Franchising was brought in due to the disaster that was P&R, whereby one club after another went bust after losing their SL place, but as is so often the case with new systems it hasn't been a total success. Though I'd suggest that the idea of a three year period for new clubs to get used to life in the higher division is one of the better points, since the old yo-yo phenomenon we had under P&R, where the same teams constantly changed leagues every season was quite ridiculous and did no one any favours.

The cap was similar in that it was brought in, under P&R, not originally to make for a level playing field, but to prevent clubs spending more than they could afford in ever more desperate attempts to stave off relegation. It was never enforceable though, and still isn't, and it has had a bit of 'mission creep' as well as when the proportion of income bit was dropped the emphasis moved then to supposedly creating the "level playing field". At the end of the day if, "an unconnected third party", wishes to shower riches onto a player there isn't a thing anyone can do about it.

I think one of the problems at Fax was the fans. To be blunt, they had too many 'flatcappers', saying neigh to anything which smacked of razzamataz and the club couldn't get things done without it meeting a great swathe of protest from people who just wanted the club to be Halifax RLFC, or didn't see the point of mascots etc. I don't know why the Bradford fans weren't as vociferous, because there were plenty of folk unhappy about changing Northern to Bulls at the time, but they just didn't create in the manner of the Fax fans, so things did change at Odsal.

Between august 95 when the bulls launched and march 06 there was plenty of unsupportive fans who even chnated "northern, Northern" at games! the bulls was seen as a cheap rip off of the Keighley style.

having won nothing bar a yorkshire cup in 15 years, We beat Leeds in the cup semi, took part in a classic (if losing) wembley final, and the rest is as they say, history. IMO, that one win at the mcalpine defined and enabled the vision of mssrs Deakin, Caisley and smith to come to fruition over the next 10 seasons.

Halifax didnt get that success, infact their biggest successes were already ten years past. they were on a decline, whereas we were on the up. It was as much about lucky timing as astute business planning! I actually miss playing halifax in our league. often this rivalry pre super league was more intense than the leeds bradford one, but many on here will simply not be old enough to remember pre SL, or early sl. One of the greatest games Ive ever witnessed was out win at Thrum Hall in 1997!

Frankly, if you have to ask, then you know so little about the subject that I might as well talk to my tortoises. But anyway . . .


Tosh. Keighley brought in what could be described as US-style razzamatazz, albeit obviously much watered down and on a comparatively tiny budget. Are you seriously suggesting Keighley invented cheerleaders, dancing girls and the rest? For a time, it worked, but just as in the Bulls' case, withered and became a pale shadow of its former glories as the fortuns of the team declined, and as they (and we) failed to freshen and re-invent it, to keep people interested.

The Bulls' version of "mania" was just that - a version of something that in principle had been done for may decades in sport, mainly in the US. But our masterstroke was certainly not "copying Keighley", but employing the marketing genius, Peter Deakin.


"Deserve"??

What money? If Bulls leave SL this will make the other clubs rich? 4.55029296875:10