Re: Reserves Next Season : Fri Aug 09, 2019 1:30 pm  

Mr Dog wrote:

The RFL are not making Bradford run a reserves side at all; the club is choosing to do so by continuing to run a cat 1 academy, for which they are handsomely compensated through central funding (I have seen a figure of £100k quoted but don't know how realistic that is). To do that from next season also necessitates the running of a reserves.

They are hardly squeezing them financially over Odsal either - I'd bet a pound to a penny you'd be moaning if they were not charging them a market rental rate and/or subsidising them through paying for ground maintenance. Don't forget the RFL coughed up the best part of £1m to save the iconic stadium and so far will have got back around £350k through rent but are extremely unlikely ever to get the capital back - reducing the book value of Odsal to about £400k a couple of years ago points to them knowing that. Not exactly a good return on investment.......

Well if I have got it wrong, Hay-Ho. If they are getting that amount from central funding good luck to them. I don't want to see any RL club in our division (or any for that matter) going to the wall because our governing body are a bunch of narrow minded, incompetent self loving dicks who don't seem to want RL to prosper across all the league structures.

Re: Reserves Next Season : Fri Aug 09, 2019 2:46 pm  

Mr Dog wrote:

The RFL are not making Bradford run a reserves side at all; the club is choosing to do so by continuing to run a cat 1 academy, for which they are handsomely compensated through central funding (I have seen a figure of £100k quoted but don't know how realistic that is). To do that from next season also necessitates the running of a reserves.

They are hardly squeezing them financially over Odsal either - I'd bet a pound to a penny you'd be moaning if they were not charging them a market rental rate and/or subsidising them through paying for ground maintenance. Don't forget the RFL coughed up the best part of £1m to save the iconic stadium and so far will have got back around £350k through rent but are extremely unlikely ever to get the capital back - reducing the book value of Odsal to about £400k a couple of years ago points to them knowing that. Not exactly a good return on investment.......

How come Bradford are compensated to run an academy, as are Widnes I understand? Is this option open to all clubs?

Re: Reserves Next Season : Fri Aug 09, 2019 6:31 pm  

Hudd-Shay wrote:

How come Bradford are compensated to run an academy, as are Widnes I understand? Is this option open to all clubs?

AFAIAW clubs that run Category 1 Academies qualify for central funding to help with running costs. In theory it is open to all clubs but certain criteria/standards have to be met to be able to do so and clubs can't just set one up and expect to get that funding. Around the time Widnes announced that they were reverting to PT next season they also commented that they were assessing their Academy set up (from memory they specifically mentioned funding but without trawling through their news pages I couldn't be certain) but I've not seen anything since.

Re: Reserves Next Season : Fri Aug 09, 2019 6:44 pm  

Faxlore wrote:

Well if I have got it wrong, Hay-Ho. If they are getting that amount from central funding good luck to them. I don't want to see any RL club in our division (or any for that matter) going to the wall because our governing body are a bunch of narrow minded, incompetent self loving dicks who don't seem to want RL to prosper across all the league structures.

I don't understand this laying the blame for any of Bradford's current problems at the door of the RFL. It was the current owners responsibility to carry out due diligence before forming the new club. If they underestimated the cost of running Odsal it is their fault alone. Also choosing to employ FT players (22 this season) along with quite a few PT (a dozen or so this season), run a reserves, academies, women's and basketball teams etc doesn't exactly help the financial burden

Re: Reserves Next Season : Sat Aug 10, 2019 3:24 pm  

Mr Dog wrote:

The RFL are not making Bradford run a reserves side at all; the club is choosing to do so by continuing to run a cat 1 academy, for which they are handsomely compensated through central funding (I have seen a figure of £100k quoted but don't know how realistic that is). To do that from next season also necessitates the running of a reserves.

So from a full paragraph, youve some to the same conclusion that yes, Bradford have to run an reserves due to then running a cat1 which is the original point I was making with the Fax fans that we didn't have to go through the process that they, Keighley etc have to go through to be accepted into the reserves. As I said, if Fax don't get accepted it stinks.

I'll bite on your "handsomely compensated" comment for running a cat1 academy. Whether the £100k figure is right or not I don't know. But I doubt very much Bradford will be making a profit from running a cat1 academy, otherwise if they did, everyone would be doing it (hence Salford dropped there's as they didn't want to fund it)

I'm proud we run that cat1 academy and keep the developing players for the sport that's short of players. Same for Fax, there's no love loss between Bulls/Fax but they should be bloody praised for funding a reserves keeping players in the sport and developing players like Chester Butley and Nick Rawsthorne (who could have easily been lost to the sport) beggars belief you sit there and sneer about us developing players, while your club borrowed 20+ different players from another club. TWENTY! Short termism is what kills this sport.

Anyway rant over.

On a calmer note, im glad Fev are running a reserves thie year, did they apply for the reserves league next year?

Re: Reserves Next Season : Sat Aug 10, 2019 5:26 pm  

Bull Mania wrote:

So from a full paragraph, youve some to the same conclusion that yes, Bradford have to run an reserves due to then running a cat1 which is the original point I was making with the Fax fans that we didn't have to go through the process that they, Keighley etc have to go through to be accepted into the reserves. As I said, if Fax don't get accepted it stinks.

I'll bite on your "handsomely compensated" comment for running a cat1 academy. Whether the £100k figure is right or not I don't know. But I doubt very much Bradford will be making a profit from running a cat1 academy, otherwise if they did, everyone would be doing it (hence Salford dropped there's as they didn't want to fund it)

I'm proud we run that cat1 academy and keep the developing players for the sport that's short of players. Same for Fax, there's no love loss between Bulls/Fax but they should be bloody praised for funding a reserves keeping players in the sport and developing players like Chester Butley and Nick Rawsthorne (who could have easily been lost to the sport) beggars belief you sit there and sneer about us developing players, while your club borrowed 20+ different players from another club. TWENTY! Short termism is what kills this sport.

Anyway rant over.

On a calmer note, im glad Fev are running a reserves thie year, did they apply for the reserves league next year?

It's not oft I agree with a bulls fan, but very well said. Elland Craft &Tap, Elland Blonde 4.0% Mmm!

Re: Reserves Next Season : Sun Aug 11, 2019 11:03 am  

We're in... https://www.rugby-league.com/article/55496/line-up-for--reserve-grade-finalised

We're in... https://www.rugby-league.com/article/55496/line-up-for--reserve-grade-finalised

Re: Reserves Next Season : Mon Aug 12, 2019 12:56 pm  

HXSparky wrote: We're in... https://www.rugby-league.com/article/55496/line-up-for--reserve-grade-finalised Well that’s both good news and a relief, well done to everyone at Fax for all the hard work, getting the infrastructure in place and the application right.

HXSparky wrote: We're in... https://www.rugby-league.com/article/55496/line-up-for--reserve-grade-finalised Well that’s both good news and a relief, well done to everyone at Fax for all the hard work, getting the infrastructure in place and the application right.

Re: Reserves Next Season : Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:43 am  

This is great news and more so much deserved.

However funding may be an issue.
As I understand it once again the scales will have someone's hand pressing down on certain clubs and for all the hard work fax as put in that will mean nothing when the supergreed come to divvy up funds.

It looks like the league will be at least 14 strong. Now quite a few players will come from the academy age dropping from 19 to 18 and of course clubs can keep players on the fringes fresh but clubs will have to name 19 players week in week out.

Where do they find the other players to bolster the ranks? Are we going to see a situation were the clubs who are getting funding , use that to take away talent from fan run clubs like fax?

I think it sucks and personally think clubs such as fax , Newcastle etc should have more money pumped into this venture than our world beaters in SL

Re: Reserves Next Season : Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:35 am  

Agree MC as always the scales are tipped against us Would it help player numbers if squads were reduced to 15 on match day ?