Hudge's words today www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... -mess.html He is looking to get out b4 it goes 'pop' , so he can't be blamed.

Hudge's words today www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... -mess.html He is looking to get out b4 it goes 'pop' , so he can't be blamed.

He's sending out a warning about the state of the game as a whole.

And he sent it out before Hull's latest round of redundancies.

Serious point though. People talk about a return to the 50% rule - was that a golden era of profitability or even just of more manageable losses? Could the cap be be cut as they have done in the Championship? Would be bad for the sport, but so would half the super league going bust.

5 years of profitability mate. The best businesses prune as they go along to maintain financial progression year on year. Others just lose £1.9m over 5 years then ask for public money when their is no commercial business case for the 14,000 capacity they included in their franchise bid. A bit spoilt if you ask me.

The latter in most cases.

It's not easy to make a profit in any sport, let alone one as relatively 'poor' as RL.

Public money to pay for a stadium whose RL tennants rarely fill it...



Could be a good thread this - especially if a paralell thread for the bitter, obsessed, traumatized and wilfully misinterpreting remains open on another board.

Ouch - bit touchy this morning. I think people are maybe annoyed he's tried to tar us and Leeds with everyone else's financial mismanagement brush. Thank goodness for the business acumen of the Hetheringtons, or he would be right.

Is this the same Gary and Kath Hetherington who left Sheffield Eagles in a dire mess or the same Kath Hetherington who ruined Gateshead??? They may well be doing ok now but are fortunate enough to run the two best supported clubs in the country and i very much doubt Hull would have anything like their current financial situation had they still been at the Boulevard.

Nothing to do with business accumen but almost entirley to do with luck.

Touchy - never.

I'm happy to discuss it in a good humoured way with well-balanced Hull fans like yourself. And to be fair, he did say everyone when there are a couple of exceptions. It takes a special kind of derangement to celebrate doom and gloom for the sport as a whole just because we are amongst those losing money, though. Still it has been a disappointing couple of seasons for 'em and we'd no doubt be the same if the situation were reversed.

Hull fans I think, feel it unfair that the prudence of their board holds the team back relative to those who have spent more freely (and less sustainably, admittedly) and yearn for a natural order were the spending of others is more limited, so they can win more games without profitability falling. Perhaps now there will be a growing consensus for enforced frugality, after Mr. Hudgell's insightful and eloquent comments. Would you agree?

Wigan get more fans than us and their accounts are horrific. The harder you work, the luckier you get.

You are joking?!!

I think what you are saying is that Hull FC have cut their coat according to their cloth and Hudgell is now holding this up as best practice.



I am well-balanced, thanks. Chip on both shoulders.

The FACTS are that we have made profit for 5 years and ANY club bar Leeds would swap their operating model and fanbase for ours in a heartbeat.

I did forget the

, BTW.

They didn't have any merger money to boost their coffers

and as far as Leeds go they have been historically the wealthiest club in the game. I would even go as far as to say an ape could run that club though judging by this years losses perhaps one is



Admit it your just a s[ihit[/i stirrer

There must s[ihit[/i there to stir

Thread is about Hudge constantly hinting at getting out.
He knows you have lost £££££££ every year for last 3-4 whilst he has been involved/in charge. He wants to be remembered for the Chairman who brought glorious SL to caravan park and now he is looking for a way out b4 it all goes 'pop' and he's still in charge.
He's looking to do a Tony Blair ie leave just as the recession comes.
Hudge the fudge has an ego and seeing you lose your franchise in 2011 may be too much.

Also why is he bleating to the currant bun about the finances in our game ?

At least our sponsors seem on a safe footing Mrs B. Perhaps you should help your own lot out consideing the seriousness of P&O's present position .....i suppose your club could always be taking their S.L. money up front again

Maybe they took advice from their accountants and didn't include transfer values of their players

Did your club not do this?



The truth of the matter is P&O, like many businesses, are having financial hardship. I'd be much more worried if it was the club going through it than the sponsors.

These arguments come to resemble those of the now departed SmokeyTA, in that they ignore the historical context. Rovers in NL1 had to go for broke (as exemplified by Widnes who in the end did go broke) to get up, stay up and get a franchise. There was no way to do that sustainably. I was surprised by the number and quality of the players we recruited for the 2008 season and that for me is where the debate might start. On the pitch it has paid off, but perhaps, with hindsight, knowing that there would be knock-on effects of a massive banking collapse and, possibly, the promotion to the PL of City, Rovers could have tried to climb the ladder more slowly. It is moot now, though. The question is should Rovers continue to try to grow (North stand, continue spending to the cap etc) or should they consolidate on what has already been achieved (wait and see whether the 2nd East stand extension brings in more fans, replace highly paid experienced off contract players, with promising youngsters (see Smokey, wherever you are - we listened!))? And it isn't easy because not gambling carries risk - stagnation, a perceived lack of ambition and a disgruntled fanbase reduced to amateurish schadenfreude.

Thankyou for that very clear frame of reference and evenhanded analysis.

Lowest form of wit, I know.

I would be more worried if i was employed by P&O .know of a few people loosing there jobs after years of working for them

The biggest changes at P&O have been happening over the last 10 years. There are hardly any local lads working on there now anyway. My dad was made redundant by them a few years ago.