In my opinion, all club stakeholders have been guilty of complacency since the 2017 season and the club is now at a crossroads. In traditional Hull FC fashion, we built a club structure, fan base and first team that should have been the foundation for continued success but allowed the potential to go unrealised and results and performance to deteriorate.

I've said on other threads that I understand the frustration amongst supporters but, having seen all this before, I personally relish the challenge in front of us as it's only when you've been through the difficult times that you can fully enjoy success when it finally returns. Our friends across the river are testimony to that and, at the risk of showing them too much goodwill, I think they've provided a blueprint for how a club and supporters can work in harmony to build a fan base, a first team and resources to achieve relative "success" (albeit with a little help form HCC and the wolf in sheep's clothing that is the Sewell Group and as yet unrewarded by silverware).

There will always be a mix of supporters. For some it's in the family, the blood and for us, not being there supporting is beyond contemplation. For others it's a matter of cost (in time and money) versus enjoyment provided. Others will arrive with success and leave just as quickly. Regardless of our stance, we're all valuable assets to our club and the game in general.

My question is:

How, as supporters, do we "rally" (not around but to surround the Robins!) to ensure that a positive vibe enables the club to develop and improve? I'm not suggesting that we become a set of happy clappers but it's perhaps time to galvanise and coordinate our passion, knowledge and I suspect many talents. After all that's the real job of a supporter.

#backtheblackandwhites anybody

Sorry, topic name should be #backtheblackandwhites my data input skills are very poor!

Great sentiments but we as fans have been trying to do just that for years or generations. AP is the latest in a long line of custodians of FC. The difference this time is he’s the sole owner. He needs to be coerced into getting outside funding by trying to bring other’s capital to bear. There again as Wilf posted on another thread we don’t know what he’s been trying to do post Covid. It’s obvious that the Government loans have to be repaid and as AP suggested last year, it may well push some clubs over the edge. Unfortunately and certain posters on this forum don’t seem to be able, we’re going to have to be patient and hope that AP and TS can turn us around. Short answer to your question is carry on carrying on, in other words buy your passes and do what the generations before us have, hope for the best and fear the worst.

I just want some transparency as per the State of the Nation thread. I don't care what it is - if we're in bottom 3 on squad spend then fine. What's the real financial position and what does that mean. Is the club up for sale? It goes without saying that like any SL club we want to be "challenging" but what is the actual plan - financial, youth, off pitch, retail, community, stadium? Vacuous statements about Smith bringing youth through to form our core are fine but if that actually means we need to wait 5 years, and for it to be true we need 2 players a year of genuine SL quality to come through and be established then we can assess how realistic that is.

Exactly this, its not like us as fans want to know the full breakdown of the club etc but it would be nice to actually hear from AP and the club about whatever plan/route they are taking rather than be kept in the dark on the promise of things being better next time (as that's just like a broken record).

Clarity is all that I think reasonable Hull fans want from the club.

The communication between the club and the fans feels like an all time low. I've mentioned previously that discussions were had regarding improving the atmosphere at the MKM, since putting ideas forward well over a year ago to people at the club I have yet to hear anything back since.

At the POTY awards last night, AP said that the final COVID payment is under discussion with the government and be dealt with early next year which will put us on a firmer financial footing.

Was anything else said by AP last night?

Think Adam Pearson has run out of options and reality has kicked in hence the silence.

pearson should count himself lucky we still get 5 figure crowds,i dont know another sl club that would still get 5 figure crowds after the last 3 years in the bottom 3,with plenty of 50 plus drubbings to boot.

What does that mean though? That we're trying to get it written off (much like the billions on PPE) and if so things will be easier? Not a question for you (thanks for sharing) more it raises as many qs as it answers.

Agree with pretty much all of what has been said above.

Our fanbase are very loyal but we perhaps arent so good at uniting to demand answers from the club. People grumble at the games, maybe leave early but we dont have a united front as a supporters group.

Also could the fans look at raising some funds? Just £10 of 8k passholders raises £80k which funds the wages of a decent SL player, and a lot of clubs would accept that as a transfer fee for a decent level player. Yes we already shell out a lot in pass and merchendise purchases but a coordinated fundraiser would feel like we are helping to improve the club.

I think one of the biggest issue with Hull fc is a lot of the fan base are entitled. The reality is we’ve never have sustained success and a lot of the imo comes from our lack of academy success.

Fans expect big signings E.g Seymour, Reynolds, Gale, Evans, Holdsworth, Fonua (2nd time) and then when they fail they are used to crucify the club. Majority of which the club have had to pay off.

There’s also no patience from our fan base, during our early season wobble there’s was a few loons starting the Smith out bandwagon.

If we want success we have to be patient and support the club during these tough times. Salford have had a few good years of success by picking up left overs and unearthing gems. Hopefully we can follow suit whilst we get our ducks in a row financially.

I’ve also heard so many people want a fans forum, yet isn’t Jamie shauls testimonial one been cancelled due to lack of interest?

A lot of the time, the club can’t win. The way i see it is Pearson has the most expensive season ticket out of any of us and needs support moving forward and not opposition.

With Shaul the issue is his career fizzled out a good few years ago. Had his testimonial been in say 2018/2019 response would be greater. People are respectful of the good years he gave us but being blunt if I had a time machine id go back in time and not give him his last contract. The economy also isnt great so its harder to get people any additonal 'nights out' than it once was.

A lot of the frustration goes back to the cup wins and the expectations thereafter. Not just the wins themselves but the fact we were competitive in SL and on the verge of being serious challengers for the competition.

Since then we have been absolutely appalling. A lot of it is down to our woeful home form and a series of absolute hammerings when the players clearly threw the towel in.

The recruitment and the management of the cap has been terrible. Compare 2016/17 team to what we have now.

Smith's appointment as the first genuine trophy winning coach we have for years filled our expectations. I still think that given time he can improve us. How long that will take is anyone's guess.

Mid season we had notable wins against Saints and Wigan and even in defeat we were competitive. Things were looking promising.

The last few games culminating in Huddersfield debacle and the recruitment so far makes you question are things going to get any better next season.

This bit sticks in my throat somewhat but I have to say the rovers fundraising fans organisation which has recently disbanded has to be admired, no doubt about that, they have proved to be a big help to the club in tougher times and gave something for the fans to rally around and to enable them to feel that they were doing their bit to help. In fairness hearing detail of their situation from the Rovers administration has never really been an issue for their fan base and it wasn't for us at one time either.

Adam used to sometimes even be accused of saying too much at times, in some very regular interviews, but changes in the administration at our club has seen all that stop as have the fans forums. Now it appears the lid is firmly on everything. We will no doubt get a questionnaire from time to time to gauge our views, but nothing face to face. Some cite above Jamie Shauls planned forum but you're not telling me that where a fans organisation to arrange a forum featuring Smith, Clark and say Adam it wouldn't at present pack a place out. But who is there to actually press hard for it on behalf of the fans?

With exception of the vice Presidents association, which although appearing a tad elitist to some, does a fabulous job for the club, but we don't appear to have a representative voice at present at all or indeed a conduit through which to press the club for some explanation and answers.

There are two real models for fans organisations ones like HISA which was formed in adversity in 1998 (and which probably saved the club in one historic meeting with the then Gateshead administration). They had a paying membership, a fanzine etc which is great at times of massive trouble when everyone has one goal , saving the club. But once the big issue is settled, then managing a subscription based organisation with a wide spectrum of views, (from passionate folks all of whom pay their subs and believe they are right), through the more run of the mill fans issues, just becomes unwieldy, thus HISA folded. .

We tried to form FC voices in its wake, in an attempt to gain some middle ground without a membership but with a mandate and constitution recognised by the club and we tried to get the message through to the club with regular meetings with the owner etc. No one was ever refused when wanting to join the committee which worked hard to represent the fan base. WE had an agreement for two Forums a year which the club stood by, and we tried to bring the fans together with projects like regular memorabilia fairs, projects like the funding and creation of the boulevard memorial and the refurbishment of the Jack Harrison memorial, the annual Veterans Day service at the stadium, arranging the voting for the fans player of the year and providing the trophy, social events etc.Whilst taking up the broad issues raised by the fans in a monthly meeting between the chairman and the owner. they still exist I believe but are obviously finding it hard to fill the void. So in recent times that seems to have faded away too. Therefore, at present we have no voice directly with the Club. And perhaps these days that suits them, for it seems to.

If anyone wants to form an independent fans group they would have my support but good luck cos it aint easy.

But I guess what I'm trying too say in yet another waffly post is that (possibly by design but I hope not) the club has become a closed shop organisation who only tells its life blood the stake holders out there on the terraces what they want them to here when they want them to hear it. We seem to find out more from good old Dan Tomlinson on who's signed etc.
All we need as fans who love our club, 'bleed' when we get humiliated on the field and hate to see it going backwards is a bit of hope, but as always its the hope that kills us isn't it.

I think the leaking of info to Dan Tomlinson at the HDM is deliberate

Agree with this and it happens all the time in the media.

Quid pro quo.

The HDM journos are embedded with the clubs to all intents and purposes.

To expand on my original post. Culture has become the buzzword at the club since TS became coach but the issues with culture have been there throughout my time as a supporter. In the 70's, 80's and 90's the culture was very much "part time" and similar to most other clubs of the time (anyone remember the TV clips of the players and wives jolly on the eve of the 1980 cup final?). Shaun McRae was probably the first to publicly highlight the culture issue with his infamous "cancer in the club" statement. Despite numerous changes of ownership, coaches and players the "culture cancer" seems to remain and even grown. The piece in HDM about Gaz Ellis' take on what culture looks like is interesting and it's a shame that even a great leader like him was unable to instill that effort culture in a more sustained way after he hung his boots up. Brian Smith managed to achieve it with a workmanlike first team in 90/91, Shaun McRae and Shane Richardson gave it a good go as did John Kear before he was let down by the Hetheringtons.
It would appear then that Mr Smith is correct in prioritising club culture first in the root and branch overhaul of the club. After previous coaches have failed to achieve the support of other club stakeholders in their attempts to improve club culture I think us as supporters will play a major role in supporting him through what will be a painful process.

As an aside, is anyone able to instruct me how to change the thread title to the correct...#backtheblackandwhites
please?

Done it for you

, apologies would have done it earlier but work got in the way

FWIW- I think Pearson has realised the error of his ways; loyalty to the coach when things were going badly, misguided loyalty to players via long contracts, coaching appointments , basically all things rugby related and, instead of wiping his hands and letting the club fold, he has given the dice one last roll and given Smith direct control of all of the above , and handed him authority on all media communication. It seems that we have been drip fed news , rather than confirmation of signings, targets etc, as the club are keeping their cards close to their chest, probably because negotiations with targets are on going or have failed materialise. Despite the optimism of some, it seems there is a general feeling of unease among a large section of the fanbase ,from reading posts on forums and talking to others and the signings made so far, have yet to convince many that things will improve, playing wise, any time soon. I like Smith, but performances like the ones we witnessed at the Castleford and Huddersfield games seem to confirm that the attitude and culture shift we are hoping for, is as far off as ever. I do think if we'd got the win against Wigan, those two games may have ended differently, score wise but that defeat really did for us. We have to hope that the club have a proper half lined up, to replace Clifford, or I do fear a large drop off in pass sales, which could really hurt, or even kill off the club as challengers in the future.

Nailed it. The best summation of our current situation I've read.

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Thank you for doing that. Work, the scourge of the drinking man!