91Èȱ¬

Rugby Leagues problem..... few people watch or enjoy it! I know this may upset a few people, but why oh why rugby league and rugby union dont combine into one single division is beyond me.

I know the above may upset people, I dont mean for it to be offensive, its just the audience and interest is not their.

Though what their fans are doing is incredible, surely they would not be in this situation if more fans were in attendance of the game?

As mentioned above " The same approach that has left one of rugby league's most famous names on the brink of bankruptcy and the same business model that is producing losses throughout the sport."

I feel the £500k will be a lost cause if a significant donor cant be found to take the club forward into the medium to long term future.

I know this comment might upset a few people, but I don't mean it to be offensive but I think North London has too many football clubs. If Tottenham and Arsenal merged this would solve the problem and would be better for all....
Football is also not exactly immune to money problems (Pompey, Rangers to name a couple!)
If you're as honest as your username suggests why don't you stick to topics you actually know a little about instead of showing your ignorance of rugby?

Rugby League gets roughly the same amount of fans as Rugby U for league matches. It is just the international game where Union is a million miles ahead. RL is not as good a product as it should be, mainly due to incompetence at Red Hall. Signing too many average foreigners on big contracts also doesn't help teams.

Good blog, answers are needed from Bradford, the Bulls fans have to dig deep and push harder, in the search for truth.

Interesting blog, nice to see someone at the 91Èȱ¬ dealing with this but as a long-standing Bradford fan I do have to take issue with a few posts.

I am sure the folk at Bullbuilder are well-intentioned, but to many they are simply stooges of the current BOD, you say Peter Hood came clean about the financial situation but in reality he didn't, he just stated we needed to raise 500k sharpish and another 500k in a few weeks but gave no indication of how and why it had come to this and, now the first 500k has been pledged and called in he has hidden behind "confidential talks" which give little confidence that this money will not just disappear down a black hole. Bullbuilder have issued their statement with questions to be answered, but I doubt there will be any reply to this, though maybe they will get another private audience with the BOD like they had last week and come out of it backing them without making it clear to the mass ranks of the support what plan it is we are supposed to be following.

I feel you have also fallen into the trap the current regime want people to fall into by blaming the situation on the Iestyn Harris transfer. Undoubtedly this was a financial disaster for Bradford, but I believe the current regime to be using it to hide behind knowing that the actual settlement figures cannot be divulged due to a confidentiality clause in the agreement. Poor off-field leadership in recent times saw us stick with a coach clearly out of his depth and the resulting drop in crowds and income from play-offs has hit hard, and that was something the current board could have rectified sooner. Also just as damaging was the decision to use a multi-million pound settlement from the council in respect of the previous Odsal lease up all in one go, mostly on building hospitality facilities, when it would have been more prudent to finance it with a long term loan when the economic situation all-round was more agreeable. As with the Harris transfer this was done under the previous chairman, though I believe Mr Hood was on the BOD at the time.

The current chairman has been in charge for six years now and, whatever went on prior to him taking charge, cannot be forgiven for letting us get into the situation we have landed in over these last few weeks. Unfortunately we seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place as it seems our other option is our previous chairman whose dreadful decision making toward the end of his reign sowed the seeds. Supporter ownership would be brave and a welcome development, but it seems neither Peter Hood nor Chris Caisley are willing to let go, when really neither have much going for them to support their chairmanship.

A wake up call! Rugby league is a fabulous but sadly minority sport "up north". After money problems a few years ago Leeds has benefitted from good on and off pitch moves but many clubs simply do not get the regular and necessary large crowds they need to survive. Look at Salford- an 11000 seater, half full! Sky TV money is not enough and I doubt whether Union can survive on it either. BUT a merger of codes is never going to happen. Time for a rethink methinks. Way forward? Dont know......

Tha reality is that many sports will struggle during a recession and those with a weak business will be found out. Even the strong clubs in football, RL and RU are feeling it but they will ride out the worst of it.
Bradford Bulls are not unique and won't be the last. Unfortunately many sports are run be administrators who are totally out of touch with reality and they remain inflexible in a fast changing world.
Eamon McManus has hit the nail on the head when he stated that SL is too big. The same can be said for other leagues in other sports as costs mount for clubs, the need to reduce the cost of travelling and staging games nees to be addressed. Bradford will emerge from this as they have done before but there has to be a change of attitude, not just at the clubs but within the governing bodies. They need to understand the real issues that the average fan faces and they must be open to change and be prepared to take a long hard look at themselves.
A very good example of not learning from previous mistakes is the format of the 2013 RLWC. It is similar to the loss making 2000 one when games where played all over the country, sometimes in front of a thousand people!! There all many more examples at club and international level.

As a Hunslet HAWKS fan upset by the mistake made in this blog it is the HAWKS that are the professional rugby club that are fan owned. The Hunslet Warriors although gat are amateur. We are the eighth in the co-operative championship making us the highest supporter owned rugby league club. There fore it would be appreciated for you to check your names next time before posting!

Matt, this is a good article thanks but poor management of a sports club goes way beyond RL. Wasps £8m in debt, Portsmouth £30m in debt (I think these figures are right but happy to be corrected). Glasgow Rangers anyone?

Until governing bodies get a grip, put some proper rules in place and actually stick their oar in when checking out finances, this will not be the first or last time we see a story like this unfold. Is fan ownership is the way forward? You bet.

Orko - your post is spot on. The current board must stand down once the future of the club is secured.

Compared to the state the game was in 20 years ago, I think RL has made some good progress. Not perfect (witness Crusaders debacle, yes 14 teams are too many), but not a total disaster. Attendances are up and player participation is higher than it ever used to be.

Quick final point. The key advantage Union has to support clubs is a successful revenue stream from internationals so a team like Leicester gets something like £4m from the RFU per annum. High profile internationals = blue chip sponsors for teams and individual players. League was finally getting to grips with this only for the NRL to pull the rug by boycotting their players from participating in 2012 internationals. Thanks guys.

Tbh this has been coming for a while. As soon as the 'super league' was formed (under Skys prompting) and formed without the full support of RL's fanbase and clubs, a fall would happen. Yes as usual with Sky, a lot of new 'customers' were attracted by the ritzy new "Sooper league' and the naff new names, but as with football, this new audience is not guaranteed once the money runs out - or when times get hard.

As football found out in the 1980's the first ans to walk are not the die-hard working class fans but the 'middle class' fans who look after the pennies before they stay loyal to a club. Now many football clubs are seeing that support melt away, in particular as seat prices mean they only have Middle class support.

Don't believe a word the EPL says, just look at the rows of empty seats at all the 'unfashionable clubs' these days.

RL is now suffering from the same problem. Unlike RU where the support has always been Middle class (and limited by comparison with RL) they now face a problem football doesn't. RL is a regional (despite the foisting of 'outsiders' on it) minority sport boosted by TV money that is at a crossroads an increasing number of football fans know so well. The fair weather fans are falling away, the clubs have overspent, and Sky are not as keen to sump up the cash as in yeas past.

Who could have seen it coming eh? ;)

Having been an observer on this and other similar occurences throughout high level sport I feel that there comes a time when we have to say enough. This is not being unfair to any particular organisation but we cannot go on bailing out failing enterprises because they should stand, at a level equivalent to their support/business model, or fail if they cannot sustain the required elements of their governing body/financial institutions etc. I feel that this would make those remaining stronger and more likely to plan accordingly to sustain their existence at the required level.

The RFL do NOT encourage any Supporter involvement in RL clubs. They have had 'issues' with Supporters Direct - the parent body of Supporters Trusts (I'm not saying I agree with the RFL) - but we, at Wakefield, were given a cold shoulder when the idea of our ST getting involved came about.
The RFL no longer provide funding to Supporters Direct either - meaning that there is no longer a dedicated member of staff at SD to give advice and support to any potential Trust - a very short-sighted decision IMO.
The model seemingly preferred by the RFL is the 'rich backer' scenario - which is ultimately a pack of cards waiting to fall down!
Having said all that - if the supporters of Bradford don't insist on a say in matters there in return for their money, then they are mad.
Good luck to the club and it's supporters. Not so much to Hood and co!

As mentioned by others, Sky doesn't pay much to cover Rugby League, but the 91Èȱ¬ deserves some criticism here because they reluctantly show far less. Just a few cup games and none of Super League, preferring instead to promote Rugby Union where there is regular conditioning taking place. The result is to show little regard to Rugby League and all supporters. The coverage they give via 'The Super League Show' is a pitiful and begrudged snippet of what supporters deserve.

So, to the 91Èȱ¬ I say put your (our tax) money where your reporting mouth is and support Rugby League. Your lack of support is obvious and we know the reasons why. Cut those 91Èȱ¬ Lottery sized salaries, reduce your staff and stop playing the innocent, because you're not helping anyone other than yourselves and it shows.