Ah, but Pearson's attempt at being Romulus began 3 years ago when - after years of us being sold, I mean floated, down the river - he got rid of Remus, I mean Agar, and started his reign in earnest.

Under Gentle steady progress [iwas[/i made, the youth development, their integration into the club & first team, and blooding of these youngsters, the solidification of our defence (Radford?), 6th position twice and progression in the playoffs, the CC final. There were ups and downs in that net progress and Gentle was ultimately let down - in my opinion - by the fact that the mentality of the players to succeed wasn't solidified. Their inability to grasp what Gentle wanted in his complex game plans also caused confusion and frustration in the ranks, I think. Guess he expected an Aussie club culture in Hull. Our lot weren't ready for it nor up to it.

That said, we'd stagnated and Gentle had gone as far as he was going to and a change was inevitable. But to build on those foundations Pearson needed to improve on Gentle, the next coach had to take the baton and accelerate, not turn around and hurtle back to the starting line.

Instead Radford looks to have dropped it. And from such a height that the foundations that [iwere[/i painstakingly laid during those first two years look in danger of cracking.

Rome wasn't built in a day but the fire that nearly destroyed it didn't happen for another 800 years or so after those foundations were laid. Hull FC look like breaking all records with their two-year effort.

What people actually seem to forget is Gentle actually had a half back with a good kicking game . I'll judge our current coach starting from the beginning of next season

Whom Radford replaced with Rankin. His choice.

In his first season?We had Horne ,Seymour and Nicklas none of them had a good kicking game

I like how people said Holdsworth was a bag of crap last year in all but the odd game, and now, when it suits their purpose, he's the reason we finished 6th (though, as paintman says, we didn't have him the year before). Funny, that.

Gentle had an inconsistent half back with a half decent kicking game.

Why do you insist on judging him next season? Miller apart Rankin was Radford's choice.
Where do you get this eternal optimism regarding Radford?

Everyone apart from those wearing their black and white specs see that the team is not performing any where near it should be and I don't think this season or next will make any difference with Radford in charge.

Yes it is convenient for some.

Its only fair to judge Gentle in his first season if Radford supporters want to wait until he gets his own team.Gentle inherited Agars not so inspiring signings and managed 6th place.Radford has inherited an arguably better squad and we'll be lucky if we scrape into the top 8

He had a kicking game that we don't possess now - it certainly won us through against Wire. He was average with ball in hand for sure but I doubt Miller and Rankin would be keeping him out of the current side.

I'm not saying he didn't have good games - most notably the cup semi - but he was also roundly panned on here nearly every week, those odd games notwithstanding. It seems a little ironic that some people now try to intimate that he had more to do with our 6th place finish than Gentle, despite the fact that we also finished 6th the year before without him.

Yeah, but we had Andy Lynch in those two seasons. You know, the one who was "finished" and is now leading from the front at 4th placed Cas.

Yeah get what you mean but I like the guy who was doing the commentary, all ways keeping up with play good discription of the plays etc etc... a million times better than Gollum and his cronies

i totaly agree with you,the guy who did the commentary was good,always keeping you well informed of what was happening.2nd time i`ve listened to yorkshire radio,and will do so again.far superior to that lump of lard lloyd.

Like others have said, if you replace a coach then you need to replace him with someone better. Is Radford better than Gentle? At the moment you'd have to say no.

I don't really buy into this "wait till he's got his own team" approach. Gentle's first season was with Agar's team and we finished sixth. In fact, along with Hudds, we were the leagues in form team to begin with. I remember when we won the Good Friday derby that year that we were all singing about being top of the league.

Also:



If the man himself isn't using it as an excuse, should we the fans use it as an excuse?

I agree. Radford, to his credit, pre-emted that he would never make calls for his "own team". He was present during the assembling of his inherited set of men and made minimal recruitment in addition to what Gentle had already secured. This team [iis[/i his team far more than that which is the lot of most new coaches. And Radford is the first to admit it.

We should judge him as he asks to be judged.

Yup, he's useless

Tho most coaches would be useless will this bunch of losers we have as players

Most would get more out of them than Radford does.

I hadn't really picked up anyone saying that to be honest. Just people bemoaning our current kicking game (which must be about the worst in the league) and saying how it was better when Holdsworth played.

Only cos your mates with the pub landlord,if you was doing well you wouldnt be waiting for next season you would be wallowing in his glory this season,but your doin cr@p thats why its next season.

Darryl powell seems to be doing ok with the team he inherited minus chase.

Another good example. Thanks Des.

Quote ="Legends and Icons"Fwiw I don't except mediocrity but I do believe that Rome wasn't built in a day , 2006 Wigan were nearly relegated and restructured the full DNA of the club and are reaping the benefits and will do so for many more years and that's what we need to do and hopefully that's what Adam Pearson and Lee Radford aim to do . As a city we are a hotbed for rugby league and I'm sure I've read somewhere we have 3teams teams from hulls junior leagues taking part in national cup finals in which have just won one . I think we will see a much smaller squad for the next few season which will make a better path way to first team football for our young lads . Hopefully quality over quantity , we have chopped a lot of cap space already this season and imo I think we could see upto 10 of this seasons squad getting moved on !!'" Looks like we were correct with a smaller squad with quality over quantity www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-FC- ... story.html A new experienced half-back is likely to arrive, with former Hull KR scrum-half Michael Dobson and New Zealand Warriors' Thomas Leuluai among those believed to have been approached. While Dobson looks set to return to Super League but across the Pennines, it's still a statement of intent from FC and an indication of the type of quality they are pursuing. "Sa's signing is the way we want to go forward as a club," explained Radford. "We are looking at players that have a bit of X-factor and then combine that with a group of players from Hull. Read more: www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-FC- ... z32vLPp0Sh

Quote ="Legends and Icons"Fwiw I don't except mediocrity but I do believe that Rome wasn't built in a day , 2006 Wigan were nearly relegated and restructured the full DNA of the club and are reaping the benefits and will do so for many more years and that's what we need to do and hopefully that's what Adam Pearson and Lee Radford aim to do . As a city we are a hotbed for rugby league and I'm sure I've read somewhere we have 3teams teams from hulls junior leagues taking part in national cup finals in which have just won one . I think we will see a much smaller squad for the next few season which will make a better path way to first team football for our young lads . Hopefully quality over quantity , we have chopped a lot of cap space already this season and imo I think we could see upto 10 of this seasons squad getting moved on !!'" Looks like we were correct with a smaller squad with quality over quantity www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-FC- ... story.html A new experienced half-back is likely to arrive, with former Hull KR scrum-half Michael Dobson and New Zealand Warriors' Thomas Leuluai among those believed to have been approached. While Dobson looks set to return to Super League but across the Pennines, it's still a statement of intent from FC and an indication of the type of quality they are pursuing. "Sa's signing is the way we want to go forward as a club," explained Radford. "We are looking at players that have a bit of X-factor and then combine that with a group of players from Hull. Read more: www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-FC- ... z32vLPp0Sh

No arguments from me that we need more quality. The key will be to get the right squad balance and not leave ourselves too short in the quantity department. Lets face it, at FC the next injury crisis is always just around the corner

.

The halfback situation will be interesting. As the article says, Dobson and Leuluai shows the type of quality we're aiming for. But will we be able to sign either of them? Lets hope the club is looking further afield in case the answer is no and doesn't end up in a situation where they panic buy.

leuluai would not address our problems of a lack of creativity and no kicking game