The dictatorship of SLY rides again. Lets throw a lifeline to the Bulls. What happened to expansion? The M62 corridor? SL just killed the game...…………..

Can't see how SKY was involved in the whole 2017 season scandal in the post you quoted considering SKY don't care about the Championship or League 1. Or how SKY was involved in the SL club vote to take our funding and distribute amongst themselves? Or how SKY was involved in the vetting process for our owners which prevented people with money taking over in favour of Marc Green and later in Andrew Chalmers? Honestly can't even see SKY being involved in the potential return of Bradford. If the Bulls do get the 12th spot it's entirely to the benefit of the other SL teams as we do take a very good away following and with the 'return' to SL I can see us taking a fair few. The big teams will all have 10-15k gates against us at home, and the likes of Hull and Wakefield would benefit from a Bradford away following. But people forget we aren't the massive club we once was. It won't be like the good old days of 20k crowds and sell outs. It will still be a better following that most but not mega. As I said, Toulouse, Leigh or Featherstone deserve that 12th spot.

I'm an expansionist, I want the game to grow. I was gutted that Toronto failed like it did, but genuine expansion I'm all for. Catalans for a while did it well. Had a core of French players then rounded the squad out with Aussies. However that's flipped in more recent times. At the moment for me, Toulouse, York, Newcastle are the best 'expansion' clubs. But I'm liking the work West Wales are doing, squad pretty much full of Welsh players and trying to do it properly albeit a few spankings on the way.

M62 corridor does need fortifying and building at the moment especially in the current climate. Financially clubs are struggling (except the big money backed clubs) and if that means we sacrifice expansion for the short term in order to consolidate and build then so be it.

SL by appointing Elstone is killing the game. What has he done in his time (assuming the new SKY deal is less) which effectively kills the lower leagues. Wasn't it Elstone who took the Magic Weekend to Liverpool which was considered a failure. Hence why it's back at Newcastle? I'm happy to be proved wrong but everything Elstone was paid to do, he's failed or is failing on?

Forgive me as it's been a long day but I can't understand what your point was or at least what you meant by it?

Bitter? You're never off this site talking about the Bulls.

BTW Bradford Bull have never finished bottom either whereas Wakey once finished bottom with 6 points.

I for one do not want Bradford in SL, fake team nowadays, awful ground, even more awful village near Leeds.

This idea that the money raised came from the whole game is utter nonsense. The vast majority came from the 'pledge' scheme with some notable contributions from the Chairman at Widnes. The buckets were a total embarrassment whose contribution was tiny. During a similar situation at Wakefield the fans point blank refused to contribute to the saving of their own club let alone the Bulls.

I enjoyed all your Bradford posts and analysis, very interesting indeed very informative and of course your analysis of SKY that they are not in any way controlling the game was also bang on. The promotion of the club in order for it to bring a large paying fanbase back into Superleague is understandable when crowds have gone down in recent years, however all the indications are and all the bets are Bulls would be likely to just go straight back down.

I cannot see this for one second. To ride roughshod over so called "more deserving clubs" to place Bulls in SL for their large fan base, on reduced SKY money that may well help a bottom place finish and relegation then allow them to dissapear back to the Championship has no logic, and is probably an insult to the Superleague chairmen who simply are not stupid. Nor are those who are running the Bulls at this present time.

There is a regular assumption that the current set up will just go on and on despite the Elephant in the room of the new SKY deal. It's a fact that a new format of a 2x10 club SL was not just suggested but voted on. It's a fact that so called expansion was tried but the final analysis of this by people engaged to look at the validity of overseas clubs decided that such clubs add nothing to the game here, but certainly take away players and erm.......

[uProvide no away fans.[/u

So it's fairly easy to stand back and see that a new SKY deal will lead to a new set up and that may continue the work of dismantling the geographical expansion of the game (for thats all it was no new players or new TV deals came in), it may change the line up of Superleague 2022, and above all it may include Bradford Bulls exemption from relegation at the end of 2021. I don't think for a second that Nigel Wood is organising for Bradford to boost crowds in Superleague 2021 and then just slide back to Championship oblivion......

peddling the Bradford myth, again?

Just to correct you, the collections/ donations at Wakefield were deliberately kept away from the club and put in trust for the incoming administration, if not it would have been spaffed away by the doomed previous owners.
I think many suggested that Bradford should have done the same but, IIRC they chose to try and use the monies to try and plug some holes in the sinking ship - a HUGE mistake, which cost Bradford a huge amount of good will.

one of the rare occurrences where we agree, Wakefield have a planning submission in to extend Belle Vue, Bradford want promoting because the RFL own their ground. I would rather see York added to SL than Bradford, they gave us sponge fingers and a remote control car for the kicking tee... more crass than class!

Inventing your own myth there

He should have put that the RFL want Bradford promoting so that they can collect some rent on their "asset"

How much?

Isn't it the case that Supporters Trust actually advised against raising money to pay the clubs debts and that a buyer came in and came to an agreement with the creditors.

And you still came bottom which the Bulls never have. Your complaints about the Bulls possibly, and against the advice of many experienced supporters (me included) going into SL is allegedly premised on the arbitrary nature of the RL's rules which means they can do what they like. Well you finished bottom and weren't relegated and the other clubs weren't promoted on merit either.