Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:59 am  

Have the Tordoff's got any brass these days? Could they come in and set a new club up or wouldn't they be allowed?

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:00 am  

Pains me to say it but all the pledges and fudraising will be tantamount to pouring good money down the drain whilst you are still controlled by the same board. My view would be to pool that money into your supporters trust and buy the club debt-free out of administration, otherwise you will be in the same predicament next year. It may seem hard to take but sometimes you have to take a step back to move several forward. Bradford will survive if you take that route and will in time come back stronger than ever, if you give money to the current lot you'll be gone for good by the end of next year as all the money you can raise will have been and gone and the same people will have made the same mistakes.

Its difficult not to let your heart rule your head but you need a sense of perspective with this one. Short term pain for long term gain or s**t or bust? I know which i'd choose as hard as that may seem. I wish you all the luck in the world.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:04 am  

Over the last two days I've gone through the same feelings of anger, disappointment and frustration that everyone is feeling about the situation we are in. I don't want to go into administration as we would lose our only major assets, the players. I don't want to end up watching a Championship 1 side playing at Horsfal Playing fields as Odsal would not be a feasible venue for such a club. So I'm faced with a choice. Do I pledge and help save the club I have supported for over sixty years and then help to sort out the mess we seem to be in or do I take the negative route and complain, blame and watch the club go under. I have decided to pledge because I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. We do have the makings of a team to be proud of here with young players who want to be here. Just look on Twitter and read what Elliott Whitehead and John Bateman are saying and doing. They're not giving in and neither am I.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:13 am  

some interesting stuff in the paps http://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... ml&BID=480 http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/hav ... -1-4391031

some interesting stuff in the paps http://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... ml&BID=480 http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/hav ... -1-4391031

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:14 am  

http://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/news/578 ... VAL%20FAQS Apologies if covered already but can someone clarify the section good news for you as it mentions you would be debt free, how could this be as apart from administration and starting afresh I am puzzled if my thoughts are correct then those asked to pledge should be concerned and maybe ask the question of your board.

http://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/news/578 ... VAL%20FAQS Apologies if covered already but can someone clarify the section good news for you as it mentions you would be debt free, how could this be as apart from administration and starting afresh I am puzzled if my thoughts are correct then those asked to pledge should be concerned and maybe ask the question of your board.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:14 am  

Not sure if this has been posted, but here's El Presidente's two penneth: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/n ... -1-4390994 Difficult to tell if he's actually offering anything of substance or just indicating his predatory intent regarding poaching players... No doubt you'll be relieved he's not contemplating a take-over

Not sure if this has been posted, but here's El Presidente's two penneth: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/n ... -1-4390994 Difficult to tell if he's actually offering anything of substance or just indicating his predatory intent regarding poaching players... No doubt you'll be relieved he's not contemplating a take-over

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:18 am  

Exeter Rhino wrote: Not sure if this has been posted, but here's El Presidente's two penneth: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/n ... -1-4390994 Difficult to tell if he's actually offering anything of substance or just indicating his predatory intent regarding poaching players... No doubt you'll be relieved he's not contemplating a take-over Well he couldn't but Kath could..............aaaaarrrrrrrgh!

Exeter Rhino wrote: Not sure if this has been posted, but here's El Presidente's two penneth: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/n ... -1-4390994 Difficult to tell if he's actually offering anything of substance or just indicating his predatory intent regarding poaching players... No doubt you'll be relieved he's not contemplating a take-over Well he couldn't but Kath could..............aaaaarrrrrrrgh!

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:20 am  

I don't trust current board, or hood and Bennett at least. Think duckett is being as honest as he can be. BUT my problem all talk of going into admin and reforming etc while in an ideal world I would agree it could be best way forward, back in the real world I can't see club surviving it. If their was a buyer waiting in the wings and a prepack admin used to clear historical debts and retain current players then fair enough. But I've seen and heard nothing to suggest that is the case.
First thing an administrator would do is start selling assets to minimise debts. The only assets we have are the young players we desperately need to retain. So a reformed club faces prospect of potentially limping along for rest of this franchise period, stripped of it's best players with crowds dropping as a side effect then dropping to championship in 2015. We then have to find somewhere to play in championship as odsal/ vp not financially viable at that level and TTY yo devils towards SL in 2018. Weve struggled to get through current five years of rebuilding and are just seeing green shoots. Don't think fanbase is there to ho through it all again.

Don't like it as it supports poor management but don't see an option but tonpledge and support current board. Way I see it extra £100 is just what i would have normally paid got my season ticket under old prices. If it means there's a chance of carrying on at something like current level then I'm prepared to risk that much.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:33 am  

Bullseye wrote:

Unfortunately it all seems to have come to a head over the past 6 years of financial re-structuring, cuts etc. I must say back when Nobby left, Fielden was sold etc I feared where it would all lead and saw paralells with our situation in 1963. It's all happened quicker this time.

Is all the goodwill being used to prop up a lame duck in the current adminstration? I want to believe in them but without more information about their plan I have some major doubts.

I don't want a say in the day to day running of the club but I want some hard evidence that this scheme isn't just postponing the inevitable. Why will this plan work? How is it sustainable?

I'm not sure that I want to see a plan as I probably wouldn't put much trust in it anyway. But I think the board do have an responsibility to give more information about the current situation. I'd like to see a statement along the lines of:

"We owe RBS £x, HMRC £x (increasing at £x per month). We owe the RFL £x and other creditors £x. Our monthly expenses are roughly £x. We are currently taking £y net per match at the turnstiles and bars. We are due a minimum of £y from Sky for the rest of the season and £y from other sources (assuming we dont make the play offs or get to Wembley)."

No doubt the Board would argue that this stuff is commercially confidential, but when you've got the begging bowl out you lose the right to that sort of primness.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:35 am  

Fair bit of time on my hands at the moment so have been watching the last couple of days with great interest whilst spending a lot of time on here reading peoples posts from many different clubs.

Firstly Id like to say how disappointed I am to see the state the Bulls are in. It would be a massive blow to Super League to lose one of the big clubs and a huge blow to our game in general. I sympathise 100% with all you Bulls fans because this $hitty situation you find yourselves in has absolutely nothing to do with the fans. Poor management at the very top has led to this situation and is wholly unfair on the people who dig deep year in year out to effectively allow the club to run.

I know there have been a fair few Wakefield fans already come on here who are offering their opinion (some of you seem to be getting annoyed by our intervention ) but at the end of the day our situation is almost identical to yours - our then chairman was asking for us to pledge £1000 not £100 and the takers were minimal. Even if the old management team would of asked for £100 like your being asked for I can say with confidence that again the number of Wakefield fans 'pledging' would have been low. The reason being we might as well walked to a cash machine - withdrawn the money and simply tore it up and thrown it away. All they wanted was a short term fix. Could we have achieved it ? Yes - no doubt between the fans, sponsors etc we would have reached the target but WE as a club didnt want to continue with the same BOD. They have promised things over so many years and failed to deliver, they had told us we were financailly ok- we weren't. When the HMRC came knocking asking for a massive unpaid tax bill it caught us fans out by surprise due to the constant lying from above. So, as supporters we set up a new supporters trust where pledges could actually make a difference once admin had taken effect. Gamble - yes big time. We could easily of lost our franchise and played in the lower leagues but the most important thing to the majority of the fans the club was safe, debt free and would be taken on by the fans or somebody with a bit of financial clout shouldthe opportunity arise. Luckily Andrew Glover has come along and the amount of work and money he has put into our club is fantastic. He has delivered more in the last 6 months than what we have had in the last 10 years.

Bradford could easily have the same. I have no doubt there are some big hitters out there sitting tight waiting to see what happens. Should you go into admin Im guessing there would be a number of quality bids to come on board. But if you all give in now and send them your £100 etc all your doing is saving the guys who have put you there in the first place.

Save your money - let them go - invest in a new supporters trust/club - and rebuild. That way the next trip to Old Trafford or Wembley wont be that far away !

Good luck.