Our credibility will be determined by what rules we put in place to stop it happening again during the next licencing phase. That may not be quick enough for some but it gives us time to get it right rather than trying to rush things through as we reach the climax of our season. I'm not suggesting we do nothing but the priority at the moment has to be assisting with getting new owners for the Bulls and completing their season. That may also mean apply a penalty either during this season or next.



I don't know what should be a reasonable penalty but I don't think relegation is one of them. Would the NRL just demote a club? Would the NFL? The MLB? These are sports that are similar in that they have franchised systems in which teams are not instantly replaceable. All three of these sports have dealt with issues far worse than ours yet they continue to grow because of the commitment to the bigger vision of improving their sport. I'm not sure that effectively consigning one of the sports strongholds to the outer wastes fits with that ambition and that should be something fans whose teams have been cast aside should be able to relate to.

How many times do we have to see a situation where we dont have rules to deal with misdemeanours that are not hard to imagine ? , when licencing was first brought in the RFL had several years to prepare, surely they could have had somebody coming up with various scenarios, and the punishments decided

So what penalty do you suggest? Points deductions mean nothing

It seems to me that the current favourites, like others are blackmailing the RFL , so should the RFL be blackmailed?

I'm glad to see your opinion of the Championships matches mine

That's fair enough but we haven't so we have to fix it correctly which will take time and can't be resolved in a few weeks.



I don't know because I'm not privvy to the precise internal workings of what's happened.



One person's blackmail is another's negotiating from a position of strength. We, as a sport, are not strong enough to force clubs into line because we do not have the same financial resources. I hate to keep mentioning American sports because some people have an aversion to them and think that they have nothing to teach us, which makes little sense. They have enough financial power to dictate what happens with the clubs. Our sport isn't in such a position and it requires movement from both the clubs and the RFL. I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself but if we had ten clubs outside Super League with successful business plans, stadiums and average attendances, chomping at the bit then the RFL are in a strong position. At best we have, what? Two to three teams who might meet a few of the criteria?

I don't think we have such a luxury of choice that we can afford to do without the Bulls. That viewpoint may afford more weight to bigger clubs than it does smaller clubs but that's life. When businesses go to the wall you're far more likely to find interest and investment saving a bigger one than you would a smaller one e.g. banking crisis. That may not be morally or politically correct but not everything is and occasionally we need to compromise those values in order to progress e.g. signing with Murdoch owned SKY.

RFL spokesman has confirmed decision on Bradford will be made by the RFL board and that clubs were warned over the possible effects of administration at the last issue of licences meaning Bradford is different from Wakefield and Crusaders.

Bradford are too big to kick out of SL. It's as simple as that. It just will not happen. The RFL will have a rethink of their strategy. We have a "live cap", will they now insist on "live accounts" ? Monthly numbers submitted to Red Hall, followed by an annual audit? How else can they protect clubs from stupid Chairmen?

How long do the RFL leave it though?
10 times, 1000 times, 100,000,000 times?
A line has to be drawn in the sand at some point and someone is going to be holding the 'present' when the roundabout does eventually stop.
I truly feel sorry for the Bradford fans...............but as a HKR fan who watched his club almost go to the wall with little help from the rest of the RL community I do feel that the Bradford fans are being a little unfair here on some level.
Bradford were spending money they did not have so I have to ask were you all this upset when you were cheering on the players you could not afford that won you games that you should have lost if you had been spending by your means?
Did you kick off when the club let you buy your passes for a very silly cheap price?
I said something similar to Hull City fans when they were up in arms about how much in debt they were when they dropped out of the premiership.
Our Chariman (HKR) has stated that our board are not going to bankroll us anymore and we are going to have to live by our means.
Our Full back is going because we wont pay him what he wants even though it looking likely that another SL club will, Ben Galea wont be with us next year due us offering him a rather large pay cut on his deal for next year all this on the back of the fact that you can clearly see that we are nowhere near full cap this year as it is.
If Bradford had done this instead of spending more than they should have then they wouldn't be in this mess.
Sorry to the Bradford fans but that is how I see it.

It's strange that the main reason everyone says Bradford are in debt is due to them paying too much for players. But can anyone actually back that up with actual facts? Say an itemised wage bill for Bradford players? The fact is, with a salary cap in place like the one in SL there is a limit to what can be spent.

The board however may have spent more than may have been prudent, but it's likely that they were basing their budgets on getting play off football at the end of the year. A lack of which, and the extra income it generates, for the last 3 years will have likely accelerated the club to it's current point as the lack of quality in terms of the players in the side and the way they were coached/played had caused some disillusionment with the fans, causing a drop in attendance which has a knock on effect on the money the club had.

The cheap ticket offer was supposed to boost attendances and make up the short fall from the reduced ticket cost on other items in the ground (merchandise, refreshments etc). However, another poor season caused a less than stellar uptake in actual crowds meaning the gamble taken by Bradford didn't pay off. However, two seasons selling over 10k season tickets is not a bad achievement for any club regardless of the price and given the way Bradford have been playing this year it could be argued that, without the financial problems the club are now facing, a 3rd year of cheaper tickets could have seen the club break 11k or even 12k.

Thats all well and good but what "if he changes his mind and pulls the plug" Not having a pop mate but London would last about 8 minutes standing alone.


Thats the risk i reffered to and while its true that its the same for many clubs, others imo could stand alone for long enough to attract new investment.

Out of interest why is the broncos owner covering 1.5million quid a year to keep them afloat. What's his motivation?

Their books must have shown a large debt and alarming P&L trend at the time of license review. Love to know the RFL's reasoning for a B grade license.

Seems Lewis picked a good time to leave!

This post has to be one of the most idiotic ones ever posted, so you are suggesting that Bradford were ' gambling ' on making the play offs, or on cheap ST s being compensated by ' other sales ' ?

And that it was a sensible idea?
You are Mr Hood and I claim my 5 pounds