I remember someone from the Sheffield Eagles BOD speaking at The Shay last season when we played them in the 8's - he said they struggled to attract players at Championship level to go full time as they were A) Not willing to drop down from Super League or B) they had jobs / businesses outside of RL that they didn't want to give up and go full time.

I think the experience of Sheffield is instructive. When they went full-time a whole bunch of their better players left and they were left with a worse team than before - going from a Top 4 finish to lower half of the table last season.

That's backed up with our experience this season. No money to attract decent full-time players, and good Championship players quite understandably unwilling to sacrifice a career or business to take a punt with a club who, let's face it, haven't got the best track record for actually paying wages (OK, previous owners, but still...)

I'm still not clear why a lot of people think being part-time is so bad? Unless we chance on a Derek Beaumont type who will throw cash at anyone to get into SL (and if that's ever going to happen I suspect it would have done by now) then it seems to me that a decent quality part-time squad is better than a squad that is getting battered every week even though we are 'full time'.

Given that many of the 'part time' teams we've faced this year have looked better drilled, more cohesive, fitter and stronger than us (accepting that we're putting out a team of kids), I'm struggling to see the downside of a hybrid solution under our current financial reality?

It would be the final white flag in terms of ever going back to SL though, so it might keep us competitive in this league but wouldn't prepare us for the top flight until a white knight a la Beaumont or Perez comes along and decides to bankroll a full time team of seasoned pros.

I think we can disregard Sheffield's experience as its a little like our own, paying some of their players and indeed some of our our current players as full time professionals is a nonsense as they're simply not good enough to be full time rugby players, and training them all day isn't improving them exponentially, or even gradually by the looks of it - silk purses and sows ears and all that.

So, its still very much a truism that REAL money buys success in League 1 and the Championship, exhibits Leigh, Tolouse, Hull KR and Toronto are clear evidence of that - when you get to SL finances level out and its about that investment in the clubs structures, academies that generate good players with strong connections to their clubs and communities, and a sprinkling of genuine superstars that matters, as Leigh are finding out this year and Ming found out the past few.

I agree with Frank; the part-time teams that are turning us over week-in week-out suggest part-time maybe the way to turn our fortunes around - at the moment I'll take anything if it will help us start winning some games.

A point (that is not related to this p/t / f/t debate) which gives me a very faint glimmer of hope is that Castleford were in the Championship in 2005 and 2007 but look where they are now. I may be wrong, but they didn't get a multi-millionaire sugar daddy to buy them world class players - they just buckled down, played hard and deservedly fought their way to the top of Super League. So maybe the answer is not money, its just tough hard-working players that will get us out of this mess. That's the most optimistic I've been in months so I'm going to hold onto it for a while. COYB

I think a hybrid system could work. The full time players would be predominantly younger players from the academy who were wanting to build a career in the game. They could work on their core skills during the day along with whatever they need to do in the gym. They would then join the part time players for first team sessions on the evenings that they take place.
If,as is being suggested, we are expanding the academy and possibly a reserve team, then we will have to be offering more than just a part time option for future first team players otherwise we'll never be able to keep anyone who is any good from the academy.
A hybrid system should be able to give us the best of both worlds until we are in a position to be able challenge for super league again. I think that a Bradford side with quality youngsters from the academy would be an attractive option for decent ,experienced part time players to join. The biggest issue will be convincing them that the recent financial disasters are not going to be repeated yet again.