On the day that news broke of the proposed deal from Superleague Europe (SLE) to take over the Bradford Bulls, BullBuilder arranged a meeting with Blake Solly, RFL Director of Licensing and Standards, to find out more details of the way ahead for the club. In a constructive meeting, we established that SLE look on this as a short-term measure and are confident of attracting a long-term, unconditional bid in the near future. Solly could give no guarantees about the division in which the club will play next season: he commented that the debt of the club remains a concern and is estimated to be approximately £1.5m. However, he assured BullBuilder that the club would continue to play at Odsal for the foreseeable future. If the SLE bid is accepted, we understand that players will then be free to speak to other clubs to secure their future for next season. Where recently redundant back room and coaching staff are concerned, there is a likelihood that some may be re-employed. However, in the interim, those staff are still not being paid and are unlikely to be reimbursed for their unpaid work in the mean time, so the Hardship Fund instigated by BullBuilder is still required. Therefore, BullBuilder intend to carry out a bucket collection in support of the Hardship Fund at this Sunday’s home game against Widnes. We will be looking for the club’s support in this, but can guarantee that all money raised will go toward the Hardship Fund. Supporters’ generosity has already made a major contribution to relieving financial distress suffered by individuals as a result of their commitment to the Bulls, with funds of £4,200 already allocated or distributed. Thanks to all who have made this happen. We thank Blake Solly for taking the time to speak to us and look forward to a constructive relationship, allowing BullBuilder to communicate the views of the fans to the RFL. We have agreed to further meetings after the SLE deal has been ratified, and will keep BullBuilder members informed. www.bullbuilder.co.uk/NewsItem.a ... d887bf5c2c

On the day that news broke of the proposed deal from Superleague Europe (SLE) to take over the Bradford Bulls, BullBuilder arranged a meeting with Blake Solly, RFL Director of Licensing and Standards, to find out more details of the way ahead for the club. In a constructive meeting, we established that SLE look on this as a short-term measure and are confident of attracting a long-term, unconditional bid in the near future. Solly could give no guarantees about the division in which the club will play next season: he commented that the debt of the club remains a concern and is estimated to be approximately £1.5m. However, he assured BullBuilder that the club would continue to play at Odsal for the foreseeable future. If the SLE bid is accepted, we understand that players will then be free to speak to other clubs to secure their future for next season. Where recently redundant back room and coaching staff are concerned, there is a likelihood that some may be re-employed. However, in the interim, those staff are still not being paid and are unlikely to be reimbursed for their unpaid work in the mean time, so the Hardship Fund instigated by BullBuilder is still required. Therefore, BullBuilder intend to carry out a bucket collection in support of the Hardship Fund at this Sunday’s home game against Widnes. We will be looking for the club’s support in this, but can guarantee that all money raised will go toward the Hardship Fund. Supporters’ generosity has already made a major contribution to relieving financial distress suffered by individuals as a result of their commitment to the Bulls, with funds of £4,200 already allocated or distributed. Thanks to all who have made this happen. We thank Blake Solly for taking the time to speak to us and look forward to a constructive relationship, allowing BullBuilder to communicate the views of the fans to the RFL. We have agreed to further meetings after the SLE deal has been ratified, and will keep BullBuilder members informed. www.bullbuilder.co.uk/NewsItem.a ... d887bf5c2c

So we need to hope that the players really do want to stay at Bradford.

TBH, it might not be a question of what they want. Really, the RFL need to come out now and say exactly which league we'll be playing in next season. How else are we supposed to plan going forward? If we're staying in SL then we can look at retaining the majority of the squad, if we're being dropped down to the championship then we can sort out the budget for the lower salary cap and hopefully hold onto our best young players because we'll not be able to hold onto the whole squad on the lower cap of the championship and we'll need to build a virtually new team.

You are NOW a Championship club, simple as

Realistically our best players are going to be snapped up by other clubs

BTW good work Bullbuilder, I'll certainly be looking out for those buckets on Sunday

How can they be so confident of, basically, achieving in the next 4 months what the previous board and BG have been effectively trying to do for the last several years?
It's almost an insult to BG for them to say as much, but I'm sure he's too busy counting his £££ right now to care.

Best case scenario? The RFL pull off a miracle and find a buyer. We lose all of our best players, sign a bunch of journeymen and spend the rest of our days rotting in the Championship playing at Odsal with crowds of 4 or 5k getting a shoeing most weeks.

Worst case scenario? The RFL find no buyer. And what then? Oblivion?

My thoughts exactly. I don't understand why everyone is so happy about this.

Welcome to the real RFL!

When asked he said he was 9/10 confident they would have an unconditional offer to buy the club, to the point where we said it sounded like they they were already talking to people....but we could be wrong

You are missing the key, key things that have changed.

1 - Any prospective investor in recent years had to contend with a dysfunctional shareholding, clearly with serious divisions amongst themselves. For example, Hood and Bennett could not unilaterally issue new shares to anyone - investors, fans, whoever - without the approval of the rest of the shareholders. Would they have agreed? Seeig theor own holdings diluted as a consequence?

2 - Guilfoyle was racing against the clock, in an unfunded administration, putting any prospective investors under pressure (lets move on from whether or not initially prospective investors struggled to get access to him and the relevant information) which is not at all conducive to a long-tem considered solution. I am sure he would be the first to agree that he would have far preferred the luxury of time, and that far from being an insult to him the SL(E) action has done him a massive favour?



This action removes both impediments.

I think people should give serious thought to what the likely view of at least some other SL clubs may have been to the prospect of Bulls bieng allowed to continue in SL having effectively been relieved of their obligations to pay legitimate liabilities? Maybe the same as Caisley's (and mine) was when London were in precisely that situation - that it gives a huge unfair advantage to such a club, compared with those clubs (or, more to the point, their owners) who have sought to pay what they owe when due. And would those clubs have been prepared to allow the RFL to give a guarantee of a SL place for the Bulls to a prospective buyer? What would WE have thought, only a year or so back, had the RFL done that with Wakey, for example?

Seems to me:

IF we get a buyer who is prepared to buy the club AND discharge the unpaid tax bills and other creditors, THEN we get to stay in SL.

IF we get a buyer who is NOT prepared to so do, we get ejected from SL and have to see if there is a future within the lower leagues (which personally I doubt).

If we get NO buyer by later in this year, then its oblivion.

"If the SLE bid is accepted, we understand that players will then be free to speak to other clubs to secure their future for next season. Where recently redundant back room and coaching staff are concerned, there is a likelihood that some may be re-employed."

Is this in relation to our off contract players or all our players?

Id say that is about spot on, only the last bit is where a Supporters Trust steps in, if you fan base is up to it, and your time scale is wrong, Id suggest you have until July 2014

All of them.

Shut up, you don't know. Your guess might be right in the end but you don't know.

Ginger is right, 1 st team squad gone, next year you will be watching your u 23 s with a few Leeds loanees and Dual regs from the Giants , running up the hills at Batley and Fev, enjoy

The conditions have been the purchase of Odsal and SL status. So an unconditional bid would be a championship / championship 1 side playing in an Odsal owned by the RFL. Blake Solly would not say players will be free to find new clubs if there was any intention of the Bulls having a SL team in 2013.

Will do.

Yes he would. There is NO intention of SLE owning an SL team in 2013, that much is obvious. Could simply never happen. Yet clearly the SLE's preferred outcome is a Bulls in SL in 2013, otherwise they would not have done what they are doing. If they just wanted us to finish the season then all they had to spend was enough to pay the wages for the remaining games. But personally I can't see it happening.

But players are ordinary people with mortgages and bills, and seeing as SLE are a stopgap owner, in fact I reckon basically till the season ends and no more, what else is possible? The players cannot be left in limbo, they have to be free to do whatever they feel is right for their own futures. They are not slaves. If you can't offer them anything, at all, not even an assurance, then what alternative is there?

SLE could conceivably run the Bulls if no buyer is found as a Championship club. But clearly that would involve most of the best players leaving as they won't want part time pay and who can blame them.

But I can't see where a buyer with millions to waste is going to come from, so I guess that unless I win the Euromillions, the alternatives would be limited to Championship level or oblivion.

It's looking increasingly bleak for me.

FYI, I have spent many decades very happily going to places such as Batley and Featherstone, and it was indeed always thoroughly enjoyable. I'm off to Keighley for the Leigh game, and I'll enjoy that too. But then I'm not a disrespectful t0sser who despises those sort of clubs.

Neither am I, as a former director of one of them and having contacted several of them suggesting ways to improve their ' lot ' and make them more money, I have the utmost respect for all of them, much more in fact than the blue eyed boys of SDL

=#FF0040IF we get a buyer who is NOT prepared to so do, we get ejected from SL and have to see if there is a future within the lower leagues (which personally I doubt).



This is what concerns me more than anything else, you seem to think that the Bulls would have no future in the lower leagues and that is with a current season ticket holding in excess of 8000. If the Bulls couldn't succeed with that kind of following why are every club outside the Super League even bothering playing the game or is it that the Bulls support is only based on a winning team on the field.

How long do you expect crowds of 8000 would last without the chance of promotion? How many would come to watch a team with none of it's star players left? It won't be 8000 for long that's for sure.

ALL players

Three points
1.) The SLE have a potential buyer for the club, only potential mind, who refused to deal with BG

2.) Do you honestly think that SL clubs want to see Bradford in NL1. Bradford would be a massive threat to a SL club outside of SL, you would have a side that was winning week in week out and we know how the Bradford fans love to watch a winning side, you have several thousand stay away fans who would be back like a shot. You would become a problem to a SL club because you would be demanding entry back into SL at the cost of one of its members. If you stay in SL you are less of a problem. Why do you think every SL chair voted in favour of the SLE deal. ( this is the big problem with SL, chairmen vote based on what they think is best for their club rather that what is best for the game, the sooner SLE / RFL gets outside people running the game the better )

3.) Well done Bullbuilder, now is the time for the Bradford fans to give time to Bullbuilder and gain more influence.

And there we have the problem, most on here advocate that the Bulls have to be in super league as they need you and you would be too great a loss. What incentive is there now for all none SL clubs to build and vie for promotion, you don't want the Bulls to be in their position but are happy for them to be in it.

In the last 10 seasons before SL started Halifax were averaging an attendance that equalled Bradfords, if they replaced you what is to say they couldn't build on their support and in a few years be a big club again and valuable to super league