I suspect you'll keep some. I would imagine the younger ones will want top flight, like Foster and Gaskell and Kear. People like Chev Walker might fancy seeing out their careers with you. Some hungry young players on the fringes of super league squads might be what you need more than what you currently have, with perhaps a couple of grizzled old forwards seeing out their careers.

The championship could be pretty competitive next year. Some super league coaches might fancy long loan deals for their young players who need some grown up regular play. The other championship clubs seem to have built their squads through the years, whereas I imagine you will want the quick hit, the fast return. The disaster for you isn't the championship, but a long time in there.

I'm with you Slugger a core of experienced forwards and top 5 fringe younger players. I wouldnt try to keep Nas and purtell, just our own such as Donno and Kear. A clean sweep is possible as theres two goes at it, the first part of the season would be about bedding in a new squad which would have to be in the top four at the end of round one, so by the split for round two they are playing together and competitive.

Where do you stand on Starbug's general point that a Jose Mourinho-motivator could get the present squad to play?

I know I have begun to get a downer on the squad as several regularly don't put it all in, and don't play as a team, hence our 50 points a week giveaway, but in calm moments I do tend to agree. I still think that a coach like (just for a good example) old Peter Fox back in the day could come in and over time, make something quite decent out of this lot, as well as picking up cast-offs for nothing and improving the mix.

We've no money nor likely to have any to spend, so who is there that might fit the Fox mould? Wage deals permitting, we do I believe have a squad which, wit total belief in their coach and themselves, could easily finish at the top of the Championship and I say this for the simple reason that no Championship team this season, with the possible exception of Leigh, could approach the levels we showed in a couple of our rare wins, and they haven't turned into bad players, they're just impersonating bad players, albeit very well.

The thing is that in 2015 the Bulls spend will be substantially down on 2014. If you are now on £1.2m / £1.3m spend then cutting 300-400K is substantial. Meanwhile all the current Championship clubs will be able to spend substantially more in 2015, they can all strengthen.
You will be up against Leigh / Fev / Donny / fax / Sheffield / London(?)for a top 4 slot.

The top 2 championship clubs will get 4 home games (3 away) in phase 2 so finishing in the top 2 is advantageous. It will not be easy.

The 4 teams that will drop from SL1 - using current clubs in places 9/10/11/12 - would be Hull HKR Salford and Wakey. they will have a cap spend of £1.8m (with a substantial hike in Sky money)

I do not think finishing top of championship will be easy. Getting back in SL will be very difficult.

All four tier two teams get 4 home ges in 2nd phase, not just top two.

SL clubs told 9 and 10 4 home games and 11 and 12 3. No one has told the SL clubs they all have only 3 home games. Can you post a link to the RFL info on this?

Given today's results and the quality of our last 2 performances, hope Green keeps any money he was going to spend in legal fees in a high court appeal into a fund for any transfer fees for next year. Much as I think the RFL have some questions to answer in the OK Bulls/BB2014 debacle, even with 6 points back, can't see any hope in getting 3 extra wins than Salford or Wakey. Losing Carvell, Scruton & Sammut as a result of the issue with BB2014 withdrawing their bid caused as much damage as he 6 point penalty

He wont do anything re taking further legal advice/action. It was pretty obvious he was waiting to see how the results went and unfortunately for you its worked out very badly. Some people who have dragged your club to this all time low should be publicly flogged. sorry for you guys but the fat lady is singing.

Don't disagree about a whole queue of people wanting to be hung from the Odsal cross bar for where they've dragged this club, but I really would like to know what the RFL were telling BB2014 in December and January. One of the parties is telling downright lies and no one is quite sure which one is telling nearest he truth!

There is no doubt in my mind the RFL have compromised their own position with the unprecedented favour they have in the past showed Bradford. Buying your ground as totally outrageous. I Certainly believe that the RFL leave themselves wide open for not only critiscism but also legal action based on some of their decision making. still I have no knowledge as to the specific grounds under which Bradford feel s aggrieved and they appear not to want to tell anybody.
Green will not chuck any more money down the shoot regarding the points deduction - he was whistling in the wind - it wont make a jot of difference re the outcome as to who goes down - it will be broncos and bulls #gamesup

What about the £300,000 they loaned Wakefield to stave off the administration? Also, if we had known that a deal was being made between Peter Hood and the RFL, we would have done everything in our power to stop it. It was the worst thing that could have happened to our Club. It meant we had no collateral to stop the bank foreclosing and calling in the overdraft facility... so the money the supporters and other benefactors raised, ie £483,000 was as nothing. Also whilst in this mode, who amongst the other SL clubs, including Wakefield refused the extra £50k share from our reduced SKY compensation payments?
There is a lot gone on in the background which needs bringing to the public domain - lets have it out in the OPEN

Hood's decision was all to do with the continual disagreement between his faction of shareholders and Caisley's. if that hadn't existed, we would have had a very different past couple of years, and been a mid table team

I know different, the disagreement was after the sale, and probably because of it??

That's quite depressing to know that they agreed that the sales was the best option, and any disagreement was down the track! Hood must have really believed his fairy godmother was about to introduce herself.

The Sale was agreed between PH and RFL through Pincent Masons (Advisors to the RFL and the Bradford Bulls .No mention of Chris Caisley.

Section 5.1.23 of RFL policy review.

[urlhttp://media.therfl.co.uk/docs/Policy%20Review%20-%20September%202013.pdf[/url

I am aware of the review document of September 2013.It was circulated a month before the SL club walk out. Do you have a link on what was actually agreed upon? thanks for your help.

Do you have a link to what you think clubs were told?. Link I've already provided is most up to date I could find but remember it being in press around match time after clubs had voted restructure through and being discussed on forums.

Fox wouldn't have stuck with this squad, not for a full season. Fox's basic approach was to identify the players in the squad that fitted his way of playing, make them the core and replace the rest. Often with fairly inexpensive players. End up with a squad where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. A clever coach with a good knowledge of players could do that to make sure we reduced the wage bill and finished top of the Championship. But bridging the gap between Championship and SL would still be almost impossible

No link Mat. Have spoken to Marketing guys from 2 SL clubs. Both said selling season tickets was tricky because if they were in the 2nd 8 they would not know if they had 3 or 4 home games until around game 23.Neither indicated that a 9-12th placed team would only have 3 home games. This is why I wondered if there was a definitive document.

Hardly free money was it, it's all mostly paid back. A loan based on future funding is no way in the same ball park has having your ground bought because you defaulted on a loan (despite spending near full salary cap at the time). I can say with certain confidence that such a loan would be available to any club that requested it in similar circumstances.

For the record in late 2010 Wakefield (under Ted Richardson) was refused a £300,000 loan by the RFL to save the club from going in to administration. Just a few months later Bradford was receive a substantially bigger loan, on the quiet might I add. Just saying like.

That's ok then. I'm going to try that with my mortgage

The RFL didn't buy the ground.

I do it with my mortgage it's called a payment plan.

Are we doing this one again already? Do you think that on the 100th re-hash, which must be soon, there'll be like an award or presentation or something?