Not sure why you all love Rohan Smith he continued to bring players half way round the world knowing there were issues.

Rohan coaches. He doesn't look after the books and sign the accounts. If Marc Green & Steve Ferres said it was OK to sign players, why would he argue otherwise.

I'm not sure. Given that our first team will be horrendously depleted anyway, might it make more sense to accept that we will be whipping boy rabble next year, but keep hold of what we can in the juniors and build from there? This is all moot given that we have no club, but a shoestring first team doomed to failure and a good junior team looks better from here than a moderately expensive first team and no juniors.

I personally have no love or hate for the guy. He's handling himself well no doubt, but I don't think as a coach he's proven one way or the other. The love people have though is purely coming from him saying the right things, having the right attitude and seeming to give a monkeys.

As far as the signing players thing, it's difficult from the outside to know what say he had in that. It's not necessarily his job to ensure the club's finances are ok to sign players. It's someone else's (a Ferres, RHP or Green type role) to tell him how much money is available to spend and what his budget is. It's then up to the coach to do what he wants with that budget. If the budget is terrible and causes the club to go bust, I would suggest that isn't his fault.
That being said, you don't know how much input he had. But I'd be surprised if his input is to blame as much as those above him.

I wouldn't even say it depends on how much input he had. This is his first head coach gig. If they gave him a budget and it was nonsense that's on them and not him. Likewise if they took the restraints away nor didn't put any in place then that's on them and not him.

He's the boss of the players. He gets a say but he doesn't have the word. And if he did, that's on them.

If there's ever a time for bisa to stand up and be counted this is it.
3k fans/businesses paying £5 a month gives you a big say in how the club move forward long-term

Richard Lamb and Damien Irvine have been on Sky Sports News talking about how they plan to restructure the club and make the business profitable in the Championship on limited central funding.

Yes, he's on Nil. Not been paid since November. Looks like the youth setup has already gone, and losing that "to focus funds on the first team" would be about the maddest idea yet, and the one thing above all else that every remaining Bradford fan would not have wanted.


Yes, a new business can't get any.


that is nuts, with respect. How does eking out "short term survival" ever achieve anything? Why would a team that "short term survived" (how??) for a season or two suddenly become more able to look to the longer term future? If it doesn't work from Day 1 it sure won't get any better on Day 2.

Would they not be better waiting until taking control, before explaining to the masses what their intentions are? Or am I missing something here.. isn't there a bidding process to go through first with the RFL?

www.skysports.com/rugby-league/n ... m=referral The guys Rohan brought weren't half bad were they?One thing he has proven IMO,is that he is a man of character and substance and people buy into that.He has my vote.

www.skysports.com/rugby-league/n ... m=referral The guys Rohan brought weren't half bad were they?One thing he has proven IMO,is that he is a man of character and substance and people buy into that.He has my vote.

Well thanks at least for giving me a rare laugh!

If they get the gig and if they make us "profitable" then I'll bare my arrse on 't town hall steps.

Never ceases to amaze how everyone has brave talk, but like poor old Omar, it's bad enough to be a reasonable outfit on normal money, so with a pittance of central funding (if any - maybe a 1 year distribution "punishment"?) all talk of being "profitable" is surely just total bollox.

Rohan certainly knew about the impending financial difficulties. Hence why senior players such as Caro and Clare stood up to him only to be shown the door. The way Rohan has treated those players including Adam Sidlow in all this is unacceptable, first telling him he's not wanted and to move, to then not being able to move him. Thankfully Sidlow has found a new club as have the majority of the first team who no longer have any respect for Rohan.

You'd think, and it is this sort of stuff which hints at more Plan B than we have been told. But then again Lamb has always talked a good game so who knows.

But no, there isn't a bidding process as such, anybody can apply to join the RFL (eg Toronto) and be considered. Well, I suppose if there were more than one applying to run Bradford but I hardly think there's much of a queue

I'd suggest that is impossible if they stay at Odsal

Will this be the ' Watergate ' that ends Mr Woods term at the RFL ? , the secret 500 K loan and subsequent lease compensation is crippling the Bulls and will continue to strangle any new incarnation , but will the other RFL members ( clubs ) be happy to lose the half million without seeing a head roll ?

What half a million?

Nigel Wood needs removing but how can you when he's surrounded himself with his 'yes Nigel' brigade who will always protect him?

Short term survival and then you can steady the ship is better than run a youth academy and go bust. It's said a youth set up cost about 200k per year. Richard Lamb seem to share the view that a competitive first team is the starting point.

You need to cut whatever you can. So instead of dissecting each persons points saying how terrible they are what do you suggest the model should look like with very limited funds?

The point Rohan is on nil is somewhat pedantic as with all due respect your more intelligent than that and know I mean the term he will require, plus car and house rental etc.

That's to FA

Why would less money than season ticket price get you that?

Any bidding will have been done last week at the latest

If the club is to move forward then Rohan needs to take a drastic paycut. You simply cannot be paying Super League coach salaries in the Championship. My son will tell that.

If there was a market for it I'd put a quid on lamb and Irvine getting control by next week.

All the other talk of players, coaches, points deductions, leagues etc, whilst obvious points for discussions are all pretty irrelevant to me at the mo. We have no players, no ground and no league, and we won't have any meaningful discussion about any of that until we get some new owners of some sort of new Bradford rl club. That's the only news that counts for me at the mo, who will take it on? And in what form? -as that will be the first indicator for me as to if I want to commit to another go on the roller-coaster or I tap out with the old club I followed.
And for that I'm back in waiting for announcement mode......#sigh#

if this was a normal business, well you would have gone bust and honestly only the employees and their family and friends would have cared, but it's not, but it still should be treated as a business going forward with a five year then ten year plan slowly building good foundations,your youth setup is your 'crown jewel' let that go at your peril, all supporters want success, but i honestly believe for you to get back to where you belong will be a long journey minimum five years, but without your youth setup, it really will be a distant dream and doomed to failure over the long term, Saints Wigan Leeds to an extent are all reaping the rewards for ploughing in money to their youth setups.

Apologies if I'm mistaken , I was under the impression the 500 K ' secret ' loan never got returned , and that the lease deal was collateral for its eventual repayment , strange I know , but how it seemed to me , happy to be educated if I'm wrong

I would be very interested to no who you are?

There isn't one. My own totally pessimistic view is that what we've heard so far will not produce any setup even remotely worthy of the Bulls name. In the absence of an owner willing and able to put in substantial money, my own view is that the whole thing is dead in the water, at least as a recognizable Bradford club.

It seems to me that what few hints are emerging as to what lamb or whoever may have in mind will be something completely different, and it seems to me that that something will be committing suicide by taking the directive to start in the Championship.

Nothing has changed. If you want a Bulls-style big city team, then you always did, and always will, need a big money backer. What is being proposed amounts to nothing, it would leave the club that used to be Bradford in a much, much worse place than the club that used to once be the mighty Bradford Park Avenue. Same name, but no point. And they (allegedly) DO have a man with money involved.