So we're a third of the way way through the season and have played everyone once. So here's my thoughts on the state of things.

After the Keighley game, if you had have offered me 6 points off safety, i would have bitten their hand off. There's 19 games left so no need to panic at all. We will play Swinton & Dewsbury twice more each this season so that would gain us 8 points with victories (although being Bradford i'm sure we'll drop points) This period was always going to be tough. Loan players recalled, injuries starting to mount for us, and playing two of the top sides in Fax & Fev.

AT the moment is a bit of a low with a frustrating performance against Fax followed by being totally outplayed by Fev. But we've had great victories over Batley and Toulouse (who have only lost three times) I believe we can beat anyone apart from KR on our day. Just can't let our heads drop in the bad times.

At this moment in time we do need forwards. Hopefully the bloody visa issue should be sorted before the Toulouse game

and we have some Antipodean forwards to come in.

Also hoping Murrary and Oledzki are recalled now that Leeds's forwards are returning from suspensions and injuries. I don't think either featured over Easter did they?

A week off to heal some bruised bodies, lick our wounds and come back for the next third of the fight. If we can get one or two more wins than Dewsbury and Swinton before the split then we'll only be a couple of points behind them for the last 7. I believe Rochdale will get dragged into this scrap, who, despite a great start, can't buy a win at the moment. We'' probably get superb victories over a top 4 contender, followed by frustrarting defeats to teams struggling. We just have to keep plugging away and take each game as it comes.

A 1/3 into the season and I am no clearer as to why ChaLowe are involved. We started with a lot of youngsters in the friendlies. Soon we got in the loan players as was always going to be a must. However, as was shown over Easter, we are totally reliant on these loanees. WE have a coach that hasn't got a visa yet, a player that may or may not exist, confusing matchday reports that seem to have gone through 2 or 3 translation programs. And still we hear nothing from the owners, that is if you discount the comments from various ex players saying the supporters have to turn up and support the team (at which they seem to be doing an outstanding job if you read the forums of teams we have visited).

I didn't watch yesterdays game, but on Friday the issues were evident.

Yes we need forwards, but our composure and execution when in attacking positions is poor.

Halifax dominated the go-forward, but when we got into a decent position we knocked on, on the first or did the worst thing you can do, give away a penalty when your the attacking team.

Hoping Dane will add the required composure needed in these situations - Thomas still doesn't do it for me

Don't know what the plan is, never have. guessing it is do what we can but with zero money input. Certainly either Cha-low are the only 2 men in the Universe who didn't know we need and always have needed a couple at least big forwards, or (much more likely) they do know, but for reasons i couldn't begin to guess at, not spending any money on forwards come what may trumps even strong chance of relegation.

If these last few weeks we'd acquired a couple of half-decent rotation props, and won against Fax at least and maybe Fev, the job would be within sight of being done. If we didn't then everyone knew once the loanees were recalled which they were always going to be around now, we'd be stuffed in the forwards and - surrise surprise - we've been stuffed in the forwards.

Sure we make stacks of silly erors but given some grunt we still win. I mean, we aren't in danger of getting an Oledzki permanently but just that one guy when he plays tips us over the edge into being able to compete in the forward battle.

So you tell me why we've done nothing about it, cos it beats the hell out of me.

I think they wanted the club (only they know why) but wanted to start in the division below. So in affect they are seeing this as a season for nowt in that if we stay up then that will be a bonus. From the fans point of view we are watching and saying "You know what, we could quite easily stay up with minimal investment". And there's the rub, if ChaLow don't invest and we go down by a point or two then this new club will be strangled at birth with the supporters turning their back.

Can't imagine, for a second, that they feel that way, as it would be a barmy thing to believe. Though, much as that position would indeed be ludicrous and self defeating, I can't imagine for the life in me,[i exactly[/i what their strategy actually is. If indeed there is a strategy - and I'm seriously wondering about that, tbh.

I tend to agree with your summing up, if the rest of this season turns out to be as you suggest, then they will shoot themselves in the foot big-time. Fans won't fall for it again and they may well kill the club in its present form. What's worse imo, is that the governing body, by effectively forcing this situation by insisting we play in this division, has shown that it has no regard whatever for the club or the people who follow it.

All that said, a couple of big boned grizzly props and we might have a chance - but no-one in charge seems to care.

Yep, looks that way.

Ironically, this could lead to the worst of all worlds. if we had started in C1 as most wanted, we could have lived with that and worked from there.

but having seen the minor miracles the coaching staff have done to date, and the level some of the young lads are already at, and the quality of rugby we already can sometimes achieve, it would really be a total disaster to allow all that to go to waste and get relegated. To me if not death of the club, it would be a kick in the bollox too far for many fasn. And we would yet again be asset stripped of all the promising talent, which will be hard enough to keep even if we stay up, though if we did, I'd bet most would give it at least on full season and see where we were.

^ Absolutely spot on

its exactly the same as when Green took over, he could have kept us in SL but watched us go down for some unknown reason (probably the parachute payment) condemning us to life in the championship..

I was thinking of starting a thread on this subject but does anyone think the Cha Lowe are Puppets for the RFL
making sure we see the fixtures out this year relegated or not?
A bit of a conspiracy theory I know but they could have probably brought in further loanee's let alone perm signings...

Weren't we actually blocked from making any signings when Green took over? Hardly the same situation. But yeah, he definitely let us go down to get hold of that £800k parachute payment as opposed to keeping us up and getting £1.8m

While I agree with comments about the lack of information coming out of the club and how frustrating that is, I think that Cha-Lo have done a good job of getting a club set up and generally competitive given they had a period of 3 weeks to set up a company, recruit staff etc., etc.

With the addition of 3 players in key positions (props!!), we have shown we can be competitive, Batley are a respectable championship team and we really gave it to them when we had 3 extra forwards. The next month will show their commitment, given that Easter is out of the way, teams will start looking to strengthen for Super 8 or Middle 8 in particular, might mean players being available to free up space on the cap for permanent deals or long term loans.

If you'd have said we'd win 5 out of 11 in January and be have a chance of not being relegated, I'd have snapped your hands off. If we strengthen the forwards on a firmer basis than short term loans, I think we can escape, then next season will be a different ball game (hopefully)

No they couldn't. We had 6 people on loan at one stage, and you can only actually play 5 in any one match

Permanent signings are what we need, or - if necessary - season long loans with no recall option.

Serious question to everyone on here - would you accept finishing third from bottom and staying up at the end of the season?

I presume you mean third bottom?

I'd certainly accept staying up as third from bottom.

Unless we get some decent reinforcements in the pack that won't happen.

I'd accept it but would like to know more about plans for next year as well. If there is no more money forthcoming then we are in for another season relying on loans. Can't help but feel we are moving towards merging this with the ChaLo Conspiracy thread.

Yes, that's what I meant.

If we stop up then that's great considering where we were on the eve of the season.

Moving forward we do need some permanent signings. Loans are fine in the short term but to move the club forward into 2018+ we need to build a squad.

I'd definitely take that. Survival is the solitary aim for this season but I would also like to hear some plans for the future. I.e. what the aims are for the next 2-3 seasons, recruiting strategy etc. Even if it was an underwhelming plan of surviving and consolidating our place in the Championship over the next 3 years and focusing on nurturing the young lads and not spending massively on new players etc with no mention of SL intentions; at least we as fans would know what is going on.

Finishing third from bottom would be mission accomplished in my eyes, and in the context of things, quite an achievement also.

Third bottom and survival? Snap your hand off to be fair. They kids would deserve a civic reception too the amount of effort they put in.

I'd take in a breath. It's better than I imagined at the start anyway.

To be honest, I guess all of us would like to know what the plans are, certainly up to the end of this season. Trouble is that beyond that, any future plans are totally dependent on where we finish this time around. Even with a large war chest (as if...) it would still be difficult to recruit for next year as players would want know what level we're playing at, whether we'll be full time or not, etc etc and none of that can be certain until this season is sorted out.

This

Leigh Beattie hinted that Matthew Storton could make his first team debut aged 18 on Saturday.

That will be ten academy players that have made their first team debut this year. In what is officially the youngest ever Bradford Bulls/Northern squad of the last 87 years.

I've done a bit of an atmospheric piece with John Bastian and Lance Du'Lac, focusing on the young players achievements to play out on Saturday's show. Hope you enjoy it.