Andrew Chalmers timeline from his reign at Bradford Bulls

Taking over following the old club's liquidation in early 2017, the Kiwi had a tough task to rebuild a tarnished brand.

After relegation in the first year, the club made progress on the field but the Bulls have again fallen into financial trouble off it.

Here, the T&A charts the timeline of the often controversial Chalmers chapter, which ended with the club having left their historic Odsal home, with debts thought to be in excess of £500,000 and having to offload key players.

2017

Jan 17: Andrew Chalmers and Graham Lowe are confirmed as owners of a newly-formed Bradford club following the liquidation of Bulls earlier in the month.

Chalmers was the former chairman of the New Zealand Rugby League and a former director at Salford, while Lowe was a successful former coach at Wigan.

The pair tried to take the club out of administration at the end of 2016 - their bid was rubber-stamped by the RFL - but was rejected by the administrator.

However, following the Bulls' liquidation earlier in the month, Chalmers and Lowe were awarded ownership by the RFL of a new Bradford club after bids were lodged by four separate parties.

Jan 20: Bulls appoint Geoff Toovey as new head coach after the departure of Rowan Smith by mutual consent. The Australian international arrives following a successful spell in charge at Manly, where he worked alongside Lowe, having helped them reach the NRL Grand Final in 2013.

Feb 5: Having had next to no time to prepare for the new season, Bulls kick off still in the Championship but with a 12-point deduction and the lowest amount of central funding (£150,000) in the division. They start with a 54-24 defeat at Hull KR.

Apr 9: Despite Toovey not yet being able to officially take up his position of head coach due to visa issues, a Bulls squad made up largely of youngsters and loan players win five of their first nine games to leave them just two points short of wiping out their penalty.

May 10: It is revealed that a total of 46 current and former players and staff have launched a legal claim against Bradford Bulls Northern Limited (the holding company of the Bulls when they were placed into liquidation), Bradford Bulls 2017 Limited (the new company) and the RFL.

Claims are regarding wages, holiday pay, notice pay and potential statutory redundancy payments - all related to the club's fall into administration and subsequent liquidation.

Fourteen of the claimants are current players (in 2017) and Chalmers later stated his belief that the action had a negative impact on the team's form on the pitch. Bulls lost nine games in a row from mid-April to mid-June.

June 14: Geoff Toovey officially becomes head coach following a five-month delay waiting for his visa to be approved.

June 25: Bulls finally reach zero points by beating Oldham - but then lose their next five games.

August 6: Relegation to League One - the third tier of the domestic game - is confirmed for the former world champions after a 26-10 defeat at home to Toulouse.

August 17: Chalmers announces at a fans forum that Bulls will revert to a hybrid employment set-up, with next year's squad featuring a mixture of full-time and part-time players.

In a forewarning over their ground situation, he states: "We simply will not be able to just do nothing when it comes to Odsal."

August 17: Chalmers also reveals that Graham Lowe had to return to New Zealand shortly after forming the new Bulls club due to illness. Having had emergency surgery, Lowe was unable to travel overseas. It means he ultimately has to withdraw from the partnership.

August 19: Chalmers denies Bulls are for sale following a report stating Salford owner Marwan Koukash had been offered half the club for £750,000.

November 15: Toovey confirms he is not returning to Bulls for a second year in charge.

December 12: John Kear is appointed as Bulls head coach on a three-year deal, leaving his role as head of rugby at Wakefield Trinity.

Read more: Andrew Chalmers looks back at his time at the helm in his last T&A column

2018

January 19: Ahead of a tribunal in Leeds set for Tuesday, January 23, Bradford Bulls 2017 Limited and the RFL give confirmation they have reached an agreement with Bradford Bulls Northern Limited players and staff over their legal claims made following administration and liquidation. This brings their employment tribunal proceedings against both parties to an end.

February 18: After a dramatic opening day win at York, Bulls go on to start the season with four straight wins.

April 8: Bulls lose their first match of the year at Leon Pryce's Workington Town. It comes after Chalmers sparked a war of words before the match following Workington's refusal to let Bulls stream the game live. As part of a forthright statement, the Bulls chief said: "Amateur and completely selfish is the only way I can truly describe this decision" to which Workington responded with equal gusto. "We have been genuinely surprised at the arrogance that some Bradford staff have shown us this week," read part of their retort.

July 11: The RFL reveal that last year it dropped its valuation of Odsal Stadium by £400,000. The drop in value was one of the reasons cited by the governing body for it posting a loss of more than £2 million in 2017.

July 22: After winning their next 12 matches, Bulls are beaten at home as title rivals York gain their revenge at Odsal.

September 13: Chalmers is one of several chairmen on the Championship and League One advisory group who hold a press conference at Odsal to voice their opposition to a league structure revamp proposal to be voted on the following day.

September 14: Clubs vote to scrap the Super 8s, reverting back to a one up, one down promotion and relegation system from Super League and making the Championship 14 teams.

With Bulls set for second place behind York, it was thought they would gain automatic promotion to accommodate the reshuffle but an extra play-off is introduced instead. “We must earn our place at the next level," says Chalmers.

October 7: Bulls beat Workington 27-8 to clinch promotion back to the Championship via the play-offs.

December 22: Chalmers hits out at Wakefield and Hull KR chairmen, Michael Carter and Neil Hudgell, following speculation they are interested in purchasing Odsal. The Super League chiefs are given short shrift by Kiwi Chalmers, who, writing in his T&A column, explains the connection Bulls have with their ground. "I believe our club and Odsal stadium are inextricably linked in a truly deep, emotional and maybe a spiritual way....Our heaven on earth."

December 29: Chalmers describes the year as 'very poor for our great sport', with the focus of his ire being the Super League breakaway from the RFL. He wrote: "The overriding image, for me at least, was three or four North West Super League club chairman/owner/CEOs posing for photographs announcing what amounted to a power grab from a collaborating governing body....It was dressed up as Super League having the freedom to grow commercially with the new money trickling down.

Well, there is precious little sign of any trickle down..."

2019

February 2: On the eve of the new season, Chalmers says a top three spot in the Championship is the target for Bulls after assembling a big squad in excess of 30 players. He also calls on Wigan chairman Ian Lenagan to resign following the club's two-point deduction for a salary cap breach (the points were restored under a suspended penalty on appeal).

February 3: A late drop goal from Dane Chisholm clinches an opening-day win at home to Featherstone.

April 9: Talented Bulls youngster Oliver Wilson joins Huddersfield Giants. The fee is undisclosed though reports claim it to be for a six-figure sum for the England Academy forward.

April 16: Bulls draw Leeds at home in the Challenge Cup sixth round after their thrilling comeback against Featherstone. Chalmers describes the match as the biggest since his arrival.

May 3: The RFL announce a 'Memorandum of Understanding' with Bradford Council and Bradford Bulls (the Bradford partnership group) to allow the exploration of redevelopment opportunities for schemes at Odsal Stadium site and the immediate surrounding area. The RFL says it paves the way for commercial developers to transform the stadium and surrounding site into a flagship sports, leisure or commercial complex, including retail outlets and hotel accommodation.

Tony Sutton, the RFL chief operating officer, said: “The proposed redevelopment of Odsal Stadium will be contingent on the protection of professional rugby league in Bradford."

May 11: The biggest crowd in years at Odsal of 10,258 - and a terrestrial TV audience of over one million - witness Bradford beat their old enemy Rhinos 24-22 in a throwback to the golden years of Bull-mania.

June 2: Bulls miss out on a Challenge Cup semi-final as they are beaten at home by Halifax.

July 21: Chalmers reveals in his T&A column that there is a possibility Bulls might not be playing at Odsal next season. He writes: "The City of Bradford needs a modern sports and entertainment complex, which can host a wide range of sporting codes and events.

"I certainly think Odsal can tick those boxes, but it will take leadership from the Bradford Council as the land owner and co-operation from the RFL as head-lease holder to make that happen.

"The Bradford Bulls have been in dialogue for 18 months with both Bradford Council and the RFL, in trying to get resolution to this situation, and frankly progress has been frustrating."

August 1: Chalmers reveals to the T&A that a decision on whether Bulls will leave Odsal will be made by made by August 15. While insisting the club want to stay at their spiritual home, he confirms other options are being considered due to the high Odsal rent and maintenance costs.

The alternatives being looked at are grounds at Bradford City, Bradford (Park Avenue) or out of the city at Dewsbury Rams.

August 3: Bulls deny reports they have had a deal for a Super League player blocked by the RFL due to concerns over funding. Chalmers said: “In the middle of the club considering key issues around Odsal Stadium, it’s disappointing to see journalists peddling fake news."

Chalmers also confirms two CCJs (county court judgements) have been settled, insisting: "Important lessons have been learned by our executive as to how best to deal with genuine disputes.”

August 4: A narrow defeat at home to Toronto leaves Bulls with too much to do in their bid to make the top five play-offs.

August 10: As the prospect of a 'No-Deal Bexit' - a phrase coined by Chalmers - draws near, the Bulls chief admits a move to Valley Parade for the following season is not practical as he claims investment of between £800,000 and £1.2 million would be required on the pitch to enable football and rugby to be played. He says due diligence on the feasibility of playing at Park Avenue's Horsfall Stadium remains ongoing.

August 15: Bulls announce the shock news that they will be leaving their historic Odsal Stadium - home since 1934 - and moving out of the city to play at Dewsbury Rams' Tetley's Stadium. The agreement is for two years while Bulls look to develop their own new stadium in Bradford - a process expected to take between two to four years, according to Chalmers.

In his T&A column, the chairman writes: "“Our new home, Tetley’s Stadium, Dewsbury is approximately 10 miles from the M606, and is a boutique and intimate rugby league stadium, with an existing capacity of 5,100, and expandable to 8,000 if required.

“Having played there and undertaken significant due diligence, this stadium represents an affordable economic choice for the Bradford Bulls, whilst we work through the task of developing an equally affordable boutique stadium development in Bradford."

Chalmers explains that Horsfall Stadium was deemed too small, claiming the costs of increasing the capacity were uneconomic.

August 15: Hot on the heels of Bulls' announcement, Park Avenue owner Gareth Roberts dubs the move ‘a crying shame for Bulls supporters’ and a ‘sad day for Bradford’. He vows to set up a new professional club 'to keep rugby league alive and well in a BD postcode'.

August 23: The RFL conditionally approve Bulls' move to Dewsbury - but crucially only for next season. In an explosive statement, the governing body says the club's plans 'lack credibility', label the decision 'poor' and insists 'further financial information on the impact of the move' is provided.

The statement also reveals that the Bulls are in special measures and therefore unable to sign new players.

September 1: A crowd of 7,531 turn out for what - at least according to Chalmers' plans - is the Bulls' last ever game at Odsal - a 30-10 victory over Sheffield. Fans enter the pitch after the final whistle in emotional scenes to bid farewell to the Old Lady.

September 28: John Kear reveals that he has missed out on six new recruits due to the Bulls being in special measures.

October 5: Bulls apologise after admitting not “properly implementing” the workplace pension scheme because of an administrative error. It comes after a report claims a Bulls player informed the club he is terminating his contract over the matter, claiming breach of contract.

A Bulls statement read: "The situation has, unfortunately, been made more complicated by the recent site removal and office archiving, which is making document retrieval more difficult, but the club commits to rectifying the situation.

“No loss will be suffered by anyone and the club does not accept that this administrative oversight is cause for claims of breach of contract.”

October 6: Bulls announce the club is due to be sold to a UK investor group, with Chalmers set to step down as chairman. Chris Brereton - who helped turned Wakefield Trinity round as a director - is the man heading up the consortium.

October 16: With Bulls understood to be owing more than £500,000 to creditors, Brereton says his intention is to get the club debt free within two years. Fans forums are organised, though the takeover has yet to go through.

October 21: Chris Brereton apologises to fans after pulling out of the consortium, having expressed his frustration over the delay in Chalmers filing accounts with Companies House. The consortium pledge to press on with their plans regardless.

October 22: The sale of Bulls is announced at a fans forum. Former RFL chief Nigel Wood and his family are majority shareholders, with Dewsbury chairman Mark Sawyer the other investor. Toronto founder Eric Perez is announced as interim chairman.

The club is brought out of special measures, with the new regime pledging to return the club to Bradford as soon as possible.

Sawyer reveals that Chalmers is the club's biggest creditor and the departing chairman will waive a substantial six-figure sum.

October 24: Five players leave for Hull KR, including Elliot Minchella, Joe Keyes, Rowan Milnes and Matty Storton.