By Jay
Leeming.
Happy
2013 to each and every BULLiever! Here is your first instalment for 2013.
If
this is your first read of BULLieve here is a brief intro,
BULLieve
was first published back in 2012 as an experiment to see if people would like
the idea of having a Bulls weekly update with facts from the club and also my
own opinions and views. Well it is proving week on week that BULLieve is
popular and I have managed to hold 3interviews so far with, James Donaldson,
Heath L’Estrange and Manase Manuokafoa. This season I will be including short
match reports and more player interviews (as and when I can) Plus, I will be
holding fans interviews to establish different views from around the ground.
Well
not too much to say about the festive period except that the new Bradford bulls
website is now fully operational.
Our
loan player, ben Evans has had to undergo surgery to correct a hip and ligament
problem which has ruled him out for 4 months.
In good news is that our very own Ian Sibbit
is making a comeback with the Bulls as a member of Francis Cummins’ match-day
backroom staff. Ian had retired from the playing side of the game at the end of
last season but is now involved in the club he is passionate about. This is
superb news not just for the club but for sib himself, keeping active and using
his great knowledge of the game in game days.
Well
an announcement went ahead and it has been announced that 1 of 3 concerts to be
held at the Provident stadium will start On Saturday 25th May. The Provident
stadium will be playing host to The 80’s Strike Back, The Ultimate Party. Priority
Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday 16th Jan and then on General Sale from
Friday 18th January. Tickets are
available from only £19.50 per person. Priority tickets will be available from
the ticket office. General sale tickets will be available online. The Line-up
for the night is Rick Astley, Belinda Carlisle, The Real Thing, Roland Gift, Go
West Altered Images and all are backed by the amazing Rewind All-star Band.
Even
more positive news is that Mr Khan has been a busy guy of late, he has visited
Qatar to look into the prospects of making the Provident stadium into a
sporting village. The mention of a sporting village has been around for years
and I feel a lot will think “yeah right” but, so far Omar has kept to every
word which, for me is exactly what we require after last season’s extremely
poor management of the club we all love. Omar has come out and said he is to
build a temporary roof over the popular side terracing which, is a huge step in
the right direction. Along with this great step forward, the Provident stadium
has been given a spruce up with the stadium being cleaned top to bottom and
having the barriers around the stadium a fresh lick of paint which is a very
long time coming. The work to bring a fresh new look to the Provident stadium
has been under taken by volunteers, another great move as, although Omar had to
buy the materials, the labour was free of charge and the volunteers who are mainly
fans will be able to say to others who say the stadium is looking better “ I
did that”. It brings in the added faction of the Bulls becoming the “people’s
team “once again.
I would like to say on behalf of all the Bulls
fans a massive thank you to each and every volunteer who has helped in the
transformation of the stadium so far. The terraces are spotless and the
barriers which spectators stand against on the terracing have had a new lease
of life by being sanded down and had a very much needed lick of paint. The next
painting session will be this Saturday the 18th. Volunteers are
urged to attend and meet outside the ticket office to start painting at 10am
weather permitting. Please attend if you can even if you can only spare an hour
or two any and all help is very much welcomed.
Well
the annual player’s shirt presentation night did not disappoint. The coral
stand was packed with fans and the atmosphere was super, almost like match day.
I can surely say that the bond between the club and the fans is now solid. It
seems everything no matter how big or small is made aware to the fans and that
is a world away from where we were back in 2012. More events have been added to
the coral stand event nights which is bringing even more much needed revenue Omar’s
business sense is spot on and you can tell he is a Yorkshire man, why spend
cash if you don’t need to? The fans involvement is a super idea as for me, it
makes supporting the Bulls that bit more special I don’t feel like just a fan
who turns up at matches and that’s it. You can turn up at the stadium most days
and everyone at the club has time for you the feel in and around the club is
much more relaxed and makes you proud to be a Bulls fan.
This
week saw the Bulls take on Glenn Morrison’s Dewsbury Rams side at the Tetley’s
Stadium in the first pre-season match, The Bulls were convincing winners at the Tetley’s
stadium as they charged past Glenn Morrison’s Rams. Elliot Whitehead stole the
headlines by scoring 4 of the Bulls 8 tries, with a hat trick coming in the
first half. The other 4 tries were scored by, Matt Diskin, Matty Blythe, Heath
L’Estrange and Manase Manuokafoa. All 8 tries were converted by debutant and
man of the match, Jamie Foster. Francis Cummings was in high spirits with the
sterling effort all of the lads put in to the match. Next up is the second and last pre-season
match against the Leeds Rhino’s at Headingly stadium on Sunday 20th
January with a 3pm kick off.
One event for your diaries is, this Friday 18th January
see’s the second comedy night in the coral stand. The first comedy night was a
huge success with the coral stand packed out full of very happy customers who
all said that the night was superb.
Headlining the night is Alfie Moore Star of ITV's "Show me the
Funny” the supporting acts are Bill Woolland and Scott Bennett. The night starts at 7pm and tickets
are available now priced at, £5 before the night and £7 on the night.
In next week’s edition of BULLieve we have our first player interview
of 2013. Our very own Jamie Langley has agreed to become a BULLiever and has
kindly given us his time to answer questions.
I am on the lookout for other potential interviewee’s with their own
views in a section named “Around the ground” So far I have 2 sets of fans
agreeing to take part, those are the Fat Dogs and Platt’s Barmy Army. Anyone
interested in being part of BULLieve can contact me via twitter @BULLieve2013
Well thank you for giving up your time to take a read of BULLieve! I
hope you enjoyed it and, please can I ask for feedback, good or bad and if you
would kindly share BULLieve with others to get it spread far and wide to all
Bulls fans?
Cheers BULLievers,
Jay.
