Prosecute those who have poured hundreds of thousands into the club? That will attract more money men.

Don't be quoting alternative facts.

The opinions of this so called referee, who takes points away from you the fans, brings danger to the club and will be overturned!

Honestly? If those are the sort of people we should be 'attracting' then we deserve go t!ts up every 2 years.

I'm not saying its an ideal solution, but chasing the people who created the debt is sure better than pursuing those who have nothing to do with it.

Yes let's let the wealthy off behaving responsibly. That always works well.

Has someone at Goldman Sachs hacked your account

Besides, attracting money-men isn't something the Bulls have done.

And that's the problem isn't it? If these ten-bob millionaires actually HAD the money maybe they would pay their debts instead of bailing on them.

That's fine if every decision was down to the chairman. What about your clueless coach signing every player available? Presumably Green suffers by not getting his investment back?
Thinking about it, can the RFL legally fine chairmen, when it is a company who owns the lease/business?

It's not as easy though. After all, the newcomer is wanting something from the RFL and so is more likely to comply than someone who has just done a runner. The newcomer presumably might be and easier touch for the money too, seeing as the guy who reneged on his bill and left probably did so because he didn't have the cash. Mind, that was was probably because of the money HE had to pay up front, after the bloke before him scarpered....round and round the record goes, where it ends nobody knows..

Our clueless coach has gone too as has the chairman's clueless sidekick general manager.

But someone has to pay so let's choose the people that had nothing to do with it.

Genius.

As if the job wasn't hard enough for the new company, the RFL just seem to stumble from one blunder to another.
They should have relegated us, Fixtures fulfilled or not.

The new co are in fact doing them a favour in my book.

So what's the alternative - fine the company that has just gone into admin?

read the rfl rules. its all in there.

But these are the people who in your words have "serially screwed the tax man & local suppliers? Apart from a 3 year rent holiday obvs". You can't have it both ways.

If you can't punish the perpetrator then don't punish anyone else.

So chairmen just fold a club on a whim, with no repercussions for anyone?

Well, in this specific case, you strip the distressed member club of the last piece of it's family silver (the lease) for a fraction of it's actual worth. Then as well as having the legal high ground, you win the PR battle so you have the moral high ground as well, then you throw the new incarnation of the club a few crumbs to keep the masses clamouring whilst disguising the fact you have (effectively) appropriated a high value asset without any downside as the new club is the protective shield for any outrage over liabilities.

Well played the RFL....

Now, morally, any windfall should accrue to the Bulls, but that will never happen so, again, morally, any windfall from the last decent asset the Bulls had should go towards paying off 4 years of Bulls creditors. But again, not going to happen. Instead, that ill-gotten windfall will be used to dirty the pockets of all 40 member clubs (but with several layers between them & the morality question).

Blindly punishing the blameless doesn't do any good does it?

It's no deterrent. None of those at fault feel the effect of the punishment either.

What do you suggest?

Interestingly Ralph Rimmer stated yesterday on bcb that they could not sell the lease of Odsal as it belonged to all [u39 members[/u. This brings up 2 points: presumably we are not counted in this deal and secondly, have the other 39 members agreed to the new rental agreement.

It's a difficult one but if they continue down that line I can't see anyone wanting to become involved in saving a club in the future.

"Hi, welcome to RL, great to have you on board in a club ownership capacity. How are you? good good... it'll please you to know that we have immediately and seriously handicapped your effort because you predecessor was a bit of a , but it's for you're own good you understand."

It's already failed twice before and done nothing more than further tarnish Professional RL in Bradford and further financial strife.

The more I think about it the more I believe Khan and Green were doomed no matter what they did given the hands dealt them. It's not made the club financially stable. Perhaps its time to change approach. This ones a killer, 12 points and a 50% depleted squad from what the RFL envisioned when they came up with the handicap. Cha-Low must nbe on a backhander to take this firing squad.

It may not be perfect but I'd take a bond from any new company, then any club going into admin instantly forefeits. Maybe £750,000 for SL, £500,000 for Champs, £125,000 for CH1. Should keep the ten bob millionaires at bay and will act as a deterrent for any one wanting to go barmy.

But, as you say, someone needs punishment this time around

so lets look no further than the cretins who insisted on installing Ferres at the club as a safe pair of hands? (When his track records proved he was anything but)

*Bangs gavel* Big Nige, you have been found guilty of royally screwing Bradford over. You are hereby fined 12 points.... We'll just put them on our tally for safe keeping eh

?

I don't have an easy answer. I'm not a RFL apologist but they have to do something to try & deter. But unless you are a rabid Wakey fan you would see the sense in having a Bradford team in pro RL. If they were to be simply relegated it screws up the programming, also Bradford would probably now be in the RL equivalent of the Northern Counties League. If you took a bond from incoming chairmen that might work, if they could get a bond. Or it might put off even more investment. So I don't know. But keyboard warriors simply screaming abuse at the RFL, when they didn't create this mess, pjsses me off.
I have seen enough ‘entrepreneurs’ set up businesses, then fold them on a whim, crippling small suppliers & businesses, with absolutely no repercussions. Personally, I’d like to take them into the street & beat them to death with a hawthorn branch. But they get hailed as wealth creators, not vermin. Very few people take on a RL club to earn a fast buck. I’m not sure whether fining them is legally possible or sensible. Come the revolution the people’s court will decide everything fairly & equitably. And we’ll stuff the Aussies.

Couldn't the RFL deduct money from the central funding to build up a compensation fund for businesses that get dumped on. Any liquidate clubs should start in the bottom pro league but with no points deduction. The problem seems to be that the RFL want Bradford in CH.

I love the apparent idea that 'someone [anyone? [imust[/i be punished, it's almost pythonesque in it's logic.

I laugh at the idea that it's somehow, 'nothing to do with the RFL', that clubs like Bradford go bust, when the last three occasions have a direct link to RFL intervention. Fining or withdrawing financial support and creating obstacles to to them being able to attract support or being able to field an even half decent team, are all solid reasons why the RFL have take their share of the flak. Better no, 'help', than help like that - fining someone who has no money is the most ludicrous aspect, if any punishment could be designed to create the result it is supposedly preventing, then there you have it.

I wouldn't mind at all in the case of a pre-pack, where the same people hop out of their responsibilities and immediately hop back in charge, by all means, don't let people using fancy financial footwork to benefit themselves, benefit on the field, but the current system is as barmy as fining the new owner of a house because the last one didn't pay his council tax. They're crackpots the lot of them - a pox on all their houses!

when the rfl went to the kitty the cupboard would be bare except for a little note: "spent on the Pies"

Certainly more practicable than a bond, RRD, the cost of the bond for us would be more than the face value.

Unless the RFL planned for this outcome, where they have the lease at the expense of 5 years of Bradford struggles (in which case, sod the pox, just burn their houses down!!) then as soon as the idiots voluntarily took on the massive conflict of interest that is the Odsal lease, they were involved and part responsible for this mess as the line between RFL advantage and Bulls detriment immediately became blurred.

I doubt much was actually planned, to be fair, it's just people making snap reactions to the current circumstances. Like most snap decisions they are made with a minimum of thought. The RFL wanted Bradford in the championship because of the crowds, but they should be aware that, though the Bradford crowd is quite large by chamionship standards it is, in general, thin in the sense that poor results tend to cause a marked drop off in support. I think that we, and them, are just hoping for the best.