RFL own the long term lease. The council technically "own" the ground. Tens of years left on the lease though - seem to remember it being for neck end of 100 years when it was agreed.

To quote one Trevor Foster :-

"In December 1963 Bradford Northern folded. They had severe financial problems and resigned from the Rugby Football League. I was working at the time for Bradford Education Department as Schools Welfare Officer and I had access to local councillors and other influential people in the city. I felt that we couldn't let this great club die and I organised a meeting, which took place at the Bay Horse Inn at Dudley Hill. Significantly there were thirteen people at that meeting and we formed a committee aimed at getting the club re-formed."

"We met on a regular basis and gradually got support from all over the country. Eventually we called a Public Meeting at St George's Hall to see what backing we had in the city for reforming the club. Depending on the outcome of this meeting, the club would either die completely or be resurrected. At that time I got in touch with former Bradford player Joe Phillips. Joe was a New Zealander who had played for Bradford. He was a very eloquent speaker and had a great passion for the club. He chaired the public meeting and the outcome was that we raised £1000 on the night. St George's Hall was packed and gave us the backing that we needed to save the club. I then wrote to Bill Fallowfield at the Rugby Football League and asked to be included in the fixtures for 1964 and we were accepted. I still have the letter and I have been offered quite a lot of money for it but I will treasure it always! Our efforts to save the club were fully justified when 13500 people attended the opening fixture against Hull K R."

It's been done before. Get shut of 'Robbin' Hood and his band of merry men and sort their mess out yourselves. After all, you were once heralded as the peoples team.

If this is as bad as Hood states. Then other than a saviour with a million pounds. It looks like a new start would be required.

OI haven't been through all of the pages, but has anyone found out exactly why the 500k is required within 2-3 weeks. It can't all be wages. Is there a creditor who will push you into administration if you don't pay by a certain date or do you have the large off shore tax bill that Hull FC recently had to pay?

Really feel for you guys - we have been there as FC fans (some years ago now).

As fans, you need to ask quetions of thye board - forman organised group and get the local media on your side to help pose the questions that maybe the club won't tell you.

What I fear is that the board panics and starts a fire sale of players to any club who can pay anything like a fee (10 players will raise this money quickly and reduce your overall liabilities), but will leave the club having to totally rebuild from the bottom of SL.

That said, as a group of fans, it gives you 2 years to start to rebuild before the licensing rounds start again. You as fans can control this and need to reclaim your club; however, if the debt is unserviceable, then administration might be the shortest route to rebuilding the club with a clean slate.

I wish you all well in your endeavours - only you can save your club and you have one long fight ahead.

Good Luck.

Usually when contracts are announced they've been signed for a while so I'm guessing there might be a few more feeling that way.

Not sure about this at all. The board have to go after this as it's a complete c0ck up. I can understand RBS have pulled the overdraft as I have come across them in the past when they've forced companies into administration who were making a profit. IF it's the same lot at RBS Leeds I can well understand it and I won't be putting what I think of one bloke there in particular on here.

That said though this isn't the only problem looking in from the ourside. I really hate to hand over hard earned cash to people that continue to put out what they want me to hear rather than the full facts. It feels like throwing good money after bad but I can not stand the thought that Good Friday will be the last time I ever watch a Bulls match so will stick in whatever I can afford. I feel like an idiot doing it though.

I would happily give £100 to save the club. But give it to Mr Hood? I have serious doubts now. I feel lied to and misled. I would not trust him as far as I could throw the him.

And say we give money, then what? What assurances are in place to save us next month? I don't believe anything he says anymore.

Explained in that way, indeed I would not take issue with your argument. Nor can I take issue at all with you not rearing up unduly in response.

If we can agree that:

- my ongoing argument for years about the finances has been shown to have had more merit than you allowed; and

- your ongoing argument for years that Hood was being - well lets say at least extremely disingenuous, since I don't want to be accused of defamation - has been shown to have had more merit than I allowed,

Then we'll get along just fine?


And for the benefit of those others who are using this catastrophe to try and settle scores with me, I would just say that you were people who derided my argument that the root cause of a large part of our problems was lack of money. Whether, as e.g. Maislebugs in particular eloquently argued, the money issues could have been alleviated with a change of management is a separate and legitimate question - one I suspect we may soon learn the answer to. Whether, in going on ad nauseum about the financial situation I have been drawing attention to causes or just symptoms is probably central to any disagreement.

But, whilst both sides of the argument can and doubtless will claim they were right, rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic will not help our current situation, will it?

Selling 10 players would not raise £1m. Which clubs could buy 10 players and why would they offer money this week, when in 1 month the players would be free agents??

We need our brains on here looking at the problem, not arguing about who saw this coming first!

Feel sorry for the supporters of Bradford. As a Trinity supporter we know how this feels. Hope everything works out.

If things are as bad as the Board suggest, it seems almost impossible that the club will be able to raise the necessary finance to keep club going. Administration seems to be the only realistic option. But how would it work? Not just in terms of insolvency law, but in the context of the RFL and SL's rules?

1) Would the club lose its license? A points deduction wouldnt have much impact without the threat of relegation.

2) Would the club be able or allowed to fulfill its fixtures this season? Would we face the prospect of playing out the season with juniors? At what point would it make more sense to withdraw from SL and start again next season?

3) Have we already received the Sky money for the season? What other sources of income would the club have, bearing in mind how much of our income is from season ticket holders and has been already received?

4) Does SL have the equivalent of football's "football creditors" rule?

5) Have we paid the final instalment of the Harris settlement? Could that have anything to do with the timing of this announcement

6) How would the lease with the RFL be affected? Would moving to VP be an option?

It wouldnt raise 1m, but might get you part way to the half million that is more pressing (if you believe the article in the T&A) and relieve the burden on fans who are being lumbered with the responsibility of finding some extra cash to save the club.

The point remains - what is causing the urgent need for 500k in the next 2 weeks?? You wage bill isn't that high

Cheers.

Given this I think the end game is the Bulls will move into administration very quickly after the Leeds game (providing you don't raise the £400k/£500k). The administrator won't have many valuable assets to sell to pay off any creditors, now the RFL own the long term lease of Odsal, although you may lose one of two of your good youngsters. The club will be liquidated very quickly and the RFL won't give cap exemptions to other clubs to get Bulls players, to stop the vultures and keep the squad together. A new company Bradford Bulls 2012 will be formed, more or less debt free and accepted to continue in SL in the way London was about 10 years ago. You'll get docked points for going into administration.

It seems pretty obvious that both the club and RFL knew this was going to happen months ago, hence the sale of the lease so BB 2012 had somewhere to play.

My question is a simple one,

If I donate my £100, what does that guarantee? The club exists for a month? Two months? The end of the season? Trouble is I'm not sure I would believe the answer...

Yes you can, but.

You will start with a points deduction.

You will have no Bank overdraft.

All players contracts (including Academy) will be void. All players will be free agents.

You will lose many of your sponsors or receive lesser deals.

Without a sugar daddy to help re finance the club you will really struggle to put any kind of team together.

See Wakefield last year and we have a Sugar Daddy.