I understand that the holding company of Bradford Bulls have filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator (NOITA) with the Courts.

This effectively gives them a two week embargo against any external entity taking action against them but it is very rare that a company that files a NOITA does not end up making an appointment.

Good luck to the Directors and, as a Leigh fan, even more good luck to the passionate supporters of the Bulls.

What happened to the pledge money? Another body blow will hit the fans next season too when ticket prices go back to the level that a club like Bradford should be charging.

Grade B. Now I understand what the B stands for.

What does it all mean....................nothing zilch bugger all

I mean Bradford passed the franchise test with flying colours,so they can't be struggling can they not with this wonderful franchise system.

Slap on the wrist 4 pts deduction next year,a promise not to go bust again,company starts up again and super league continues its wonderful progress under the franchise system

Pipe down you bloody flatcapper

Oi franchise is the future I mean we have now expanded to err er errrrrrrrrr er france

[url=http://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/news/5935/BULLS%20STATEMENTStatement from the club[/url

TBH, most Bradford fans have been aware that administration was on the cards as soon as Caisley made his power play.

Expect to see something a la Ken Bates at Leeds Utd where Chris Caisley buys the club back for £1.

Not really. If that had been the case, we'd have got a grade A licence wouldn't we?

Surely to goodness you new well before then

Well, it was on the cards, but it became nailed on as soon as Caisley kicked up a fuss

Bradford Bulls provided a solid submission detailing a strategy, tactical plan and targets to achieve improved commercial and financial performance. The club has a solid fan base, a strong brand and good operating structure/governance in place. However the club faces some challenges. These include the local economic environment, poor recent on-field performance and an ageing facility. The application acknowledges these challenges; however the club believes that its business plan for the next three years will move it to a position of sustainability with good prospects for further growth. The club has invested heavily in its youth performance programme in recent years, and it is expected that the club will soon start to reap the rewards of this investment with improved performances and increased numbers of quality club-trained players.

Im passing no judgement im just bringing the rfls view forward on the bulls franchise bid

So all you have to say is "we believe!"?

the whole system is a sham, and has been throughout.

1st Widnes were omitted when they should have been in, then the whole wales fiasco, then wakey are out and the new welshies in - ohhh wait a minute, the welshies dont wanna play any more so Wakey can stay!

and now this - the RFL knew Bradford were in the sh#t when the bids were looked at - and if they didnt Bradford were not including vital financial information in their bid - if this is true when they go into admin the Bulls should be stripped of their licence and made to build again from the bottom.

Will this happen?

Will it balls.

our whole sport is run on lies and propoganda....the rest of the sporting world looks on and laughs.

it needs sorting, and quick!

And in the real world............

A level headed response! Are you in the right place

Im not that clever mate all i've done is copy the rfl statement.

The fax fan does have a good point

The rest of the sporting world couldn't care less. I'm sure Rangers fans think RL looks foolish....oh hang on.

So the pledge money vanished into thin air did it?

It's time to sell the assets then I'm afraid

is that a problem for you then ?

if the ESL future is in France or Iceland or wherever with some financial security then isn't that a good thing for our sport ?

A bit of a problem there, they dont have too many assets, other than the players of course.
Should they go into admin, the vultures will take all of the decent players and they will have to beg and borrow players for next season, just as Wakefield did last season.
What must be really disappointing for the Bulls fans, is the lack of progress since the brown stuff hit the fan a few months ago. As an outsider looking in, it just seems that a few months has been lost and the fans have stumped up their hard earned cash and for what ??

The pledge money was spent on operating costs and is keeping the club going now. They always stated they needed at least another £500K to make it to the end of the season. That figure now looks to be closer to £1M and suddenly they owe HMRC enough cash to prompt a winding-up threat. That last one seems to have come out of the blue, so something has been well hidden up to now by someone.


Depends. Going into admin doesn't necessarily mean selling assets - that's one of the few positives of the move. If they have an investor ready to step in as soon as the administrators are appointed then they might hold on to the majority of the squad.

I think that's who he was referring to.

Actually that would depend on how long they were in admin and the exact state of the finances at the point they enter.

And how "friendly" the administrators are.
Having seen how administrators work, they can be ruthless beyond belief or, helpful to the incoming buyer.
Its the poor souls who are owed money and in this case the fans who pledged and paid over cash that you have to sympathise with.

In this case the 'incoming buyer' is likely to be the same person who appoints the administrators, so I expect there to be a fair amount of 'friendliness' about.

You've got to ask questions though when £1 million was the quoted amount to see them through to the end of the season.

500 grand of that needed almost immediately, which was generously raised through all sorts of means.

Then bang resignations from the board, new people in charge and the figure is back to a million quid!!

500k liability just springs up unexpectedly? Who was doing the books? Stevie Wonder?

There's any number of questions that need asking - the misinformation that surrounds this whole affair is substantial and still ongoing. Doubt any of the real detail will ever become public though, especially with the old and new directors quarrelling with each other in the press.