The guys name is Mark Moore. No idea why I remember that.

Did Gareth Carvell know more than the rest of us ?

Two key points here it seems. Firstly is the matter at hand here: points deduction for going into administration. This admin seems different to the others we've seen recently, in that it is more to do with a technicality, rather than inability to pay creditors. It seems the RFL played a part in the situation leading to that, yet they want to enforce a penalty. The RFL are very happy to play the 'it's the club's responsibility to run their affairs' card when it suits, yet when they're apparently unhappy with who might become new owners they suddenly seem to want to interfere, and influence the outcome of events. They can't have it both ways.

Secondly, the decision to give the Bulls half their money, and split the rest between the other clubs-whilst this
might have been 'offered up' by the previous owners, it was only under duress, in order to keep their licence. This proves the governance structure of the game is broken (clubs with self-interested views get to decide such matters), yet the RFL are happy for this status quo to continue as it gives Woood and co the power they crave.

All the time whilst these issues remain unresolved, and whilst the RFL seems unable to show even a basic level of commercial acumen, the focus is on a farcical league structure invented by the RFL/Wood because they either too proud or too weak to face into the issues over P&R that the licence system brings.

This will not end here, it will not be pretty and it will not be good for the game. I reckon within 5 years we'll be back to a traditional league structure, with a new RFL board, and a different governance structure. However, before then we'll see a power battle played out in public. I just hope too many clubs don't endure what London, Bradford and Wakey have recently before it's all resolved.

I wonder what will be said if Koukash turns out to be a rogue owner (as many have predicted) and Salford end up in this mess.....will it be a case of "Salford are too big to fail, the RFL are a disgrace for letting them go to the wall" or will it be a case of "tough, its your own fault"

Also if the RFL steps in to bail out Bradford it will have to cut its funding for other purposes.

We could cut grass roots spending and funding for junior development to divert money in to bailing out Super League clubs.

The government made cuts to lots of services to fund the costs of bail outs.

It would also be good if they drew up a list of which clubs were too big or too traditional to fail:

I would say, in order of priority

Wigan
Leeds
St Helens
Bradford
Warrington
Hull
Huddersfield

below that I would say let them fail

Trouble is, if Bradford fail, SL will see two games less this year. Income will be down for clubs, and how will that affect the Sky contract ? Will they dock some of their money ? Also a game less for Magic Weekend.

And how will potential sponsors view the failure ? Will international companies wish to be associated with a game that has clubs that drop out of their premier league because of financial distress ? Have the RFL failed to find sponsors in the recent past because of our poor track record in financial management ?

How will the press view the issue, and what publicity will the game get ? It's important to understand that the game got a big lift from the success of the World Cup, and probably resulted in a much better offer from Sky for the new contract.

What will junior players think about the stability of their careers ?, will they still see it as a good bet ?

How will the club officials and team get on with their mortgage payments and finances in general if Bradford fold ?


As supporters we see the Bradford problem as an iceberg with only the tip of the problem showing - the other four fifths are hidden, until you start to think a little harder about the implications. SL is a business and as such you can say that it should be subject to the same principles as Woolies was on the high St. But I don't think there are any easy answers in this case.

Think back 12 months and Salford were in a big mess. Without a new owner the club was not viable. I dont recall a huge amount of interest in taking over the club. If Koukash does turn out to be a 'rogue' (only time will tell) then Salford will be back to where they was last season, on the verge of administration. If Koukash isnt the real deal we may go out with a big bang rather than a slow death!

One thing that needs to happen is that it gets sorted quickly. If Bradford go (and TBH, in my opinion as a franchise/licensee they have proven they dont deserve to be in SL any more) they the backup plan over fixtures need resolving. Will teams who have yet to play them get an automatic 2 points ? Will the results so far be voided and teams who have lost against them get 2 points. Will teams who have beaten them have their points taken away if the decision is nobody gets points/

For SKY its not an issues. They DONT have two less games to show, they will just pick two other games instead. Magic weekend doesnt have to suffer. Given time (hence the need to sort it now) the RFL have time to sort an alternative. Give two championship teams a shot at the big time, put on a representative match, introduce a mini-comp.

Part of RLs problem in relation to sorting these kind of issues have always been the "ohhh, we dont want to be rash, we need to give ##### a chance". In simpler terms.....cut out the dead wood and the tree will come back stronger.

Have Bradford suffered the consequences of Sky tv's need to have a Bradford team involved in SL in the first place in order to provide a spicy derby with Leeds ? For many years before Superleague Bradford were the main contenders for the wooden spoon among all 30 odd clubs & were artificially elevated to a great club to satisfy the needs of sky & its viewing figures.
Is it a lack of spectators or poor management behind the scenes that have brought Bradford back to the edge which is a pity ,considering their great success in the early years of SL The story of Bradford though should be a warning to us all how fragile a once great club can be.

In football there are always doomsday predictions when a club gets in financial trouble, Leeds, Southampton, Portsmouth etc, we hear that "this is the tip of the iceberg" and the game is on the brink.....I'm still waiting for this global collapse of football. There are a lot of clubs in football and a lot of people that want to invest and have a go at it, some do it well some do it badly but those that do it badly drop down the divisions and there is always another club ready to take their place.

My take on this (which applies to any sport) is that you should focus on making the market work better:

1. There should be clear routes of entry and exit, whether that be promotion/relegation or franchising. Not a situation where there is a chosen elite that have an inherent right to be in SL, because then the game gets dependent on them and if one gets in trouble people say it threatens the game. This is exactly the problem you have in the banking sector where its difficult to enter the market: banks can get in to trouble and say "think of the risk to the economy if we went bust, bail us out please!"

2. If the issue is that there aren't enough viable clubs to compete in the top division, reduce the size of the top division. Over time if you then get a situation where it looks like the top division could support more teams, expand it. But from a given size there should always be movement in and out. If a club chases gold and lives beyond its means and goes bust then it needs to drop out and be replaced by another club that can have a go.

3. No bail outs, no intervention from the governing body to save clubs that have made a mess of things. When the precedent is set that that will happen you have a moral hazard problem. Clubs can take excessive risks to try and win trophies and if it comes off they enjoy the benefits. If it doesn't then they can appeal to everyone else about how sad their situation is and how it would damage the game if they were allowed to go bust so its someone else's responsibility to bail them out. That just encourages excessive risk taking.

The game would live on without Bradford in the top division just like it lived on without Swinton (another once great club) and for many years Widnes were outside the top division too.

If there is genuinely a market for top division rugby league in the Bradford area then at some point the club will come back.

If something good has come out of this, it's the emergence of Francis Cummings.
Patience and nobility.
Get him on board as Smith's successor.

^drugs, definitely drugs.

....when Smith calls it a day.
I would have thought that was obvious.

While this probably happens at all clubs, and it just so happened I used to sit at Odsal with Bateman's grandad, but he said a fair few of the players who've gone on to leave Bradford didn't get on with Cummins a lot of the time.

That's the thing, it's okay sounding all nice in an interview, people are very different away from the cameras.

Scruton signs for Wakefield www.sportinglife.com/rugby-leagu ... -wakefield

Scruton signs for Wakefield www.sportinglife.com/rugby-leagu ... -wakefield