Quote: Matthew Shaw at Total RL "There was a noticeable sense of shock when the attendance was blurted out over the tannoy at The Provident Stadium on Sunday. '"
No there wasn’t
Quote: Matthew Shaw at Total RL "Just 3,467 made the trip to watch Bradford’s comfortable victory over Workington Town, in what was the club’s first game since the announcement that James Lowes, the most recent coach to try and rekindle the magic that made the Bulls the world’s greatest club at the beginning of the 21st century, had resigned. '"
A higher attendance than any other club has managed versus Workington this year by over a thousand. Despite being mainly awful this season.
Quote: Matthew Shaw at Total RL "Bradford’s fall from grace has been uncomfortable to watch. Although the club now appears to be in safe hands under the stewardship of Marc Green, Steve Ferres and Robbie Hunter-Paul, it is a shadow of what it was during that glorious era just over a decade ago.'"
A shadow of what we were 10 years ago? Really? Talk about the bleedin obvious. Did you actually get paid to write these revelations?
Quote: Matthew Shaw at Total RL "The world-conquering teams of old have been replaced with a good, but by no means exceptional Championship squad, carnival atmospheres have been replaced with subdued ones and a packed out Odsal is now nothing but a memory for the loyal fans that continue to support the club.'"
Well what do you expect. We’ve been relegated. Crowds of 20k plus are pretty unlikely. This is amazing insight.
Quote: Matthew Shaw at Total RL "It goes without saying that a club of Bradford Bulls’ stature and history belongs in Super League, but as the months and years go by, the prospect of the Bulls returning to the promised land becomes less and less likely.'"
Well indeed. Due to a skewed and unfair system of promotion and relegation that pits championship teams against teams with access to more central funding, bigger budgets and better players. It’s the same for any championship club. So why do we get the hatchet job?
Quote: Matthew Shaw at Total RL "In reality, the club is still dealing with the aftermath of the club’s financial issues, which effectively resulted in the club’s relegation from Super League. The ship has been steadied since, but it’s hard to foresee and upward trajectory anytime soon.'"
No poop Sherlock. As said above we cannot win promotion on an uneven playing field. Nor can anyone else so why do we get the negative press?
Quote: Matthew Shaw at Total RL "A big issue at Bradford is how the club is perceived by those associated with it. Last year, Lowes guided the Bulls to the Million Pound Game, an accomplishment that would be considered a great success for any Championship club. But in Bradford’s case, failure to win that match was labelled a massive failure.'"
So you’re saying we should be content with not going up? And following that logic so should every other championship club? What about that upward trajectory you were on about? Does that not matter now? Make your mind up.
Quote: Matthew Shaw at Total RL "Given all of that, trying to pitch the job to a new head coach will be a difficult task. In a nutshell, the new head coach will be tasked with achieving promotion with a squad that is some way off those it will be contending with and with a much smaller budget. The contrast between expectation and reality is disproportionate, in the eyes of many, even an impossible task to fulfil. Even a section of the Bradford support has conceded defeat in the club’s fight to go up. '"
You really don’t make sense here. You say there’s a contradiction between expectation and reality. You say most fans see promotion as nigh on impossible. So where’s the expectation coming from?
Quote: Matthew Shaw at Total RL "In the last week we have already seen Richard Marshall, who is currently at part-time Halifax, rule himself out of the job, which sheds some light on how appealing the job at the Bulls currently is.'"
Does it really? Marshall’s doing a good job with a part time side. He could have any number of reasons not to apply. Would the Bulls want him anyway?
Quote: Matthew Shaw at Total RL "There will, of course, be coaches out there that would probably relish the job; Glenn Morrison and Scott Naylor are two thought to be keen, but finding a man with the experience and calibre the fans of Bradford are demanding is going to be very difficult given how much the odds are stacked against them from day one.'"
I thought a moment ago you just said the fans were saying promotion was nigh on impossible. Now we’re demanding. Make your mind up. You don’t really know what you’re on about do you? Are we demanding Wayne Bennett and Craig Bellamy? No. Morrison or Naylor would be fine for the majority of fans.
Quote: Matthew Shaw at Total RL "Whoever becomes the new Bradford head coach will have the weight of history on their shoulders and could well be fighting a losing battle before they’ve even started.'"
Or they could improve our performances on the field and get us into the top 2 and put in a decent showing in the play offs – but I think I understand the thrust of this article now. Bradford are doomed. Bradford fans should acknowledge this fact.
I hope everyone at the club pins this article on the wall and uses it for motivation.
