[Bullseye]

Re: 2018 Bradford Bulls : Tue Sep 12, 2017 11:58 am  

Bulliac wrote:

That would make sense Pumpy, especially as one of the earlier 'owners' (the gang of three, iirc) made public some decision they claimed had been made in our favour regarding points, funding to be docked or some such. After that they denied it was ever a deal and then, presumably to teach them a lesson, rescinded their, errrm what ever it was(n't) and did us for the full amount. The 'owners' resigned shortly afterwards I think.

Spot on.

However I think that there's so much up in the air at the moment. From what I hear nobody at the club knows 100% what's going on. Hence no decision from Toovey or any announcements on re-signings. Chalmers doesn't speak publicly anyway.

Some championship clubs are struggling financially or have no home ground or both. Some C1 clubs aren't in much of a better state.

I don't think any decisions will be made until all the Championship and C1 fixtures are done. Even then I can see it being left as it is.

Re: 2018 Bradford Bulls : Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:06 pm  

Bulliac wrote:

The simple truth is that clubs need to look to themselves to get crowds in. Sitting back and expecting the away teams to bring in sufficient supporters to fund their clubs is ridiculous, in fact it's beyond ridiculous; as a business plan it's risible.

Yes they do need to do more themselves but away support is a vital part of any club.
If you get 1000 away supporters each game - say 11 games you get in roughly £200k+ from them alone.
That is not peanuts. It is a lot of money to a small club. Every supporter counts, even away supporters.
I just don't get why wanting the away support to help fund your season is ridiculous. Surely as a business you need every customer you can get.
This is why having Toronto, London, Toulouse, possibly Catalan and maybe Barrow will be causing great concern to the teams in the Championship. It will matter very little what the club does to get larger numbers of away support from these clubs due to the travelling distance and costs.
Batley and Dewsbury could assign you your very own lap dancer for the whole 80 minutes and the supporters from these clubs still wouldn't travel.
You are right but that would mean that 6 games they need to do better and the other 5 are a lost cause. 6 games only to target in a season. How can a business run like that.
That is why they are wanting more games and us staying up would be a bonus.

Re: 2018 Bradford Bulls : Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:17 pm  

How would we go on regarding contracts if we are now relegated and wanted to terminate a contract as it is void due to relegation - and then in November we are saved.
Could we tear up Smiths contract and he goes away and gets a lower paid contract and then we stay up. What would happen then? Could we use "we are relegated" to lose the ones we don't want.
It could be tricky for players who are on a longer contract who leave because we are relegated and then find out we aren't and never really were and they are then worse off.
Someone give Caisley a ring for some legal advice.

Re: 2018 Bradford Bulls : Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:31 pm  

Bull Mania wrote:

To be fair to John, he replaced Daryl Powell, he was never going to replicate what Daryl did. Look at what he is doing at Cas. The players aren't world beaters or champions. The squad is probably 4th-6th team looking at the players on paper. But Daryl has got them playing unplayable rugby. Give any other coach the Cas team and i don't think they come top IMO Didn't Fev lose to Leigh twice on the bounce which also contributed to his downfall? Leigh only lost once that year i believe. Replacing a super coach and the rise of Leigh probably didn't help. They were third when he was sacked. They've had a few coaches since then and i don't think they have finished any higher.

If John is appointed, i've no idea whether he will be a success or not. We'll get the usual experts who only ever post on here when having a dig at us with stories of "Johns training was players practicing how to try their shoe laces etc" As others have said, Daryl Powell's first coaching job wasn't a success. Chris Chester under performed at Hull KR, but has taken Wakefiled to unprecedented heights. Or he may not be a very good coach and his skills are developing junior players.

As I've said before Bastian was sacked by Fev as he totally destroyed the spirit in the dressing room. His player judgement could also be called into question: he got rid of the (then) best half back in the Championship because he wasn't quick enough for the type of rugby Fev would play and then went on to send out teams to play the most boring rugby seen from a Fev team in many a year, whilst said half back went off to play (and is still playing) in SL.

[Bullseye]

Re: 2018 Bradford Bulls : Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:22 pm  

He let Finn go? Bit of a clanger!

Re: 2018 Bradford Bulls : Wed Sep 13, 2017 8:04 am  

woolly07 wrote:

Someone give Caisley a ring for some legal advice.

He says we can "sign Iestyn without fear of reproach. What could possibly go wrong? We're the Bulls, it's not like we're gonna end up paying through the nose for it, and even if we do our expected 20K+ crowds will fund it. You watch Rodders, this time next year..."

[Bullseye]

Re: 2018 Bradford Bulls : Wed Sep 13, 2017 8:29 am  

Re: 2018 Bradford Bulls : Wed Sep 13, 2017 8:45 am  

We're pretty much in the same old situation as we have been for about a million years (or feels like it). Nobody has a clue what we'll be doing or where we'll be playing, although the Fat Lady insists we're down in the 3rd Div.; this means without any more, you have the devil's own job to sensibly plan a squad, let alone convince any half decent players to stay, much less sign; and add to the the standard financial Sword of Damocles (this time round, it's the Tribunal claim that could see us sorely screwed and won't be known what happens till, is it January?) - and whatever happens, will by then have made a huge lawyer-sized gaping hole in the budgets.

And in terms of cashflow, I'd guess that the present season and the uncertainty around 2018 would severely hamper any season ticket sales, even if they were reasonably priced, but apparently it's gonna be "same again" which will make the most hardened of fan seriously doubt if it's worth it. My "same again" IIRC would be a total of £370, which I'd be handing over while watching the likes of Bentley, Ryan, Toovey, Oledzki, Lilley and others walking out the door, as the likes of Hemel, Coventry and Gloucsestershire sneak in, in a minibus. And worrying whether a disastrous Tribunal result might not bring the whole thing crumbling down yet again.

I also can't see next season being a good one anyway, even if we surmount these obstacles. Even Toronto, with all their moneymen, attractiveness, big salaries and squad of ex-SL players have hardly had it all their own way in this league and there are plenty of grizzled time-served outfits relishing a tasty fixture against the new kids (literally) on the block. Certainly we'll be no Toronto, to say the least. And the galling thing is, this season, we could have been very competitive in that league.

[Bulliac]

Re: 2018 Bradford Bulls : Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:08 am  

woolly07 wrote:

Yes they do need to do more themselves but away support is a vital part of any club.
If you get 1000 away supporters each game - say 11 games you get in roughly £200k+ from them alone.
That is not peanuts. It is a lot of money to a small club. Every supporter counts, even away supporters.
I just don't get why wanting the away support to help fund your season is ridiculous. Surely as a business you need every customer you can get.
This is why having Toronto, London, Toulouse, possibly Catalan and maybe Barrow will be causing great concern to the teams in the Championship. It will matter very little what the club does to get larger numbers of away support from these clubs due to the travelling distance and costs.
Batley and Dewsbury could assign you your very own lap dancer for the whole 80 minutes and the supporters from these clubs still wouldn't travel.
You are right but that would mean that 6 games they need to do better and the other 5 are a lost cause. 6 games only to target in a season. How can a business run like that.
That is why they are wanting more games and us staying up would be a bonus.

The last sentence is exactly right, imo. Away support is a bonus - it isn't and should never be vital and any club that treats it as such is likely to be in trouble.

I'd certainly agree that, the way things are shaping up, the bonuses (or vital income) are going to be thin on the ground in the championship next season, but all the more reason to put your own, home grown, income and expenditure in order.

I think your figure of 1000 away fans for each game is pie in the sky to be honest, after all, it's only recently that former SL clubs with larger away followings have been in this division and before that they only got the usual meagre amounts (couple of hundred, maybe?) from the traditional championship clubs. Clubs would have been lucky lucky to get much over 1000 for a season, and, let's face it, many don't even get as many as 1000 for their home attendances in total.

Clubs need to target each and every one of their home fixtures, and stop worrying about away fans, it's up to then to get their own support out and maximise income.

Re: 2018 Bradford Bulls : Wed Sep 13, 2017 10:26 am  

I remember thinking to myself at full time against Sheff in the shield final last year god that was a $hit season, could it get any worse?

It seems it has massively, I wonder if 2018 is the start of a gradual rise?
As always the total vacuum with regards to what is actually happening is the most frustrating thing.
I wonder if the club realise they have to put some sort of effort in to get people to buy into what they are doing?