Isn't it bizarre that as a nation we find it almost impossible to view our heroes objectively?
Have a quick think of the classic heroes throughout British history and try find anyone willing to pull them down. We just don't and I think the reasoning behind this is collectively our pride won't allow this and any dissidents are shouted down with cries of 'Shame!', 'Disgrace' etc.
Let me suggest a few, Nelson, Churchill, Montgomery, Princess Diana, Gary Glitter (ooops well perhaps one...). No-one will point out the flaws in their character without doing their damndest to supply at least three times the amount of superlatives needed.
Churchill - Raging alcoholic - But the British Bulldog! Indomitable Spirit! Glorious Leader! Inspiration to the Nation!
Diana - At times prone to depression and related issues - Shining Star! England's Rose! Queen of hearts!
Which brings me to things more local. Specifically Caisley and Noble. On the surface their records speak for themselves and by and large, because of this, we afford them hero status and to me this is stopping us seeing the true reason behind the collapse of the Rugby League super power that is the Bradfords Bulls.
When we started this trip into Super League Caisley was at the helm and the Bulls stole the march on the competition and as discussed in previous blogs went straight to the top of the class. In truth this was a happy co-incidence for Caisley as most people acknowledge that the true genius behind the rise of the Bulls was the all to quickly forgotten Peter Deakin. So damn good at it was he that before long he was tempted away. But his leaving was not before some forward thinking Australians had put in place all the ingredients needed for the Bulls on the pitch to match hype that had whipped up around Odsal
Under Smith and then Elliott it looked like we'd reign forever. The youth structure was bringing through Pryce, Fielden, Peacock etc and the Sky pundits were praising Bradford 'conveyor belt' long before they decided it was invented by the mob down the road in Leeds. In fact we were in such good shape that when Elliott pursued his dream of coaching in the NRL we hardly noticed when Noble took over. A Bradford lad, former Bradford player to boot, in charge of the Bradford Bulls. We were ecstatic.
We immediately conferred Hero Status on him and Caisley. Noble because he continued the winning streak (and why wouldn't he? He'd inherited an amazing squad that was based on solid dependable players rather than brought in super stars) and Caisley because he'd got the foresight to appoint Noble. This culminated when this team matured and cleared the board in 2003. A feat previously unachieved.
However behind the scenes, again as mentioned in previous blogs, something was not right. I knew lads who'd played in the academy and they'd been given their marching orders as Caisley and Noble did not see the point (not my words) so the youth policy that had served well was now but a shadow, the mainstay of the team, the pack, was about to have it's heart ripped out. Added to the fact another Bradford hero had put paid to the new stadium forcing us back into Odsal in 2003 things were already turning sour, but sod it! We had every trophy available to an English Super League club! Hail Caisley and Noble!
It would have been interesting to see where we would have been now had we been able to start our possibly fruitful partnership with Tesco but it was not to be. Ken Morrison (he can stick the knighthood where the monkey stuck the nut for me) - Proud Bradford lad! Local boy done good! BILLIONAIRE! Was scared of a little competition and cried like a baby to the Government.
Orrr poor ickle Kenny Wenny did didums not have enough money? Not that the tight fisted pr4t was short of any cash himself. Yes the Tordoff thing is legendary but for the good of Bradford surely he could have let it go, or even fund the damn thing himself? But I'd better stop, don't want to muddy the name of a Bradford Hero...
So, Morrison belted in the first nail and Caisley and Noble were happily taping in the rest. Noble wanted Gareth Ellis and was happy to p1ss of any number of his squad to get him and Caisley has decided to go after Iestyn Harris. Not happy with letting the squad deteriorate they seemed to want to have a tilt at the finances. The results were disastrous.
The players offered in a swap for Ellis were rightly unhappy and only Langley stuck around Harris duly arrived but not before we'd stuck the knife into the cornerstone of our success. In 2005 Peacock's performances seemed to be dipping and when he said he was leaving for Leeds some shrugged. Given the revelations in his book it's now easy to understand why he went and also why it hurt him so much. To lose him was criminal but to lose Pryce was deemed not that important. We'd fallen (me included) for Noble's 'He's not a Stand off' mantra. Unfortunately he's better than anything we have now.
Did we replace these players? Not really, the buy success recipe had indeed taken a massive toll on the finances and it's probably unfair of me to say it but it's amazing how both Caisley and Noble bailed out leaving Hood and McNamara with a massive headache and massive debts.
In recent times Bradford have been involved in some amazing signings, unfortunately most going the wrong way as we sold our prize assets to get out of debt and we must be honest with ourselves here. If it wasn't for Hood we many not have had a club to moan about today.
My greatest cheer for the club in recent times came last year when it announced it had made a profit for the first time in a good few years. This does not mean, however, we are now able to compete. The squad has been destroyed and the clubs reputation is in tatters. In conjunction with the recent revelations about creative payment arrangements at Leeds, Stains and Wire we are still light years behind.
There is also the matter of mis-information. At the beginning of this year we were told that we could if we wish spend the full salary cap allowance. But we weren't going to. Then we announced we had. Then we announced the signing of Bird. Erm if we'd spent the full cap how had we done this? Also it was rumoured before the announcement they been calling sponsors to get them to advance the monies. If it did not come off then we must have space under the cap? Now Poo-poo's gone we should have more but we can only sign Rinaldi, and at that temporarily. Perhaps we are saving our pennies for a blockbuster signing. One day eh?
So. There we have it. Caisley, Noble and Kenneth Morrison, three Bradford Heroes who, in my humble opinion, thoroughly deserve the villain tag. When McNamara and Hood talk of people not knowing what's going on behind the scenes I am inclined to believe their is more to this than meets the eye. We may never know how close we came to another 10th December 1963.
So my view has changed - as if you've read all the blogs you know it regularly does! But sometimes, you need to get to your lowest ebb, the very depths of despair before the emotion of the what's happening before your eyes subsides and things start to become clear. Perhaps Mac and Hood are not the ones doing the mis-managing, perhaps they are struggling in their fire-fighting duties. They have so much to put right but at the wrong time in their respective careers, without the financial means.
So my view has changed - as if you've read all the blogs you know it regularly does! But sometimes, you need to get to your lowest ebb, the very depths of despair before the emotion of the what's happening before your eyes subsides and things start to become clear. Perhaps Mac and Hood are not the ones doing the mis-managing, perhaps they are struggling in their fire-fighting duties. They have so much to put right but at the wrong time in their respective careers, without the financial means.