www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/news/578 ... VAL%20FAQS The bit on good news is interesting it says bulls would be debt free, apart from going into administration and starting afresh I cannot see how else which should concern those asked to pledge. In addition to this it appears bank have drastically reduced overdraft which could happen to anyone anytime, however banks have to and do give notice of any changes therfore someone was made aware.

www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/news/578 ... VAL%20FAQS The bit on good news is interesting it says bulls would be debt free, apart from going into administration and starting afresh I cannot see how else which should concern those asked to pledge. In addition to this it appears bank have drastically reduced overdraft which could happen to anyone anytime, however banks have to and do give notice of any changes therfore someone was made aware.

It's simple. The Bulls directors haven't got enough money. They have to pay their players (a lot) less.

These players who have families to feed and mortgages to pay?

I'd be very sceptical if I was unfortunate enough to be a B*lls fan. Effectively the owners are asking the fans to pay their debt off for them. In that situation I'd want guarantees that the board would resign and sell their stakes in the club at a knock down price as soon as the debt is cleared before paying out anything.

Sorry 'Spymaster' but it can't be blamed on the bank. If the Directors of Northern knew that the bank was relying on their Lease of Sodal as security for their overdraft then they must have realised that replacement security would have been required after its sale to the RFL. Supported personal Guarantees by the Directors would have been sufficient but why did the Directors not consider this as an alternative? Perhaps they did yet still had little faith in their 'Business Plan'.

Then something else hit me this morning: Dave Hatfield's article in today's Independent:

[urlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/rugby-league/bradford-bulls-ask-fans-to-raise-1m-or-club-will-fold-7593459.html[/url

Check the penultimate paragraph:



to which I felt forced to respond:



I await a response from Dave Hatfield.

Makes me feel sick and angry, can you forward a link to this thread to various Twitter contacts for radio Leeds, 5 live, pulse, calendar, look north etc, in the hope that tv footage from cougarmania is dug out of the archives?

I think people should be made aware of the tosh being spoken and see the news reports that prove this, I don't think it would be bad publicity for Keighley Cougars, just look at the supportive comments coming through the social network sites for our club so far

I do feel sorry for the Bradford fans and the players and do not wish the situation on any club. For the sake of the sport in general I hope this doesn't happen to any other club any time soon. My heart has sunk so many times when Keighley have had their problems.
Bradford haven't gone into liquidation yet, so it will be interesting to see what happens if they do - I would hope they are suitably penalised. Keighley were penalised and it eventually resulted in relegation to Championship 1. There is no relegation from Superleague so a points deduction is pretty pointless. If they go into administration I think they should lose the license and a more deserving team should be allowed their chance in Superleague which probably right now is Featherstone being last years Championship victors.

The only slightly edited article by Dave Hatfield:



I'm not bitter any longer, although I was at the time, BUT what I really do hate is any other club, and especially Northern, saying that they invented the 'razzamatazz' and attempting to take credit for it - we know better! Let no-one forget.

Finally, remember that this article was written by a neutral commentator!

Or any other clubs thats had money problems over the last few years to think about it.

Having read that article, it's brought it all flooding back and I have to say that, unlike 666, I am still bitter about it. I remember watching Keighley through the 80s, perennial wooden spoonists, only a few hundred hardy souls on the crumbling terraces - and then came the transformation. Cougarmania - a fantastic team, thousands crammed into Cougar Park, convoys to away matches when it seemed every car had Cougars fans in, outnumbering the home support at most grounds, and a positive atmosphere in the town that I'd never felt before and may never feel again. Keighley, my home town, where I was born & bred, was on the up at last! Both the club and the town. And then it was all so suddenly and cruelly snatched away by the likes of Maurice Lindsey and Chris Caisley. God, I can barely type their names without feeling nauseous. And when I hear the beginnings of all the 'razzamatazz' being attributed to the Bradford club and them being happy to take the credit when in fact they ridiculed us, well it makes me want to puke.

What goes around comes around – I’m so very very happy! Bradford Bulls, for me the most despised club in rugby league “Anybody but Bradford!”.

I seem to remember Northern (why did they ever change their name? It was historical) having difficulties back in the sixties and coming round on match days asking for donations to help them reform, we all gave, perhaps just a few pence but we gave. That won’t happen again, if they come on Sunday they better bring a spittoon rather than a bucket because that’s all they’ll get from me.

At Doncaster after our one season in the big league prior to SL we finished bottom, went bust and had to reform starting two divisions further down as we were a new company, two relegations for the price of one! The ground was sold and we had to play at Stainforth Greyhound Stadium. All this happened while the SL bandwagon was getting into full flow and we received no help from anyone but our own fans, however there is no way i would wish this on ANY other team. The people who you should be angry with are the likes of Caisley, Hetherington, Lindsey,SKY etc, these are the people who have ruined RL not the fans of another team.
The best future for RL would be to return to a semi pro status where clubs only pay what they can afford and are not bullied into full time professionalism by the RFL and SKY.
I don't think that the sport can afford to loose 7-10,000 fans whoever they support.

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/georgeriley/ ... d_wou.html The last line reads: 'The sad reality is that Odsal has gone from being the place to be in the heady days of Bullmania, to the place to avoid - unless you have a spare £100 in your pocket.' Seriously?

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/georgeriley/ ... d_wou.html The last line reads: 'The sad reality is that Odsal has gone from being the place to be in the heady days of Bullmania, to the place to avoid - unless you have a spare £100 in your pocket.' Seriously?

If as happened with halifax yrs ago they said they were at deaths door and fans from all over were duped wonder if similar ploy being used by bulls.

I think the Bulls will survive this with some new investor and avoid administration. Going into administration I'm sure the club would still remain in Super league anyway with a points deduction. I don't reckon there will be much impact on the league or support other than some more poor results and the loss of some of their players. If Bradford Bulls ceased to exist in Superleague (which I very much doubt) I think the issue of the number of fans affected is unfortunate, but inconsequential as the hardcore fans will support Bradford whatever league they are in, more casual sports fans will support somebody else. Some would be lost to rugby league but that said if for example Halifax, Featherstone or even Keighley were in the super league instead, they would build up similar fan bases from new supporters in or around those towns... Swings and roundabouts! In fair sport, Bradford have no more or less right to their place in the Super league than any other Rugby League team that can work their way up there. Fair play to Bradford for being in in the top-flight for so long but I don't think the management should be allowed to squander that position when other teams are constrained by arbitrary rules in their opportunity to get to that same position.

I am of the same opinion as many of you. I dont want to see the Bradford club disappear, but I think its very much Karma what is happening for a number of reasons.

1. When Nigel Wood and co left Fax with a load of debt that they struggled for years to get rid of and which eventually nearly killed the club off. a number of Bulls fans poked fun at us Fax fans and made comments like you are a disgrace to SL when we was forced to field a weak squad in the year we was relegated. They thought it hilarious to see us struggle and getting hammered in each game even though the board made the decision to cut its cloth as best it could. Sadly the debt Big Nige and co built up proved too much a few years later and the club had to get the buckets out. We appreciate the help from fans from other clubs including Keighley. But we didnt get that much help from other clubs and the RFL. Did the RFL look to help us with our lease? Where was the help for Keighley, Doncaster, Whitehaven. Leigh etc?

2. The words of Chris Caisley poking fun at Keighley and Fev and re inventing history is something I also remember well. How he lied and twisted things to make sure Bradford got the best of things over others. He was chairman at Bradford and I dont remember too many Bradford fans saying he was wrong to say what he did.

3. Halifax like Keighley, Batley and Dewsbury was a prime target for free tickets and raiding our clubs to fill the Bulls Academy team. The hard work the Championship teams did was systematically undermined by the Bulls. They knew our areas was Rugby areas and they couldnt be bothered to do that much work in Bradford who in the main dont give a toss about Rugby.

4. The rubbish from people saying SL needs Bradford. No they need a strong Bradford that isnt badly managed and begging to survive. For me Bradford should lose their SL status after this year even if no team replaces them. They should have to rebuild just like Fax, Keighley etc have had to do

5. The whole farce of licences and Nigel Wood twisting things to suit his agenda really annoys me. He ran up debts and upset many people at Halifax and he is not learned any lessons. His arrogance and ego has seen him and the RFL split the game. It doesnt matter what you do on the field its if your face fits etc. The game is in a mess below the surface but he doesnt care about anything but himself and SL. To see 3 SL clubs in 18 months in such a mess makes me laugh at what a fraud it all is.

Bradford have run up massive debts and paid for players they couldn't afford.

Now the whole of rugby league seems to be bailing them out and paying it off for them





. If anyone from the RFL reads this board, STAND UP AND BE COUNTED as you give them a B Raiting. This is a complete and utter joke.

I have a small office in Bradford, it appears the Bulls Supporters Club are calling all businesses in BD to see if they can assist with the 'keep the bailiffs away for a few more weeks' fund.

I took great delight in declining his request for a donation. I wonder if they are going to make the £500k by tomorrow? Think they have 300k according to super league websites, then I would imagine a packed Odsal at the weekend could bring home sufficient......for now.

I see our old mate Chris Caisley is hovering in the background.

Can you imagine?

Clocks ticking B***s

but dont worry Mr Caisley will come and offer his help

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-g ... t-17628749 Could be worse

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-g ... t-17628749 Could be worse

caisleys a a end of, always has been always will be.

It has been said that he issued a winding up petition against the club.

25k raised at last nights auction,expected more,oh deary me

Is that all ?????













Pitiful.

Was reading that some of the auction lots had reserves of £10k and needless to say they didn't reach them.

They need all the money they can get, so why do that? It seems like complete lunacy.

Mind you nearly 21k turned up to watch them beat Leeds tonight, that is a hell of a crowd.