Big if, but if Wire were interested before, maybe the Blythe deal been made permanent and Gareth Carvell would be an option?! I've heard Carvell linked with Wakey for next season.

That would be the ideal swap IMO. A bit of leadership and some good go forward.

Give me some PACE or Guile/Leadership at half back,so Riley or Myler would do for me.

Aye, cos that will happen.

I'd take Paul Wood from Wire too if they don't mind

Agree----no chance.Wonder who'we'll get for Bateman?icon_smile.gif)))Should he follow his mate,that is.

Going back to what I was saying earlier, interesting that nothing further has come out. What would Whitehead do if nobody comes in for him?

As for Bateman, he probably gets more stick on here from some than Whitehead, I don't know why, but I'd guarantee plenty offers if he was on the market.

Sit on his brains in the stands no doubt.

Bateman's contract was negotiated after Whitehead, and from a relatively better position of strength and is a shorter deal.
I would assume that he is on better terms than Whitehead, which is probably why Whitehead's agent (who for some strange reason tied his client to a long term deal with a financially struggling club) has now advised his client to hand in a transfer request.

Interesting that a quick look on the boards shows a thread on the Wire board, where there is hardly any interest in Whitehead, and not even on the radar on the Wigan nor the Leeds boards.

JB is a better all round player than Elliott; I'd be really upset if he wanted away. Same applies to James Donaldson, who maybe doesn't have quite the attacking flair that Whitehead was showing a year or so back, but can defend far better - and generally speaking, without the penalties.

It also opens up the opportunity for Danny Addy to make a claim for the no. 13 job and for Tom Olbison to take on more game time and responsibility...for sure it's disappointing to lose a player but it just gives opportunities to others.

If he doesn't want to play at the Bulls let him go , from the outside he looks like the kind of lad who on his day can be a matchwinner , but on other days a total liability defensively .

What you cannot buy at any price is desire , He is not likely to be willing to put his body on the line for his coach or team mates at Bradford again , so is best off out the door .

I for one totally support the clubs stance on this . Well done Francis Cummins .

Also of the 3 players in the academy who train with the first team, Olly Roberts plays 2nd row.

I can't understand why he'd do this now and not the end of the season unless he was confident he had a deal waiting. Also what's changed? He was so happy and had a desire to stay with the bulls he signed a 5 year contract, something must have happened for that view to change so dramatically.

Tapped up?

I assume that there is solid interest from another SL club

He and his agent will have considered all of the possible consequences that his desire to leave the club mid contract might ensue and decided to go ahead regardless.
Why has it been done this way and what is its objective?
It places him in an invidious position with his employers and fellow players - one that will only get more acrimonious as weeks go by.
The Bulls hold his registration and contract and are able to not select him for any or all future games as long as they continue to pay his salary. That's surely not what he wants.

So what is his decision really all about? and why this timing?
There must be some history behind it

OK needs to stand firm on this issue

Ah well when we line up against him in the future make sure he's up against Bateman because Elliott will lose that battle 99/100.

Only problem with the clubs stance is that loads on here saying hold out for a big transfer fee, some folks mentioned £100,000 but as other folks have stated there is not much interest or mention of wanting him from other clubs.

1 of 2 things will happen, he will leave for not a massive fee or 2 he will stay and as Cummins said he will never play for the club again, he will sit in the stand still picking up his £ monthly and still be included in the cap for you.

Not a good situation for the Bulls who can't really afford to be paying folks for sitting on their aris!!

We don't want him at the Giants as we have plenty cover in 2nd row and would rather keep Fairbank who is a decent prospect

Very different attitude from the bulls fans here than the vitriolic claptrap aimed at kopzcak no very long ago- especially given whiteheads public condemnation and his claims of kopzcak "doing the dirty".
Reneging on a five year contract clearly isn't as big a deal as failing to sign one.
Whitehead clearly doesn't feel that the club is delivering what he expected-but he's not kicked on and shown the form from last year, - he's had a poor season so I can't see 100k being on the table- and who's going to have that plus his wage availabłe under the cap at this point in the season.

To be fair he did us a favour by signing on for 5 years. It means now he's garunteed to earn us some cash for a transfer.

Which top four side do you think he'll sign for? Sheffield, Featherstone, Halifax or Batley?

More immediate problem is from an already small squad we have lost another player - putting more pressure on the rest of the lads. But it is a double whammy as though he won't be pulling on a shirt he is still taking his pay and part of our cap.

I do understand that this year and next we are trying to compete with reduced funding - so not realistically likely to be challenging for silverware. A fact which in itself restricts our ability to recruite - but to pull a stunt like this mid season shows a disregard for the rest of the team and the club.

Difference is Whitehead has gone through correct process. He wants to leave so has put in a transfer request. He hasnt refused to play in the meantime, the decision to stand him down is the clubs. Disapointing but it happens.
Kopczak, on the other hand,just quit the day before a game. I know it was claimed he couldnt play as it would mean him accepting the TUPEing of his contract but thats claptrap as theres a 30 day cooloing off period on TUPE agreements. He could have finished the season then left,as several other players did, and bradford fans wouldnt have a big problem with him.

From Whitehead and his agent's point of view I can see it playing out along the lines of:

Put the transfer request in now - if a club comes in now, great.

Realistically most clubs cannot afford to bring him on board now given the salary cap and complications of any swap deals and moving players on loan to various clubs.

If he has to sit in the stands until the end of the season, it's no good to the Bulls. At the end of the season, they will then look to offload him for whatever deal they can - however minor that will be.

At this point he may have a club or two lined up who can fit him into the salary cap for next season once other players have been released or moved on of their own accord.

The timing is purely for Whitehead, but actually helps the Bulls in some ways if they are ready to let him go at the end of the year for a pittance. They can plan now for replacing him with players from other clubs, or offering others improved contracts who may leave but we wish to retain (ala Kearney).

Have a like. Superb.

Would whitehead be covered by the mandatory payment system for players who come through a clubs academy but leave before age 24 despite club wanting to keep them?. Not sure if it applies if a player leaves mid contract rather than refusing a new deal, but if it does apply then we get something like 5k a year for every year since he signed his first professional contract. So that would mean a mandatory minimum transfer fee of 40kish, unless he's prepared to sit on sidelines until he turns 24 in September.