This

I feel very sorry for the Bulls fans I am a Wakey fan with no axe to grind... but but there seems either an incredible lack of competence and or wide boy businessmen trying to blag their way to success.


the punishment is pitiful compared to that which was allegedly threatend to Trinity earlier tlast year. Although i think the actual outcome would have been something like the Bulls are undergoing now...


I really do feel for the fans.. I have been there and know... and its twice in a very short time now for you guys. I think the opportunity to stabalise and cut the cloth to suit, may now be passed... but I hope you can regroup with some genuine skills and expertise and come back stronger..

The special measures are also in the Operational Rules and are invoked when a club goes into administration owing HMRC money. We know from today's statement that they owe £170k to HMRC. During the period of special measures the business has to demonstrate over a period of time that it is paying its liabilities to HMRC in full and on time. They are allowed to sign loan players but are not allowed to commit to the expense of signing permanent players. I know for a fact that Whitehaven were in special measures for 9 months after they were bought out of administration. It's not a new punishment specific to Bradford Bulls.

Christ, what a shambles.

I detest modern sport. I hate it. Every year for the past 10 has been one financial crisis after another for the teams I seem to support. Maybe I'm cursed? I honestly thought that sport couldn't get more surreal than transfer deadline day at Elland Road but the goings on at Odsal always seem to try and go a step further.

RL, just like half the other sports out there, have sold their souls to television to the point that half the clubs are unsustainable without the money they receive which just isn't healthy. Even then it looks like you can only be really financially secure if you have someone stupid enough to pump their own hard earned money into the club.

I dare say there are other clubs out there who would struggle without the Sky money, but unfortunately it seems that we're the only ones who they choose to punish in this way. Whoever comes in (if anyone) will essentially have their hands tied from the start. It's easy to say that we don't have to pay the creditors now, but surely it's not that simple both morally (ha ha ha!... morals! But in all seriousness, they have employees and people depending on them too) and also due to the fact that we will still need services and products to operate as a club that we will have to source from either the current creditors or someone else?

Meanwhile, the people who (on both occasions) have taken the club into administration trot off over the horizon. What punishment do they receive?

What a stupid way of running a sport.

Maybe we'd be better off joining the RFU instead, after all I hear they allow broken time payments now...!

I seem to recall that, when in Special Measures, you have to pay HMRC on a monthly basis.

Its a vicious circle though.

Special measures = can't sign new players to help improve perfromances and therefore income to get the club OUT opf special measures.

Along with the scandalous £2/3m Sky money confiscation.

With an already very small squad.

Add in the points deduction, and the only way to get out of the hole is for owners to put in a shedload of cash.

And no such potential oweners have been forthcoming. Caisley sought them out; they were not there. Hood sought them out; they were not there. Caisley and co again then allegedly sought them out, and said they HAD such funding; but they and it were not there. Khan sought them out; but only wanted small-scale investors and, in the end, even they were not there. And again we seek them out; and again they are not there.

I've put £2 on the Euromillions tonight.

£170k sound like maybe 3 months PAYE to me. Yes, that's right. At the most.

Which would be the PAYE payable 22/12, 22/1 and 22/2 (from the Jan payroll) I presume?

Now, given that the club ownership went out of the window just before Xmas, it is hardly surprising that the 22/12 payment was likely not paid then? And the ongoing failure to resolve the ownership, with the club being technically insolvent, makes it hardly surprising that it was not paid in January? Or that the payment due 22/1 will not have been paid when due? Given the risks of fraudulent preference. And of course, the payment due 22/2 was not even DUE when the administrator was appointed end January.

I was pleasantly surprised that the amount owing to HMRC was as comparatively low, and short term, as this. Compare and contrast £500k owed by Bulls last time (albeit a lot of back-claimed VAT in there), £500k by London a few years ealier, and £750 by Wakefield.

A cynic might think that the RL would prefer it if the Bulls are punished to the point that they either go out of business or get relegated due to either a points deduction or losing games due to a weak squad or losing players.

That would then mean only one team needs to be relegated at the end of the season so there's less chance of them losing both London and Catalan. After all, better to lose one of the pesky teams that insist on being based around the M62 rather than one of the expansion teams that the RFL crave success for.

A cynic might think that.

Without reading the entire thread...

Firstly..... to todays events.

Secondly, apologies if someones mentioned it, but isnt the points deductions and sanctions as a result of the way we exit administration in terms of creditors and business plan? With BB2014 walking away, are we not still in Admin? Indeed, did we ever leave? If so how can we have a points deduction applied yet? Are we not now back in the hands of the administrator? And if a new deal is struck with someone else, would the points deduction and sanctions not need to be re-assessed against the actual exit from administration?

Even the RFL aren't so stupid to drive us out of business and see the asset they bought overnight become worthless are they? It look that way, but.........

Really good point, in case Ken Morrison or his family are reading this.

Adey I maybe wrong but prior to admin wasn't there a HMRC petition for £170,000 I maybe mistaken having seen so many winding up orders over the past 12 months at Wakey

Matt Diskin on twitter:

"Operating with half sky money, losing star players, -6pts, smallest squad in SL & informed you can't reinforce, is this feasible? "

"Your parents advise you to divorce your wife & they'll support you but then closed the door on you when you asked to stay the night? Upset??"

"Points deduction is no drama! But If you owned your own business would you do so if your were restricted from trading???"

Those from one of the more thoughtful and articulate players in the game. Seems pretty clear what HE thinks? Anyone see anything to fault there? I sure don't.

Looks like it is the Special Measures that wrecked it all.

That's a very good point.

It would imply that the penalty has been decided, regardless of what any new owner offers. Which suggests a total fix up.