We were asked at the fans forum whether we wanted a full time team and everyone there said YES. We need the support to carry through with this plan. I personally feel that if we went back to part time players, then we might as well shut up shop. We have got to believe in our coach and team otherwise nothing will happen, and the promise of a top rate team to challenge for SL will pale into insignificanse. Perhaps our fans will feel more positive when the season begins.

I don't think a question, thrown to, probably, the most committed 500 [or whatever fans, can ever be definitive for anything. When push comes to shove, it's the actual income that counts - and that figure will be led by attendances, whether via memberships or walk-ups. Hopefully, they'll remain around the 5K mark

For what it's worth, I think talk of, "shutting up shop", is ludicrous. If the club had to go part time, there is no reason to think it wouldn't survive as a part time club. Whether it could quickly bounce back from such a set back is a different question though, but 'survival', at some level, isn't an issue. I do feel that, in terms of our position within the game, this is a landmark season for us though - one way or the other.

I’ve not renewed yet but will be doing so I think there’ll be a few more to cough up yet.

As for continuing part time I don’t think that’s an option really at Odsal. Overheads are steep as it is. They’d be impossible in front of 1k of fans.

I think this year really is poop or bust unless Green finds someone to join the board who is happy to pump money in with no financial return.

With no special offers and the less than inspiring signings I feel a lot of people will wait to see what fayre they are being served up this season and will pick and choose their matches. Unfortunately this is the outcome when the first 20 odd matches are just warm ups for the middle 8s

If we want fully professional RL in the city someone has to pay for it and without a sugar daddy it will have to be the fans.

If people pick and choose then we'll have less money and the downward spiral continues.

Best keeping buying the euromillions tickets.

To be fair, my comments about part time were made on the assumption that a part time team would mean part time prices and general running overheads more, or less, in line with clubs like Batley. What you can't really overlook is the fact that Bradford, as a large city, is far bigger than the vast majority of suburb, small town and overgrown village teams which make up the bulk of the lower end of RL, so I'd hazard a figure of C 2.5K would be nearer the mark than your 1K average, which is pretty much what we see around this division.

Without checking, I'd guess my figure would be more in line with historical gates over 'the old days', not that I'm suggesting anything today equates quite [iexactly [/ito the sixties and seventies etc, it's a whole new world as we know....

Not sure about our "commercial rent" from the RFL. Maybe they would have to cut a deal since, without us as tenants, in monetary terms, their lease isn't worth the paper it's printed on. 'Course, going by what was said at the last forum, we [or Marc Green may even own the freehold by then, so maybe we'll just put [itheir[/i rent up to cover it......



Seriously hoping none of that ever has to be tried and tested, though!

I have always thought that removing ANY sort of "early bird" discount was a bad move. I paid early for all the time the offers were in place, but so far I haven't renewed yet, not as any deliberate policy even, I just haven't got round to it and without the availability of a discount to push it up my list of priorities, it's just in my to-do list.

All I see in our situation, tbh, is a downward spiral, we needed to go straight back up and failed, so this second year is really stretching it. All this "if people want..." stuff is totally irrelevant, though. IMHO the extra numbers that make up the big crowds in the tasty fixtures will come if there's something worth it in their view, and if there isn't - they won't. I reckon the vast majority of those people couldn't really care less if the Bulls went permanently down the tube, or even if they would prefer they didn't, that has no bearing on their expenditure.

Nobody but the base hard core fans will stump up due to any feelings of obligation or concern for the club's well-being, and appeals on the lines of "If you want a top level club ..." are really the most embarrassing waste of time, not one single person will be browbeaten into paying through attempted guilt tripping, and it just never ceases to amaze me that club chairmen (across sports) ever still resort to such attempts at emotional blackmail.

Pretty much makes 2016 poop or bust.

Couldn't agree more with FA's post above, and thanks for saving me the trouble of typing it all out

I haven't got mine yet either. But will once I get paid at the end of the month

i wonder how many of the "we must keep a full time team" have not brought a season ticket this year, In all honesty i think we have a better chance of going up this year than last season everybody knows what to expect in the middle 8s

COYB

Well, we know Marc Green won't put a penny into the club.

This. Completely this.

I probably am one of those base hardcore. I've got my renewal sorted already, but then, I would have that renewal regardless of division, regardless of players, as so long as I can afford it. I am not in any way swayed or influenced by the emotional blackmail that comes out of the club and Mr. Ferres especially, who I honestly don't trust as far as I could throw him. I tend not to listen to most of the guff.

The club are in a Chicken and Egg situation. They need some success to get fans back. They need fans back to finance a team that can bring success. It's a difficult situation, but all this "each fan needs to spend £900 a year to get promotion" kind of rubbish falls on deaf ears here I'm afraid.

The problem with "each fan needs to spend £900 a year to get promotion" is that it is not a guarantee. If it was I am sure many would pay it as we did when we had the £500k in 10 days scenario. The scenario we have now is "once bitten twice shy".

Can someone provide a source for Marc Green, or anyone at the club, actually saying that '£900 to get promoted' rubbish, because I don't believe for one second that they actually said that.

What I suspect they might have said was, hypothetically, is that if we wanted to have a SL level salary cap available to us, then - at our current level of ST holders - each one would need to spend £900.

There is a big difference in those two statements. Nobody at the club would be dumb enough to say 'spend £900 to get the club promoted'.

Of course that's what they said. I was exaggerating to make a point, which I thought would be obvious.

Not obvious, quite a few people on here have used the same quote as if it was actually said.

MG was very upfront about his, 'financial plan' so we all knew from the off that he wasn't going to throw money at the club.

To say he won't put a penny in though, is nonsense as he clearly already has. Starting from the off, when all the season ticket money had clearly gone to the previous owners and he honoured the tickets, and built a side. Maybe he has a printing press, or maybe he put the cash in?

Yeah, pretty much agree with that.

I always thought the 'early bird' was mainly to attract some quick cash into the coffers and keep things running through the off season. To be honest, I always assumed that the EB rate was the 'financial plan rate' and that nearly everyone would logically pay that sum anyway. However, if they don't need to do this then fair enough - to be fair, I paid early anyway, though to keep the same seat in the stand you still have to be bit earlier than most.

Disagree it would be poop or bust. I think if we fail to get promotion, then i think we would be scaled back massively. Junior development, possible PT. Certainly a few years in the championship until an SL club inevitably goes under. The club would still be a strong championship club.

Despite all the doom & Gloom there are still some good things going on at the club, particularity in the junior setup. I believe we've signed up some real gems this time up and a lot of money has being put into the juniors which suggests to me MG is in it for the long term. If it all hinged on us getting promoted this season and would be poop or bust, then why would the club put money in to the juniors? Surely we would do what Leigh are doing, with their entire money going into the first team squad?

I'm glad we're focusing on getting our academy back to where it was a few years ago. My worry, though, is that anybody half decent will only stay with us for a short amount of time before SL clubs offer them what we cannot while we remain in the Championship.
I don't see any SL club going bust now. I think the only chance we have of going up is if the poor attendances continue in the super 8s and the big clubs put pressure on the RFL to change the system again. Either that or they expand the SL to 14 (or more) teams when the tv contract is renewed. But that's like 5 or so years away? We might be too far gone by then.

and anything can happen.

Indeed, but as we know better than many, such acts are not in short supply.

Let's not detract from the fact that it was Marc Green who ultimately put the club into administration, so he had no option but to honour those season tickets sold whilst he was playing cowboy and Indians with Mark Moore.

It was also Marc Green who promised to invest in the playing squad to keep us in Super League. To the club's detriment these signings never materialised.

Supporter confidence and morale in the club seems to decrease day on day. Marc Green and Steve Ferres urgently need to make the Bulls become relevant again – making the Bradford Bulls the buzz word of the city.

We all know the stories about admin and now it occurred [several times 'Peter'. It doesn't alter the fact that when it was completed the new company [MG's had to cover all the money paid to the club for the upcoming season but which was lost [to the previous company. I certainly agree he was in a bit of a pickle with this and in truth would have never gained the trust of the fans if he'd insisted we pay again - but the fact remains he did put up the money for the side.

Promises to win games, stay in divisions, get promotion etc all have to be taken with a very large dose of salt as no-one can actually make such promises. I remember standing near to Omar with a group of fans in the middle of an open air restaurant in Perpignan the year before - and his 'promise' that we wouldn't be relegated didn't come true either. Ultimately though, we surely accept that the top people in clubs are going to talk up chances? For heaven's sake, if [ithey[/i don't show some belief why would the rest of us bother?

Not where I sit. Due either to the price, or possibly to my curry habit, nobody sits within 20 metres of me.