We haven't really got many options have we? And as always, it's the fans, all of them to a certain degree, who suffer the most.

In fairness any Sport that has P&R gives no guarantee's of staying in the top flight. If anything you should expect less guarantee's under a licence system.

Have full sympathy with Bulls fans as I would any clubs support in this mess. HOWEVER, in my opinion of Bradford were to be liquidated under this current system there is no way they should be allowed to continue un-touched in SL. What sort of message does that send out to clubs in and outside of SL?

How do you know they have not had any feedback?

With regard to the franchise situation (I am guessing that is what you meant) the RFL can't just give the new owners a blank cheque on a certain licence for the next 2 years because if they do then they have to give that same certainty to everyone.
That is something they were at pains to say was not something they could promise when the new licences were issued.

Also does anyone know if the bidders are offering the full price for Odsal with a promise that the Bulls will stay at Odsal (Iconic RL stadium)?

Likewise, I can't think of any sport where the governing body buys out a financially restrictive lease agreement on behalf of a club as a way of giving financial assistance to it ......financial assistance that has previously been denied to other clubs who have also gone on record saying they were in trouble....clubs such as Wakefield, whom I believe were also one of the original clubs to form the Northern Union, but whom unlike Bradford, don't have a ground worthy of the same level of historical protection given to oddslum by the RFL.

Selective memory from Bradford fans will do them or their clubs image no favours.....what happened up to adminsitration is nobody's fault other than the management......since administration, I suspect that the only people interested in "owning" bradford have been after Oddslum......and the RFL will have made a judgement call based on the facts they have in front of them....remember, they bought the ground to protect it as a RL stadium....I seem to recall a lot of approval for this move to protect the stadium....now the RFL are the bad guys for......er....protecting it!
[urlhttp://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/9490230.RFL_s_surprise_swoop_to_buy_Odsal_Stadium/[/url

At least the RFL are getting a decent assets with odsal.

I imagine the proposed new owners want that asset and want a guaranteed license beyond the next round. RFL are right to deny them both IMO.

Listen, quit your moaning theres nothing the RFL can do. Licensing states that a team can have their license revoked at any time. So for the RFL to accept the conditions and guarantee bradfords super league status they'd be tarnishing the integrity of the competition and the sport.

The RFL's hands are tied.

The game is bigger than your club.

That is something they cannot do, because clubs have to vote on it. And although the RFL have the final authority they will go with the majority on a vote. To overule the majority of club chairmen would be stupid.

The rfl can't just guarantee things like that. Theres procedures in place.

That is just life though.

Don't send the dad to jail for fraud, his kids and family will miss him and suffer.

The fans are......just collateral damage.

My sympathy wanes dramatically when some of their fans now almost have the attitude it's the RFL's fault and that they have an obligation to accept the consortium's bid for the bulls.

The RFL have gone above and beyond the help the bulls. The bulls have recieved special treatment IMO.

You stick a salford in that situation and the RFL would have let them rot. There'd be no advancing of payments, of helping out with the ground. They'd have been thrown to the dogs.

It's just prolonging the agony. We all know how this will end. Endgame will happen after the bulls fulfill their fixtures.

Theres still some hope with this other bid apart from abc. But i'm not sure they'll have the financial clout once they go over the numbers fully.

So the bulls will be able to complete their fixtures, reducing the impact on the rest of the competition and then will liquidate at seasons end when all options have been exhausted. Most likely then a team from the championship will be admitted in their place.

The bulls will then need to 'somejow' start up again and go into the championship.

Come on, a reality check is needed. If the bulls liquidate and they manage to start a new club in the championship theres no way they'll be getting 10k.

-They will lose thousands of fans who have been dissalusioned with the whole debacle
- They have dirt cheap season tickets at the moment. So fans will end up having to pay more for championship rugby. That will shave a few k off.
- Then you have fans that will feel no affiliation with the 'newco' as it will be seen as a different entity.
-What stadium will they be playing at? if it's not odsal that could affect it as well, remember their attendances dropped when they moved to valley parade and they were good then.

All in all you could expect to half that figure.

and that's a assuming a newco will be setup for next season in the event of liquidation. No easy task.

People just seem to assume it will magically rise from the ashes. But you'd need someone to invest heavily to begin with to start the thing up. You'd need all the infastructure putting in place again you'd need to get all the staff employed and somehow assemble a squad of players. Then they'd need to arrange where they play. Could a championship club afford to play at odsal?

Peopl talk about the fans doing. The fans aren't rich and they have jobs.

I think most Bulls fans accept that. It wouldnt be unfair for the RFL to announce today that they have revoked our license.

But if they're going to do that they should do it now. They've seen the books, the've seen the offer by ABC. There's no reason why they cannot announce their decision on the existing license today. And I've not heard any Bulls fans suggest that they should do more than revoke or continue the existing license.

The thing that does seem unfair is that they will delay that decision for two months. String the club and potential investors along in order to complete the season and then expel the club. Or expect prospective buyers to commit to the club without announcing what the full punishment will be for 2 months. I think the saying is "justice delayed is justice denied".

I see where you're coming from the but the rfl are simply acting in the best interests of the competiition and that is for bradford to complete the fuxtures. I know it sucks what is going to happen at the end of the season but it is what it is.

The thing is clubs vote on it. I know everyone says ''well the rfl have the power to veto'', yeah they have the power, but it doesn't mean they will exercise that muscle. The RFL will back what the majority of clubs decide IMO.

Why not ? A Scottish football club with a ~50,000 fan base will be playing in the 3rd Division next season under similar circumstances. It's called integrity.

There are some comparisons to be made between the situations of Rangers and the Bulls, but also some major differences.

Rangers' return to the SPL is virtually assured (assuming it still exists when they get there). They will comfortably outspend their rivals in a league without salary caps and then be automatically promoted at the end of each season. They expect to make significant profits in the process. The financial risk to their new owners is very limited. The same cannot be said of the Bulls.

Interesting theory about financial risk.
Their drop in income will be of meteoric compared to the Bulls.
If the bulls were to drop down a division the woould (in theory) be a large fish in a small pond and for the same reasons that you use to say Rangers would regain top flight status, then the same would apply to the Bulls.
The main differnce is the salary cap in the CC and the dreaded franchise system that we have in league and this does complicate the situation. However a new Bulls should be strong enough to compete at the top end of the CC and become no 1 contenders for "promotion".
Having said that, at the begining of the current franchise period, all clubs were warned about their financial conduct and adhering to the various promises that were made to the RFL and although, at the time, this seemed to be pointing towards Cas and Wakefield, there was the threat of expulsion from SL.
Once again the rules are being tested (just as they were when Wigan drove a bus through the salary cap a few seasons ago and we wait to see what the outcome is this time.

Can we get the title of this thread changed?

Bulls have posted a statement from Coulby, actiung chairman, on Facebook - Quote “The ABC consortium, comprising a group of Bradford businessmen, have been trying for over three weeks now to satisfy the supposed demands of the RFL without knowing exactly what those demands are and the second syndicate, which has now put a bid in place, is faced with the same problem. These people are new to the sport and without any doubt are totally blameless for the present state of the business. They wish to invest substantial monies into the club at a time when the sport is struggling to attract new investors but, instead of being welcomed, they find it totally impossible to establish what exactly they would be purchasing. They read about comparisons with the purchases of Wakefield Trinity and Widnes by new owners in the recent past, when in reality Wakefield obtained a new three year Super League licence immediately following their administration and Widnes were a Championship club when bought out of administration by Steve O’Connor in 2007. Their intention has never been to “hold a gun” to the head of the RFL, but merely to put a sustainable business plan in place which, in their opinion, would require Super League membership through to the end of the present franchise period, at which time the licence would be reassessed . If the club is to be placed in the Championship their interest will cease, which is their prerogative, and for the club to survive, fresh investors would need to emerge with a totally different business strategy; people who would have the confidence to keep the club at Odsal, with all the accompanying costs that would entail, or one would imagine with a possible agenda to move the club elsewhere.” “The RFL are now aware of the full facts which resulted in the club entering into administration, including a number of matters which have only recently come to light. For whatever reason these were not looked into when the RFL entered into discussions with the club in June 2011 to purchase the lease of the stadium, and when awarding a “B” licence to the club one month later when it granted franchises for a further three year period. Having now received that information and having consulted over three weeks ago with the other Super League clubs, surely some decision should now be forthcoming, whatever that decision might be. If the club is at best to be a Championship club for a period of at least two years please let any prospective purchasers know this, so that they can decide whether to proceed with their interest and plan accordingly. If this is to be the stated policy of the RFL moving forward it will of course not only be Bradford Bulls who will be seriously affected but also any other club which might find themselves in a similar position in the future.” “The continuing uncertainty is impacting not only on potential investors but in particular on the lives and families of the staff and players at the club, who again are in no way responsible for the financial crisis and whose efforts at this time cannot be praised too highly. Many of those who lost their jobs have continued to show their unstinting loyalty by working without pay, hoping against hope that the future of the club, whatever that might be, will soon be resolved one way or the other. They most certainly do not deserve to be embroiled in the lingering death of the club, which the ongoing uncertainty is only assisting and accelerating at an alarming rate.” '" www.facebook.com/#!/officialbull ... 2250527665

Bulls have posted a statement from Coulby, actiung chairman, on Facebook - Quote “The ABC consortium, comprising a group of Bradford businessmen, have been trying for over three weeks now to satisfy the supposed demands of the RFL without knowing exactly what those demands are and the second syndicate, which has now put a bid in place, is faced with the same problem. These people are new to the sport and without any doubt are totally blameless for the present state of the business. They wish to invest substantial monies into the club at a time when the sport is struggling to attract new investors but, instead of being welcomed, they find it totally impossible to establish what exactly they would be purchasing. They read about comparisons with the purchases of Wakefield Trinity and Widnes by new owners in the recent past, when in reality Wakefield obtained a new three year Super League licence immediately following their administration and Widnes were a Championship club when bought out of administration by Steve O’Connor in 2007. Their intention has never been to “hold a gun” to the head of the RFL, but merely to put a sustainable business plan in place which, in their opinion, would require Super League membership through to the end of the present franchise period, at which time the licence would be reassessed . If the club is to be placed in the Championship their interest will cease, which is their prerogative, and for the club to survive, fresh investors would need to emerge with a totally different business strategy; people who would have the confidence to keep the club at Odsal, with all the accompanying costs that would entail, or one would imagine with a possible agenda to move the club elsewhere.” “The RFL are now aware of the full facts which resulted in the club entering into administration, including a number of matters which have only recently come to light. For whatever reason these were not looked into when the RFL entered into discussions with the club in June 2011 to purchase the lease of the stadium, and when awarding a “B” licence to the club one month later when it granted franchises for a further three year period. Having now received that information and having consulted over three weeks ago with the other Super League clubs, surely some decision should now be forthcoming, whatever that decision might be. If the club is at best to be a Championship club for a period of at least two years please let any prospective purchasers know this, so that they can decide whether to proceed with their interest and plan accordingly. If this is to be the stated policy of the RFL moving forward it will of course not only be Bradford Bulls who will be seriously affected but also any other club which might find themselves in a similar position in the future.” “The continuing uncertainty is impacting not only on potential investors but in particular on the lives and families of the staff and players at the club, who again are in no way responsible for the financial crisis and whose efforts at this time cannot be praised too highly. Many of those who lost their jobs have continued to show their unstinting loyalty by working without pay, hoping against hope that the future of the club, whatever that might be, will soon be resolved one way or the other. They most certainly do not deserve to be embroiled in the lingering death of the club, which the ongoing uncertainty is only assisting and accelerating at an alarming rate.” '" www.facebook.com/#!/officialbull ... 2250527665

Stop the sob story-Not holding a gun to any ones head-What do they think this rubbish is then, going public demanding sympathy.

These are businessmen who it would seem are trying to get something for nothing whilst also making demands on the RFL.

Not what you would expect from decent businessmen

Exactly what you would expect from decent businessmen I'd have thought. Your version of decent businessmen wouldn't stay in business very long.

[url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbulls/9848008.Negotiations_over_Bulls_reach_deadlock/deadlock[/url

[i"The ABC source, said the consortium had offered the governing body £1.5 million for the lease to the ground, which it claims is “open market value” and more than the RFL paid for it earlier this year.

“We’re not asking for anything unreasonable. We want to buy the lease because we won’t want to make any investment in the ground if we don’t own it,” he said.

“We gave the RFL until 5pm on Monday to get back to us, but we have not heard anything. It’s very frustrating.” [/i"

So one of the "conditions" is that they are offering the rfl a profit on the £1.25m it paid for Odsal. The second "condition" is that Bradford retain its licence, after exiting administration without liquidating, only for this period and be judged along with everyone else at the next round.

I don't see how these "conditions" are insurmountable by either party.

So they think that it going public wont increase the pressure on the RFL?
Of course they knew this still in their minds there is nothing wrong in this I imagine.

I love the fact that they say that they are not holding a gun to the RFL's head but then state that if they don't get their own way that they we take their ball home.

I don't like it, not one bit.

They're painting the RFL as the big bad wolf and almost holding a gun to their head.

Look, the RFL can't accept their bid because they want guaranteed super league status, something which the RFL can not do.

Let's the say the RFL clarify it and say ''you'll most likely be in the championship next season'' all interest ceases and bulls liquidate.

Damn the RFL!

They accept consortiums bid and they damage the integrity of the competition by giving bradford guaranteed super league status.

Damn the RFL!

Damne if they do, damned if they don't.