www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/news/578 ... VAL%20FAQS The bit on good news is interesting it says bulls would be debt free, apart from going into administration and starting afresh I cannot see how else which should concern those asked to pledge. In addition to this it appears bank have drastically reduced overdraft which could happen to anyone anytime, however banks have to and do give notice of any changes therfore someone was made aware.

www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/news/578 ... VAL%20FAQS The bit on good news is interesting it says bulls would be debt free, apart from going into administration and starting afresh I cannot see how else which should concern those asked to pledge. In addition to this it appears bank have drastically reduced overdraft which could happen to anyone anytime, however banks have to and do give notice of any changes therfore someone was made aware.

It's simple. The Bulls directors haven't got enough money. They have to pay their players (a lot) less.

These players who have families to feed and mortgages to pay?



I'd be very sceptical if I was unfortunate enough to be a B*lls fan. Effectively the owners are asking the fans to pay their debt off for them. In that situation I'd want guarantees that the board would resign and sell their stakes in the club at a knock down price as soon as the debt is cleared before paying out anything.

Sorry 'Spymaster' but it can't be blamed on the bank. If the Directors of Northern knew that the bank was relying on their Lease of Sodal as security for their overdraft then they must have realised that replacement security would have been required after its sale to the RFL. Supported personal Guarantees by the Directors would have been sufficient but why did the Directors not consider this as an alternative? Perhaps they did yet still had little faith in their 'Business Plan'.



Then something else hit me this morning: Dave Hatfield's article in today's Independent:



[urlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/rugby-league/bradford-bulls-ask-fans-to-raise-1m-or-club-will-fold-7593459.html[/url



Check the penultimate paragraph:







to which I felt forced to respond:







I await a response from Dave Hatfield.

Makes me feel sick and angry, can you forward a link to this thread to various Twitter contacts for radio Leeds, 5 live, pulse, calendar, look north etc, in the hope that tv footage from cougarmania is dug out of the archives?



I think people should be made aware of the tosh being spoken and see the news reports that prove this, I don't think it would be bad publicity for Keighley Cougars, just look at the supportive comments coming through the social network sites for our club so far

I do feel sorry for the Bradford fans and the players and do not wish the situation on any club. For the sake of the sport in general I hope this doesn't happen to any other club any time soon. My heart has sunk so many times when Keighley have had their problems.

Bradford haven't gone into liquidation yet, so it will be interesting to see what happens if they do - I would hope they are suitably penalised. Keighley were penalised and it eventually resulted in relegation to Championship 1. There is no relegation from Superleague so a points deduction is pretty pointless. If they go into administration I think they should lose the license and a more deserving team should be allowed their chance in Superleague which probably right now is Featherstone being last years Championship victors.

The only slightly edited article by Dave Hatfield:







I'm not bitter any longer, although I was at the time, BUT what I really do hate is any other club, and especially Northern, saying that they invented the 'razzamatazz' and attempting to take credit for it - we know better! Let no-one forget.



Finally, remember that this article was written by a neutral commentator!

Or any other clubs thats had money problems over the last few years to think about it.

Having read that article, it's brought it all flooding back and I have to say that, unlike 666, I am still bitter about it. I remember watching Keighley through the 80s, perennial wooden spoonists, only a few hundred hardy souls on the crumbling terraces - and then came the transformation. Cougarmania - a fantastic team, thousands crammed into Cougar Park, convoys to away matches when it seemed every car had Cougars fans in, outnumbering the home support at most grounds, and a positive atmosphere in the town that I'd never felt before and may never feel again. Keighley, my home town, where I was born & bred, was on the up at last! Both the club and the town. And then it was all so suddenly and cruelly snatched away by the likes of Maurice Lindsey and Chris Caisley. God, I can barely type their names without feeling nauseous. And when I hear the beginnings of all the 'razzamatazz' being attributed to the Bradford club and them being happy to take the credit when in fact they ridiculed us, well it makes me want to puke.

What goes around comes around – I’m so very very happy! Bradford Bulls, for me the most despised club in rugby league “Anybody but Bradford!”.



I seem to remember Northern (why did they ever change their name? It was historical) having difficulties back in the sixties and coming round on match days asking for donations to help them reform, we all gave, perhaps just a few pence but we gave. That won’t happen again, if they come on Sunday they better bring a spittoon rather than a bucket because that’s all they’ll get from me.

At Doncaster after our one season in the big league prior to SL we finished bottom, went bust and had to reform starting two divisions further down as we were a new company, two relegations for the price of one! The ground was sold and we had to play at Stainforth Greyhound Stadium. All this happened while the SL bandwagon was getting into full flow and we received no help from anyone but our own fans, however there is no way i would wish this on ANY other team. The people who you should be angry with are the likes of Caisley, Hetherington, Lindsey,SKY etc, these are the people who have ruined RL not the fans of another team.

The best future for RL would be to return to a semi pro status where clubs only pay what they can afford and are not bullied into full time professionalism by the RFL and SKY.

I don't think that the sport can afford to loose 7-10,000 fans whoever they support.

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/georgeriley/ ... d_wou.html The last line reads: 'The sad reality is that Odsal has gone from being the place to be in the heady days of Bullmania, to the place to avoid - unless you have a spare £100 in your pocket.' Seriously?

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/georgeriley/ ... d_wou.html The last line reads: 'The sad reality is that Odsal has gone from being the place to be in the heady days of Bullmania, to the place to avoid - unless you have a spare £100 in your pocket.' Seriously?