It's not all doom and gloom . . . : Thu May 29, 2014 12:38 pm  

With each passing week and every try conceded it does feel like relegation is becoming more of a certainty than a possibility and whilst it is true relegation would be a terrible thing for every aspect of the club in the short term I genuinely believe we will come out of this stronger on the other side.

My reasons for believing this stem from my other sporting love Blackburn Rovers (I know I will lose a few people here). Blackburn were in the same postion two years ago that the Bulls are now:

Facing relegation
Legitimate question marks over the coaches credentials
Accusations that the players don't care or are at the very least bereft of all confidence
Dwindling crowds
Gross mismanagement at every level of the club

As most of you will probably know Blackburn didn't avoid the drop and it would be fair to say that our first season in the second tier was disastrous. As the next season approached it was clear that there was a change in the approach from the club, expensive journeyman were discarded in favour of young (predominantly) British players. As a result of this there seemed to be a hunger on the pitch which had been missing previously and despite not gaining promotion the season which has just finished was the most enjoyable for many years.

If the Bulls do get relegated the squad will be ripped apart but in reality is there anyone you will miss watching? If we can keep some of the youngsters who obviously care about the club (Wood, Mellor, O'Brien & Conroy spring to mind) I believe we can get back to a team that we are proud to watch whether they win, lose or draw.

Maybe this is just my way of trying to find a silver lining but I am cautiously optimistic about what the future has in store for us.

Re: It's not all doom and gloom . . . : Thu May 29, 2014 12:49 pm  

I doubt if anyone likes the idea of surrendering SL status, but I know I would prefer to spend my money watching a genuine contest on the pitch each week, and that's not something we have seen much of this season.

What was the slogan from a few decades ago - Bradford's Bouncing Back?

Re: It's not all doom and gloom . . . : Thu May 29, 2014 1:15 pm  

Northernrelic wrote:

What was the slogan from a few decades ago - Bradford's Bouncing Back?

It's this years' I cringe at the most... Yep, maybe we are where we #Belong.

Re: It's not all doom and gloom . . . : Thu May 29, 2014 1:26 pm  

Quorn_Bull wrote:

With each passing week and every try conceded it does feel like relegation is becoming more of a certainty than a possibility and whilst it is true relegation would be a terrible thing for every aspect of the club in the short term I genuinely believe we will come out of this stronger on the other side.

My reasons for believing this stem from my other sporting love Blackburn Rovers (I know I will lose a few people here). Blackburn were in the same postion two years ago that the Bulls are now:

Facing relegation
Legitimate question marks over the coaches credentials
Accusations that the players don't care or are at the very least bereft of all confidence
Dwindling crowds
Gross mismanagement at every level of the club

As most of you will probably know Blackburn didn't avoid the drop and it would be fair to say that our first season in the second tier was disastrous. As the next season approached it was clear that there was a change in the approach from the club, expensive journeyman were discarded in favour of young (predominantly) British players. As a result of this there seemed to be a hunger on the pitch which had been missing previously and despite not gaining promotion the season which has just finished was the most enjoyable for many years.

If the Bulls do get relegated the squad will be ripped apart but in reality is there anyone you will miss watching? If we can keep some of the youngsters who obviously care about the club (Wood, Mellor, O'Brien & Conroy spring to mind) I believe we can get back to a team that we are proud to watch whether they win, lose or draw.

Maybe this is just my way of trying to find a silver lining but I am cautiously optimistic about what the future has in store for us.

1. I cling to the thought that at least our season ticket should be cheaper.
2. As soon as I saw that dog on the pitch at Catalan it put me in mind of the Venky chickens and how we could replicate it...
3. I dunno if I posted a Championship team last weekend but I certainly ended up thinking of who would stay and bit in it. turns out about 75% of the squad:
FB, W, Wood, Arundel, Kear, L Pryce*, Brook, Sidlow, O'Brien, P, Olbison, Addy, Walker. Subs: Conroy, Roberts, Mellor, Bates.

*(I reckon he'll have a swansong season)
I also think we'll end up with a few players like Chris Clarkson at Leeds or some other West Yorkshire youngsters.

Re: It's not all doom and gloom . . . : Thu May 29, 2014 2:20 pm  

I agree with you about Leon. When I watched him on TV last week I thought I wouldn't be surprised if he comes back to us in the championship when he has finished earning top money in SL. I see him giving us a couple of years before he hangs up his boots. I would also like to see someone like Fielden set on as assistant so he can start his coaching career helping us out. Didn't Karl Harrison start with us as an assistant?

[Bulliac]

Re: It's not all doom and gloom . . . : Thu May 29, 2014 3:58 pm  

I suspect Leon is after, and will get, will get another deal in Perpignan.

Re: It's not all doom and gloom . . . : Thu May 29, 2014 7:34 pm  

Does anyone else find the comments earlier this week by Marc Green slightly odd. Fair enough he has backed Francis Cummins but then cited a number of reasons such as losing backroom staff for the poor performances. Surely Cummins still has the list of all the backroom staff who were dismissed due to the admin, I would have thought bringing them back in (the ones that were available/wanted to come back) would have been a priority of both him & the new owner. The fact that they haven't been replaced, along with the lack of signings (other than loans) does make me slightly concerned as to why not.

Re: It's not all doom and gloom . . . : Thu May 29, 2014 7:36 pm  

Can't see Leon coming back, unless he was looking at coaching, even then I don't think it would be Bradford.

Re: It's not all doom and gloom . . . : Fri May 30, 2014 5:37 am  

bradfordlegend wrote:

Does anyone else find the comments earlier this week by Marc Green slightly odd. Fair enough he has backed Francis Cummins but then cited a number of reasons such as losing backroom staff for the poor performances. Surely Cummins still has the list of all the backroom staff who were dismissed due to the admin, I would have thought bringing them back in (the ones that were available/wanted to come back) would have been a priority of both him & the new owner. The fact that they haven't been replaced, along with the lack of signings (other than loans) does make me slightly concerned as to why not.

The reason that they went is because we couldn't afford them. Nothing has changed, in fact things are probably worse. Revenue is probably down due to the lower crowds and prospects of Championship rugby.

Re: It's not all doom and gloom . . . : Fri May 30, 2014 6:42 am  

rugbyreddog wrote:

The reason that they went is because we couldn't afford them.

Don't let FA catch you saying that.