Have to agree with just about all the sentiments on here. The problem - for me - is the lack of elite experience on the non-playing side of the club. They genuinely believe that they know what it takes to reach the top of the game but they have no idea, because they've never really experienced it. Specifically, I refer to Richard Agar, James rule and Kath Hetherington who have absolutely no experience at any level of any signficance.

Kath has been around the game for years but has only ever been directly associated with the likes of Sheffield, Gateshead, and Bramley before us (all three of which went bust soon after!). Many people talk about her knowledge of the game which cannot be denied but its a parochial out of date knowledge and totally out of touch with the fast changing modern game.

In the modern game, the value of a coach / CEO / chairman is not who they bring in as a marquee signing (anyone can sign a big name if they're prepared to offer contracts that are either longer or more lucrative than anyone else); the true worth of the club's leaders comes in who they can squeeze in under the salary cap. Hungry players desperate to perform or blokes that have lost their way but can be turned around under good coaching. They're the sort that can turn a team around and - arguably - we've not really brought anyone in that fits that description under the current regime. Harsh? maybe, but even the likes of Tansey and Turner who started so well last year seemed to have lost their way completely by the end of the year.

Rumblings from within the camp suggest that one of our aussie marquee signings is less than impressed by the general lack of ambition within the current set up and he won't be taking up his third year option for 2012.

It should be no surprise. Why is agar still in charge? It can only be because it makes life much easier for Kath and Rule. Agar and Webster lack the experience to challenge them and are happy to plod along doing their best but, really, paddling frantically to stay afloat.

Martin Sadler in the League Express reported last week that since SL began, the title had been won five times by someone in their first season as a head coach (such as McGuire) and three times by someone in their first season coaching that club (such as McLennan) so the whole notion of Agar being a 'rookie coach' and 'not having his own team' was just a load of bull - he's got more experience than some of his peers, its just experience of mediocrity and he's just not good enough. Rule and Hetherington have kept him in position; they also appointed Peter Sharp. Once Agar gets the bullet (as I firmly believe he will before mid-season next year) then can we really trust them to make the right decision next time around?

The pendulum is swinging back to the Aussies once again; British coaches are well down the pecking order - overtaken by the new ideas coming from Smith, Brown and McGuire. Look at how many of the England squad come from Wigan, Warrington and Huddersfield. Our determination to stick with an English coach is not even admirable any more - its just stupid

Blimey, so O'Meley's had enough already. Maybe he'll be joining his buddy Mason at Rovers.

Really? How do you know this to be a fact?

it isn't fact, it is opinion, where did I state it was a fact?

What a great post. Sums up the club perfectly.

agar learnt his trade playing under coaches in the 2nd tier of the game and playing 2nd fiddle to 2 failed coaches at Hull. How the hell can we expect any more from him than we get?

Your comments about the type of player we bring in shows how good mcrae was (and still is) in this area. The type of coach we need won't come to Hull and work in the environment we expect the coach to work in. IMO we need an experienced DOR and an up and coming aussie coach to work under him. rule may be good at the business side of things so let him concentrate on that and bring in someone to run the rugby side

Read it again. Where do you indicate anything else? It's a flat statement without any indication of the possibility of the situation being other than as stated.

Well said! In any kind of weather .... unless its cold or the team is losing .... in which case.....

Been a passholder for years and years and Might buy one this year,I say might ,because until I see some semblance of ambition at the club why bother.People say about us missing out on top 4 by 10 mins and finishing 6th,Rubbish !!! we missed out on top 4 and possibly higher by totally inept displays at places such as Wakey,Salford,Wrexham and Murreyfield,also not being able to score points when the position presented itself,
We need new signings,what are we getting,Probably Dowsey for another year [Cheaper}same applies to Radford,Also our front line Halfbacks HOPE they dont get injured again,Missed a few games last season due to Festivals and stuff but didnt miss many away games,think my Pass money could be better invested in my Glasto ticket.
Things will probably change and I will probably end up buying a pass as always,but I must say I have never felt so non plussed about a new season for years !!!!

In 51 met my future husband ,I was a Tigers supporter he a Hull f.c. we went to the Boulrvard one week and Boothferry park the next week but he soon knocked me into shape so it was bye bye soccer, and we are still supporting the mighty Black and Whites yes we have seen some rubbish and some great games but you love the game so much you take the good with the bad just like marrige

Absolutely.

All these histrionics we read every year from the drama queens saying they aren't going any more are boring.

You take the rough with the smooth, that is what sport is about. I bet at Cardiff in 2005 out of the 25,000 Hull supporters there that the people who enjoyed it the most were those who stuck by the club during those dark days in 1999.

Too fecking right. My absolutely favourite piece of wisdom is "The deeper sorrow carves into your soul, the more joy it can contain". Life (and in a smaller way, sport) is entirely about ups and downs and is nothing without contrast. Anyone would think we were on brink of relegation or administration. Part of us continuing going is precisely what you have described, for sure the highs are sweeter for experiencing the lows.

Wow, philosophy on RLFans



Great quote, Mrs B and very true, of course.

followed fc since 78-79 when we went unbeaten,ive never once thought about not following them,ive seen the good times and bad,good coaches and bad coaches,since we have been at the stadium ive had a pass and the same seat and that aint gunna change,id never call people if they choose not to go thats there choice,money is tight these days and if people arent happy then its there call.

My sentiments exactly (apart from the time bit, its about 93-94 for me, when I was 4-5 myself).

How many times have you said after a game, "Thats it I`m not going next match."
Next match comes,"I`ll give them one more chance."
Its like a drug,you need the fix.

Whilst this is fact, and I am one of those, the utter tripe we see on the pitch at times is a joke. What people need to realise is it is not just the fans that should embrace "in any kind of weather". it is the whole club.

I do not care if we get beat by 60 points, as long as the players give it a go. I have been there and done that as have many. The problem is that we;
a/ play in the best stadium in Sl (arguably - I think standing in Rl is a must)
b/ we are the most profitable side is SL
c/ We reached the grand final in 2006 and then what?

So, we should not be beaten by 60.
We should be smashing teams into oblivion at home
We should be passionate fans, but I think that the "crew" of 99 cannot be bothered with the toss we have to put up with week after week.

The club exists because of us. We pay for the clubs existence. The board, that whilst they try 100% in fc and try to make it great, they do not get "in any kind of weather". They do no get the ethos of the club.

As much as it pains me to say this. Hugdell is a fan. Whilst he has brought financial instability on rovers. look what he has done in a few years. We have Kath. She give's no two shiites about Hull as a team and that's a fact. I also think Rule is looking as this as a future career for him and nothing more.

In any kind of weather my ar5e. Its not the supporters who have the issue.

Of course you take the rough with the smooth?

Ever heard of 'love blinds'?
You can be so in love with someone that you refuse to see, hear and acknowledge that all they are after is your money. They can be full of flatteries and say all sorts of lovey dovey to your face.

Marriage is a 2 way commitment.
It is for both partners to 'put in' to the marriage for it to work.
When one partner is suffering and struggling, then the other will willingly go the extra miles to support both.

The problems start when one partner just sits around and takes the pi$$ out of the other. They are just in the relationship, to see what they can get out of it for themselves.

Wow...bit heavy this thread....

I support Hull because I am black & white through and through, that is all there is to it for me

There's a sort of saying I heard once about supporters, that said 'You don't pick the team, the team picks you'
I've supported the FC since the 78/79 season, and experienced the many lows and have shed a few tears over em it has to be said. But the highs when they do come along are fantastic.
All in all I'm glad Hull FC picked me

One of the best threads I've ever read tbh, some great passionate comments from people.

What I want to say is this.

If my team were still playing at the Boulevard, struggling with poor crowds and crippling debts, I could understand the board being cautious with their spending and being keen to have a coach who, before he came here, had no full time experience at Super League level, and who wouldn't cost big money. I could also understand them giving him a two year contract extension after two poor seasons because money was tight.

But we're not a struggling club in terms of finances. We have the third highest average attendance in SL, with record season pass sales and enormous income as regards shirts and other merchandise.

The board seem to be running this club purely as a business, with just a decent profit on the balance sheet at the end of the year, as a mark of a good season.

They should understand I don't buy a season pass to look at financial success, I buy a pass to watch a rugby team hopefully win matches by playing entertaining stuff.

They should also understand that if the team is playing good rugby and winning most of their matches in style, then their season ticket sales would probably reach five figures with ease.

But sadly, my board don't seem to have a grasp about the running of a SL club.

As long as they're making money, that's all that seems to matter to them.

I think this is why I feel people are reluctant to renew their pass next year, the board sees them as cash cows who will put up with any rubbish on the pitch because they're Hull FC fans and will carry on pouring money into the club no matter what.

As a club, we desperately need a change at boardroom level, people brought in who care about the club and what happens on the pitch.

When that happens, the rest will surely follow.

Absolutely. Sod having a financially stable club and making a profit year on year - what we need are a group of fans who will run the club into the ground as fast as possible.

It's the future I tell thee.

Making a profit and seeing no benefit for it. We are cash cows for the profiteers. I chose black and white because It felt right i liked what i saw and how it made me feel on a match day. The club has great potential but has stalled for the past 4 years when it should have kicked on to the next level by maybe been pushed to win a grandfinal.

Actually, you have a point.

I'm gonna get a season pass for Exxon Mobil next year.

HOUSE!