Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:16 pm  

They won't be taking any money unless the figure is reached.

If we go down the administration option we potentially lose all the hard work thats gone into bringing through Whitehead, Bateman, Crookes, Burgess and even Langers, Koppy etc.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:18 pm  

Nothus wrote:

This is different. This is only a PLEDGE. If we don't meet the total, nobody pays anything and the club dies.
Why some people are even hesitating on pledging is beyond me. If you want a new board, fine. But sort out all that mess once we reach the total and the club is secure if only for the short term.

Now is not the time to be demanding resignation letters because if we don't act NOW then there will nothing left to resign FROM.

If you do want to give them money then the fans should then be clearly telling the club that they should set up an ESCROW account, administered by the clubs solicitors so you can give them actually money towards the set target. If the target figure is not reached your money will come back to you. Simple!

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:19 pm  

Nothus wrote:

This is different. This is only a PLEDGE. If we don't meet the total, nobody pays anything and the club dies.
Why some people are even hesitating on pledging is beyond me. If you want a new board, fine. But sort out all that mess once we reach the total and the club is secure if only for the short term.

Now is not the time to be demanding resignation letters because if we don't act NOW then there will nothing left to resign FROM.

I don't think I would agree with that. As far as I understand (and if I'm wrong I will back quietly away from this post) the club is currently a private business, owned by a group of shareholders? So, having mis-managed the finances and screwed the whole thing up, if they are successful in getting enough pledges to stay afloat, the shareholders pocket the cash and are left with the (apparently now viable) business. With their asset secured, at your expense, they then get back on with the serious business of getting you to pay to use said asset.

If you bail the company out, you won't get a new board, so it has to be one or the other.

I am a big fan of the way RL fans come together in times of difficulty, and I would donate to a collection of some sort to keep Bradford afloat, but only if it was done in a way that involved the club either being under new management, or handing over some equity and executive power to a group representing the fans. I would help the fans gain the finance to do that, but I wouldn't be donating any of my money to secure the position of private businessmen and bail them out from their poor decisions.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:21 pm  

Ewwenorfolk wrote:

They won't be taking any money unless the figure is reached.

I know this and at the end of the day I probably will end up pledging because I have to but I need to know what this money is for. You still have to pay up if they reach the total.

What's the plan Hood? I haven't got £100 to pay up at Easter just to see the club go under in six month's time. At the end of the day I still need to pay the bills!

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:22 pm  

gutted isnt the word! cant believe our great club has come to this begging the fans!
im all for whip rounds and the like but we need a million quid how the hell are we gonna raise that much?
then for a second i thought maybe ken morrison might step forward but then i remembered he couldnt give a toss about the people of bradford!
im supposed to be working but i cant think straight. knocked for 6 with this news today

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:22 pm  

Maccbull_BigBullyBooaza wrote:

I know this and at the end of the day I probably will end up pledging because I have to but I need to know what this money is for. You still have to pay up if they reach the total.

What's the plan Hood? I haven't got £100 to pay up at Easter just to see the club go under in six month's time. At the end of the day I still need to pay the bills!

Agreed.

But I just can't imagine my life without the Bulls. Fscked either way really, but I'd rather risk it and have a club to watch.

We've saved about 200 quid on season tickets past couple of years too.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:23 pm  

At what point do the RFL begin to consider the much publicised right to remove a franchise from a club which is failing to meet the promises made in its franchise application?

I have to add that I got a sick sinking feeling when this mornings news confirmed the rumours about Bradford being in trouble. I sympathise with the Bradford fans, they're experiencing the heartbreak that Wakefield fans went through a year or so ago.

I hope it doesn't mean the end of The Bulls and that somehow they can be saved from being torn apart as a club. None of this is good news for anyone who truly loves Rugby League!

I'm with Inflatable Armidillo with regard to the pledges, in the case of Wakefield Trinity there were just too many unknowns about the amount of debt, too few details about how the money would be spent & not enough assurances regarding how long the club would survive even if the money was raised.

We insisted that any funds pledged to the club were held in an ESCROW account thus ensuring that the money was protected from an Administrator and that it could be repaid to fans if the club folded or redirected to help resurrect a new Wakefield Trinity, this is essential.

Bradford have a strong Supporters Trust and the fans should rally to them to act as their voice throughout this!

Tough times ahead so stick together
Good luck!

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:23 pm  

I've just received my four letters for four memberships - we need £1m but we've wasted how much by posting out mailshots first class to seemingly the entire membership? Surely an email and press coverage backed by the website would have been sufficient. Similarly printing (letters and envelopes) and preparation time means this was known about before yesterday and therefore should have been disclosed in order to allow more time to raise the money. This convinces me that donating £100 to Hood and the Board would be inappropriate, as I would merely be paying off the postal costs of sending the 'quest' letter to 200 of my fellow Bulls fans.

Instead I'm willing to pledge £100 to Bullbuilder (the supporters trust for the Bulls) and suggest others do the same. If they decide ultimately to make a donation to this scheme then that is fine, at least they're accountable. However, I hope that if Bullbuilder can raise sufficient funds they will be able to use them to gain a presence on the board and bring pressure for a new ownership structure.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:23 pm  

How much have BoD at the Bulls pledged?

That's the question I'd be asking before parting with my hard earned cash if I was a Bulls fan.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:24 pm  

NorthumbriaBull wrote:

Couldn't agree more, surely not pledging and accepting administration is not a viable!

I can't begin to imagine having a whole sale of our young talent! We must come together and do everything we can to prevent this!

I'm a student and managed to make the pledge, I value our beloved club a hell of alot more than £100!
I spoke to Andrew on the phone (I think) and he said the response has been overwhelming, and he is VERY confident we will do it! He also said we are even recieving support from Leeds supporters, so come on bulls fans, stand by our club!

Don't know about you but this talk of the Bradford Leeds game being the last one makes me sick to my stomach!

We can achieve this!!!

I admire your commitment, but I honestly think there are better ways to save the Bulls. This scheme just looks like saving the interests of the current shareholders to me. Sorry.

I am such a Leeds supporter, and I'd pledge to support fan takeover, but honestly, if this was Leeds, I wouldn't be pledging my money to our shareholders with nothing in return.

Think harder Mr Hood.