Just watching Boots n all and they have talked to the owner of Bradford, then the owner of Wakey.

I will be honest, Green wouldnt fill me with confidence if I was a Bradford team. The way he came across to me was that he was appealing the points loss so that if they didnt get a reduction, or all the points back, well then its the RFL's fault they get relegated. At least thats how it came across to me.

Wakey meanwhile maintain they could have gone in to admin just like Bradford but did the "right thing" by paying off debts, securing loans against their own homes, and losing good players in the process, hence their lack of success this season up to now.

Awful situations, but I must admit I kinda side with Wakey on this one. Green maintained that they have quality players and made no mention of new players or coaching staff, but seems to be hoping that the RFL save them by giving the points back.

Thoughts/opinions?

I have every sympathy with Bradford's players, staff and supporters but I too side with Wakefield.

I too have fallen for carters oft repeated claim that if they'd have gone into admin they would have been kicked out of superleague.

Despite the lack of any proof I therefore also side with wakey.

The only ones I feel sorry for are Bradford's long list of creditors. In this game though they're likely to get better treatment and I expect that because of their fan base alone they'll have points reinstated.

I all so feel for the fans but if they give them their points back every team will feel its ok if we get into trouble do has Bradford and the RFL will save us, take it and go down but come back stronger stop begging

Points deducted for going into admin and having been on RFL life support for many months.
Because they are no longer in admin, this penalty is no longer applicable, well that's ok then.

Only way bulls will get 6 points back is if the independent review find this could have been avoided and it was all the RFL's fault. Not going to happen. Most we can hope for is to get 2 points back.

Thought Green was a little defensive, thought Carter came across very well and can't disagree with anything he has said.

PumptyPump, while there may not be any "proof" Surely the RFL would have released a statement if this wasn't true.

i'm not aware of any precedent for the rfl issuing statements to refute the various fictional conspiracy theories they face on a daily basis.

They responded to mark moore for example only because of his own press statement which made serious accusations.

How is that legal battle going BTW?

As I have said before, the idea that we should deduct points from Bradford at this point is stupid. It makes no sense, achieves nothing and punishes the wrong people.

The vague threat that Michael Carter is saying he was given is simply playing to the crowd, tapping in to Wakefield’s victim complex.


The idea he has tried to propagate that Bradford havent had to 'cut their cloth' and have kept their squad together is just embarrassing in its stupidity, this is a Bradford side which finished 4 points from the play-offs last year and have only won 4 points in total this year.

Im not surprised that Michael Carter is trying it, im just surprised people fall so easily for such an obviously wrong narrative

Because the reason owners try and keep a club out of admin isn’t to save their investment of hundreds of thousands, if not millions in the club, its not the professional embarrassment, the only thing that is stopping them is the threat that someone else might buy the club and have a points penalty.

What came across to me was that Green is the sort of person I wouldn't trust as far as I could throw Nigel Woods, definitely someone I'd be VERY careful dealing with!

Come on Smokey, you're better than that.
RL (and other sports) are struggling with HMRC, due to the numbers of clubs using the admin route to wipe the slate clean, which is why the penalties in the round ball game have increased over recent years.
Are you really saying that clubs avoid admin to prevent their new owners suffering a points deduction.
I know that you like to provoke a reaction on here but, this is just plain bonkers.



Businesses go into admin "to protect the business from its creditors" or occasionally to allow new owners to buy the business for very little but allowing the business to survive.

To be fair to Green he appeared to have a very clean plan to buy the Odsal development land.

Smokey, you´re right except that you underestimate the ability of VT buffoons and trolls.

When my club, Widnes, went into administration and Steve O'Connor took over, not only did we not get the 9 points back we were deducted but we were denied a place in SL as well.

Cant see any difference between what happened to Widnes and what has happened at Bradford.

For that reason I'm siding with Wakefield.

I fail to see why it's become a Bradford v Wakey thing, the RFL have rules, Bradford broke them and suffered the penalty. The new owners bought the club (on the cheap it has to be said) in FULL knowledge of the points deduction. I really can't see their angle, other than, "we are the 5th biggest club and you'd better not punish us".

Sorry to say this, as I quite liked Bradford's embracing of the new SLE era, but, big clubs come and go, just ask Swinton's fans. The RFL appears to have realised that 'massaging' a league to suit investors is actually BAD for the sport, hence London will not be saved from relegation and Bradford will not be given any points back.

no I was being sarcastic, it is, as you say bonkers. So instead of us having these rules which are just plain bonkers, let's have some rules which do what we actually want them to do.

If it is bonkers to think that a points deduction for the new owners is a deterrent to admin, why have them? Why not have an actual deterrent to admin

Did you think what happened to Widnes was wrong? Two wrongs don't make a right do they

No what happened to us, regarding the points deduction, was totally right. We were, at the time of going into administration, badly managed and something had to give when we failed to gain promotion.

The fact that we were punished with a 9 point deduction, then punished again by not getting a franchise, was wrong. We had a new owner in Steve O'Connor and was it fair on him to have to pick up the pieces from somebody else's mess? No.

O'Connor took the decision on the chin, abided by the rules and got on with turning the clubs fortunes around. He didn't start crying in the papers and to the RFL about it, he had a vision of what he wanted to achieve at Widnes and gladly, for all the long suffering Vikings fans, he is slowly but surely doing that.

Should Bradford not have the points deduction overturned and be relegated then the only ones to blame are the previous owners. At least if they do go down they know there is a chance in twelve months time to regain their SL position, whereas Widnes had to wait three years for that opportunity.

As you say Smokey, two wrongs don't make a right, but also two identical wrongs should receive identical punishments.

you can't argue that two wrongs dont make a right, but then also argue BRadford should be punished wrongly because Widnes were.

Widnes werent denied promotion because of their administration, they were allowed to apply, did, failed, and then regrouped and got it right. And good on them for it.

I don't think you read my post, I didn't argue two wrongs dont make a right, I agreed with you.

I didn't say Widnes were wrongly punished with a points deduction, it was the correct decision and Widnes abided by it.

In Bradford's case it is also the correct decision, they should also abide by it.

It's not rocket surgery.

Why is it the right decision? What did Steve O'connor do to deserve a points deduction?

Rocket 'surgery'???

It is the right decision because it is in the operational rules.

Steve O'Connor didn't do anything to deserve a points deduction, but he did know there was one imposed/pending when he took over the club, he had the choice to walk away from it if he wasn't happy with it but he stuck by the club.