Aren't you a bit rash in assuming that relegated clubs will just keep their existing squads? Is that realistic? May be more or less unrealistic to some extent depending who it is, but many claim if a team gets relegated all SL contracts cease. I should think at bare minimum the "best" players of a relegated club are in serious danger of being cherry picked and of the rest, any who can get a much bigger wage and offer to play in SL will surely be offski?

Then, the relegated club needs to factor in much reduced income, and finally the chances of financiers and sponsors reducing or even walking away.

I could see Rovers mirroring what happened to us very closely. They would have next year to try and get back up based on keeping a strong core of their squad. I wouldn't fancy their chances, and thereafter they stay down with us until the system changes. They don't have genuine wealth behind them just the same as us.

, with Sugar Daddy, needs to factor in, 'reduced income', in exactly the same way that the guy at Hudds factors in getting very little from gate receipts. In other words if he's prepared to fork out to cover it, then it makes no odds. So, whilst I'm far from, certain about anything, I think it's a good chance of working out that way.

So basically, at the whim of the guy with the chequebook, with the proviso he'll need to start writing bigger cheques. How it is that we can't ever find one of these guys is a mystery to me, even if Mr. Green undoubtedly is pumping in some measure of sugar, whatever he may publicly say.

Indeed.

You'd imagine a city the size of Bradford would have someone - but then you check out the demographics and realise it's a very small number of available people with the sort of money needed.

Yep. It's a £1m shortfall in central funding for the relegated club. So either a big pair of scissors for some serious cloth cutting, a bigger cheque from the chairman, or a mix of the 2.

how about this, If Leigh are found next season to have broken this seasons salary cap what happens then?

Same thing that happens to every team in this country found guilty. A tiny fine that makes no difference to a minted chairman and a points penalty that might help them into the Middle 8s next season where they'll start on 0 points again.

Players want to play in the top division. And, preferably, at the club which gives them the best chance of winning something.

Money's an issue but not the only consideration.

Which has worked really well for Salford this year......

True. But not really that much down to the points deduction. They should still have had enough quality to walk that Middle 8s, but have somehow managed to lose to London and end up in a terrible position. Yes the points deduction helped put them in there in the first place, but they should have still been good enough to get out of it. For whatever reason (and I have my opinions on that too), they're bottled it.

Maybe the points deduction has a bigger effect on the players than we might think. Look at our example, and now Salford.

London are a decent enough team, erratic like us, but not a major surprise for them to beat Salford especially if Salford thought it was a bye

Not sure there is much of a connection with our case, tbh. Mainly due to us going into admin, which, considering the players we lost due to TUPE before the season actually started, I think maybe contributed considerably more to our demise than losing the points ever did.

We also never got to defend our position in any kind of play-off. Other than the whole season play-off which our denuded squad had to play, preceeding our dropping out of SL, of course. Salford, as the Hamster correctly [imo says, should have been good enough to win through.

I'm Hearing Clare & Obrien could be on the way to the LSV?

The James Clare to Leigh rumour was shot down by Rohan Smith on Bulls Banter Facebook last night

O'Brien? Why would he sign a new deal towards the end of the season and then decide to jump ship?

Just something that was mentioned to me in passing , usually been accurate, possible SL clause?

No doubt all of our players will have SL buyout clauses in their contracts.
It would be a shame if any SL side came along and cherry picked our talent, but it's always a danger when you're playing in the lower leagues unfortunately.

What the hell is Smith doing posting stuff in that cess pit?

He's been on there at least a couple of time IIRC in a very professional fashion, and well managed by the two ladies who moderate the "Banter" forum. In some cases they have put fan questions to him and in others he has replied directly to other posted comments.

It seems to have been well managed tbh and I actually think its a positive step to have some direct contact from the club.

Obviously I expect this to come crashing down when some berk takes the pi$$ and gives him some expletive ridden torrent of abuse, etc but for now I'm a big fan of reading what he has to say.

Potentially the points deduction did have a mental effect, true. But I still think the bigger mental effect causing Salford problems is their nutjob of a chairman and his constant "will I or won't I stay" putting the players and fans in a position of not knowing where they stand.





I thought it became fairly clear last season that Rohan didn't rate O'Brien. Perhaps his opinion changed, but he didn't seem to want to play him (and dropped him entirely for Fev as we all know). Since he'll have signed a reasonable deal for this level and it was before Rohan came in, I actually wouldn't be surprised to see him move on. With Higham surely in his last season and Beswick having left, Leigh would seem to be a reasonable fit.

I don't think it's "clear" Smith didn't rate AOB - after two years of being absolutely flogged to death by Lowes, I think Smith was simply trying out more efficient ways of using him - as is the prerogative of any new coach.

The Fev game, yes a massive error and I can see the logic of trying to match Fev with some grunt - on paper at least. Perhaps there are better suited players than AOB to take out of the squad to accommodate that though. Smith admitted immediately after the game that dropping O'Brien was an error, something I don't think he'd have done so easily if he didn't rate him. Plus AOB has taken a much more major role in the squad again since then - albeit in a much more minor competition.

I totally get he needed spelling, and I think that makes him more effective when he's on the field.

I was a bit OTT when I said it was clear. Rather I got the impression that he doesn't rate him. I can't pinpoint now why I got that impression, but it's certainly something I'd thought a few times since Smith took over.

You're not the only one HamsterChops, I also got 'a bit of a feeling', and I'll put it no higher than that - that Rohan wasn't quite as keen on Adam as the Jimmy had been. Mind, Jimmy nearly burnt him out in just over a season, so maybe it's no bad thing.

If Rohan Smith doesn't rate AOB then he is a blithering idiot with no clue whatsoever about RL. AOB is potentially a GB stalwart, he's that good, and even drunk and concussed no coach worthy of the name could not rate AOB.

AOB doesn't rate AOB. That's why he tried to go part-time with Halifax.