The whole thing stinks and is totally ridiculous. I agree about the comment re the "final" version of the bp which clearly indicates that a bp was supplied but needed work. That's not encouraging.
Solly wrote:
“We would then expect a decision to be made either way in the next seven to 14 days because the competition and the club want the certainty of Bradford being in Super League next year.”
Yes, all very reasonable and routine so far
Solly wrote:
Solly said that at least four Championship clubs – Featherstone, Halifax, Sheffield and Leigh – would be willing to replace the Bulls in Super League should the unthinkable happen and the RFL refused to ratify the change of ownership.
Did he? How on earth did THAT come about? Have all these clubs applied on spec immediately on hearing of the change of ownership? What is Solly doing? So these clubs "would be willing to replace??" WTF does that mean? I would have thought that any of these clubs will certainly not have provided a SL business plan/financial forecasts etc to the RFL let alone have had them examined and ruled upon, so if - as seems certain - the possible qualification to participate of any of these clubs in SL 2014 must be the most premature of speculation and as such, why on earth has Solly referred to or responded to it whatsoever?
Solly wrote:
Asked what might happen in that situation, Solly said: “It’s too early to speculate
... indeed - and yet in the same breath, he immediately goes right on speculating!!
but we would probably have to look at an alternative consortium to own the club.
Is there anything to be read between those lines? In the ordinary way, in the case of a new ownership consortium going through the motions and technicalities and documentation, then I suggest it would be highly surprising for him to publicly speculate to that effect.
Solly wrote:
“There are people who have been in touch and told us to contact them if things don’t go to plan.
Are there indeed? But in what way? This shocking remark needs to be carefully analysed.
These are by definition NOT prospective SL clubs Featherstone, Halifax, Sheffield and Leigh since he dealt with their case earlier in the piece. So the reference MUST be to alternative ownership consortia, waiting in the wings, who impliedly would be prepared to put in an application for a change of owner to the RFL if they aren't happy with the present one.
But on what basis could the RFL contact them and what standing does it have to do so? Whoever these people are, they do not own the club, and so it and its ownership surely are nothing whatsoever to do with the RFL. What could it do if a new consortium wanted to apply? It's not as if the RFL could sell the Bulls to them, as it does not own the Bulls. So wtf would they talk about?
And when would they talk about it? If the present application had been refused, where would that leave Whitcut Moore and Watt? On the face of it, I suggest, absolutely nowhere as if they have bought something but can't operate it in SL, then how would it work? Would there be another consortium who would be prepared to but the Bulls from the present owners, before that new consortium had bee approved by the RFL? Really? Then where have they been all these years? What would they pay? What about the £1m owed to OK. Can you see someone coming in and starting off with a £1m cheque before they even consider the rest of the actual purhcase price of the assets? Because I certainly can't.
Can it be that the application by W and M has had a pre-indication from the RFL that they were unhappy at something, but something which could at least be fixed - for example, whether there was sufficient cash funding for the club in place? If so, might that explain the out-of-the-blue entry of Ian Watt into the arena at such an inconvenient moment? It did seem very odd at the time that you would change the ownership structure mid-application. Maybe they came up with an additional person because it had been indicated to them that they needed to if what they already had was not enough to satisfy the RFL?
And now the RFL very publicly "warn" the Bulls to produce whatever it is they need to. That in itself is, for me, the most worrying part. I would have thought that such a public warning would have been several steps down the line and to me signals the RFL having for whatever reasons almost lost patience.
Public warning? Public confirmation by RFL that effectively the Bulls have yet to provide them with the information required to ratify the club’s change of ownership ? Public speculation by Blake Solly as to what would happen if they do not ratify? Public confirmation by Blake Solly that at least 4 clubs have said they would take our fookin place if we drop out? Public confirmation by Blake Solly that mysterious people who have been in touch and told the RFL to "contact them if things don’t go to plan." And then -
"At the moment we haven’t responded to that..."
And largely silence from the Bulls.
MM wrote:
we have arranged for the whole board to meet with Blake Solly next Tuesday
That being the case, hasn't anyone told Blake Solly? Is it just me, or wouldn't you expect that, in a situation where the RFL has a pre-arranged meeting with the new owners to thrash everything out, it would be inappropriate for the RFL to make these sort of comments and issue waarnings etc?
What the hell is going on?
