I'm starting to feel that way, too. I have a season ticket, so I'll be there - but I'm not exactly looking forward to it.

Mmmmm...Watch FC or stay in with a bottle of Gin & Billy Halliday CD, not much difference really

Coming to think of it i might have to go to the game. Plan B would be staying in with the wife and a bottle of wine with a DVD. Not an option really.

I agree with that but it just makes it doubly confusing. Is it that we just lack that rugby nous at board level? Is it the board defending Agars recruitment and coaching howlers because they don't know any better or is it Agar backing his bosses despite their shortcomings in this area cos they pay his wages? Why do they have their view of Agar which is at odds with most supporters? It just seems bizarre that they get most things right off the field and are so far off the pace with anything to do with the things that matter most to the fans , performance and results. If it's some sort of conspiracy , what is it? It's just absolutely baffling and completely dispiriting. And completely ignored by the board, they just carry on regardless with no acknowledgement that we may be even a tad disappointed.

that's a fair point and i agree that we are fortunate in alot of areas that other SL clubs are not. i was a little apprehensive at first whether i should slate the board on this forum but when times are hard i guess you are left wondering what on earth the real problem is behind our club

I think the only fault our board seem to have is their inability/unwillingness to appoint a top class coach. In other areas they seem to be doing a pretty good job.

It is a fair point. Also on the playing side you had a very positive period in the middle of the decade and these things tend to be irregularly cyclical.

On the other hand, Hull's enviable growth and commercial success could be attributed [iin large part[/i to the building of the KC, which rather fell into the board's lap.
If Hull FC were still operating out of the Boulevard, I suspect there'd be two RL clubs in the city losing six-figure sums each year.

You really can't give credit where it's due, can you, what a pathetic jelous lot you Rovers fans are.

Even with the fortune of the stadium the Board have been very prudent. Other clubs (your included) would have probably spent beyond their means even if their means was greater.

You don't think that the KC has been a sizeable boost to Hull FC as a business?
Certainly I'm envious of the investment that was make into the KC stadium, as I think Hull KR would benefit massively from improved facilities.
While not jealous of your board, I admit they've played their cards well enough. I'm just saying it helps when you're dealt 4 aces.

Pathetic

; well, my criticism of Hull FC is generally more tempered than yours of Hull KR, so you'll excuse me if I don't rush to recalibrate my views.

Given that this is the Agar out thread and one criticism is that he was a cheap option, do you think they've been too prudent? The argument is always that a better coach would pay for himself with better performances feeding into higher revenue, but that is an unproven hypothesis. How much more loyalty have Hull's admirably loyal fans got in reserve? Would you risk running at a loss as business, in exchange for an improved chance of on-field success?

Choices are never that simple, i know, but this is only a hypothetical question on an internet forum.

Most of headingley is like a victorian slum but they're still the best supported club in the country. hudds play in a fine stadium and practically pay people to go but still struggle to get decent crowds.

The KC has helped but not as much as some would have you believe. Hull averaged 13k+ in the 80's at the Boulevard because we were successful.

I think rovers being in SL has actually had more of an impact on our attendances increasing at a time when we've been rubbish

As JTP has pointed out, the correlation between a nice stadium and decent crowds isn't 100% positive. There are a number of other factors involved, and FC have managed bigger crowds in the past.

While I wouldn't argue that playing in the KC is a real benefit, it falls some way short of your 4 aces analogy. There was still plenty of work to be done to translate that good fortune into commercial success, and it took considerable time and effort to get us into the position that we currently are. I have noticed that the KC is the one area where your usual even-handedness vanishes and you seem convinced that our current position is 98% down to pure good luck, but you're way wide of the mark IMO.

The down side, of course, is that our focus on financial success and a stable club would seem to have detracted from getting things right on the pitch.

Chicken or the egg scenario. You've gone for the chicken and we've tried the egg!

True, but you are comparing apples and oranges.



Possibly - but there was a striking rise in average attendence immediately following the move to the KC, which IMO was more than a coincidence. Also, money that might otherwise have had to be spent on maintaining and upgrading the Boulevard, could instead be invested in improving the commercial side of the club. It is impossible to quantify the extent to which the KC contributed, but if you seek to downplay it, then you have to give the credit for the striking upturn to the board. Which makes me wonder why they are not more popular.

tbh,it wouldn't really matter who was in charge of the club,people would still find time to moan.my only negative against them is the agar situation.rich has obviously been given the money(admit salary based only!!)to bring in the players,but why give him a new contract at this stage???

I'm showing that quality of stadia and attendances do not go hand in hand



The only member of the board I'm aware that gets real criticism (other than childish snipes about looks and who wears the strap on in the hetherington household) is rule and he isn't a shareholder. The KC has undoubtedly had an affect on attendances and our finances, however for the first 3 or 4 years at the KC we continued to lose money. The profits only started in 2005 when we won our first piece of silverware since 1991.

We also pay a significant amount to play at the KC, take nothing from match day food and drink sales and don't have any income from non match day use of the stadium. Overall I'd say the stadium has been very useful but isn't the reason for the growth in the business

That is fair enough. It would have been perfectly possible to squander or at least not fully exploit this golden opportunity - see the difficulties your co-tenants have put themselves in. The Hull FC board have done well to capitalise, but as in so much of life it is about getting the chance. There are people way more talented and industrious than me sorting rubbish on dumps in the Third World. And no, Neil Hudgell didn't send them there to find another golf stand.

That simply isn't true. You also noticed my bias on the post-derby Luaki/Newton/Rough play/cowardice/disgrace threads. I'm not even-handed, I just use long sentences - people simply lose interest and give me the benefit of the doubt.

You're lucky - I need to do some work. I can be [ireally[/i boring when it comes to discussing the selection of meaningful comparators.



Swap ya?

You're really boring anyway






Would love to see you playing at the KC with 8000 rattling around in there every week

[/u

i hope you're not including rufus the robin in that 8000!!!!!!!!!!!

Still needs to go. Any coach who cannot realise that Washy & Horne does not work after 2 seasons is clueless.

No other options. He still needs to go though. (i actually think Washy and Horne have done ok)

Sam Moa's consistent omission from the squad while we all watch the trundling mafia getting thrown around.

Washbrook at HB is just senseless when we have Tansey or Turner who are both better.

Our constant inability to play any kind of creative or attractive rugby.

A total lack of any kind of effective gameplan for individual games. a one-size-fits-all gameplan is easier.

But we put the mighty wildcats to the sword

Come on you HULLLLLAAA !!



AGAR RULES !!