: Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:45 pm  

To be fair, in 95-96 when we got the sky SL money, and ahd no salary cap, we signed a hell of a lot of players at a time when Wigan's financial clout was waining, and when Leeds almost went out of business. Saints bought Newlove. Just remember, getting rid of Newlove brought in Nickle, Dwyer and Loughlin, and gave us the money to buy Lowes, McNamara and Spruce on big transfer fees. Add this to the likes of Donougher, Bradley, Calland, jowitt and Paul Cook, and you can see that we spent big on well known players witha point to prove and some relative unknowns who came in and did a good job. however, we did spend wisely, which is where some clubs have fallen short.

: Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:47 pm  

Wasn't Cooky pretty much a swap for Carl Hall?

[Bullseye]

: Tue Mar 03, 2009 2:09 pm  

isaac1 wrote:

Just remember, getting rid of Newlove brought in Nickle, Dwyer and Loughlin, and gave us the money to buy Lowes, McNamara and Spruce on big transfer fees. Add this to the likes of Donougher, Bradley, Calland, jowitt and Paul Cook, and you can see that we spent big on well known players witha point to prove and some relative unknowns who came in and did a good job. however, we did spend wisely, which is where some clubs have fallen short.

We did get about £240k as part of the Newlove deal too remember so that would've helped sign McNamara and Spruce. Lowes I think we got on the cheap, amazing to think but Leeds really didn't think they needed him.

The Aussies I don't think were wanted by clubs down under.

If anything we made some shrewd recruitment and got lucky too. We did sign some turkeys but nobody expensive.

: Tue Mar 03, 2009 2:39 pm  

Bullseye wrote:

We did get about £240k as part of the Newlove deal too remember so that would've helped sign McNamara and Spruce. Lowes I think we got on the cheap, amazing to think but Leeds really didn't think they needed him.

The Aussies I don't think were wanted by clubs down under.

If anything we made some shrewd recruitment and got lucky too. We did sign some turkeys but nobody expensive.

wasn't one of the reasons for lowes to leave leeds because they were going to play him at second row?

: Tue Mar 03, 2009 2:48 pm  

Yes, he was not first choice hooker> and i deliberately missed out Carlos Hassan and Davide Longo!!!

[Bullseye]

: Tue Mar 03, 2009 2:54 pm  

isaac1 wrote:

Yes, he was not first choice hooker> and i deliberately missed out Carlos Hassan and Davide Longo!!!

We had a massive turnover of players in 95/96 didn't we?

Didn't Paul Anderson, Nathan Graham, Jon Scales, Jason Donohue and Gary Christie also join in that period?

Then there's poor Tommy Hodgkinson who cam from Saints IIRC got a Bulls tattoo and was then offloaded!

: Tue Mar 03, 2009 2:59 pm  

Code13 wrote:

Bradford have traditionally been a team that had a big, powerful pack that did the damage for them though, they just went through a period of buying power that no one else could match, then they lost that buying power.

I think Bradford have a pack to match most. What they don't have is the individual brilliance of the Pauls, Les, Pryce, TV to get over the line in the backs. I believe there is enough in the backs however, or should be enough, for a coach to turn the possession & position into tries. Not meant as a dig at banana.

: Tue Mar 03, 2009 3:08 pm  

af wrote:

People reckoned on that Bradford's 'biff and barge, no plan B' was useless and would never get us anywhere all the way through four Super League titles, four league leaderships, two Challenge Cups and three WCCs.

So true. For years we had the "no Plan B" mantra mindlessly regurgitated. It was funny then, and is still funny now, since if true, then what does it say about all the other SL coaches who couldn't beat us despite, apparently, knowing our whole Plan, and that we couldn't change it?

The truth is, we never had a good coach, we never had a good team, and we never had a good player. All those wins you cite were sheer flukes, and it is no surprise that, the Bulls having been utter crap since SL began, their legacy is also one of utter crap coaches, players etc.

These useless legacy people must surely be so grateful that the owners of the various other clubs are not as perspicacious and astute as some of the posters on this thread, as none should ever have had another job.

Come to think of it, why does anyone in SL have a job? Apparently Leeds are utter crap, Saints are even worse, and nobody else is within coo-ee of them so is there any point in the continued existence of this comp?

I'm off to slit my wrists now.

: Tue Mar 03, 2009 3:12 pm  

tigertot wrote:

I think Bradford have a pack to match most. What they don't have is the individual brilliance of the Pauls, Les, Pryce, TV to get over the line in the backs. I believe there is enough in the backs however, or should be enough, for a coach to turn the possession & position into tries. ...

I'd pretty much agree with all of that, and hopefully so it will turn out. I'm especially encouraged by Nero's fine start to the season, but Jeffries needs to frame.

: Tue Mar 03, 2009 3:29 pm  

Bullseye wrote:

We had a massive turnover of players in 95/96 didn't we?

Didn't Paul Anderson, Nathan Graham, Jon Scales, Jason Donohue and Gary Christie also join in that period?

Then there's poor Tommy Hodgkinson who cam from Saints IIRC got a Bulls tattoo and was then offloaded!

When did we sign Abi Ekoku as a player?