They are not a big side for christ sake. They are not too big to fail. Life and SL would go on happily. There crowd sizes have always been inflated due to cheap season tickets and freebies. Yes they've won SL a few times but SL wouldn't miss them.

Well it's a good job for them the rfl and sl clubs don't agree with you.

Their fans wouldn't lose out, they could just go to the next cheapest place, Huddersfield.

I'm reserving judgement on this until the finer details of the package are released, but my initial concern is shrouded in 'conflict of interest'.

On the issue of 'saving' a big club, I seem to remember the RFL getting involved to save Wigan from relegation; an intervention which facilitated Noble and Fielding moving from the Bulls to Wigan. The rest is history - Wigan haven't looked back but the same cannot be said about the Bulls!!!!

I remember when we was in sh--e street they did not rush to help us it was instead talks of merger with hull now they are pleased we did not because of gates when we go away

Our away numbers have been nowt to write home about this season, particularly televised games. I can't see more than 5/600 going to Bradford next Friday. I was at Widnes last Sunday, and there was only about 500 there from Rovers. Dropped right off compared to 2 years ago. We took far more to Widnes in 2006 when in NL1.

If that were the main factor, I would regard it as an error of massive proportions even on a pragmatic level.
1. Bradford are not that big. They had an excellent spell, but other clubs have done that historically. RL has two teams that are inherently big - Leeds and Wigan. Bradford are second tier - no shame in that, of course.
2. Even if it were Leeds or Wigan, you can only undermine sporting principles so far and still call it a sport... or expect clubs not to react in undesirable ways.

They might not be the biggest club but they are a big club.

Of course it's still sport, the franchise system is used in the biggest leagues in the world.

My point is that SL and RL would go on without Bradford. It would be a loss of prestige, but not a crippling one.
They haven't been saved as a SL club - though they [imight[/i be yet - just given a temporary reprieve, to maintain the integrity of the 2012 competition as much as anything, and possibly to cut certain people out of the loop.
I suspect they have been saved as a RL club, and that I'm pleased about that. If no buyer comes forward, it'll be interesting. You'd hope that given a season (in the Championship) under SL ownership, there'd be time for a supporters trust to get organised - which wouldn't be a bad precedent, actually.

Having franchises is one thing, having two sets of rules is another. It would give a green light to profligacy amongst the elite and would provoke resentment amongst the others. We bend the rules plenty, and maybe we do have to compromise on principle for the sake of pragmatic necessity sometimes - but only where the pros outweigh the cons.
I don't think that is what the RFL intend in fairness, so it's moot.




Oh, and all assuming the bid is accepted.

The OP in this thread maybe paints a clearer picture of what is happening... viewtopic.php?f=19&t=533959&tsmp=1343996602

The OP in this thread maybe paints a clearer picture of what is happening... viewtopic.php?f=19&t=533959&tsmp=1343996602

Has anyone considered that Sky might want to renegotiate the TV deal if Bradford were to drop to the Championship without being replaced as they would be getting less for their money.

This would mean even more clubs in the same position as Bradford because most SL clubs are struggling financially now so less money can only mean more clubs in administration.

I might be a pessimist but this all seems to another step in the slow long lingering death of SL, at least as we know it now.