Apologies for the new thread but I couldn’t choose which other to put this on.

Regardless of all the other comments on the facts and suppositions about the run up to administration, where it is now and then the future, one way to consider the future as a Bulls fan is from considering your affinity to the Employees (players/other staff).

Unless a fan wins the European lottery or a white knight emerges (decide yourself which has the best odds) by day 10, its liquidation. Then IMO (and other posters) someone will emerge to buy the assets (players/staff whom they want and the temporary SL license).

This probability has caused various reactions in various groups of people such as:

1) People with (worthy) high morals hating the affect on creditors (mainly HMRC in value, small suppliers - but as big a hit to their businesses proportionately, employees who WILL lose their jobs in the necessarily pared down business, and the RFL for rent (is any Bulls fan upset about that one?)

2) Supporters of other teams hating it for whatever reason. Whilst there have been notable friendly posts to the Bulls on here from genuinely supportive other team’s fans, don’t delude yourself, the MAJORITY of other teams fans, when discussing it publicly, take the worse point of view. They deplore the effect on creditors, how (they say) the RFL is giving the Bulls an unfair advantage, etc etc, along a one-eyed fans point of view

3) People who say get on with it as having a team as near to how it was before this (and then as near to the glory years) is the most important to them, and

4) People in between these extremes

Given (IMO) there will be a Bulls July 2012, it will need the continued support from as many of the existing fans as possible in the remainder of this season. Then it relies on the new owner to prove to the RFL, that the new business has adequate cash (flow) to warrant the retention of the SL licence. This cash will be from gate receipts / Sky money (sometime in the future) and the magic amount they put in as either share capital or a loan, to cover cashflow now and in the future until the business breaks even (hopefully) in the next two years. We can all see there will never be a worthwhile profit for them to take.

Long intro but here is my point. Don’t let your feelings towards the Company management team, past present or future affect your support for Bulls July 2012. Support it because it will comprise coaches from the current set up (dont know which) and the majority of the players will be from the current set up, and [uyou[/u support [uthose[/u Bulls, not the Company Managers.

Directors (and owners) are usually in one of three camps:-
1) Fans of the Club
2) Fans of the game, but cant get in the club they want so choose any one
3) In it only for their prestige
None of them are daft enough to think they are in it for the money. Don’t waste your time even considering who it is, why bother, you can’t influence them. Don’t worry about things you can’t influence. (PS the Mayans say it is the end of the world don’t they?). Leave them to it and support the Rugby teams, moan about them to your hearts content on here.

Sure, some players will leave, either because they are sold or they want a secure future. Don’t blame them for that. Thank them for what they have done and wish them the best. The rest will be who is here now, re-signed to Bulls July 2012 (but likely a lot with contract get out clauses if not in SL after this year)

For those of you saying that it means the team is weaker and will be full of youngsters, obviously yes. However, if that is enough for you to stop supporting then you weren’t a fan anyway.

With regards to the youngsters, there are a good few coming through but unfortunately not as ready as John Bateman and they wont be effective as a group for a couple of years.

By the way, think about them in all this. The majority are not on full time contracts and haven’t built up playing CV’s to make them as obvious targets for the other clubs as the first team squad players. They will probably all offer to continue playing for Bulls July 2012, (if that is made available to them which is not certain) without any certainty of their future past this year, when they all thought they only had to work hard and have a bit of luck to become a SL player.

I hope really this is sufficient food for thought for those fans in my category 1) above who were unsure of their allegiance to Bulls July 2012, and those who were in between (category 4). For those in category 3), I have just wasted 10 minutes of your life, sorry, and those in category 2) same 10 minutes but in this case I don’t care.

Heck, that's at least as long as anything I've ever written, I reckon! I'm sure some of my style must have rubbed off on you when we worked together all those years ago!



Seriously though, a very considered and thoughtful post from you as always. As I'm sure you will expect, I can very much relate to your category 1. But I am also incensed about how it seems to me games are being played with peoples' careers and livelihoods, quite apart from with the fans, for whatever ends only those involved will know. But that is no fault of the players or the staff or the fans, or anyone else involved apart from those who owned the business.

What you've said there pretty well mirrors what we discussed and concluded at the Bullbuilder board meeting on Tuesday evening. In fact, what we said was that its not about supporting "The Club" or "The Board" or whatever, but about supporting "The Bulls". And, especially, about supporting the young talent for the future that Bullbuilder has sought to support since its inception.

But, perhaps most of all, the players and coaching staff have shown us this season what dedication and commitment is all about and can achieve. I guess we owe it to them to show we can live up to the uplifting example they have set?

Adey

good to hear that Bullbuilder takes this view. Obviously the only way to move forward.

My post was as long as the list of items you used to leave me to clear up when you were going on holiday.

The Mayans talked bollards

I make it a general rule never to trust a race of prophets that has not a firken clue that the whole lot of 'em are about to meet their own demise.

If they had had the first idea about anything, 2012 was, I suggest, not the year they should have been worrying about.