Now you know how it feels to be shafted by the R.F.L

All of the above! Along with many other awful mistakes by the club!!

Caisley knew who was to blame.

The supporters; the people of Bradford.

He said so, in his final Chairman's statement, October 2004, before standing down.

I don't have the words to hand (although I do at home), but the key bit was something to the effect of "what the supporters and the people of Bradford need to understand is that, if they want to retain a top-level Sl club in Bradford, they need to turn out and support the club in ever-increasing, not decreasing numbers".

This was in response to the disappointing reduction in attendances over the 2004 season, after the triple-champions 2003 season. That was the year the financial rot really set in, when Caisley et al clearly came to realise that the business model they had - based on growing crowds - was unsustainable.

Caisley was a very worried man then, certainly regarding attendances. I saw it with my own eyes. Many people slagged him off for saying what he did then. I stated that heavily criticising the supporter base was hardly likely to lead to a positive outcome. And these were in days of c.16k crowds.

As so often with Caisley, his delivery and wording was aggressive and confrontational. But was he totally wrong? Regardless of the reasons behind the crowds falling?

I`m beginning to realise that Mark Moore = Michael Knighton. `Buying the club with its own money indeed`

I would like to think that Mr Lamb has some of his own Capital to inject rather than the `Glazer Like` approach from Mr Moore & his chums.

He wasn’t totally wrong but as with all of this it’s not totally black and white.

As you say it was his flawed business model that relied on income from ever growing crowds yet he had no strategy of how he was going to achieve that. The club in 2004 was relying on people just turning up and repeating the same marketing of 8 years previously. There was no plan to deal with natural wastage when the casual fan finds something else to do, even if the club is as successful as it gets. He assumed that success on field equals ever increasing crowds ad infinitum. I think Hudders are making the same assumption but fact is all clubs have a peak fan base they can expect and we’d reached ours like they’re now reaching theirs.

What we needed was some innovative marketing to keep attracting new supporters coupled with a new approach to getting sponsors and potential new directors on board. However I think Caisley frightened people away to a degree but then I no evidence to back that up. Slagging off the fans was never going to do any good. Once crowds dropped and costs exceeded income it was only going to end badly.

His massive humungous balls up in signing Harris was no small factor in the decline of the club either. As was the fatal fall out with Hood.

In some ways we’ve done well to blunder along as long as we have. Say if Moran or Davy were to walk in front of a bus tomorrow their clubs could be up the creek a lot quicker than us.

I think we'd all like to think that but whether it wil happen is another matter.

To say I'm sceptical is an understatement.

So who exactly employs your players now & staff now? The club quoted this at the end of january..

[iAll players, employees and assets have been transferred to the new company, who will continue to function as Bradford Bulls under new directors Andrew Calvert, Mark Moore and Ian Watt, alongside chief executive Robbie Hunter-Paul.[/i

So if that company now no longer really exists on anything but a piece of paper who do the players & staff work for? Can they just all transfer back to OK Bulls even though that company is in administration? Is that possible or even legal, surely that goes against what an administrator should do doesn't it? Wasn't it said that the superleague license had transferred to the newco for 28, which ends friday. So can that transfer back to OK Bulls, a company run by an administrator or does it stay with a company that has nobody running it. Or does nobody now hold the license? How does this effect the players insurance? If the RFL are paying the wages on friday where does this money come from? Did the new company get the 300K sky advance that was due a couple of weeks back or was it with-held until the deal was complete? Is Omar Kahn now liable for anything or is he out of the picture?

The press releases yesterday seem to have created move questions that answers and as an outsider looking in nothing seems to make any sense. I hope for all your sakes something can be sorted out quickly, I know what it feels like when it looks like it's game over and it really is heart wrenching.

As I understand it the club is in admin and is run by the administrator. He's paying all the bills. OK Bulls is dead and buried as is 2014 Bulls.

A new owner is being sought but this won't last forever. If that doesn't work out the whole thing will be liquidated and monies raised use to pay off creditors, including the administrator.

Yes, Caisley was wrong about the crowds. He was fundamentally wrong in the belief that, in the 21st century, anyone would turn up at a ground and pay good money out of some sense of duty, or a jolly good ticking off from the Chairman.

It was up to him to do whatever he needed to do ATTRACT more people. They will only come if they CHOOSE to. Your job as a club is to make that choice attractive enough that they excercise it.

I will stick my neck out now and say Chris Caisley will be back involved with the Bulls sometime soon

Appreciate the sentiment, thanks, and don't worry, as an insider looking out nothing makes sense either!

On your initial question, Id [iguess [/ithey are ultimately currently owned by the Administrator (under whatever failed holding company guise was in possesion when the music stopped yesterday) as the BB2014 offer is withdrawn....but that company TUPE'd the staff....before the sale was complete???....so should that have happened?

And if we never left Admin, how can we have had the points already deducted? I thought it was a deduction based on going into Admin but mitigated (or not) depending how we exit Admin?

unreal.

Caisley was spot on, to be fair. What he got wrong was publicly berating the supporters, though I guess he was really getting at those who didn't support..

You can't have a [iconstantly[/i rising crowd though. Fair enough, just like constantly rising profits, I guess it's the holy grail, but it can't, and won't, last forever, so as time goes by it becomes an ever poorer business model as the last 'record' attendance becomes evermore difficult to repeat, let alone exceed. Even Wigan, when they were the only team in contention [OK, bit of an exaggeration, but not by much..] had the same problem as their crowds eventually began to drop.

It is ok bulls that is in administration isn't it? 2014 bulls only really existed for a month whilst it had a temporary license? I take it the players and staff have all transfered back to ok bulls along with the superleague license? Or is this not possible and do they remain as 2014 bulls employees?

I see, i think! Certainly is messy! I wish you all the best.

Depends whether Bulls 2014 is sold on as a going concern or a new company is formed. If the old company is bought then there would be no need to transfer.