Re: : Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:37 pm  

AaronBull wrote:

It's in the wings. I do feel the Save The Bulls Foubdation should be lobbying for some board recognition.

Good to hear Aaron!

Good luck with it all - I'm sure the majority of The Rugby League family are behind you all the way!

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:45 pm  

anarkik wrote:

I just wanted to reply to your points. I understand you passion entirely and respect it and those of others who have pledged, but I cannot and will not go down that route myself.

1) There is no reason to expect this will happen, the threat of this is being used to blackmail us out of money without even the option of a share issue thereby allowing new capital and potentially a change in ownership structure. You are dealing with a professional salesman and fear sells - I am not buying the security they represent which has proven to be worthless.
2) Agree - great support. Time to use that to make things change and bring about a real solution, not the pretense of one where the same incompetents stay in power.
3) We've already seen that in the past - they're proven capable of selling our greatest talent and will do so again if the price is right or when they need to pay off the remaining overdraft again.
4) Perhaps we should have been paying those prices instead of relying on Mr Bennett's pledge gimmicks. But a good salesman can fool people again and again - even the term 'pledge' carries emotional weight, they know exactly what strings to pull and they're doing it again and again, whilst the due diligence of checking whether selling your only material asset will impact your banking arrangements was neglected, leaving us in the position of requiring a new pledge.
5) No intention amongst those who think there's another way out of this to see the club die. Instead of just giving money to people who by their own admission have brought the club to death's door, perhaps we should be putting it together to save it from them.

We are all passionate about the Bulls future, but paying to have the people who have humbled the club and stripped it of pride and dignity continue in that role without even the prospect of having a stake in turning that around is a ridiculous proposition, but their guilt trip and careful attention to marketing seems to be working.

We shouldn't rant and rave we should begin the process of taking back the club.

My feelings exactly.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:56 pm  

psychostring wrote:

I don't post on here very often but read all the time. Felt compelled to write something today.

I read the news on my half hour lunch break and didn't really have time to take it all in. It was confusing given all we were told by Hood at the time of the Odsal sale about finances being ok and it being to secure the long term future of the club etc.

I've spent the last 3 hours reading this thread, twitter, facebook, news articles to try and find something to help me make my mind up as to whether or not to pledge.

I'm angry at the current board and the mess they have allowed to happen. I don't like to think that they are going to be responsible for what happens to my pledge money. I also don't like not knowing precisely where it is going, what it is for and what happens next.

However I keep coming back to the fact that I've now being going to watch the Bulls for 15 years and they've given me some absolutely awesome memories. Epic victories, agonising defeats, great days out (my family being followed for the day by the BBC cameras when we went to Murrayfield the year it flooded).I spend most of my lunch times at work either reading the forums or League Express and within my family we have 4 season tickets and all go to the matches together. How can I take the chance that this could all end?

The messages from fans from other clubs and seeing how much it means to the Bulls players on twitter (especially Chev Walker who said to one fan that he doesnt play rugby for the money but because he loves the game so much and the cash is just a bonus. I've been guilty of slating Chev in some matches this year for his performances but not anymore).

I'll be paying £100. My girlfriend won't be happy, and I could probably put the money towards something closer to home (we're renovating our house and have tons to do) but I don't think I could live with myself if it all went belly up and I hadn't tried.

Respect to everyone's personal circumstances and views on the matter.

There is no right or wrong answer.

Its a mess and one every Bulls fan could do without, especially as it has recently looked like we are finally turning the corner. I think that's what is making it harder. I said to my dad and brother after the Hull KR game that it seemed like an eternity I'd felt like that at a Bulls game.

I hope it isn't as long for the next time.

As I type this there is a big piece on Calendar on ITV. Robbie Paul encouraging people to pledge. That's the final piece of encouragement I needed.....

.......and just after typing that my girlfriend walked in from work, I told her the news and she isn't mad and has encouraged me to do it! COME ON YOU BULLS!

Now I've settled down a little what you've said echoes my own situation. It's 20 odd years for us of agony and ecstasy, ups and downs. You feel you've grown up with some players, seen them grow from youngsters. We've had, Jimmy, Robbie, Baloo, Mcdemot, Big Joe, Henry, the Penguin, Danny Peacock, Gartner, the Beaver, Forshaw, Les, Shonny, Micky Withers, Fielden, Peacock, Pryce, the Burgess Clan and all the new ones coming through.
No doubt I'll part with £200 before long! Hope it's all worth it in the end! Memories.....

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Tue Mar 27, 2012 11:45 pm  

All Fans who can instead of agonising over it just pledge, it is not a shares option that is not the table, what is on the table is a way to stop the Bulls becoming a fond memory in a couple of weeks.
There will be time to ask the questions when the pledge succeeds and the Club is stabalized.
I will be putting my pledge in shortly, it is a gamble but it is one of those gambles thats worth it even if you lose it in the end, at least you know you tried along with a lot of others!

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:15 am  

Those who have confidence in the board, or at least take at face value what they have been told, are likely to be keen to hand the board what money they can.

Those whose confidence in the board has been badly shaken, and/or do not believe they can have been told the whole story, will understandably have more reservations about entrusting the board with their hard-earned cash. At least until and unless they learn more about what the hell so changed between January and now. Changed such that, from being given the clear impression in January that we were financially secure, we are now given the clear understanding that we are days from insolvency.

And in some cases, heart may be for the first, and head the second.

Those who never had confidence in the board in the first place, and believe they were anyway being lied to, will of course be very reluctant to contribute anyway.

Speaking as someone who feels very let down indeed right now, I can fully understand why not everyone is falling over to go down the first route right away. The explanation we have been given seems far from complete to me, and I need to have a much better understanding before I decide how to best to proceed.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:27 am  

martinwildbull wrote:

and as a neighbour down the allotment thats a Hudds fan has pointed out: wheres the Leeds new stand, and where will the £ 2m parachute that Leeds will need to repay to the RU when they do not get immediate promotion come from? Paul "the construction business is up the Sh@t" Caddick"? Seems like our payments for the has been Harris have kept Leeds afloat this last couple of years, so less lip dickseys a leg end, we have been subsidising you.

Now i'm replying to this in isolation and in now way is it intended as a pi$$ing comp because i think you've been shafted by Hood and co but this gem needs responding to.
What Leeds RU get up to has no bearing on how the Rhinos are run.
As for Mr caddick he's just completed a 7m+ deal refurbing the East Stand at ER so he won't be short of a bob or two.
As for you subsidising us PMSL look closer to home pal the lunatics have been running the asylum that is your club and look where all this posturing and BS has got yer lies upon lies and now yer clubs on it's knees who's fault is that?
Check yer boardroom past and present.
As for our new stand the £££££££ involved was assessed and it's been put on hold because we have savvy business men on our board who won't risk the clubs future and take us back to 96.
There's a lot of truth in that link that Jonesy put up so that must sting.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 1:36 am  

Agree with most of it Rhinoms, but when were this frustrated there's bound to be dozens of posts you could pick out and find fault in. ATEOTD we're all shocked, angry, disappointed, upset. Wouldn't even wish this situation on you lot. If we did have to go out though, a last win vs the Rhinos at odsal would be great. But I'm hoping, praying and believing it wont come to that.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 2:16 am  

Not been on here in so long as I have been travelling and not seen much of the Bulls this alst couple of seasons but I echo the sentiment of many in saying I will not pledge while the people who have led us from one mess to another in recent years are still in charge.

If a fans group is set up or a business-savvy potential owner needing help are willing to give it a go I'd be more than happy to put my hand in my (not very deep) pockets.

I am surprised we have not heard more from the RFL, as it seems inconceivable that they would let us fold having just bought out the lease for Odsal - surely if we go bust our rental contract is void and if they do not allow a new club to start up in SL like some suggest surely that would leave one of their biggest assets standing empty and not making any money so they NEED a Bradford team in SL. Or am I missing something?

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 2:24 am  

The club is practically begging anyway so I think this could get us a few quid, if other clubs agree to it obviously could we get buckets out to every game in SL this weekend. Cleck bull's been doing threads on other forums and most fans agree that if there was a bucket they'd chuck a few quid in.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 5:51 am  

Chucking money at the club will not help, please talk to the Wakey fans in the know, we have good experiance in this field. God knows what we have been through in the last year or three. There are right ways of doing this and chucking money is not the right way, sorry