We're an ambitious club and personally I think we'd be silly not to apply. As far as I know it won't cost a penny to submit a bid (unlike last time when it cost us thousands).

Seems Sheffield aren't gonna play that silly game and have annouced they wont be playing along.

Yesterdays annoucement by Mr Khan of his investment of 6 million into Odsal over next 3 years will make things a little easier for the RFL to make up their minds, that'll be why hes annouced it no doubt.

Wonder whether we should bother really as its a farce,or all issue a joint statement saying it will not be judged fairly and for that reason no one in the Championship will apply.

If he's got that sort of money he should pay the 1.5million quid due to creditors then. That really is taking the proverbial buying the good stuff from bradford bulls company and placing it in OK Bulls Ltd. and leaving the debts with the old club. All for just £150,000.

Disgrace in my opinion.

which coincidently is enough to pay the Administrators

Why does Starbug keep using Dick Jones account to post on here but reverts back to Starbug on VT?

Starbug doesnt, he just doesn't post on here any more at all.

But surely by not entering the race it will make things easier for the RFL to give Bradford the licence because they'll have no other choice.

Do you really believe they would judge our application better than Bradfords, what would we bring to the table that Bradford dont?
We are as Starbug says being used, but if Fev and Fax apply then I understand why we feel the need to, but the RFL will use it as an excuse to put Bradford in by saying we all arent good enough or ready.

I think when the club were talking about participating in a mini franchise comp, it was on the assumption that Bradford would not be part of it - now that they are, it would be a completely futile exercise.

It isn't Khan who is at fault here though - he wasn't the one who ran up the £1.5m of debt - and the assets he has bought consist of the name and any bits of kit and equipment.

On that basis I think £150k is a high price.....

That's almost rfl spin like lol. £1.5 million lost by creditors he picks it up for a tenth of that and even if he gets a reduced income from sky of say 800k for next 2 years, there's his 150k nicely stuffed in his back pocket straightway. Told rfl he has 6 mill to spend at the same time sticking 2 fingers up to creditors. WRONG WRONG WRONG.......just an opinion

You're bang on Demon, the administration process is an absolute farce in any walk of business and a bit like the stigma being removed by bankruptcy, it's seen as an easy out. As long as the administrators get paid they're just there by the 'right people's' wish to tick the official boxes.

Don't apply until 2014. A championship club is guaranteed entry in 2014, if Bradford were relegated it will be them next year but there are clubs in SL now which are in a worse position than the Bulls scenario who haven't had the RBS 'rug pull' yet and you'll have a greater chance competing against those. I said it two years ago to many of their fans' scorn (a bit like my times on here

) and will reiterate now, Salford for the drop. Cas is your outside bet considering they lie year on year but they offer that bit more than the reds who in three years time may as well just rebrand themselves Sale RL.

I've come round to the view that we should tell SL/RFL to stuff it, and have the championship clubs break away and form our own league. Rugby League not Super League.

I really don't see why it is any fault of the new owner. He wasn't involved in the old company so why should he be liable for their debts?



Without some form of process to deal with the failure of a Limited Liability Company no-one would ever take a commercial risk (it all goes back the the South Sea Bubble).

Administration in itself is not perfect but it can be a good way of saving a business from the scrapheap, preserving jobs and returning some value to creditors. It has got a bad name over the years due to some very high profile cases involving "pre-packs" where the same people end up owning the assets after the process but with the debt removed, but that is a product of the behaviour of individuals rather than a failure of the principle. Chapter 11 in the USA has a similar problem and they are also looking to close loopholes.

I have contributed to various working parties looking into how to improve the management of a company's failure and it is constantly reviewed - the removal of Crown Privilege as recently as 2002 for example - but unfortunately there are always very clever people looking for ways to get an advantage by sharp practice.

For what it's worth I think the Bulls are just victims of bad management and incompetence by the previous regime and there are no shenanigans going on.

For me the issue isnt OK its the morals and competencies of the RFL and the franchise process.

BB have assets, its the players and the SL franchise - they have been bought for 150k

The players are all free agents and so they have no value to the Administrator - employment contracts cannot be "sold" to a third party.

Will be a rush for Bateman then.

Apparently there is a "gentlemen's agreement" that no one will sign a Bulls player until their season is complete.

I understand that Whitehead and Bateman will be wearing some shade of blue and yellow next year

It's a joke.

The best way I can see fo Leigh to handle this would be to declare that they are willing to submit to the mini-licence, but only on the condition that, should it be accepted, we should be guaranteed a full licence in 2014.
Obviously SL will never allow this, but it would make us look an ambitious and forward looking club.
If we stay out of it then we have to admit to not having any ambition at all.

I seem to recall our administrator was keen to sell Street, Hansen, Collier etc - how times have changed.

Love the gentleman's agreement not to buy players. So now instead of paying for the likes of bateman the SL clubs could have their pick for free?

If Leigh want to get into SL and I believe they mostly do, then Leigh should apply under the rules set. Even if the rules are daft and Bulls are nailed on to get it. Play the RFL silly games and admin processes. apply for the mini franchise. It gives us more practise and gets us dealing with the people who make the decisions so that they see that we are people that they like doing business with.

They don't need us and we and they know that. We have to change their minds that SL would be enhanced by having us in. WE wont convince them by being awkward. We tried it and it didn't work.

Play the game.

I agree with everything you say however pre pack admin is just a cop out. Sounds awful but if you can't get fair value (and I GENUINELY believe some administrators are brought in as yes men, who hired this particular administrator?) then the company should be liquidated and Bradford should start again.
I simply cannot understand how Wakefield have a scenario in which all their best players are sold, and left with the bare bones to start again and Bradford get off relatively scot free.. lets be honest, it could feasibly be a strong bulls team next year.

The creditors in this scenario will be left with absolutely diddly squat due to criminally bad management and bad faith while the club suffers a whopping 6 point deduction and carries on as normal. Pre packs absolutely stink.

Totally agree.

We must expose this for the farce that it is by applying and participating. When it comes to finance all we need are a series of business's willing to back the proposal with quoted amounts of cash. This is all the RFL need, its viability/availability is not required as per the BB and others.