Re: bulls might go bust? : Tue Mar 27, 2012 3:51 pm  

Terrrible, shocking news to see Bradford go to the wall if it happens, and yet another nail in the coffin of British RL. The numpties who've run that club down the years have some very serious questions to answer over the disastrous way they've gone about it.

I've been saying for years that Superleague is completely unsustainable in it's current format and there simply just isn't the money in the game to be able to afford to compete with RU or NRL for players' wages in any way shape or form anymore. The Tomkins "loophole" was a desperate last attempt by the RL to try to compete and it will ultimately be futile. Our long term future is either to continue as a parochial, semi-pro, glorified pub-league game or to re-merge with RU in some form.

Re: bulls might go bust? : Tue Mar 27, 2012 3:53 pm  

Dux wrote:

There have to be some serious question marks over the licensing system now, though.

No kidding - grade "A" licence for a club with a stadium half of which is a semi-condemned ruin anyone?

Re: bulls might go bust? : Tue Mar 27, 2012 3:56 pm  

Northampton_Saint wrote:

I've been saying for years that Superleague is completely unsustainable in it's current format and there simply just isn't the money in the game to be able to afford to compete with RU or NRL for players' wages in any way shape or form anymore. The Tomkins "loophole" was a desperate last attempt by the RL to try to compete and it will ultimately be futile. Our long term future is either to continue as a parochial, semi-pro, glorified pub-league game or to re-merge with RU in some form.

Let's not get carried away. These problems are by no means unique to rugby league. But we do need to learn to be realistic about where we can compete and where we can't.

Re: bulls might go bust? : Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:15 pm  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

And me.
It doesn't do the game any good at all too see any team(s) in this predicament. Reading the article it looks as though the bank have reduced their overdraft and it it has happened at Bradford you can bet they are not the only RL clubs affected.

The bank would do that as the club sold its only real fixed asset - Odsal to the RFL. No bank is going to lend unsecured.

The headline at the time was:

"The RFL has paid an undisclosed sum in an arrangement that will allow Bradford Bulls to remain at their spiritual home as tenants.
RFL chairman Richard Lewis said the move would bring security to Odsal, which has recently been the subject of predatory approaches.
“This arrangement is absolutely the right thing to do because it safeguards the future of one of the sport’s most famous stadia,” said Lewis."

to now:

"Chairman Peter Hood revealed the recent sale of the lease on Odsal to the Rugby Football League had allowed the club to repay money owed to the game's governing body".

So, was it to save a heritage ground or was it so the RFL could get some of its dosh back?

Re: bulls might go bust? : Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:20 pm  

bewareshadows wrote:

I've said it many a time, we need a breakeven cap.

We are also a club who opperates until possibly this year well into a loss. This was sustained and burdened by our board.

If we had a break even cap, then no club could outspend their income. It would cause huge pain in the first few years as currently clubs are competiting with each on the basis of losses. It's unsustainable.

Basically club x thinks that a player will boost their position in the league and attract more fans and more money. So they buy said player and pay wages that they cannot afford along side their running costs.

Club y now has to respond, they too cannot afford the wages along side their running costs but they have to do it for fear of loss of position in the league, a reletively weakened squad and reduced income from less fans.

So both club x and y upgrade, therefore keeping them at the same level player wise they already where, but financially wise worse off.

With a finance cap, you would have to match projected income or income from last year to expediture this year. So you have to pay all your bills and staffing costs, before you can offer player contracts, those contracts would then be payable up to any level so long as the expenditure did not bust the income.

It could be done on a year by year basis, or over the period of a licence. There would need to be some room for falling a little below the line. But bust that an no licence next time. That way clubs turning a profit can spend as much as they like, until it matches that profit. This would not prohibit sugar daddies from wading in, the only provision is that they could not load a club with debt that would sink it when they walked away. It would also allow off book payments, rich man has 100k he wants to throw at a RL team, that team can pay an extra 100k on player wages. The man walks away then the money is a gift not a loan.

In the end though the RFL may fudge the books to create a viable competition, but it's down to clubs to manage finances. The problem is that loading a club with debt or paying people off a never ending overdraft holds no impact for the owners when they can walk away if it all goes wrong.

In the end I doubt we would have a finance cap though as clubs including our own would complain that it stops risk taking and gives no club outside the best supported a chance of winning.

I don't understand.
We have done our bit for showing real fiscal responsibility by getting rid of two highly paid employees recently in order to reduce our operating costs, and it hasn't done us any harm.

Re: bulls might go bust? : Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:35 pm  

saint at wire wrote:

We have done our bit for showing real fiscal responsibility by getting rid of two highly paid employees recently in order to reduce our operating costs, and it hasn't done us any harm.

We'll only benefit from that in the next financial year though as they will have both been paid up to the end of the season.

Re: bulls might go bust? : Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:01 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

We'll only benefit from that in the next financial year though as they will have both been paid up to the end of the season.

Sorry - it was meant to be ironic but I failed.

Re: bulls might go bust? : Wed Mar 28, 2012 11:19 am  

Northampton_Saint wrote:

Terrrible, shocking news to see Bradford go to the wall if it happens, and yet another nail in the coffin of British RL. The numpties who've run that club down the years have some very serious questions to answer over the disastrous way they've gone about it.

I've been saying for years that Superleague is completely unsustainable in it's current format and there simply just isn't the money in the game to be able to afford to compete with RU or NRL for players' wages in any way shape or form anymore. The Tomkins "loophole" was a desperate last attempt by the RL to try to compete and it will ultimately be futile. Our long term future is either to continue as a parochial, semi-pro, glorified pub-league game or to re-merge with RU in some form.

The end of the world is nigh. Yes we know. In fact I'm surprised we've not all been killed already by a nuclear attack, AIDS or bird flu.

Re: bulls might go bust? : Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:04 pm  

so if they go bust we miss out on a match at langtee money im sure we could do with, the 200 bradford fans who would of come over for the game will miss out.

i do hope they can sort this out

Re: bulls might go bust? : Wed Mar 28, 2012 11:07 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

. Wigan were bankrupt and bought for a fiver after irresponsibly and unsustainably spending beyond their means to basically buy trophies they were otherwise incapable of winning.

Hilarious. Do you actually believe this stuff?