Today's news that Bradford City faces the prospect of going back into administration within a week will come as a bombshell to thousands of Bantams fans.

City supporters have become well accustomed to bad news - both on and off the pitch - in recent months and years.

But the prospect of control of the club returning to the hands of administrators is probably the worst news since former chairman Geoffrey Richmond revealed the extent of the financial crisis facing City in summer 2002.

Now, 18 months on, administration has become a dirty word in the world of football, with clubs such as Leeds United desperately trying to avoid it.

And from May 10, the effect will be even harsher, as any clubs in administration will get ten league points deducted.

Until now, many City fans believed the club had got out of administration just in time.

Should City be forced down that route in the next seven days, the club's very existence would be in doubt again.

Last time round, it was left to a formerly unknown theme park boss to ride in and plunge vital funds into the club.

Now Gordon Gibb has quit as chairman (although he still holds 49.6 per cent of the shares) and Bradford City's sole saviours, Professor David Rhodes and his son Julian, face being the ones who put City back in administration.

They face a huge dilemma. If the major creditors do not agree to cut their losses, the Rhodes family would have to use all of their planned investment to repay them. That would undermine their life savings and not even put the club in their control.

The only alternative is to seek protection from the creditors again by filing for administration. That would mean asking for new investors to come forward and help out.

But - as was shown when the club was last up for grabs - the chance of a saviour appearing on the horizon seems slim.

It's a grim situation similar to the one City faced back in August 2002 when creditors first voted whether to accept the terms presented to them by Mr Richmond and Prof Rhodes as the club faced debts of £36 million.

The deal only got approval after last-minute negotiations with Gerling UK, the insurance company which acted for REFFs, which Mr Richmond used to finance deals for star players such as Benito Carbone.

Gerling agreed to write-off much of the £7 million it was due, but the terms of the Creditors' Voluntary Agreement meant that most of the unsecured creditors could expect to receive just ten pence of every £1 they were owed.

Even that deal turned out to be too ambitious. As crowds began to turn their back on the club and companies which had their fingers burned during the administration withdrew their support, the projected income levels failed to materialise.

It even forced the club to sell the Bradford & Bingley Stadium to chairman Mr Gibb's pension fund.

City's directors have been tirelessly trying to re-negotiate with key creditors, including Lombard over recent months. Until this week, they were confident a deal could be done and a new CVA could be drawn-up which would put the club on a secure footing again. Now that seems a long way off.

The very fate of Bradford City yet again lies in the balance.