www1.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... n-interest Seems the vultures are circling - how long can we resist?

www1.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... n-interest Seems the vultures are circling - how long can we resist?

Id be honestly gutted if this happened to us.

If you do end up selling, what would you say would be a realistic price?

I'm guessing 150k to 200k

Why, when he's stepping down has he said this?

Not exactly news. Stirring it a bit, isn't he?

Hypothetically speaking, what happens if X player doesn't want to be sold and will stay put, possilbly taking a salary cut, until at least the dust settles ?

So thats his plan to raise the next batch of cash. By making statements like that you'd almost think he wants to start a bidding war....

Only Warrington and Huddersfield still with cap space then? Why am I not shocked?

Also not really the sort of statement that will help attract investors is it? We will be left with the like of Sibbit, Scruton, Walker and all the other Journeymen Players. We should be looking at ways to keep our home grown talent.

Poisoning the well for Caisley, for when he sweeps in?

Well Hood will be gone by the end of May so if I were Bateman I'd be staying put until the new regime is in place (if there is one!). I just hope Hood's last act isn't to cash in on our most promising young player. Unless he's trying to use it flush Caisley out again.

I had heard from a solid source that Bateman was offered a new deal with us around the time Whitehead signed but he turned it down because he thought it wasn't enough money and that he could probably prove he was worth more in a year's time when his current deal will be running out.

I don't see why Hood needs to give that quote, I'm sure there are already standing offers available to us for the likes of Bateman, but why fuel it by giving that quote?? If we need to sell Bateman there wil be no shortage of offers, but Bateman has said more than once, publically, that he doesn't want to go anywhere. The club, and Hood should publically back that sentiment and say no young prospects are for sale if they have to say something, which they don't today.

I'd rather the club continued the deafening silence than encouraging vultures like that.

[urlhttp://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbulls/9654711.Bateman___s_heart_belongs_to_Bradford_Bulls/[/url

Heaven knows. Considering the kid's 18 and has publicly said he doesn't want to leave it is extremely poor form.

It's basically the rumour that has been around for months with Hoods name in. I would prefer something a bit more concrete to call it news.

Hood's communications skills make me despair. Here we all are desperate to hear what's going to happen to the club in the future and the Chairman's main reported comment is this.

The rumours were already gathering pace at the weekend that Batemans agent had said that a deal had been agreed with Warrington. With needless statements like that it could be that he is preparing the fans for the news. Mind you that isn't the only rumour going round to be fair and most of them will probably be a load of rubbish. They certainly don't help though.

It not rumour that wire want Bateman, they do. But why we should even entertain it and encourage the talk in public is beyond me.

The club may well have to deal with the prospect of selling assets privately I'm sure, but no preparing of the ground will help the fans reaction, so if I was a chairman on his way out wthin days/weeks if I couldn't give out only constructive vibes I'd keep my bloody mouth shut when a sun journo rings up.

It dosn't say when Hood made these comments

No it doesn't, and to be fair the headline is quite a spin for the angle they want from the probably honest quote which does say we are resisting offers.

Exactly. Didn't he make a similar (or even identical) statement to this effect several weeks ago? The only 'news' here appears to be the rumour of Huddersfield showing an interest. Looks like a non-story to me.

That's what I mean. Just as it is still a rumour. The line of 'considerable interest' has been around for months

From his twitter account just now -

"Paper talk nowa days, lol love to no who's writes these things"

Yes it's no secret that Warrington want John Bateman and it's also no secret that Bateman's agents are the Clarke brothers.

Hence Phil using Sky Sports to inflate the contract value - although John's performances have seemingly done that without the need for Phil to compare John to a young Andy Farrell.

The problem with selling yet another crown in our jewels is obvious - it disengages the clubs core support.

Although I'd ask everyone to think about this:

"If selling John Bateman to Warrington for the rumoured £250,000+ secured the long term future of the club while categorically meaning the club also avoided administration, could you live with such a decision to sell John Bateman?"

Heartbreakingly I could live with such a decision.

I will be gutted if we let this guy go its mad we should be making room for our young guns these are the future of the club and the ones that will take us back to our glory days. This lad could easily be the next Andy farrell if we give him time and dont rush him. The bradford board want

if they let him go to another club. the last thing we want to be is second fiddle or a feeder club to the money clubs. If we turn into that we will never rise to the top again. Wigan are a club who were at the bottom when Noble joined but with the increase in home grown talent and keeping there young talent they rose to the top again, Bradford need to do the same.