[url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbulls/15449893.Bulls_already_planning_for_2018_____regardless_of_the_division/T&A Link[/url

So, Russ MacFarlane (no, I don't know who this guy is either) who is apparently the Bulls operations manager has come out and said that the club is planning for next season

But the main thing to take from the article, IMO, is this part:



Yes, there's still a club there. But how long will those incredible fans keep supporting a club that seems to assume that they'll turn up regardless just so long as the club occasionally put out a "please stick with us" plea in the local paper?

The trouble is there are less and less 'incredible fans'. We were averaging around 4500 at the start of the season, the Swinton game was 3291.

How many will be there on Sunday? No away fans and barely a weeks notice that the game was happening. You'd have to think less than 3K.

I agree - they can't keep talking about the 'incredible fans' - they have to engage with us, give us a reason to keep supporting. It seems obvious - but the owners don't seem to have twigged that yet...

.....

ffs!

Why cant they give him an answer.

Although God knows why any decent player would want to stay at Odsal (But I really dont want the decent ones to leave)

What is it about our club and poor communication!

Undo actually think he is a good player too. He was told they are making a list of players they want to keep and then a list they don't. I will try update when I can.

The season ends in less than two months. I understand that next season is an uncertain one with talk or a restructure still flitting about, but I can't believe that the club doesn't know who it wants to keep already if they're genuinely serious about keeping the club as a going concern in Bradford

I dont think we are "incredible fans" anymore.

We used to be "incredible fans" when we were a big SL club.

Now were just "credible" fans.

And next season we'll just be "fans",

And the season after that we'll just be sweet "fa"

Just been told he isn't been offered a contract.

Bad times, players been told this week if they are been offered anything.

If the above has happened to all players I would guess at no win in the next 7 games.

It's difficult to comment when we don't know who you're talking about - although there can't be many who'd actually be wanted by three other clubs

To be fair to the club, it must be hard to offer contracts when we don't know which division we will be in - the club themselves seem to be holding some hope for a restructure (which I don't agree with). How can they set a budget for next season? The RFL need to make a clear statement about this.

Sorry Paul, I will say as soon as I can. Some people may think he shouldn't be offered a contract anyway.

I agree with your comment regarding the RFL, they just need to decide what's going on.

if some people think he shouldn't be offered a contract, then chances are he shouldn't.

'Some people', have a weird handle on just where we are, as a club, though.

Looking at our squad there are few, if any, who wouldn't do well in champ1. Obviously it was difficult to make decisions whilst remaining in this division remained a realistic possibility, but that ship sailed some time back and that excuse sailed with it. Without any doubts, virtually all the players we as fans wanted to keep will have been signed elsewhere by now.

I despair, I really do.

Being brutally honest I'd say there are quite a few of our current crop of players that I wouldn't lose any sleep over them leaving. The problem is who to replace them with.

Let's face it. We won't be keeping anyone who's had an offer from a SL side or a half decent championship side.

As Nothus says, a lot have been proven to not be up to it. However some might be given a proper pre season and some older heads to bring them on.

I expect in C1 next season starting all over again but perhaps not as chaotic as this season. Whatever the plan I hope we're not relying so much on loan and dual reg. We can't have players training with their parent clubs all week then coming into our first team for the weekend game, we've all seen the result of that policy.

Agree with above. Chisholm, Roche, Bentley, Ryan are just too good to sign with us. For me its about getting a young squad we can build on, and gel with. We've had wholesale changes every season and every single one of those seasons we finished worse than the year before.

Sign players like Pickersgill, Butterworth, Kirk, Wilkinson, Ricketts. Bring a few of the promising U19s through throughout the season. They can develop and get away with making mistakes in L1.

Playing in L1 will be rubbish and i won't be going to places like Hemel. But for the last 10 seasons its felt like fire fighting instead of building anything. We get a load of promising academy prospects, then go into administration. Give the club stability and improve a little bit each season, bringing the conveyor belt of academy products through, and in a few years we will have earned the right to fight for a place back in SL.

BTW just to give some a lift, our U16s narrowly lost to Leeds U16s last night. Looking on the Rhinos board many think that crop is a special bunch. Looking at Leeds's results (82-0 V newcastle, 52-0 & 60-0 against Huddersfield x2,and 42-28 V London) it shows how good a crop we have of our own, i believe we signed most, if not all the ones we wanted. Uf we get a stable club and allow these players to devop and come through instead of losing them because we're in admin, we'll be OK. I cam get behind a young HG team i can see a future with.

..and that is the crux of it, imo. To be right, I'd fully agree with all of that, [iif[/i we were remaining in our current division, but we won't be, so we need a solid side to play in the lower division and I can't see any of our current crop as not being good enough to be in a top champ1 side and a few who should be stars in it. However we'll see who leaves and arrives, well if they deign to let us know, we will.

Did you go to the game? My mates lad made his debut last night interesting to hear how he got on

The Chisholms of this world might stay a year if a) paid enough and b) we are more towards the Toronto end of the spectrum and less towards the Del Boy. Toronto were easily able to sell a season in the stiffs to many half decent players and it isn't just money though that helps, a feeling that you could be part of something going places would be a big factor. A feeling that we have no players, no mabition, and no money would be a big factor in the oposite direction.

Exactly what I was thinking. We'll be able to see what ambition there is from the club owners once we see the 2018 squad take shape.

I agree with signing who we can from the young talent (although some will obviously get better offers). But we need to get away from the notion that playing in League 1 will be a breeze and they players can just get away with their mistakes.

League 1 is actually two leagues in one. The bottom half are basically development teams - a mix of DR and local players, and the standard is barely better (or perhaps lower) than National Conference. But the top half will be similar to what we have been used to with the Championship teams - lots of big ugly forwards who've been around for years, lots of grubby tactics, lots of physical encounters that won't be for the faint hearted. We need some tough forwards who will fight fire with fire!

Bear in mind that we'll have the other relegated team (Oldham, Swinton or whoever), together with the team that doesn't get promoted along with Toronto. So there might be Whitehaven, Keighley, York, Hunslet, Workington, Barrow... teams that aren't just going to roll over to a bunch of kids just because it's Bradford Bulls. Then there's the whole 'it's our Cup Final' thing that you get whenever lower teams play us.

It won't be easy by any means...

Could argue that Gibson and Tonga are also too good for NL1 and they have seemingly signed up for next year.

"lower teams" we are lower than a snakes ball sack..

25% of the current squad wouldn't get into a good conference team.

we really need to shed the $hit and build whatever league we are in.. AGAIN!

It definitley will not be easy.I watched the York v Toronto match on Premier last week and if thats the indication of the top end of League 1 then we could be in for a torrid time in some of the matches.The pace and physicality was easily up there with what weve seen this season and no little skill neither.

Indeed. Could be like our relegation into the championship where we were quickly dragged down a level and before you know it became also rans.

Take our friends in Keighley. They've gone from being a championship side to also rans in C1. That could happen to us. We need to have some reliable old heads to guide the promising kids and a couple of enforcers.

Rise and shine - its groundhog day

We are now discussing if we can put out a good side to keep near the top of League 1.





Who would have thought that we would plummet from SL so fast.

When we hit the bottom of the barrel please can someone wake me up so that I can enjoy the rise to the top again