Remind me of the reasons for a 12 team SL again? A smaller playing pool for the England coach to choose from?

I used to think the champ teams would have no hope of gaining promotion through the proposed playoff system, but having watched Leigh in the cup game against Rhinos the other week I'm not so sure any more.

I reckon they would have beaten us and Wakey comfortably that night, so there's no reason why they can't replicate that kind of performance in a promotion dogfight.



Whatever happens next year we will be getting a significant increase in central funding. If we can keep a support base of around 2k and convince Provident to remain as sponsor then we should be spending up to the championship cap without too much of a problem.

It will take some careful management of figures and salaries, but if done right we can remain full time next year imo. Top four in SL2 should be a realistic target.



One of the first things we should be doing is convincing Leon to come home, he would go great in SL2.

I'm sure we're preparing buts there's only so far we can go until we know for sure which league were in. We can only provisionally offer contracts, both to our existing player in event we stay up and championship level players if we go down. If in meantime another club offers same players a definite contract then they would be silly to refuse it. In that sense it would be better for us long term to reach point where it's mathematically impossible to stay up sooner rather than later then we can start signing deals.

How are they going to sell season tickets? I assume for just the first half of the season? The whole thing is a minefield.

First half? It's a little more than that. We will play 11 home games in the regular season, only 2 less than this year.

The playoff system will only result in another 4 home games at most. I'm sure they will offer a package deal for the extra home games if we qualify for the playoff.

Even if we don't qualify for middle eight playoff there's a playoff in bottom eight too. So still 4 extra home games after initial 11. I'd guess they'd offer a season ticket with and without the playoff series. Then offer a 4 match mini season ticket once they know which set of eight were in. But price it such that its cheaper to buy full season ticket at start of season, when you dont know which eight we'll finish in, than it is to buy cut down season ticket plus mini one.

What a mess from whatever angle it is going to be difficult solve this mess and sell Season Tickets. Supporters will just turn off.

I agree with that



If we're going down, it makes a lot of sense to be put out of our misery sooner rather than later

Surely the first question is where will we be playing? I cannot see how we can afford to play at Odsal under the current arrangement, paying market rate rent to the RFL and being responsible for the upkeep of the ground, if we are in the Championship.



We could not afford paying token rent and the upkeep before the deal with RFL over the lease with SL funding and attendances. Unless something has changed on that front, how can we afford Odsal if we go down?

It will come as no surprise whatsoever if, however it is dressed up, we end up not being able to afford Odsal, and Odsal ends up being developed as whatever. So far as I am concerned Odsal is a goner.

It would be an interesting development if we were to let the lease [from the RFL go, since, as I understand it, as no Bradford club would then be playing at the ground, one of the major conditions of the primary lease [the RFL's would also be be broken and the council would be withing it's rights to cancel it.



I guess the RFL could ask/coerce one of the local amateur clubs to play there, so as to keep their 'investment'.



There is also the other point about the 'Odsal settlement', whereby the club had to repay a proportion of the monies received if they left before 2019. Of course, with the comings and goings, owners coming in and going out [and presumably, changes to the lease wording/ it might be hard to work out who had responsibility to pay, though I suspect it might be 'the club' rather than any holding company.

Equally, there was meant to be a clause in the original deal that if Odsal were ever developed for non-rugby purposes, the Rfl are constrained to build a 16000 stadium in the Bradford district for Bradford Bulls to use.



Admittedly, Hood told me this. And hindsight tells me otherwise.



Equally there have been 2 administrations since then and several changes of ownership.



But again, if the clause says "the club" rather than the company, assuming it exists of course, and everyone actually signed the damn thing....