Chances are that we will not be around much longer without a big moneybacker. And as we know there isn't one waiting in the wings. My question is this: Would you have swapped all the success we have had for survival?
From a personal point of view I loved living the dream of the Cup finals, Grand Finals, WCC and travelling around the country in large numbers, the razzmatazz of game days. If the price we have to pay is that we no longer exist as a club then so be it. I go to the Championship matches and there is no atmosphere, nothing. I watch SL on telly and get bored. I'm glad I experienced it but after following them for 50 years I've had enough.

I can understand your feelings. I saw a you tube video the other day of the 1999 game vs Leeds at Odsal in front of over 24k. It seemed like another universe.

I’d feel the same disillusionment and ready to pack in if it wasn’t for my involvement with BullBuilder and seeing the talent we have about to come through. I really want to see that happen. I think a lot of younger fans and players should have the chance to see their own glory years and God willing that will happen.

As a supporter of a club who have won nothing of any significance in the last forty odd years I would swap in a heartbeat.

Whereas I forlornly hope for a major success, many of you have lived the dream & whilst things look pretty bleak right now, it should never taint the memories of yesteryear.

Yes, absolutely it was worth it. You cannot take the winners name off the trophies or record books. That will last forever!!!

Not if you're Melbourne!

Course it was worth it, you can't replace the memories, but we didn't go bust because of those years, we instead managed to get ourselves to the top, and then ssed it all away. The glory days can't last forever, but they should have left a lasting legacy that kept the club on a solid and steady footing, and it is to the eternal shame of the guilty parties who have failed so miserably as custodians of a once great club, which as I write, doesn't actually even exist any more.

What FA said.

One phone call changed everything...the moment Iestyn's agent picked up the phone to Caisley and said "he's available".

It was going wrong long before that.
I'd say it went wrong the minute we agreed the deal with the council - a big lump of cash up front, but we'd be looking after the ground ourselves from that point onwards.
It might have seemed like a decent wedge at the time but in reality was probably nowhere near enough considering how badly the running costs are crippling us now.

Of course, this problem is only exacerbated when you remember that Caisley & Co. chose to spend all that money on the team/bullmania instead of ring-fencing it for its intended purpose.

We haven't gone down the tube cos of "running costs of the ground", we've gone down through a combination of financial imprudence and failing to make the proper playoffs.

I would add to that some bad luck at key moments and some 3rd party malevolence (mainly related to stadium development)

Yes, it was all worth it.

Yeh it's a no brainier for me, definitely worth it. I'd have been 13 when we lifted the SL trophy for the 1st time at the Don Valley, it was an awesome experience. Probably began to take the GF's for granted a little, felt like it was just how our season ended, a trip to OT!

Bit depressing to think back but as somebody else has said, SL is a long way in quality from what it used to be!

FWIW your dominance in the late 90s and early 00s made our success from 2004 all the more enjoyable. I think it's fair to say that 98-07 was probably my favourite era of watching RL in this country, the rivalry with Bradford being central to that. My interest in RL started to fade a little when Bradford stopped being a force in SL.

I still can't get my head around why the club persisted with McNamara for so long in the key period of transition. He took over with a star-studded team, recruited terribly when there still seemed to be money to spend (not all bad, granted, but too many players weren't good enough IMO), and wasted the opportunity to build on what was a pretty solid platform. Seems like he's never really moved on from being a solid assistant, and is still very much in Brian Noble's shadow as Bulls coach and GB coach (Noble managed our last win over Australia, after all). At least Macca's got a cushy job in New Zealand now - a shame Bradford had to suffer while he learned how to coach. Would Brian McDermott or Paul Anderson have done any better? Perhaps not, if 2016 was anything to go by!

Hope it gets sorted out soon (i.e. you are back in the top 4 of SL... Big money backer + 5 years?!!!).

Met some brilliant people along the way, had some great days out, able to wind up my old Leeds fan boss at work telling him we were WORLD CHAMPIONS (on three occasions), visits to Wembley, Old Trafford, Murrayfield, Millenium Stadium, Twickenham, you can't take those days away, even when we lost - they made the victories even sweeter.

24k at Odsal v Leeds, the 2005 run to the Grand Final, last minute wins at Headingley, there's too many to mention...

Seeing the likes of (on weekly basis) Henry Paul, Lesley Vainikolo, Oh Michael Withers......... Stuart Fielden, Jamie Peacock......

HELL YEAH IT WAS WORTH IT!!!!

Chin up. Your club still exists. It's just that the current owning entity is no longer an RFL member (as per standard procedure in such as the current circumstances). Don't give in. I guarantee that the Steam Pigs will be back under the Bradford Northern name.