Really????



If you think that Newlove was worth more than Offiah, you should be somewhere, where the use of sharp objects is prohibited, that is crackers!!!!

Also handing over £200k for a player is hardly stealing is it?

If that is what your grudge is over, i'd give it a break to be honest!!

This debate does raise some serious questions about our game. It was founded out of a unified decision based on justice and fairness. 117 years later and those values have evaporated.



The fanbase of our sport was struggling to finance part time players in most top division clubs in 1995, and Superleague was supposed to bring financial security and a new level of professionalism and growth of the sport.



The international game is now weaker than it was pre SL and the sky cash goes directly into the hands of the now full time players. we are told year on year that crowds are up, but how many of these people pay a full price, or any price?



The move to summer has been beneficial in some respects, but how much more revenue would a proper kangaroo tour enable clubs to earn? is it worth it?



what happens if the sky money stops? our sport would change beyond recognition. With the advent of professional rugby union, how would we survive with all the best young players playing union?



the heart of our game was always the community. am I the only person that prefers going to Wheldon Rd rather than the galpharm, or prefered Knowlsey rd to langtree park?



The sport needs to stop dreaming of a european wide league, and focus on preserving the roots of our professional (or semi pro) game.



If you havent seen them, try and get copies of the two "when push comes to shove" books. Look at the pictures and read the articles. Thats what Rugby league is about!

Absolutely bang on!!!

Oh my god! It took so long. I thought it might have been when we got Jimmy Thompson or Keith Bridges? Maybe, Dave Hobbs........I guess you didn't mind them.

Petty, small minded, amoeba - like, but mostly just pathetic.

I wondered when a thread like this would appear. Surprised it's from a Fev fan. My money would've been on a nutter from Keighley or Fax.

Are you saying that Bradford have shafted 3 clubs on their travels to glory then ultimately administration?



I as a Rovers fan was annoyed when Superleague came about but we also had ourselves to blame for the financial mess we found ourselves in. For years I thought we'd never get in Superleague because the RFL didn't want 2 clubs from Hull there.



When we finally sorted ourselves out and and won promotion in 2006 I still thought that when the licenses were going to be announced that we wouldn't get one.



What i'm basically saying to the Fev, Keighley and fax fans is that you may feel that the RFL have a vendetta against your club because you are not in SL, but if you have the right people at the helm and are showing good potential and have something to contribute, then you will get your shot. At the moment all those clubs have done is become financially proficient and successful on the field in the Championship. There is still a lot more to be achieved to make it as an SL club so don't be bitter, just work harder!

Apparently it's all our fault personally!

Also I remember when the Hethringtons said they didn't want Hull KR in the Superleague. When we did get there, Uncle Kath was purring when the extra money came in from the 23000 crowds that the derby brought.

As much as I like the clubs Fev & Keighley are not sustainable as SL clubs. You can argue the rights & wrongs all you like but the RFL can watch them get into SL on promotion & then destroy themselves trying to compete or it can try & plan for sustainability. The latter is difficult, maybe not possible, but at least it shows an element of planning & management.

I think the only way RL can be financially sustainable and not rely on big money backers is to cut salaries massively or go part time. But that will be the end of any international competition and see the best athletes leave for union and soccer.

isaac1, your wasting your time on here buy suggesting anything other than the status quo on Super League matters,there not interested on life outside there Super League,or how to breath new life into the game at all levels,right from the grass roots up to the England team.they just dont see the game is on its knees.



We nutters from Keighley relized that back at the formation of Super League,but I am not on here to give people a history lesson or to gloat,(you can check out my previous post for that,or even go on one of those pesky nutters forums from lower league clubs).

No,I would just like to express my sympathy for the backroom staff at the Bulls,who many I would imagine will be wondering if they will still have a job,there does not seem to be much thought paid to those individuals.

Players will come and go and am pretty sure the Bulls fans will be still watching a team next season,but I would imagine that brutal cuts will be made with regards to the backroom staff,being out of work in these times is no fun.So best of luck to those people in finding new work,because thats were my sympathy lies.

For God's sake, try and get your facts right before you post.

Might be in NL1 or 2. Maybe a tasty derby at Lawkholme Lane!

Excellent post.



Unfortunately, because of the advent of the Super League, couple with the growth of the internet, being a Rugby League supporter is not now what it was.



We had a camaradarie other sports could only dream of, and now the game is bitter, divided, and full of accusations of self interest. We seriously need to reassess what values we aspire to.



It's very well spouting the RL is a business line, but the current set up is clearly failing, while leaving many lower league fans disheartened.

In all fairness, if what had happened to Keighley had happened to Bradford, you would still be bitter about it now wouldn't you?



I refer you to the Joynts voluntary tackle thread as comparison.



There was a lot of smug and derogatory attitudes from Bulls fans towards Fax and Keighley in the glory years...not all I grant you.



If this episode should teach us anything, it's the value of humility.

Give it a rest...that's the forum equivalent of a pat on the head.

Neither is Bradford it would seem?

You'll be in Super League, i have no doubt.



You're one of the chosen ones.

Well Gingdong and Roth Fev' Fan - you have done your club proud by coming on here and spouting such rubbish. The picture you paint of the average Fev fan will do your "Destination Superleague" promotion the world of good.



Fev have had 17 years outside SL to get back in and you are still a million miles away. Oh dear - as usual very bitter.

I just wonder why it's the Bulls that get the ire of Keighley fans. After all it wasn't the Bulls that picked over the remains of the Cougar squad to get Powell, Fleary etc. It also wasn't only the Bulls to vote SL in either, there were 10 others at least and nobody spoke up to say what about Keighley or Widnes or Fev.



As for the comments attributed to Caisley about Keighley, Fev or whoever were they actually reported anywhere? He may well have said it but I don't remember it at the time. As a person Caisley is pretty unlikeable and I can understand what people have against him. He isn't the Bulls or their fans though.



As for SL as a concept, I agree with a lot of Isaac's post but it does ignore the fact that clubs were on the backsides financially in 95 and had little choice but to take the money and do Sky's bidding. I agree the money was wasted but pre SL wasn't some mythical golden age. I remember Fax going through plenty of troubles after their success in the mid 80s, Leeds were on their way to oblivion by the end of SL too. Add to that any number of smaller clubs.



You're right about humility and what goes around does come around. We've been here before in 1963 and will hopefully be back. Whether it's in SL I don't know. I just hope it's somewhere.

Well its true. Just get on with making the cougars a better product and you may have a shot. At the moment its like watching a five year old having a tantrum but making it last for 17 years. And if it makes you feel better then here you go.

To sum up:



1) We actively extended the hand of friendship to you, with Bulls staff visiting the club to look at the community schemed marketing etc...prior to advent of Super League/Bulls

2) Caisley publicly rubbished and patronised us (it was in the T&A)

3) When the Super League broke, it was the trinity of Lindsay, Hetherington and Caisley who drove the meetings and decision making. On one occasion I know of, a meeting was organised, I think at Manchester Airport between the chosen few. Our directors actually gate crashed said meeting. This was out of the configns of the RFL..a tawdry stitch up. The reports I heard back from our club reps about the conduct and manner of certain people appalled me. They had no reason to make this up did they?

4) Council money: Large sums of OUR money were being spent on effectively financing YOUR club. This was strenously denied by many Bulls supporters, but subsequent events proved it to be the case. You were living rent free.

5) A lack of any support on our exclusion, and then a marked degree of humility through the subsequent years.



I know Caisley is not the only one, but he, and by association the Bulls, are inextricably linked with what happened to my team...which was deplorably handled.

Try selling a glass ceiling competition to the people of a town who have an ingrained scepticism about the sport, and lets see how you get on.



Until you show some empathy the the supporters of lower league clubs, you'll spend a lot of time wondering why they enjoy watching Super League clubs fail. And I'm not convinced that Hull KR are immune.

Or you could leave that all in the lengthy past and actively look at placing the club in a position of strength where it is nigh on impossible to be ignored by the RFL for SL inclusion?



But then it's easy to be negative about the past than be positive about the future. It's what us British are comfortable with and at which we excel. Keighley are gold medalists.

This is a genuine question - why on earth would the head of the RFL take along the bosses of one small-ish and one tiny top flight club to his key meetings with him?