Thats the point i was making, we were both in identical boats, but have been treat far differently, i would argue that we benefited far more (from receiving no help) as it saw the back of Richardson and maybe that would have been beneficial to the Bulls too, time will tell.
In hindsight i have little compassion for the mess we found ourselves in, although i was mainly concerned with our existence at the time, in hindsight I'm sure Adey will realise this is nothing short of RFL window dressing.

It stinks.

I cant believe one of the selection criteria for superleague is around stadiums and Bulls have had theirs bought by the people doing the judging.

Only in this game would this happen. Any other sport where there is more money a decision like this would result in legal action.

The Harris signing was not the root cause of Bradford's problems - although it still did a hell of a lot of damage, and amost certainly (IMO) led to the ousting of Caisley. The root causes are the club had, and has, no wealthy owner; could not do the "normal" thing and develop the stadium with a retail development because that was stymied in a failed bid by (IMO) the council and others to save Bradford City and sacrifice the Bulls; and is (or was) stuck with a stadium that costs far more to maintain than smaller or newer stadia. Net result was big losses which, unlike in the case of many other clubs, were not underwritten by the owner or could not be relieved by going bust and immediately rising like a phoenix.

Even if the RFL WAS to have stepped in to stop Bradford falling over, there are plenty of SL precedents ranging from Hull to Huddersfield. Also, if Bulls WERE to fall over it is unlikely a phoenix could ever rise, because the Council would take back Odsal and playing at VP is not a viable option. But that is all a load of hypothetical stuff.

You actually received very considerable help, since you were able to dump your debts and obligations (If only Bulls could have dumped the Harris debt, and the reversionary liability to the council if they leave odsal before 2019, and the tax due re historic imnage rights etc, eh? And immediately carry on as before?). You - the new company - were allowed by the RFL to carry on as before having shed your debts (a sizeable chunk being to the taxpayer, so you can argue you have received a big taxpayer subsidy). Bulls have not defaulted on their obligations to anyone, including the taxpayer. At least the odsal transaction is stated as being at commercial values - a sale and leaseback. That should mean no loss anywhere to anyone.

You all seem anyway to be missing the point regarding the potential for future development at Odsal. No-one is seriously questioning that nothing will happen until the economic climate improves. When it does, the RFL has evey chance of having the resources to see some measure of development. The same way as most such projects progress - put in some capital, and borrow the large part on long-term loan, repaid out of future income. Exactly as the OSV was to proceed and exactly as is the usual model for a stadium etc development unless you can find a friendly supermarket chain to fund most of it. The RFL's "capital" can be exactly the same as the Bulls' was to be in the OSV - the site. This effectively makes the land component free - a very big part of the cost of many developments. And the RFL, being a governing body, has access to all sorts of public sector funding streams that an individual club could never have (I have been tiold this categorically). Plus, of course, you could move Red Hall into offices and facilities on the site, giving the RFL a far more suitable new HQ and development centre on its own site witrh its own stadium.

I really think some people are so convinced this must be a stitch up that they genuinely cannot see the potential big benefits going forward for the RFL. Picking up the huge site effectively for nothing (its a purchase and leaseback, remember, so all that should be is a big exercise in timing of cash flows) should be seen as a feather in the RFL's cap, taking advantage of Bradford's comparative weakness.

Oh, and Walrus: how about you get yourself a bit more clued-up about the franchising process? Firstly, the SL clubs agree the process and sign up to it - it is not imposed by the RFL - and secondly we are assured by all parties that the assessment is against measurable criteria and there is external review of the process as well as a specific team who carry out the process. So the people buying the stadium are not excactly those doing the judging at all.

And anyway, the stadium is only one of the top-level criteria. You can have the best stadium on the planet, but (unless you are Huddersfield) if you are crap enough under the other headings then you are out.

The root cause of Bradford's problems is the same as everyone elses - spending more money than you have to try and buy success. Nobody forced Bradford to spend as much on the Salary cap as they have done, nobody forced Bradford to sign Iestyn. It is inept management, just like Wakefield's problems were.

We have been very fortunate to be able to write off a lot of debt and rise again, nobody will deny that.
Nobody will deny also that there is precedent for the RFL assisting clubs in various ways, although most would accept that it has not been done fairly or even-handedly.

The whole reason this debate is still raging is the fact that both Bradford and the RFL will not admit that the reasoning behind their purchase of the lease at Odsal is not the saving of a "historic" and "iconic" ground, it is about rescuing a member club who are in difficulty.

Adey, don't know if you are blind, stupid or a bit of both but wake up for gods sake man you are making a complete fool of yourself.

It gets better - not only do the RFL Bulls get a bail-out, they also get their stadium redeveloped at no cost, all whilst WTW and Cas tie themselves in financial knots trying to finance new grounds.

It's a joke Adey - a bad decision, badly executed.

But franchising; decisions made in board rooms with no real way of making the objective clarity of points in a league table...is B))**&ks. Always was, always will be in my eyes. I hate it. It degrades our sport. I will never agree with it. We have been lucky not to be consigned...YET...to the scrapheap where many clubs now fester, but if Newmarket fails, we will be. And even if it succeeds we may yet be....when faceless individuals decide the league make up, how can you ever relax? The sport and every 3 yr cycle becomes degraded to a beauty contest where everybody slags off everbody else, or at least those in the firing line of Grade B and C do. All rubbish, rubbish, rubbish!!!

I agree

As our owner said last night its great for Bulls but he will be asking why Wakefield did not get helped out and were allowed to go bust.

Bradford join Catalan & London in the 'special treatment club'.

But he also acknowledged that he probably wouldn't have been sat up there if the RFL had bought the lease from Trinity and helped the club out (which they did by paying the players during the administration). Its a strange one as the administration was a terrible thing to go through, but it has given the club a new lease of life. A lot of people lost out, but Glover went out of his way to repay some of those creditors even though he had no obligation to.

The figures over sponsorship was very encouraging, shirt sponsorship worth in the region of £250k, and with the reputation the Trinity of old had, that probably wouldn't have been possible.

That is very impressive

yer and forget about it

27 pages just shows how frustrated the fans are and are getting fed up with the RFL Bulls

I'm not fed up with the RFL Bulls - I'm just fed up with the RFL.