cards built on foundations of sand. No more chancers, wheeler-dealers, speculators, smart-derriere treasure hunters. And no more signings like Iestyn Harris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wigan Riversider Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Believe that for one game back in SL1 or 2 spectators were allowed in free if they wore a pair of sunglasses? A good gimmick granted but ala PSG allowing people in free is not a good business model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OriginalMrC Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Yes they can and their fan base deserve it. However, not sure the current incumbents will get them there. Always amazes me the lack of transparency around the ownership of the club/stadium. Not many RL journalists are willing put their head above the parapit either and ask difficult questions. Long term stability will only come when there is transparency at the club to regain trust of the fans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OriginalMrC Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Duplicate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastLondonMike Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 100% they can be a force again. And should be. If you were looking to purchase a RL club who had been poorly administered and in need of some investment, but had a rich history and latent but strong supporter base. Bradford would be ideal. Newham Dockers - Champions 2013. Rugby League For East London. 100% Cockney Rugby League!Twitter: @NewhamDockersRL - Get following! www.newhamdockers.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RigbyLuger Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 1 hour ago, OriginalMrC said: Not many RL journalists are willing put their head above the parapit either and ask difficult questions. Long term stability will only come when there is transparency at the club to regain trust of the fans Reading and listening to those who do sounds like they're banging their heads against a brick wall. Every knows, but no one can join the dots up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blues Ox Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 I can't see it not with the ground as a money pit like others have said. I would think there is more chance of them going bust again than there is of them getting back to SL especially if the Championship do face a large funding cut. In that case I think they are one of the teams that is really going to struggle just to get by and with a history of over spending the fans are still going to demand a good product on the pitch. I think places like York and Newcastle offer a lot more potential at the current time and Bradford have just about found their level for the time being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeF Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Can they be viable even if successful as didn’t Caisley state that it wasn’t possible to be successful & financially solvent on the 10k+ crowds they used to get Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumby Magic Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Can we be a real force again? Of course. I also feel like alot of clubs can get there. However for many clubs outside of SL it will take time, plenty of it, and planning. The obstacle amongst many are the constant structural changes. Look at Barrow for example, on the up, may make gradual progress over the next few years then the rules, structures may change again. Some 4 or 5 years of progress and planning out the window. Like poor jokes? Thejoketeller@mullymessiah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DimmestStar Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Bradford can definitely become a force again. I don't know the state of their finances currently or the terms of their return to Odsal so I couldn't put a timescale on it. The good thing is that Rugby League is popular in Bradford which isn't the case in Huddersfield and Toulouse who just happen to have rich benefactors. The Bulls fans have put up with a lot none of which was their fault. I hope to see them back in Super League sooner rather than later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Shepherd Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 6 hours ago, Scubby said: I am old enough (just) to have been at Odsal on a pss wet Wednesday night in the 1991/92 season when Bradford were scrapping to stay up and there were about 3,000 there. I was also there just 7 years later on one of the most magical nights in SL - 24,020 for a game between the then Champions Bradford and Leeds. Now in just 6/7 years it really shows what can happen if your momentum is going in the right place. No one could have convinced me (soaked to the skin that Wednesday night) that something like that could ever happen at that club. Other Bulls fans will know better than me but I don't think this was done with a large benefactor. It was just a swirl of momentum timed perfectly around the switch to a summer season (and some great back office recruitment). So it really does beg the question of whether the Bulls can be a real force again in 5-10 years with a bit of luck and direction? Or was that meteoric rise and golden decade just happenstance and a complete one-off? They might become a force in under 9s Rugby. They've certainly got a ready made pitch for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 2 hours ago, ShropshireBull said: In that ground, probably not. Its a money pit that is too big and outdated. And the economy of Bradford is against them. You'd have to spend millions on the ground to make it viable and then you probably never make your money back because the city is too poor for the kind of sponsors needed to make it work . It's why London is a much more exciting prospect to any would be investor if they are at Plough Lane or a new team in Manchester . I think bar the good Challenge Cup game we're a Championship side who sniff around the playoffs and will need to work hard to maintain the 4000 average. Pretty good assessment that I feel. Logically, given the areas where RL is strongest, Bradford should be a must for the top flight RL. Unfortunately the city itself is blighted as you describe economically and there simply isn't the infrastructure to support a modern successful Bulls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blues Ox Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 10 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said: Yeah would cost 4 to 5 million to bring Odsal up to a break even standard and long term facility with 3g pitch. Money just isnt there. Maybe with startrax the burden can be spread but that probably only offsets the loss of central funding. Should get a discount on the 3g pitch though if its not full size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUBRATS Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 5 hours ago, OriginalMrC said: Yes they can and their fan base deserve it. However, not sure the current incumbents will get them there. Always amazes me the lack of transparency around the ownership of the club/stadium. Not many RL journalists are willing put their head above the parapit either and ask difficult questions. Long term stability will only come when there is transparency at the club to regain trust of the fans Why does their fan base deserve it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastLondonMike Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Not being a Bradford fan or following their recent path outside SL, I don't really know too much about the woes around the ground, aside from it costing them previously to play there. So could someone enlighten me on why it would be such a money pit? what are the issues around upkeep? I recall they had two good (ish) stands facing the pitch, with terracing at one end of the pitch, and the weird tiered stand at the other, but if they were to just use those two good stands which i my memory always used to hold the vast majority of support what do Bradford fans see being the real challenges with the stadium? Something along the lines of a 4-5mil investment into the stadium doesn't seem like a huge amount to me, if they had that mythical rich investor turn up on his white horse. Newham Dockers - Champions 2013. Rugby League For East London. 100% Cockney Rugby League!Twitter: @NewhamDockersRL - Get following! www.newhamdockers.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUBRATS Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 2 minutes ago, Johnoco said: Because we add a touch of glamour to your otherwise dreary life. Remember watching The Persuaders and pretending you were Roger Moore or Tony Curtis? That Never heard Odsal or Bradford described as ' glamourus ' before , doubt I'll hear it again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUBRATS Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 1 minute ago, EastLondonMike said: Not being a Bradford fan or following their recent path outside SL, I don't really know too much about the woes around the ground, aside from it costing them previously to play there. So could someone enlighten me on why it would be such a money pit? what are the issues around upkeep? I recall they had two good (ish) stands facing the pitch, with terracing at one end of the pitch, and the weird tiered stand at the other, but if they were to just use those two good stands which i my memory always used to hold the vast majority of support what do Bradford fans see being the real challenges with the stadium? Something along the lines of a 4-5mil investment into the stadium doesn't seem like a huge amount to me, if they had that mythical rich investor turn up on his white horse. They have one ' stand ' , the rest is terracing , most of it crumbling and dangerous , and of course the curved hospitality ' thing ' It'd swallow 5 million without really noticing much improvement Have you ever visited Odsal Mike ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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