Well we are where I expected us to be if I'm honest. In my head I knew it'd be like this but in my heart I allowed myself to dream that we'd scrape avoiding relegation.

Unfortunately all my worst fears about this season have come to pass. Kids were treated like cannon fodder. Fans treated like mushrooms. Club exists only to save the RFL from re-writing the fixtures.

The saving grace has been the progress of some of our young players. Unfortunately those that have done well are most likely going to leave (Bentley, Ryan etc).

I could summon up some enthusiasm for 2018 if I could be persuaded there is a plan for the future but if it's just silence coming from the club I'll stick with the odd U19 game and find other things to do. Fans need to feel wanted or they'll give up - I'm not sure Chalmers grasps that concept.

We go again in 2018. I just hope the owners are in it for real and not just pretenders.

Exactly. EVERY Bulls fan (except an absolute minority who think it's 2005 still) says we should have been relegated when we were liquidated. But it won't stop some ignorant fans from saying "Bulls arrogant blah blah"

It's not just opposition fans. Some journalists (and i use the term loosely) are so lazy, or deliberately find that one deluded fan on twitter/Facebook, fill their brushes with plenty of tar, to then post it on social media to basically have a slagging off session of Bradford. Mick posted a ridiculous post of "The RFl need to provide clarity now of the situation" Every single response of the Bulls fans was, "what the hell needs clarifying, we're relegated" Of course none of the "journos" posted them, but splashed Micks tweet all over the social media. It's pathetic. Gareth Walker and Aaron Bower seem to be two of the few grounded journos left, the rest just seem to put out provocative social media posts and get angry a lot.

I got really vexed off on Monday, when i listened to Radio Yorkshire. Use to really enjoy it as it was a good honest debating RL show. Now it's just a Cas/Wakey love-in and they just get really angry about whichever club is struggling or has done something wrong that week and then basically set out to get all the opposition fans to abuse that club that particularity week. One of the guests, read out a long post from one of the deluded fans thinking we shouldn't be relegated, and of course they made out we all think like that. I've seen a lot more "we should be relegated" than i have "We're still an SL club" One of the presenters then want on a rant of how Belle Vue isn't much worse than Odsal (I take it he's not been in the North Stand terrace recently) and how we should save Swinton, Sheffield but let Bradford rot in L1. Of course the listeners on FB loved it and the abuse came flooding in.

Maybe we should have a sticky. MOST BULLS FANS THINK WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN RELEGATED IN JANUARY AND DON'T THINK WE'RE TOO BIG TO BE IN L1.

Rant over. As Debase says, i'm bored with it now. Move on to something else.

Unfortunately the standard of RL journalism has never been great but now it’s abysmal. There’s no challenge to the powers that be. Those that do (Tony Hannan) are sidelined. Heaven forbid anyone rock the boat and ask the real questions that need answering about this sorry saga and others in the game. They would be blackballed and never get access anymore. As for the stuff on the radio and online where fans statements are commented on, it’s cheap to make and sensationalist, journos are inherently lazy so it’s much easier to appear on there and hold forth than to get up to the clubs and to Red Hall and do some actual journalism. Even if they did many of the big titles aren’t interested in RL anymore. Does any paper employ a fulltime RL journo?

As far as the Bulls are concerned we’ve been on the decline and in turmoil for ten years so much that’s the only story that runs anymore about us. It’s easy to play dog whistle journalism and stoke up a debate with a made up Bulls fan saying we shouldn’t be relegated. Your average RL fan falls for it every time. It won’t be long before even they’re sick of it and we’re not mentioned on the radio or the RL letters pages.

The media talks about SL because RL barely exists outside of SL to them. The longer we’re out of it the more irrelevant we’ll be. Not so long ago people used to queue up on this board to take the when we lost games, players left, we went into admin. We were relegated at the weekend and not one away fan has come on here to take the mickey. That to me shows a lot. We have owners that don’t want to talk to anyone let alone the media. What is all that about?

I remember being a kid listening to RL on Radio Leeds with Jack Wainwright as presenter. Back then he used to go on about how he hoped Huddersfield would soon see better times. They were then playing in division 2 front of 300 fans in an empty, weed infested Fartown stadium with bits of it fenced off. Their glory days were long gone. We’re now fast becoming the Hudders of the moment – a club people sympathise with.

Maybe 2018 will be the start of a recovery? Who knows. What I do know is that if the club owners don’t start talking soon I’ll never happen. Communication is key. They have to give people a reason to carry on supporting. Something to get behind. Otherwise the pessimistic trend will continue. It’ll be carried on by the media. We’ll lose supporters, players won’t want to play for us and we know where it ends.

Good point

And its not much better from our own supporters. Last weekend we didn't have a game thread for the first time I can ever remember. And how many people even know or care who we are playing this week? I confess that I only know because I made the Prediction Thread - up to that moment I literally had no clue who our opponents were this week.

The U19s are playing London on Saturday - I'm off to that instead.

But I know what you mean. Who are we playing? I've given up on the predictions

That should be nailed on all the doors at Odsal. But i doubt anyone would read it or at least bother about it.

That said, the thing about the deal for the new 30K stadium etc from everything I am hearing seems to be pretty solid. How bizarrely stupid given the depths to which the club has been allowed to sink, but unlike all the other pies in the skies of old, this one sounds like in the background people are actually doing stuff instead of releasing expensive pictures and talking of their future "plans".

Odd though how little is leaking out about it. If a drawing with stick people and little trees appears on the T&A front page though I'm writing it immediately off as more pie.

I'll believe it when I'm sat in it FA.

I could write a book of t and a stories from "sources" that never materialised or were total balls

I'm still told we won't be in Champ 1 no idea who Telegraph source is.

A scenario that might fit the current drip of information is one that was espoused to me a several months ago by a family member from over the Pennines.
Koukash to re-site his club- Salford Reds at odsal, presumably with a name change.

Q. are there any RFL regulations that would preclude a) the name change & b) the move.

Shame they (The R.F.L.) didn't do it before this season started, you'd probably have been knocking on the door of promotion right now.

They didn't mind Gateshead/Hull or Sheffield/Huddersfield

Experience suggests we are now in for a period of silence from Chalmers.

Because "a lot is happening" he will obviously be too busy with his transitioning plans to keep us informed.

I could help him with those transition plans - with this simple 3 step business plan;

1. Do nothing
2. Keep quiet
3. Keep Nige happy

Bradford Eagles has a ring about it............

I wonder if the RFL are waiting on things to happen at other clubs - there was talk that Swinton may have decided they can't fund a side in this league, Sheffield im not sure i have heard that they have somewhere to play next year? are there other things in the pipeline that may make it look like it isnt them helping us?
also the Salford merge could be possible although after the semi final Marwan's speech beforehand seemed like he had renewed hope.
My other option or thought is that - we wont be playing in champ 1 for definite? but we wont be in championship? erm we actually going to bite the bullet ?