Bradford were always going to be in trouble again, it was apparent pretty early on in OK's reign that they had no real idea how a sports club should be run, or how to budget for each season. Anyone who had any dealings with the club during this time will have left with a pretty sour taste in their mouths at just how poorly the club were treating such people as Sponsors, fans and fundraisers. Makes you question just what kind of checks the RFL actualy do with regards to business plans of the member clubs.

With regards to points deduction by way of punishment for entering administration, then i feel thats just and fair. Even if the only person not getting paid is OK then that still leaves the club with unpaid debts and therefore should result in the club recieving a 6 point penalty for the new season ( or 4 points based on how much debt they repay ).

This is based on the way other clubs have been treated in similar circumstances.

Widnes- Points deduction ( and refused entry into SL based on same Administration )
Barrow- Points deduction ( resulting in relegation )
Wakefield- points deduction
Crusaders- Points deduction ( Removed from SL )
Bradford- points deduction

I see no reason for the same rules not to be applied again. The belief that punishing the new owners is not fair is not in any way a good or reasoned argument against a points deduction after administration. Any club that has been run so poorly that they need to take such drastic measures to avoid paying their debts should be punished by the league for those actions. Each time a club does this it weakens the position of every other club associated with the league and sport as it makes the sport look less viable as an option for investing money, Sponsoring etc.

Wakefield fans on here are in some ways rightly up in arms about the way Bradford have gone about this, recruiting expensive players ( i understand the coming and goings down at Odsal better than many ). The argument that Bradford will not sell as many tickets because they didnt sign Carvell on a good wage is absolute rubbish, they are making a strategic choice now to run the same risks again for the coming season. Bradford are still in a tough place, and wasting money on Carvell is not the solution, it just tells me they have not learned their lesson. And gives the middle finger to clubs like Wakefield for trying to do it right.

Bradfords main problem in all this is the fact that over the last few years they have worn out the goodwill of the local comunities, leaving only the hardcore to survive on. Its also still caught up in its past glories, and believes itself to be a bigger club than it is, which is part of the downward spiral that will constantly lead to problems without much luck and great decisions at Boardroom level to counter it. A problem Widnes suffered from for many years, sometimes looking back means we are not spending enough time looking in the right direction, forward.

No right thinking RL supporter would want Bradford to cease to exist, but as a club they must find their level and work hard at living within acceptable budgets its no good spending £1.4M on players if you can only afford £800k. And if you can only afford to spend £800k and thats not enough to stay in SL, then im afraid your at the wrong level and need to aim lower.

Lastly ( i promise ) the RFL is not helping matters here with their murky stadium deal and seeming to be in deeper than any of us would wish with regards to the Bulls. And again here we should not think that the Bulls have done well out of the RFL, as often as not it looks like their help has caused problems for Bradford as opposed to helped. This is the same RFL that does not have the greatest reputation for being transparrent, fair or verry good with anything they do.

Its not nice but fair is fair.

Excuse my ignorance on this matter,but how common is it for an individual to take a sports club into administration and then be permitted to purchase the same sports club a relatively short time later?

Nice to see an individual who has been such a success in the sport take advantage of cronyism and get another good position having left Castleford,who have had a sudden surge in attendances and on-field success since he left.

rlStoryrl

Is it correct that as Marc Green was allegedly owed money he would be aware of what the potential new owners were offering in their bid to purchase the club?

I know Bates bought Chelsea for a pound and with a Trust fund he had in the Cayman Islands he was never fully investigated by the apparent official bodies in the UK.
I take it as you have only shown the image,did he also take Leeds United into admin and out again?
Pleased I am perennially impecunious :there does seem to be a certain something about many with money in this country.

Thank you all for being so generous of spirit that you restrained yourselves from pointing out my total ignorance.
I can only put it down to stress.
Of course this has happened before.Of course the RFL were involved....and Steve Ferres.
Also involved was the 'iconic' Racecourse stadium which had a RFL charge on it.
Long before Dr K had an opinion about the RFL.
Players were complaining.
rlDeja Vu Without A Happy Endingrl