RHP? At £75 grand a year,and the rest ? I don't think so.

How do you know how much Robbie was on or are you just guessing

Hopeful that we can get the coaching and academy staff back in place as to how it was before liquidation.

It's going to be important going forwards and we want to limit the disruption as little as possible.

Hopefully we have kept hold of the recent first team graduates (Ryan, Lumb, Oakes, Kirk, Ricketts, Pickersgill, Trueman and I think Wilkinson) because they'll be real important for us these next few seasons. Hopefully we don't have to recruit a load more juniors and those that we highly thought of below last seasons first team graduates will be banging at the door soon enough. (Scott, Brown etc)

Duffy is the only high profile management level staff left - so he's the only one needing a decision on

The remaining players are unemployed the RFL have no right to be telling them anything.

What were you in for?

Fraud.

I have been digging around a bit and put the following snips into date order. I have assumed the press reports to be accurate on the ID of the new owners.

It has been suggested that this is the bid favoured by the RFL and rejected by the Adminstrator.

I am concerned but like many on here - nothing I can do about it. Particularly do not like the para lifted from a NZ newspaper site from 05/01/2013 and the links with Nigel Wood - sounds like dangerous cronyism at work to me... Can't stand the bloke and how he operates.

I have tried to be upbeat and failed - but we have an owner, a few players and a charismatic coach so I will buy a season ticket in support of Rohan and the remainder of the squad. Read on..

01/01/2009 Director Vinnie Weir demonstrated the concerns of a growing anti-Chalmers faction when he told the Sunday Star-Times he would demand a full financial statement at that meeting from Chalmers after claims the NZ league was more than $1m in debt.

06/2009 Harvest Pro, a Silverdale-based company, run by two directors – Zane Cleaver and former NZ Rugby League chairman Andrew Chalmers – was contracted to do a pre-harvest survey. The company produced an inventory and it is understood that on the basis of that report and advice from a company in Whangarei, the Council (now Auckland Council) decided to proceed to harvest even though the trees were still relatively young.

05/01/2013 Former Kiwis coach Graham Lowe is involved in a bid by racehorse owner Marwan Koukash to take control of financially troubled Super League club Salford.
Lowe has flown over from New Zealand at the request of Koukash, who has spent the last week negotiating to buy the City Reds.
He is also working closely with former New Zealand Rugby League chairman Andrew Chalmers and Ed Farish, a former finance officer of Australia's National Rugby League.
Both are associates of Rugby Football League chief executive Nigel Wood, who has helped broker talks with both long-serving Salford chairman John Wilkinson and Salford City Stadium owners Peel Holdings and Salford Council.

02/05/2014 Harvest Pro ceased trading last year, owing more than $25 million to creditors, although the joint venture was not listed as one of the 150 unsecured creditors.

31/01/2015 New Zealand league legend Graham Lowe's former recruitment company has been put into liquidation owing Inland Revenue almost $1 million.

Now a reminder of how these two are supposed to measure up having passed the criteria stipulated by their mate;

* Three-year budget forecast and proof of funds
* Details of the experience the relevant individuals have of running rugby league or other sports clubs
* Proposals relating to the recruitment of sufficient staff in order to be ready to start the 2017 season on time and whether the playing squad will be full or part-time;
* Completed Fit and Proper Person forms for relevant people;
* Confirmation that the directors/shareholders of the new company are prepared to provide personal guarantees to support their assurances that the club will complete its fixtures in 2017, 2018 and 2019
* If those fixtures are not completed then all central distributions paid in that season will be repaid by the club or directors/shareholders
* Proposals relating to an Academy
* Proposals relating to fans who bought season tickets for Bradford Bulls
* Proposals relating to the ‘RL debts’ money owed by Bradford Bulls at the time of the administration, which will be about £50,000.

Hope this turns out to be better than I think it will.

A great piece of work and really hammers home how corrupt this process has been. Nigel Wood gives the Bradford 'licence' to his mate and just expects everyone to swallow it. I give the Bradford fans more credit than that.

It won't get any better. Administration in a year awaits with more local businesses ripped off.

What did you honestly expect from this whole process? You had David Thorne and Marc Green trying to do a deal through the backdoor, Mark Lawn and JCT wanting to start in League One and then Richard Lamb and Damien Irvine with no money. No sugar daddy = no future. There simply wasn't a high calibre credible bid hence why Nigel has gone with his preferred option of Chalmers, a man whose business record makes Green look like a saint.

Surely if that happens then Nigel Wood will have to resign?
It will be interesting to see if any RL journalists do a bit of digging like you guys have done once the new owners are officially unveiled.

I beat Nigel to the canteen.

Lawn and JCT .... What might have been eh?

Except you only have a new owner. No players, coach or any other staff have yet been employed!!!!

My son came through the U16s and lately the U19s. I have a lot of respect for John Bastian and Leigh Beatie and people at the previous club. I share your optimisim that the truth will come out and disgrace Big Nigel and the RFL.

Stability, Money and following the proper rules of liquidation!



But again, choosing this bid after reading the research seems questionable and once again the RFL are saving face, instead of giving the RL what it wants (a stable Bradford club in League One) they need to keep us in the Champ for two reasons: Odsal Tenancy and to make sure their precious Summer Bash doesn't look cr@p.

How has depending on the funds of previous owners gone for you?
Its not a bottomless pit of money, use what they are willing to invest as wisely as possible. Not just throw it away on full-time players that will play 90% of their games against part time teams this year.

By dint of negative stories being more interesting to read than positive ones, I'm wondering if there are any businesses or organisations Mr Chalmers has run with any degree of success? The evidence suggests debt and liquidation follow him around like a bad smell but if that's all he has to show why would he be taken seriously?

I am waiting for the official announcement to decide whether it's worth supporting this new club and I think it's important to think of it in those terms. Unlike the previous administrations, this is not a continuation of what went before (which could be a good thing but should be easier to walk away from). I'm not sure there are many people ready to embrace this Phoenix operation lock, stock and barrel. If they're relying on fans to generate a lot of income then they may as well book Mr Pettit 12 months in advance.

It will of interest to see which sponsors come on board, if say Provident don't then then the Newco's credibility could be dented unless they can come up with bigger brand sponsor! It remains to be seen if they can convince the Playing Staff, ground Staff as well as Fans and Sponsors that they have got a forward looking and workable business plan!
The fact Sod Hall are happy about it is a cause for real concern!

I wish you all the best here but the more that drips out the more murkey this process is becoming, I have no idea on this but was thus the bid rejected by the administrator and uf so coukd it be because of the applicants finanvncial history, if the people connections on this thread are true (and there is no basis to doubt it) then some people may have some awkward questions to answer.

Given our parlous state I wonder what's in it for Chalmers really.

I also wonder what's in it for Wood to allegedly engineer his mate into the club.

There certainly isn't money to be made.

You do understand what has gone on don't you. A bloke took us over with no RL knowledge. He was pointed towards a 'safe pair of hands" by RFL. This SPOH then used the money to buy a massive squad that we could lend out to anybody short of players. Did the same the following year and we went bust. You comment as though the owner gave the money to the fans. At the end of the day if the RFL appoint a dodgy owner that then uses in whatever way he wants there is very little the supporters can do.
I'm sure if you trawl through these posts you will see that the majority think we should start in CH1 and that our current position is untenable.

Seriously people wait till the new owners give their plans before you believe what nameless people on a message board are saying, 'Who' it's patently obvious have already started the process of ruining your club before its even got going