It's not just the support, it's sponsorship that concerns me more.

There are already SL clubs that have been unable to secure a major shirt sponsor, will P&O renew their deal in the current financial climate when FC are not getting the media coverage that they would rightly be expecting as high profile sponsors.

If we continue to lose sponsors then the club will be damaged, it's takes longer to attract sponsors than it does to lose them.

Part-timer

I agree and corporate support has been ebbing away from the club, the restaurant is no longer open match days. That alone should point to some sort of decline and set alarm bells ringing, clearly the walk up support has been knocked for six. The attendance for the Derby could be lowest at the KC and after they have a £5 offer for juniors, that should prove that they are having problems.

Surprisingly enough, after I had emailed the club and got a reply from Tony Sutton I replied back asking if they were "doing everything in the best interests of the club" how did he feel about the situation with the Circle restaurant and the number of corporate boxes becoming empty, I didn't get a reply.

that is truly bang out of order, show some respect

Any loss of corporate sponsorship (if any) is clearly down to local businesses also feeling the same belt tightening as the general public do and nat all to do with on field performance.....
Asked the question and was told we have some completely new sponsors all ready and packaged in for next year already!!!
so best not worry heads about our sponsorship issues which along with all other incomes is doing just fine and as expected / forecasted according to the clubs business model for this year!

well, I know of sposnors that are walking away, and I know the circle restaurant hasn't been opening.

Are you really suggesting that if FC were top of the league and playing well that the corporate business wouldn't be almost running itself.

I don't understand your head in the sand approach to FC, but then a few weeks ago you were calling for Agar to go, now it's all going according to plan, make your mind up?!?!?!

Sponsors aren't interested in silly things like success, match day attendances and TV exposure, you fool. They sponsor the club out of the sheer goodness of their hearts, with no expectation that they'll benefit from the arrangement at all.

wonder why our main sponsors keep going dont you?

I don't think any Hull FC fan enjoys seeing the team struggle, it's just that people are probably more realistic about our situation than perhaps they have been in the past. Personally, I defended the coach quite a lot last season because we never really had our halfbacks on the field. However, this season there are no excuses and the reality is that we've won three games from eight and are already practically out of the race for the top six.

Given that the club bang on about improvement, I'm assuming that if we don't better our outstanding sixth place finish of last season then the campaign will be regarded as one of failure by everyone. Merely making the top eight and having a token gesture tilt at the play-offs is not good enough. The likes of Leeds, Wigan, Saints and Warrington simply wouldn't settle for that which is why they're the top four clubs in the game. Talk of us breaking into that top four is laughable to be honest - it's just never going to happen under the current regime.

silly me, there was I using my commercial knowledge and experience to inform my comments, when will I learn eh!!!

That is a very blinkered view, financial constraints are probably the main reason but if a club is playing poorly, crowds are down and exposure is limited then potential sponsors arent going to be rushing to Kaths office with bags of cash.

The thing that worries me is not our on field form per se but the effect it is having on the club. I can put up with poor displays and will go whatever but I understand that many do not feel the same, especially those who maybe dont have the spare cash to be spending week in week out. I worry about the long term impact on the club if things dont change.

I'd imagine they have signed up to a contract of a specified length. If the gates and TV appearances keep dropping as they are, they might just start to reconsider their position when that contract is up for renewal.

Been thinking the same too. Long to achieve, quick to loose.

actually already negotiating the next deal !!!
good news huh , given all the doom and gloom and "knowledgables

" things still seem like they are moving forwards for the commercial side of the business, if a faceless & nameless sponsor decides not to deal another year its deemed like players , they come they go as is nature of the game...

but actually it seems that sponsorship contractees are very happy with the large gates we still produce when compared to many other SL clubs, you see my point and also if you want to advertise to a large captive audience in the Hull area then FC is still the number one attraction when it comes to a rugby crowd

3 year deal, signed in 2008 when we made it to Wembley?

Descending into the realms of fantasy for a moment and assuming that you actually know what's happening with our major sponsors, does it not occur to you that part of those negotiations might include a reduction in sponsorship payments due to the fact that gates are dropping and we're rarely on Sky these days?

Each team has their allocated amounts of Sky games from the begining of the season. We have extended highlights of this weeks game, then our Derby is on Sky, then our Saints match 10 days after that.

It's this week's fad to cite the number of times we're on Sky for some reason.

Indeed, the early season is shared out fairly evenly, but expect to see us less and less if we don't climb the league.

TV/ Sky showings has nothing to do with place or performance in the league

No, this week's fad is telling people to 'keep the faith'.

I only mentioned the number of Sky games because the top teams, rightly, are featured more frequently than the bottom/middle teams.

Every club will get a set minimum number of games, but some clubs get more than this minimum - usually the higher placed teams.

you decend into what ever you wish however the reality of it is that performance and place in the league has nothing to do with sky and sky has nothing to do with sponsorship deals, all clubs at the end of the year will have had an equal share of live TV , thats a fact!
P&O will be with us a while yet! sure your happy with that !