Re: RFL and Bradford : Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:26 am  

Fully wrote:

when licences were being looked at by the RFL board, the RFL would not have known down the line that financially Bradford were going to go belly up, require SL money to be fast-tracked with a view and then their stadium lease bought to cover the debt left.

I don't think you could be further away from the truth if you lived on the moon (which is where it seems Red Hall has moved to) you don't go from being a viable business to needing £1m within 4 weeks to survive in the blink of an eye, Bradford’s 2010 accounts show a considerable loss which I'm sure was a repeat of previous couple of years performances and if financial trends are what you look at before approving a license then I would suggest that at best, they misinterpreted the data and at worst ignored it, Crusaders were advised to withdraw their application based on a poor financial business plan, stinks of double standards this

Re: RFL and Bradford : Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:02 am  

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Bradford get a large loan fron the RFL befoe franchises were announced?

Re: RFL and Bradford : Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:28 am  

javachick wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Bradford get a large loan fron the RFL befoe franchises were announced?

They certainly did - they were loaned £750k on the quiet and have only just revealed that fact; when the RFL bought the lease for Odsal, they deducted the outstanding balance of that loan from the monies they paid over for the lease.

Maybe the RFL had some inside info and decided to limit their own exposure before the (Bull)sh*t hit the fan?

Re: RFL and Bradford : Wed Apr 04, 2012 11:44 am  

bren2k wrote:

They certainly did - they were loaned £750k on the quiet and have only just revealed that fact; when the RFL bought the lease for Odsal, they deducted the outstanding balance of that loan from the monies they paid over for the lease.

Maybe the RFL had some inside info and decided to limit their own exposure before the (Bull)sh*t hit the fan?

Given Hudgell is sticking the boot into the R.F.L now i think a lot of people will be asking the R.F.L of their conduct.

Out of interest has Widnes played Bradford this season?

Re: RFL and Bradford : Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:43 pm  

Something doesn't quite smell right about all this.Funny how certain teams get help and others get told to sod off.

Re: RFL and Bradford : Wed Apr 04, 2012 3:50 pm  

Just had a rant on t'other board - this stinks:

This is not a complicated question for any business.... Especially Rugby League clubs in the franchise license era:

The amount of Sky money is largely static, so all you have to do is project your other earnings and dont spend more than you can afford. EVERY BUSINESS in existence does this, every family does this and every household - so if any 'thing' spends more than their income, then they have a problem.

This is not a unique problem, I can't believe that people are "saving" the Bulls when there are people living on the streets and people dying in the world to be honest, I am not coming over all philosophical, but are people really pledging to save a club where the people on the board and on the payroll are simply earning too much for the club to sustain?
I would not give a cent to a cause like this until a cure for Leukemia and Cancer are found, if I had £50 to pledge to the Bulls, I would send it to Cancer Research instead. Morally I am uncomfortable with people essentially giving Peter Hood's business half a mil to save it - if he ran a shoe factory in Odsal and had spent more on staff than he had earned in sales - would anyone give a turd? It's the same isnt it?

Why are Bradford not offloading players and contracts and trying to help themselves for the next £500k??????? Makes no sense, if they were I might buy in bit more. I have had my fill of sage beard stroking and nodding in placation of this - Nobody rallied to save Widnes, Wakey, Crusaders - wo why on earth Bulls and London should be any different I know not.

If businesses are not strong enough to stand on their own two feet, they need to resize and compete at an appropriate level for their funds (Like Leeds Unitd, Sheff Wed's etc.....) or they fold and start over (Crusaders). I know it is mean and painful, but that is how it is.
I appreciate SL chairmen have to show some solidarity, but please, enough.

Re: RFL and Bradford : Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:59 pm  

I agree completely with you mdean, the RFL is extrmely biased towards their favourite clubs, I would love to take a crowbar to Richard Lewis' face

Re: RFL and Bradford : Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:26 pm  

castigersdave wrote:

I agree completely with you mdean, the RFL is extrmely biased towards their favourite clubs, I would love to take a crowbar to Richard Lewis' face

I just dont understand what they think they are going to achieve by propping up or favouring ultimately weak business models?
The telling factor to me is Bradford have spent the cap in all years except one, which they couldnt afford or can't now. Castelford and Wakey and others have not, becuase they can't afford it and instead of letting Bulls reap what they have sown and start over in the Championship like Crusaders, or have a 10pt deduction, we prop them up and clubs who budget and plan and protect their finances are not benefitted, you could argue they are actually penalised because they get no benefit and those who do get in to choppy water are not sanctioned and are allowed to behave in this way!

Stinks.

Re: RFL and Bradford : Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:28 pm  

mdean wrote:

Just had a rant on t'other board - this stinks:

This is not a complicated question for any business.... Especially Rugby League clubs in the franchise license era:

The amount of Sky money is largely static, so all you have to do is project your other earnings and dont spend more than you can afford. EVERY BUSINESS in existence does this, every family does this and every household - so if any 'thing' spends more than their income, then they have a problem.

This is not a unique problem, I can't believe that people are "saving" the Bulls when there are people living on the streets and people dying in the world to be honest, I am not coming over all philosophical, but are people really pledging to save a club where the people on the board and on the payroll are simply earning too much for the club to sustain?
I would not give a cent to a cause like this until a cure for Leukemia and Cancer are found, if I had £50 to pledge to the Bulls, I would send it to Cancer Research instead. Morally I am uncomfortable with people essentially giving Peter Hood's business half a mil to save it - if he ran a shoe factory in Odsal and had spent more on staff than he had earned in sales - would anyone give a turd? It's the same isnt it?

Why are Bradford not offloading players and contracts and trying to help themselves for the next £500k??????? Makes no sense, if they were I might buy in bit more. I have had my fill of sage beard stroking and nodding in placation of this - Nobody rallied to save Widnes, Wakey, Crusaders - wo why on earth Bulls and London should be any different I know not.

If businesses are not strong enough to stand on their own two feet, they need to resize and compete at an appropriate level for their funds (Like Leeds Unitd, Sheff Wed's etc.....) or they fold and start over (Crusaders). I know it is mean and painful, but that is how it is.
I appreciate SL chairmen have to show some solidarity, but please, enough.

Spot on! Bradford Bulls are relying on the loyalty of their fans (and other clubs) to pay for the ineptitude and poor performance of their board. It is a common ploy as they know that the fans are the most likely people to bail them out.

Re: RFL and Bradford : Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:35 pm  

They have £300k today, they need £500k by tomorrow. Even in the unlikely even that they can get £200k in 24 hrs. That will be the majority of those with something to give having given.

That still leaves a hole of £500k to reach by some other point this season.

I imagine some have even pledged on the basis that they will never reach the total.

Also if they miss the total then that money pledged disappears and they still have to find a cool £1million whilst in administration. With all player contracts null and void and no ground to sell. The only thing they could sell would be literally the family silver and the stands.