Based on the LE article it is clear that the special measures were not a petulant act by the RFL because the club gave notice they were leaving Odsal. Significant debt despite having some of next years central funding already and the need to use some or all or remainder to deal with issues away from the field.

Chalmers was clearly running the club beyond its means and his selection as the preferred owner and the fact he has been allowed to put the club in such a position again are where quite rightly, the RFL have questions to answer.

Also mentioned in LE that the issues with the pension payments are in 6 figures. That's quite an administration error.

But yes, the club has definitely been left in a great state by the outgoing chairman.

I don't get why the RFL weren't clearer to start with. All it takes is an explanation. Sounds like we will have to do what Wakey did and come to an arrangement to pay debts off.

I wonder where this leaves John Kear?

Looking like another tough year next year but aslong as the bills get paid and the ship is steadied

As Dilligaff has reported the last paragraph of the RL Express article alleges that the non payment of pension contributions is a six figure sum. The Pension regulator is involved. That body takes a hardline view on any irregularities. Penalties are severe.
No wonder Roger is angry. If it is a case of not paying to a fund the contributions that have been deducted - that’s a complete breach of trust and confidence
This new consortium will not only need deep pockets. They will have a hell of a job rebuilding trust with the playing squad and staff.

Can't believe j k stood by whilst mri scans were nt approved by owners....

The consortium must think the debts and pension issue are salvageable and also be able to put together a playing squad, albeit small and likely to be p/t

There's also a line in the LE report that part of the 2020 central funding has been used to "settle issues away from the rugby field, adding to an already further complicated situation". Anyone any clue what that's about?

Many of you say there is more to come. There is.

Some apparent facts:

1) Pension scandal - the facts re the pension, and some other stuff is published in the League express online edition this evening. Some of their sources may, however, not be 100% reliable. Don't wish to be unduly negative, but they do not appear to have undertaken much investigative journalism (if any) or analysis. In addition, the pension 'nest egg' story has been all over twitter for days; so that aspect of their feature is hardly breaking news.

2) It appears that Chalmers (who somewhat surprisingly is still reasonably well thought of on this sub-forum) may have been thrown under a bus and apparently the RFL finally (and after 'appointing' him as the chosen one in 2017) deemed him to no longer be a 'fit and proper' owner. That said; was AC ever a fit and proper owner?

3) The Bulls need an owner with real cash to invest. We have reason to believe that the new regime is unlikely to provide such cash, and may be no more than a convenient sticking plaster solution to temporarily keep the wolves at bay. Some say a certain ex RFL official may be pulling many (if not all) the strings here. Some are saying that the new shareholder (or one of them) is ex Wakey's Chris Brereton. If you look him up on Companies House, Chris is not a man of substance. He conveniently appears to look like an AC#2. Is that good for the club? Who else (if anybody) is part of the so called new consortium, and most importantly what cash will they put down on the table. Did the new consortium even do any thorough due diligence. After all it is rumoured that they may have to stump up >£500K for the club's present debts. As said earlier might the new consortium be no more than a sticking plaster solution for the club's apparent 'puppet master'.

[iSEE CLARIFICATION TO SOME OF THE ABOVE COMMENTS IN (PENSIONS) NESTEGG POST DATED 7 OCT[/i.

4) Would we buy a season ticket based on today's 'news'. No.

5) In any case, part 1 of the grand plan is in place and looking back on the forum over the past 12-18 months on topics relating to Odsal and it's 'future' it seems that a forum member - Belcki - , now one of us, got it right. The Bulls left Odsal shortly after the RFL's head lease obligation to have to play rugby league at Odsal Stadium expired in Spring of this year. The facts appear to indicate that in circa 2012 the RFL noticed prior to acquiring the Odsal head lease that there was no obligation for rugby league to be played at Odsal post Spring 2019. So was it therefore a mere coincidence that the Bulls has thereafter been repeatedly handed over by the RFL to people without sufficient experience and finance to run a club of the Bulls stature and potential, and owners who were then harshly and repeatedly sanctioned by the RFL (e.g. financial constraints and unduly harsh points deductions etc) in order that it was inevitable that such 'owners' were all going to fail; and they did - big time. As another forum member says ... "the RFL have a lot of questions to answer", and that may well include both current and former high ranking officials. At the same time that the above debacle was ongoing, owner candidates with substantial financial backing, rugby expertise and a plausible vision for the club were rejected by the RFL after they had been recommended as being the most credible future owners for the Bulls by successive administrators. Why was this? As for AC; things were different. The Spring 2019 deadline was looming. The RFL's chosen one appears to have done what may have been asked of him by the aforementioned 'puppet master', and moreover the club is still we understand in an extremely poor financial state, regardless of a new consortium or otherwise. Are the new 'consortium' a truly independent new broom with substantial financial clout, or are they just the next in line to do what they are told; i.e. not truly act in the interest of the Bulls fans and Bradfordians, and (and once again) merely act in the interests of an apparent 'puppet master'.

6) What have BMDC (Odsal's freeholder) done to impose their rights and formally query whether or not the head lessee (i.e the RFL) have complied with their onerous repair and maintenance obligations? The stadium post 2012 has been left to go to rack and ruin. Regardless of some statements to the contrary, let us be clear - Odsal, and in particular the stadium footprint, is a valuable asset. Will the Council act? What do Bradford rate payers think of this - get in contact with your local councillors and ask them to seek answers from the Council leader, Susan Hinchcliffe, and ask her to enquire what the hell the Council's Chief Executive (Kirsten England) has been doing about this.

We hear that there's more to come; a lot more, inc news of possible legal claims by staff etc etc.

There may of course be no puppet master, and there may be no game plan to make somebody a fortune out of Odsal. All we are trying to do, like many of us are, is trying 'to see the wood for the trees'.

As for who are the good folk (who appear to very thin on the ground) in all of this protracted soap opera /horror show, and who are the bad folk is presently still a matter of debate, but the answer may well materialise shortly as credible journos dig and dig.

Have a Bullish evening.

p.s. Did anybody else see the ground investigation test drillings going on at Odsal earlier in the year? Again ask your Councillor who sanctioned this work and what was it's purpose?

Suddenly LE have all this information. Almost as though they were given a printout from the RFL and had not done any digging of their own. Think another consolidation season and away from Bradford may be a season too far.
Can't help but wonder if we had held onto Chissy we could have been in the MPG.