Seriously, I have a bad feeling about this.

Not looking good!

[urlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/19003931[/url

This could actually be good for the game in the long run.
Having Bulls (or even Salford) drop out would allow the RFL to create a Cumbrian team for SL, which would expand the game into an area of proven player quality/history, whilst also having a team in the Championship who have the ability to maintain a decent chance of surviving when they are brought back into SL.
The thought of Bulls being replaced by a smallish Yorkshire outfit like Fev, Sheffield or Halifax would struggle to improve the game.
The only question is - would a Team Cumbria be acceptable to the likes of Worky, Barrow and Haven ? None of them are looking able to submit a single application on their own, so this may work (the same way that les Cats has)

I honestly dont believe that a reduction in the no of teams back to 12 is feasible, as the TV money is now so crucial to the survival of the game.

Team Cumbria will never be feasible IMO. It's too far from Barrow to the 2 teams up the coast and there's too much rivalry between Workington and Whitehaven for a merger to be an option. I agree that Cumbria needs a team, if the effort that the RFL put in to fast tracking Crusaders in to SL was put in to a Cumbrian team there's a chance they'd have been an established SL team now. The problems those teams have is none of them are anywhere near meeting a lot of the license criteria and would need a lot of time and money to get to such a stage. It's looking likely that all 3 will be promoted in to the Championship next year, perhaps one of them can get themselves ready for a SL license application in future years. It's not feasible atm but a Cumbrian team in SL would certainly be a good asset, but it would have to be a one of the exisiting teams as a single bid.

I think this could turn out bad for the Bulls, the RFL think (quite rightly) they have been perceived stupid over giving them a licence in the first place, so won’t want to take too much of a risk now. That could be curtains, windows and doors for Bradford. Sad really! Hope they stay.

but what above basing a club in-between the two areas, Millom (the home to the oldest amatuer RL club in the world), would be an ideal area to base such a club, 30 minutes from Barrow and around 35 from Whitehaven, The Cumbria Atoms based at Salthouse Park, sounds good to me

If the Bulls do go then SL could well go down to 13 clubs next season.
There seems to be a feeling amongst club chairmen that 14 are too many clubs for SL so they may take the opportunity to reduce by one as a starter.
Not a good move IMO but I can see it happening.

The situation is getting more and more serious, as the latest offer has also been rejected by the RFL.

[urlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/19080575[/url

The Rugby Football League has rejected the second bid submitted by the ABC consortium for Bradford Bulls.
An original conditional bid was rejected last Thursday before a second bid was submitted on Friday.
It is believed the consortium want assurances over the club's Super League future as well as being allowed to buy back the club's Odsal ground.
Meanwhile, the RFL is continuing to talk to the club's administrators about funding the players' wages for August.
"We have been consistent that we are unable to consider any offers which comes with strings attached," RFL director of licensing Blake Solly said.
"It is disappointing that the ABC consortium are still unable to submit an unconditional offer."
When the initial bid was placed, administrator Brendan Guilfoyle warned that he could not envisage any consortium being willing to purchase the club if there was a chance it would not be in the top flight next season.
He said at the time: "The best the RFL will get is a conditional bid. The consortium I'm dealing with won't move forward with the club in the second tier. It would be a totally different business model.
"I'm here to save the Bradford Bulls as a Super League club."
The Bulls have been in administration for over a month, having entered it on 26 June when efforts to raise £1m to keep the club afloat proved unsuccessful.
On Monday, Solly voiced concerns about the second bid being a conditional one, saying he did not expect the board to accept it.
He reiterated that any offer for the club would have to be unconditional and cast doubt on the details of the bids placed for the club so far.
"The position with Bradford Bulls is identical to that faced by Widnes Vikings and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, who were taken out of administration in 2007 and 2011, respectively, by new owners without any guarantee as to which competition they would be playing in," he added.
"All enquirers have been informed that the RFL is only interested in receiving offers for Bradford Bulls which are free from any condition pertaining to competition membership or the re-acquisition of Odsal Stadium.
"The ABC consortium have also been informed that any unconditional offer would also have to be accompanied by a detailed business plan, the identity of all material shareholders and proposed directors and the appropriate proof that the required levels of funding are in place.
"Unfortunately the ABC consortium have been unable to supply any of the above information, leaving the RFL with no option but to deem the offer unacceptable."
Earlier on Wednesday the acting chairman of the Bulls had appealed to the RFL to give the club some clarity on what division they are likely to be in next season.
Stephen Coulby said the uncertainty over the club's future was putting off potential investors and was unfair on current employees.
"If the club is at best to be a Championship club for a period of at least two years please let any prospective purchasers know this, so that they can decide whether to proceed with their interest and plan accordingly," he said.
"The continuing uncertainty is impacting not only on potential investors but in particular on the lives and families of the staff and players at the club, who are in no way responsible for the financial crisis and whose efforts at this time cannot be praised too highly."

How many people has Brian Nobel had sacked in all of this? Rumour has it he's pulling the strings behind the scenes, good people are losing their jobs

He deserves a prize.

No Bull.

I'm talking about coaches from Wigan who havent done anything wrong and Nobby has cleared them out so he can get his mates back in.
Its good to know you want fellow wiganers to lose their jobs.....

WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHH

And now the SL clubs have joined forces to save Bradford.... I hope this works out but it sounds far from straighforward to me....

[urlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/19096266[/url

Maybe once the SL clubs have saved Bradford they can turn their attention to saving themselves and the professional game....

If SL 'buys' Bradford i hope this doesn't set a precedent for future screw-ups by a club's owner(s). Especially if the rumours surrounding Salford turn out to be true...

Me no likey!

The RFL and fellow SL club's footing the bill until a buyer is found. Not the way to go for mine. If it's just until the season concludes then fair enough, but if it's beyond that then it's no, no from me.

So now we've got Leeds owning the RFL, and the RFL owning Bradford...

Erm, check your spelling, Brian NOBLE, not Nobel, hence the 'prize' post.

How much does each team get from the TV deal each year?

Could SLE buying Bradford allow Bradford to be run to the end of the season, then drop them down to the lower division allowing a lower salary cap and lower cost basis. SLE run the Bulls in the championship as not for profit and the cost of buying the Bulls is offset to each club by the increase per club in the TV money with the Bulls gone????

Just a thought.

Think of the billions the tax payers have given the the banksters and an iconic club like bradford wont get a bail out.
Anyway im just bitter becoz the french had vicky pendleton disqualified

Oh yea, i forgot the importance of spelling vs peoples jobs....

One word " equivalence ", what will now happen if other clubs go into " financial difficulties ", SLE i.e. everyone, will bail them out with continuous funds, what incentive to run your club properly, this does not make sense and smacks of desperation.

Dont be so soft, it was a joke.

Besides which, i would be more concerned about your OP. Possibly one of the most liable comments i have seen on here for a while.

There are some real difficulties with this proposal, but I think desperation is the right word. The game is in crisis at present. I've been accused of being ridiculously defeatist on this board recently for suggesting that in the long term the game is heading for a semi-pro future with the SL competition being reduced to the status that the French domestic competition has, but it is hopelessly naive to think that this is not a likely outcome.

Our clubs have failed to raise their revenue in line with inflation over the last 15-20 years and as a result the SC has remained where it is. This is because most clubs simpy cannot afford to pay more than a spending limit which is 30-40% lower in real terms than it was at the outset. If this carries on then many players will not go into professional RL or leave the sport because they can make more money in other careers. Eventually wages will reach the level where even those who want to play rugby first and foremost will have to take a second job to pay the bills.

Financial mismanagement by the clubs and incompetent regulation by the RFL have now reached laughable proportions. The fact that clubs such as Crusaders, Wakefield and Bradford were given a clean bill of health by the licensing process would be astonishing if this were not RL. It would be a major scandal in other sports. In RL people just put up with it. Worse than this this, we actually have people on these boards telling those who form a Facebook group to call for change at the RFL saying that there is no point complaining because unless you put forward solutions you are just "whingers" and the people running the game will just ignore you. Really? In other sports there would be outrage and campaigns to put public pressure on those in charge to change, but in RL many are happy to be deferential to those destroying clubs and wrecking the future of the game. The fact is that many RL club owners and the incompetents at the RFL are a bigger danger to the game than its supposed enemies such as RU and people in RL need to wake up before it is too late (if it isn't already) to save the game we love.