Re: Chris Caisley sometime in the mid 90s : Wed Jun 27, 2012 7:56 am  

Pencil wrote:

As a fev fan I find it hard to disagree with gingdong. My beef with Bradford started when you pinched Paul Newlove from us for about 200K when the deal should have been at least 500K using Martin Offiah's 440K when transfered to Wigan form Widnes as a guide. I am sure that Mr Caisley had some indication with regards what the trasfer fee would be set to by the tribunal and got the best centre in the british game at a knock down price. Bradford then a few years later sold Newy on in a deal that was worth about 750k if you include the players exchanged.

Then SL comes along and Mr Caisley was involved heavily in the creation of this which resulted in us being kicked out of the top flight. I don't seem to recall the same level of caring RL fans when this happened and in fact many SL fans believe that my club should stay in the past and do not have the right to compete with the so called big boys. A comment that Mr Caisley made in the past quite clearly on the title of this thread.

So when Bradford were winning trophy's and building a decent fan base teams such as us were struggling on just above 1k gates. We had and still have fans disillusioned with the way the game had treated us. From a personal point of view my Dad was one of these and the decision to kick us out of the top flight robbed me of watching my beloved club with him.

Bradford fans have know idea what the creation of SL did to Featherstone Rovers and how hard the struggle has been. If you did then you would realise why we have very little sympathy for Bradford with regards to there financial state.

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!!

Re: Chris Caisley sometime in the mid 90s : Wed Jun 27, 2012 8:11 am  

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!

Re: Chris Caisley sometime in the mid 90s : Wed Jun 27, 2012 8:27 am  

isaac1 wrote:

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!!!

[Bulliac]

Re: Chris Caisley sometime in the mid 90s : Wed Jun 27, 2012 9:18 am  

Pencil wrote:

As a fev fan I find it hard to disagree with gingdong. My beef with Bradford started when you pinched Paul Newlove from us for about 200K......... snip

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.

[Bullseye]

Re: Chris Caisley sometime in the mid 90s : Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:43 am  

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.

Re: Chris Caisley sometime in the mid 90s : Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:16 am  

Bullseye wrote:

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!

[Bullseye]

Re: Chris Caisley sometime in the mid 90s : Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:24 am  

LifeLongHKRFan wrote:

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

Apparently it's all our fault personally!

Re: Chris Caisley sometime in the mid 90s : Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:27 am  

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.

Re: Chris Caisley sometime in the mid 90s : Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:33 am  

LifeLongHKRFan wrote:

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!

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.

[Bullseye]

Re: Chris Caisley sometime in the mid 90s : Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:42 am  

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.