Do you understand that the CEO of SLE is also the CEO of the RFL ? Additionally, the members of SLE are only members at the discretion of the RFL who award the licences.

I am surprised that this is happening for a pretty basic reason -

Under the current process the administrator has exceptional powers to be able to allocate funds where he sees fit in order to maximise the end result for creditors. This is why he can pay the staff wages even when there are older and larger creditors in existence.

If the SL clubs were to buy the existing business then they would not have this power and would need to treat all creditors equally - which obviously they aren't going to do.

They must therefore be buying certain assets of the old club, specifically the players contracts and the right to play in Super League this season, and they must have a licence to occupy the Odsal stadium granted by the RFL.

If at the end of the season the RFL allow the Bulls to remain in Super League then the creditors of the old company will be in their rights to claim that they have been prejudiced as, if the RFL had agreed to them staying in SL at the moment, then the ABC deal or similar would have gone through and they would have had a better return.

So it could become a bigger issue if the SL clubs do buy the Bulls as if I was a creditor I would be looking at how things pan out in great detail....

No he does not, but don't spoil it.

All this deal means is that the Bulls are effectively NOW a Championship club, simple as

Most of the SL clubs are de facto permanent members, they have no fear of losing their licences. The RFL and SLE are closely related, everyone knows that - but SLE's money belongs almost entirely to the clubs and, if this ends up costing SLE cash, that will materialise in less money distributed by SLE to the member clubs.

The RFL can arm twist all it likes but the SL clubs have to be in favour for this to have gone through. And for the SL clubs to be in favour unanimously they had to be pretty convinced that the dangers to the league and to their interests of the Bulls being liquidated in the next couple of weeks were far greater than the potential cash lost by owning them until the end of the season.

The likelihood of SLE still owning Bradford Bulls by the start of next season is small; the likelihood of SLE still owning the Bradford Bulls AND them being in Super League next season must be tiny.

SLE will retain ownership of the Bulls until either a supporters trust purchases them as a Championship club ( where they will then remain ) or until they are in a position to re enter SL

Unless a credible bid comes in which ticks enough boxes to somehow keep them in Super League that's got to be the most likely way this ends. They would be very keen to get rid either way before the start of next season.

When I read about this I was shocked and appalled that this could happen. I then went away and thought about it, it all makes sense. I have not had a bang to the head.

One club cannot own another club that play in the same league as them. I believe, before we go into all the ramifications about creditors and the ABC group that the sports ministry would not allow it. They may not have the power to stop it but they can suggest to the RFL that if it happens then they would not make current financial aid available.

What could happen is, Super league clubs could own a club that play in a different competition to them, such as the Championship.

Bradford Bulls would then effectively be the first "Feeder club" for the super league.

I have to say, the events at Oddslum since the RFL first injected cash to prop up the bulls in January of this year are dragging the game further into the mire. This, coupled with the fact that the RFL have invested more time and money in bradford over the last 6 months than they have in 17 years of SL in London is beyond comprehension.

Bradford should have been allowed to die and served as a warning to other clubs to cut their cloth accordingly...instead, a dangerous precedent has been set and the RFL will regret this decision....sooner rather than later. There's 500/600k in wages to be paid before the end of this season.....then there's the rent and other running costs.....and for what?

All teams should have simply been awarded 4 points,(6 for Leeds) regardless of their results v Bradford and the players released as free agents. Halifax should be offered Bradford spot for the 2 years left on the Franchise and a new Bradford RL club should start 2013 in CH/CH1.

As it is, the RFL will now be expected to offer the same level of time and money to other SL clubs who find themselves in a mess.......if David Hughes walked away from London Broncos today, does anyone think the RFL would bail us out? Like Fk they would...

it appears that the chairmen of these very clubs have approved this, so they must believe it is for the good of the game, and for the good of their individual clubs...

And London are the one club that should have been publically supported

I agree with that.