Well it had to happen sooner or later so let's hope Caisley and co come up with the goods. As we've enough cash to pay this month's salries I figure we've until 14 June to come up with some new money. We'll see if Caisley's backers are the real deal.

I just wonder what price Caisley is going to have to pay for this new investment, will it be a we pay you go one which is very much on the cards, it was never a very clever move invoking an EGM which undoubtedly stifled an chance of investment prior to it, but it also weakens the Clubs hand with any investors coming on board, higher prices all round will be the order of the day however it pans out.

The group of majority shareholders will explore opportunities to revive interest from potential investors who had spoken to Hood and push forward talks with parties they have previously held themselves

Quote from the T&A - revive being the operative word....

I would like to thank Peter Hood and Andrew Bennett for trying to keep our club afloat, and restore it to its former glories. They failed in a big way, and they, like all sports administrators/club boards are judged by results on and off the field. They have been dire!!
The positives are outweighed by a couple of massive negatives. I think that Hood seemingly not wanting to accept the blindingly obvious would cover most of it.
We know he inherited a mess, but he carried on digging the hole rather than being open about how deep it was getting!
Time to look forward rather than back! Quite often the best person to get you out of a problem is the one who got you in it. Well, here you go Mr Caisley. The hole is a bit deeper than when you left it, but it should still be familiar! At least now we will have a board with the backing of a majority of the shareholders. They can be given approval in a fortnight at the EGM and try to move us forward.

It has been my view that a prepack admin could be a way forward and if I am correct, this would smooth the way for that happening. The RFL have an interest in us being in SL, and have set precidents that admin doesnt mean relegation or not getting a license. There is a lot for Coulby, Caisley, Tasker, Nobby et al to get their teeth into!

I hope that administration can be avoided, and that we can keep the crown jewels of our squad. But today sees a significant step forward, and just as we supported the club by pledging, we need to keep that up now. Ryan's going to be doing even more by himself for at least a few days, maybe weeks, so lets stay behind him!

Prepack administration?

Unless I have missed something, the money the fans raised paid off the bank and other debts; the lease paid off the RFL; and so apart from some tax to pay (which there always is in the pipeline) why would we go into administration now?

My understanding of our situation is we are struggling for the funds to pay ongoing accruals not to pay any historic debts. Administration would not increase our income streams by a penny, quite the reverse.

If that's not right - then who are the remaining big creditors?

Either way, he gave up valuable time and effort to try his best for the club we love. He could have spent this on other business interests, or with his family, but he sacrificed that for our club. Nobody can suggest that he did this expecting an easy road, he of all people would have realised how difficult it was going to be.

Was it a sucess? I honestly dont know. This can only be understood if people know of the total circumstances surrounding the last 5 years. I suspect us lasting this long is on a whole a sucess, but regardless, thank you for the efforts you made for our club.

That's exactly right, imo. By leaving now he's expedited the take over, the slow going nature of which was only making the situation worse. For better or worse we are now moving forward. Let's just hope CC and his 'cohorts' have the backing they appeared to be promising to have.

The £1/2m raised by the pledge may well have staved off administration being the only option.

I think it could be much much harder for an incoming management to argue now that administration is the only option, basically for the reasons the 'Vark says.

If you were looking to get rid of all the other shareholders, and pick up the assets - probably cheaply, since there would likely be few other bidders - off the administrator, and with creditors unpaid, then I guess the very last thing you would have been looking for would have been a successful pledge? Since to gain control of a going concern (even if a badly-struggling one) would almost certainly cost you more. And you might have a big axe to grind therefore with anyone who promoted or supported the pledge? Guess we'll just have to see over that?

But the previous BoD stated they needed more than just that £1/2m on an ongoing basis, so there may still be the opportunity for administration to be argued as the only solution. I would need to be convinced that it really WAS, and was not just a device to enable CC to acquire control much more cheaply.

Anyway, we've had two weeks or more of stasis, and that cannot have done anyone any good. Well done PH and AB in bowing to the inevitable and not dragging out the agony any longer. Lets see now what the next lot can come up with, and hopefully these inwards funds opportunities that appeared to go on hold once CC intervened can indeed be "revived".

I guess what happens next is entirely dependantvon what the incoming people find during the review. If Hood & co have been truthful about the situation then things should move relatively smoothly. But if they dig up a few more skeletons then admin may yet be the only option. Only time will tell now.

The previous Board said that they would only take the fans money if they were reasonably sure that they could raise the extra £500k. And they said that knowing full well the views of the major shareholders. So if the extra money doesn't materialise and my pledge money goes down the drain I will not be blaming the new Board. Unless they put the club unecessarily into administration (if that's possible) merely to strengthen their own position.

Following on from today’s inevitable news, I would like to thank Peter Hood for

- The Tong training facilities – the best in Superleague
- The current junior recruitment and overall set up – certainly paying dividends now, this has to be his finest achievement IMO
- Balancing the books – not an easy task I imagine
- Being a fan of the club and carrying out your duties for free
- Gaining us a grade B superleague license – not sure some people realise what that involves and what security it grants...

I sincerely hope the new incumbents carry on some of the good work you started and don’t p*ss it all away in the hope of short term success....


Welcome Mr Coulby - hope you oversee a period of sustained on field success and financial stability off field

I cannot believe that when we have gone cap in hand to the fans, and face administration, some people credit Peter Hood with balancing the books!!! ( I take this phrase to mean bringing financial stability, and not simply getting a pile of books and balancing them on his head, which he could be really good at!!!)

About time. Dead men walking from the last month. The new guys need to be clear and quickly about what they are going to do.

Correct, we need some positive communication from the new regime as soon as they get themselves sorted out.

That is what my huge worry has been right from the start, and my main reason for being concerned about a CC return.

I just hope I misjudge CC and his motives, and that he has more respect for the supporters - on which the future for what would then be HIS club would depend - than to do that. or, maybe more to the point, those he is working with will appreciate the damage that forcing an avoidable administration just to gain full control would do?

The trouble is, if he DOES force administration and blames it all on Hood, we'll likely never get to know the truth of it.

Champion. Good riddance.

It could be argued that PH learned his communication tactics from CC as there's certainly no noticeable difference from the 'old days' when CC was previously in charge. In fact I would say PH was much the more approachable of the two.

On the admin front, Ryan was on Radio Leeds a short while ago and he mentioned about there being downsides to it and said he hoped to avoid it, but obviously he's not in any position to say what will happen in the future.

Just read that back and it's a bit unclear -Ryan didn't say he wasn't in a position to... etc, that bit was just my comment.

From the T and A
'The strategic review of the club that Caisley spoke of last month will begin in earnest, with the first task being to ascertain the depth of the club’s financial woes.

It is expected that Caisley, former general manager Tasker and ex-director Coulby will play key roles in the review and that external financial expertise could also be utilised.'

From this and from what Coulby has previously said they are both expecting, and preparing the fans, for a Greek style discovery of a financial black hole. Coulby didn't even know Hood was selling the lease on the ground ffs.

I expect a few skeletons in the cupboard. Just hope it's not that bad. Could be a rough ride over the next few weeks.

Is this why Bennett trailered the 'Caisley taking the club into admin' line? Because he knows as soon as someone gets a look at the full extent of the liabilities there's no other choice?

When Coulby spoke about investors he mentioned that few want to throw money down a black hole.

I repeat, what black hole of liabilities??

1. Bank. We know that's nil.

2. Taxman - maybe a couple of months tax to be paid but my belief is it must have been pretty much paid up from the Pledge as if not then HMRC wouldve closed us down by now, so no historical tax debt to speak of.

3. RFL loan. We know that's paid off, so nil.

4. Leeds. We all know that the final payment of the Harris money which we may or may not have had to pay under the confidential settlement was paid off recently. So nil.

What else can there be? Suggestions on a postcard, cos I'm struggling.

At this point I'm willing to believe there are actual, non-metaphorical skeletons in a cupboard.

Well, he may not have been sighted for a while, but I'm still willing to bet that Solomona isn't one of them

As I see it, and I may be wrong, administration is to be sought when a company has debts owed that it cannot service.

If Hood and Bennett have been truthful, and the pledge money has cleared the decks, then there should be no threat of administration, unless the cashflow projections they made when setting the budgets for this year were so poor that they know there is no way the company can trade with its current committments being met. Either way, it is their judgements that will see us in administration.

Caisley is quite a pragmatic bloke from what I've seen and read from the past. he makes tough decisions, and when he weilds that much power and influence, sometimes he will get it wrong.

Should we go into administration, both Hood , Caisley and their respective cohorts will have been to blame, as they both have made decisions that have led this club to where it is now!

Anything else is conjecture, guess work, conspiracy theorising. Neither side will want to shoulder most blame, they will both want to appear as the ones who had no choice.

There are pro Caisley, and pro Hood factions who are blaming the other and raking over the past. I am in neither. We should be pro Bradford Bulls, simple as that. Over the last month, Coulby and Caisley have made the most sense to me, and Hood and Bennett gave very poor responses. At this moment in time, having a stable (ish) board going forward is better than a board waiting to be removed. Of course Caisley could have kept quiet about everything and allowed the board some stability couldnt he?

To be honest, if we have a club that starts SL 2013 and contains the likes of Bateman, Whitehead, Gale etc... I will take that as proof that what we have is better than what we had!

FA, The club will have projections for income and out goings that the now former board have formulated. Caisley could decide that they are pie in the sky and suggest that the club is over committed.

this could be in the rent we now pay to the rfl, players wages, contracts with suppliers etc...

If the budgeting is wrong then we will only fall into more debt. Surely if he sees it coming the right thing to do would be admin now and a newco. at least then the people we may potentially owe to, wont yet have supplied us and therefore we are just cancelling contracts?? This could even be the ethical thing to do!