Rugby League

[roversdude]

How the fck are Bradford still in Championship after going bust
I know they have a minus points but weren't they liquidated ??
Surely should start at bottome

[not on facebook]

Iam just going to pluck this out of the air with the size of their fan base ?

[RedRover45]

The rugby league in their infinite wisdom decided that to put them in the bottom league would mess up the fixture lists for both the divisions so let them stay in the Championship. The cynic in me wonders whether they would still have done this if it had been one of the much smaller clubs in the division like Swinton or 'groundless' Sheffield. Possibly not.

[ballysbackin]

It was also a consideration when new club "Toronto" suggested that they could come straight in and into the Championship...People who know me know I had another life and it was Rugby League and things that we at Doncaster achieved and are now long forgotten except by those who took part.. But IMO the RFL have lots to answer for, people shout about FIFA but on a much larger scale,,,,The RFL allowed LOndon Broncos after the demise of FULHAM RLFC to have more than the five permitted overseas players and in fact hosted an almost entire team of then current and past TEST players from the Southern Hemisphere. Then came the French with the same rules and now they have a second club flying the waves because the rules were bent for them and in order to promote the game into a national game. (Will never happen) it is not as well sponsored as the RFU.

But now the Dons and such have to travel to Toronto, true they have to travel here but it has gone beyond stupid. In 1989, we took two boys teams from our club at Doncaster Boys to team up with some American kids and put about 5 into each team and we played in the County Ground in Milwaukee (Where DErek met his future wife on that trip) the Americans did not play as they did not want to so we staged a 10 a side in America which I had the honour to referee prior to a game between Warrington and Wigan...All the pomp etc etc etc and still the game did not take on..Ray French was commentating and Kevin Tamati also was doing PR for Warrington.

The only thing that was achieved despite Mike Mayer's hard work was marketing and Warrington became the Wolves and Wigan became the Warriors and all the teams had had on names, even our lower league teams, the only team to stand firm was Saint Helens. I have been in Odsall the home of Bradford Northern and seen them I have also been in there in a crowd of 40,000 but not in the record crowd for a RL fixture outside of Wembley.

The sentiments expressed in the first post are a fair view and a good question. Look at football in recent years,Portsmouth and Cardiff exploited the rules and extensions were put on court dates for final winding up.. Then look at Darlington. Look at Donny's opponents this Saturday as well, look at Newport County.

My bit on this is that the fans of Bradford Bulls as they are. Newport and Accrington as well as Darlington. York and Scarborough as near neighbours are victims of business. Just like Doncaster rovers FC and Doncaster RLFC were in not to far history.  AND as I have stated year upon year, WE the fans do not count, what good would it do dropping Bradford down a league they would romp, just like Wigan did in their only Div 2 Season in RL. it would serve no reason to the other clubs. Even in SCotland RangersFC were punished and then collected Cups and League trophies on their way back. It is a hard call but also is the unfairness of relegated Premiership clubs who receive parachute payments to pay failed premier league players salaries, and as Donny found the little clubs in the Championship do not have a prayer.

[LongbridgeMGRover]

It seems like whatever was done would have been wrong.
Bradford have been very very badly managed from a financial viewpoint, and have flirted with bankruptcy for a few years.

Last season they gambled on staying full time professional......And lost.

If they had gone down a further league (which many of their fans would have accepted) then the RL would have been a team short in the Championship with a few weeks to go.

The big bash would be imbalanced and last year's relegated teams have already cut their cloth and would find it impossible to compete as would the Dons and other too L1 teams.

And I guess at the back of the RLs minds was to not lose city representation.

And Toronto....Bizarre. but they have sold 10,000season tickets and have recruited big time. Will it last or end in tears who knows??

And if anyone think this forum is full of miserable doom laden old gits, try visiting....
http://www.totalrl.com/forums/index.php?/forum/341-the-general-rugby-league-forum/