Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:06 pm  

As a Keighley fan we've been through administration twice since the halcyon days of Cougarmania. It's not a pleasant experience as a fan.

Sure you're "the enemy" so to speak. You always will be, with the city being the bigger brother in the district coupled with everything that happened when we were screwed out of Super League back in 1995, even if it did happen more than half my lifetime ago.

I wouldn't this wish upon anyone though. If you're not around the rivalry dies, there'd be nothing to cheer about when we hear you get beat, no banter on the forums or in the workplace and no more dreaming of drawing you in the Challenge Cup at Cougar Park and turning you over.

Just over couple of years ago we ended up going in to administration just after being promoted to the Championship. The club was reformed with a new board a couple of days later. We got hit with a 9 point penalty. We were lucky that the nucleus of the squad stayed with us. Despite being short on quality and too skint to sign anyone, the team played their hearts out every game and although we got destroyed in a few games and inevitably relegated I was so proud. Look at us now, we bounced straight back in to the Championship and have players like Sam Obst that we could only have dreamed of signing a few years ago.

Sport is cyclical and at the moment you're at the bottom of a trough. It will get better, you'll be successful once more (much as it pains me to say that).

All the best and keep the faith. I'll still be typing Br*dford with a asterisk mind

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:08 pm  

As a Leigh fan we went through a similar thing a few months ago, we scraped through, just.

I hope you lot do the same.

Good luck.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:15 pm  

Anyone need anything to help them fundraise or pledge listen to this playlist

Feeder - Save Us
Pro Green - I need you tonight
Arnej - They Need us
Johnny Cash - Aint no grave
Beatles - I need you
Manics - You Love Us
Blink 182 - Don't Leave Me
RHCP - I could die for you
Kaiser Chiefs - the angry mob (although when i flicked passed dead or in serious trouble i hoped that wouldn't turn out to be more fitting)
The Jam - Start
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
Example - Last Ones Standing
Faithless - We come one
Run with the bulls

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:54 pm  

Search bradford bulls montage on everyones favourite video site for another reason to pledge. first one. great memories.

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

Personally I find the nice round figure of one million pounds suspicious, are we being blackmailed by Dr Evil?

Pledged, not exactly happy about it but don't like any of the alternatives. Dislike basically giving people money for being massively incompetent (I mean, seriously, none of them realised that selling your main asset wasn't going to affect secured lending?) but we can try and sort that out later.

Even getting to the end of the season and then going into administration is better than being wound up by HMRC midseason and worth a couple of hundred quid.

Anyway, where exactly is Red Hall and how many pubs can I stop off at between there and Odsal?

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:11 pm  

After another day of reading articles, seeing the pledges being made by former players, all the fund raising ideas and the fighting spirit being shown by all the fans I've made my pledge.

Still not anywhere near happy about the situation but I'm trying to look at it from the perspective that i've effectively now paid full price for a season ticket. I guess it is still probably less than a full price season ticket.

The response to this situation from the entire rugby league community and beyond is astounding and you actually get a sense that it could be done.

Here's hoping.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:22 pm  

A question for you all.

Are we more optimistic, more pessimistic or basically the same since the news broke 36 hours ago?

Me? I'm optimistic. 103k by 5pm this afternoon is amazing, and with plenty of time left, plenty of fundraising planned, we can do this

BTW, I'm thinking of running from Odsal to Tong School (and back, if I can make it, i'm in training for a race anyway), sometime next week, almost certainly Thursday, if anyone fancies joining me as a partner?

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:27 pm  

AaronBull wrote:

A question for you all.

Are we more optimistic, more pessimistic or basically the same since the news broke 36 hours ago?

Me? I'm optimistic. 103k by 5pm this afternoon is amazing, and with plenty of time left, plenty of fundraising planned, we can do this

BTW, I'm thinking of running from Odsal to Tong School (and back, if I can make it, i'm in training for a race anyway), sometime next week, almost certainly Thursday, if anyone fancies joining me as a partner?

More optimistic, without a doubt.


Not sure about a partner, i'm pretty unfit , but im willing to take par in a run.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:57 pm  

jockabull wrote:

I mean, seriously, none of them realised that selling your main asset wasn't going to affect secured lending?

Except...it wasn't really like that.

The "main asset" was the long lease with the council.

A bank will normally only be able to realise its security in the event of insolvency.

In the event of insolvency, the long lease would become void, and the site would revert to the council.

Therefore, the value of the long lease as security to the bank was, IMO, not a lot!

And the bank anyway did not have a fixed charge on the lease.


As I understand it, the club asked the bank for a modest temporary increase in its overdraft. This to plug a shortfall left by finding they were required to pay a certain other liability very much earlier than they expected or (apparently) were led to believe. In the event, the bank not only declined the increase, but also reduced the existing facility. Apparently. That led to the current crisis.

For the reason given earlier, I struggle to see that the explanation given by RBS is very credible.

I'll endeavour to get more to the bottom of this if at all possible.

Re: Peter Hood says Bulls on brink of going bust. : Wed Mar 28, 2012 11:50 pm  

RBS for whatever reason pulled the Plug, a good opportunity for a competitor(as long as it isn't Santander) to step in and bankroll the debt and also get a lot of RBS's local accounts as well, if only it were that simple.