This is a good discussion. the problem is that The clubs run the league and self interest gets in the way of the good of the sport as a whole.

Sky pay for the right to have what they want. believe me, without them, like it or not, we are stuffed. They cannot fail to have noticed that the first two weeks of the playoffs were substandard. The original top 5 playoff was effective, but we need something to play for so sky get a decent amount of matches that actually mean something!

therefore, I dont feel that you can have a top 5 playoff without reintroducing promotion and relegation.
I also think that this should be based on sporting performance (with appropriate deductions for salary cap breaches.)

I dont think a clubs stadium should make it more or less likely to be in SL, other than a minimum capacity of say 8000. If it is safe, then it can be in SL. If it doesnt have a certain number of seats, then the club has reduced revenue, so there is some incentive to improve, but its not at all costs, and to the detriment of the club. reintroduce promotion and relegation, and scrap the playoffs in the cahmpionship. that way, the most consistent team comes up each time. Let the sky money provide a parachute payment so that should a club go down, they can retain their full time players for one season, and distrubute the money throughout the game so that great clubs like Halifax, Featherstone and Leigh, can really have a go at getting up and staying up!

re-visit the value for money that we get as a sport from the expansion teams. are London and Catalans simply a gimmick to placate sky, or do they add reall value to our competition. should we keep them, but make them operate on exactly the same rules as the British SL teams? or should we look closer to home at ensuring that traditional clubs are looked after?

RL faces a time of serious self evaluation. Clubs in the elite competition of our sport are facing, or have faced financial meltdown, and something has to be learned. SUper League, the salary cap and licensing were all supposed to bring an end to the boom and bust in Rugby league, and then we almost lose one of the biggest clubs in the game, with possibly another 3 SL clubs getting close to being in the same situation.

in 1895 our sport was founded because people in this part of the world wanted fairness to be applied and 117 years later we need leaders with a similar vision to be brave once more. But can I see this happening?

Mr Murphy, I am going to say something for first time....WELL SAID, good post

I suspect the answer to that is probably yes, but it would have taken a lot, lot longer.

Some people tend to think that all you need is a rich benefactor and all is solved. Sadly that is not the case though. A strong club looks like an ice berg with the benefactor sitting at the top. But there is an awful lot that needs to be done 'below the water'. The town / city need to be on board and recognise that the club is part of their heritage. This helps in hundreds of ways, not just grants, but planning permission, business contacts (property leasing), club profile, partnerships (world cup) etc etc. Then there are the networks that SEB mentions, all doing their bit to bring in money from individuals, to very small business sponsorship, to the larger business (corporate hospitality and perhaps discounted services eg building !). Then the school networks, where a healthy system provides not just juniors, but also potential supporters from the parents and staff. Finally a club youth system and strong scout network for the different RL regions. As SEB points out, a large amount of work went into these areas both prior to, and during the Moran era.

I dont know exactly, but I suspect it was primarily Moran's money that paid for our big signings (including TS). That I would argue, accelerated the speed at which Warrington became a major club in RL, but I would like to think they would have got there eventually because of the focus of running the club in a professional way (Andy Gatcliffe) and treating it as a business.

Finally, Moran is not just a money man. He is a skilled negotiator and is involved in selling the club to prospective new signings (players, coaches, staff). Much of his business is based around marketing, a skill that is sadly lacking from many RL clubs (and organisations) and that is a core requirement for a rugby club these days. And of course he will bring a wealth of business contacts that end up supporting the club via hospitality suites, sponsorship, discounted products and services. So yes, Moran's money is very important, but he brings an awful lot more to the party than that.

Winslade's, Can't say I disagree with any of that at all. Warrington has benefitetd from Moran, and the game is benefitting from a resurgent Warrington club. Gatcliffe is under rated by many outside of Warrington and REdhall, but he's a real asset to our game. seemingly every bit as much as a top loine player. Much like Peter Deakin was with us in the early days of SL!
At the Bulls we could do with a few million to back up the work that's being done by the BUlls foundation, and the successful but underfunded youth dept. We've kind of been forced to bring kids in, but the quality of scouting locally (Whitehead and Bateman both from less than 2 miles from Odsal) and nationally (particularly it seems in Cumbria with the likes of Donaldson)means that these kids are good enough to compete. this needs to be the way forward for us, and many other clubs. BUt I fear that unless we get a serious money backer, our main funding stream in coming years will be selling our better players to the richer clubs, and that doesnt really provide a way back to the top without a financial sugar daddy!

Yes I followed your troubles over the past few months with interest - Addy and Ardvark ? I think provided a lot of interesting detail, not the least because they are / were involved in insolvency and law respectively. I suppose you have to be optimistic really as it could have been a lot worse - not only were you eventually bought, but you still have a licence (albeit for 1yr). And I know you have an excellent group of U18 players coming through - I hope you have retained them and not let Leeds pinch them ?
Looking at the more gloomy side, I think you are correct about the money. I don't think your restaurant owner is exactly leaking cash and yes, you do need a 2012 version of Deakin. But RL is strong in the Bradford area and you have a fantastic set of supporters. Look how Leigh managed to turn their fortunes around from virtual bankruptcy to one of the strongest teams in the Champ., and all in 12 months. They have a much smaller supporter base, but extremely active set of workers.

Anyway, I genuinely wish you all the best for the future, RL needs a strong Bradford club. If all your supporters get behind the new board, I am sure you will come through this, even though it may take 2-3 yrs.

No, I haven't agreed with you. You seem to be saying that it was Moran's cash that enabled us to start doing good things. This is not the case. We were already doing the good things before he took over and we are still doing good things now that are not all funded by him or even by the club's everyday income streams. For example, both the Vice Presidents Association and Supporters Trust provide significant support to the Youth Development department. Then there is the highly respected Wolves Foundation that has been doing excellent community work for many years.

Simon Moran has undoubtedly provided very welcome cash inputs at time of need (not least the transfer fees for N.Wood and Westwood in 2002) and given us financial security through his ownership (i.e. that means we are not at risk of a consortium looking to take profits from us or with motives conflicting with those of the fans). This has definitely lifted us to a level that it would either have taken us longer to get to, or perhaps we would never have quite reached. But don't confuse that with us only being about his money. We are a very strong club on lots of different levels.