[quote="bishops finger":10u30j90]When you've got such a small pool of players then the majority of the signings that teams make could be classed as gambles, even those with terrible injury records usually get signed up somewhere, just look at Trueman and Abdul, there will be others too, I personally don't think Micky Mac will play that many for us as his recent injury records not the best. Regarding Abdul, I think his body isn't used to putting the hard work in, Catalans are known to not train as often as the other teams and it was rumoured that Steve Mac had him on very light training whilst he was over there. As a Rovers fan looking in at FC's pre season I think you'll obviously be a lot fitter than you was last season, (it'd be pretty hard not to be) which will/should help with your discipline and should help with the blow out scores, I still honestly believe that you're squad will probably be bottom two, I'm not sure there's enough genuine quality to improve that much, obviously being fitter will mean your more competitive but I don't see enough quality.[/quote:10u30j90] Fair post, I still think we have better squads than Cas, Hudds and Wakey, but I'm obviously slightly biased. Will come down to injuries, but I'll be disappointed to finish below 10th, think we need and will improve on last season.

[quote="mwindass":3ue0fyo7]Does it matter if he's marquee? All it does it keep his cap value lower, especially if he's our home grown marquee[/quote:3ue0fyo7] Yeah costs the club a fortune that could be used elsewhere

[quote="Jake the Peg":28fgrobf]Yeah costs the club a fortune that could be used elsewhere[/quote:28fgrobf] Not sure what other UK based halfback we could have signed instead of Abdul, only Trueman, Russel, Leyland and Abdul have moved clubs haven't they. Not alot of quality there. I still think it's a risk worth taking with only 50k (I think) counting on the cap

Still think Cust could be a good signing. Him and Seizer could be a decent halfback pairing. Not worldbeaters but a steady duo which we have lacked . Plus it could mean Balmforth gets gametime which he probably wouldn't have and may see the club keeping him on ?. As for Abdul we don't know what he's on but not a great start being injured. Hopefully we can get him sorted as still when fit a very good player

We were that poor at halfback last year, Reynolds came in and made a huge difference. Cust and Seizer are both streets ahead of him, Brown, Smith and Charles (as it stands stands)

[quote="Dave K.":2ea4g2e7]Not sure what other UK based halfback we could have signed instead of Abdul, only Trueman, Russel, Leyland and Abdul have moved clubs haven't they. Not alot of quality there. I still think it's a risk worth taking with only 50k (I think) counting on the cap[/quote:2ea4g2e7] It's the value of the contract thats ridiculoous for me. If rumours are true and we're paying him £150k a year for 3 years it's a big chunk of cash. I'm sure we could have got him for a lot less as his options were limited. Rovers didn't want him but he was contracted to them

[quote="HU8HFC":5vtwfhtr]Well after been labelled as a low life and unemployed for suggesting Abdull had an injury, it turns out that, unfortunately, the injury to Abdul is worse than originally thought. For me if there was any indication Abdull needed a clear out of the knee, especially with his track record, the club should’ve put him under the knife ASAP. Looks inevitable that he will miss the start of the year.[/quote:5vtwfhtr] which year?

[quote="Jake the Peg":kdy3d50u]It's the value of the contract thats ridiculoous for me. If rumours are true and we're paying him £150k a year for 3 years it's a big chunk of cash. I'm sure we could have got him for a lot less as his options were limited. Rovers didn't want him but he was contracted to them[/quote:kdy3d50u] In Ritchie we trust

[quote="Jake the Peg":34hzpl5e]It's the value of the contract thats ridiculoous for me. If rumours are true and we're paying him £150k a year for 3 years it's a big chunk of cash. I'm sure we could have got him for a lot less as his options were limited. Rovers didn't want him but he was contracted to them[/quote:34hzpl5e] Maybe don't belive the rumours, it's purley guesswork or Rovers fans starting rumours. Which UK based halfback should we have gone for, we have cap space, but it's hard to get people to sign for us in the position we are in.

[quote="bonaire":rdm5zo3c]In Ritchie we trust[/quote:rdm5zo3c]

If Abdull is injured it presents a big opportunity to Cust, he was the one signing I was unsure about but the more I thought about it the more sense it made, he's a quality player, still only young and knows what Cartwright expects from his players, I think Cust will be one of our better players this coming season. It also presents an opportunity for Balmforth to claim a bench spot, it's a big season for him so will need as much game time as possible.

[quote="Jake the Peg":2pk4v7me]It's the value of the contract thats ridiculoous for me. If rumours are true and we're paying him £150k a year for 3 years it's a big chunk of cash. I'm sure we could have got him for a lot less as his options were limited. Rovers didn't want him but he was contracted to them[/quote:2pk4v7me] Thirkill isn't short of 100k or 2

[quote="mwindass":3tx0lhur]Thirkill isn't short of 100k or 2[/quote:3tx0lhur] Nor is David Hood, he is far wealthier. I see AT has set up another company "Hull FC Investments Ltd". Hull Super League Ltd now has AT, DH and Myler as registered officers.

[quote="Dave K.":1wpkr702]Maybe don't belive the rumours, it's purley guesswork or Rovers fans starting rumours. Which UK based halfback should we have gone for, we have cap space, but it's hard to get people to sign for us in the position we are in.[/quote:1wpkr702] It's been reported he's a marquee signing (could have been referring to his shirt size is guess) so I'm sure the amount is somewhere near what he's getting. I'm not sure who I would have signed but i wouldn't have thrown half a million quid at an unfit, injury prone abdul

[quote="Jake the Peg":1tsdjj0j]It's been reported he's a marquee signing (could have been referring to his shirt size is guess) so I'm sure the amount is somewhere near what he's getting. I'm not sure who I would have signed but i wouldn't have thrown half a million quid at an unfit, injury prone abdul[/quote:1tsdjj0j] Domestic marquee can be anything over 50k. No quality domestic halfs, as I've highlighted, so we we didn't have too much choice, definitely a risk, but one we had to take, still might pay off, not a great start, let's see what happens.

[quote="Jake the Peg":ks64wq1d]It's been reported he's a marquee signing (could have been referring to his shirt size is guess) so I'm sure the amount is somewhere near what he's getting. I'm not sure who I would have signed but i wouldn't have thrown half a million quid at an unfit, injury prone abdul[/quote:ks64wq1d] He could be earning only £70k (not that I think he will be) and he would still be a marquee signing as he would need naming as one so that only his £50k counts on the cap.

Half a million. You know for a fact do you ?

[quote="mwindass":1ue1ul8x]Thirkill isn't short of 100k or 2[/quote:1ue1ul8x] And he hasn't accumulated so much cash by wasting it

[quote="Dave K.":1uauwcne]Domestic marquee can be anything over 50k. No quality domestic halfs, as I've highlighted, so we we didn't have too much choice, definitely a risk, but one we had to take, still might pay off, not a great start, let's see what happens.[/quote:1uauwcne] We didn't have to take it. We have cust, sezer and a couple of younger players as back ups.

[quote="hull2524":2duq4ul8]Half a million. You know for a fact do you ?[/quote:2duq4ul8] No, but I'll bet it nearer that than £250k

From the outside it does seem daft that we didn’t get the knee clear out done as soon as he became a Hull player, it was said he needed it while at Catalans, he’s on a three year deal I’d always be looking long term. Who knows maybe he just wanted to crack on and get stuck in with pre season or maybe he has just took a knock that wasn’t expected. I’m not just saying now because he’s had a set back but I always thought our best balanced 6 and 7 combo would have been Cust and Sezer anyway. The bigger problem would be if it’s effected our dummy half rotation plans with Cust, but the indication is that Borough is rated highly and Balmforth is having a good pre season. DT has also said that Cust has been training at 6 and not dummy half so again maybe not too much disruption just a like for like swap with Cust and JA.

[quote="bonaire":2qvpm3zp]In Ritchie we trust[/quote:2qvpm3zp] I was as sceptical about the take over happening as anyone, but it’s official now and it looks they’ve already put a decent amount of investment in the club. I’d also have Myler down as someone who’s pretty thick skinned himself. I admire your dedication to your club but I’d just give it up for now at least, Myler and the board are not going to pack up and leave us in the lurch already just because one Rovers fan pretending to be a Hull fan on a message board is always sticking the boot in. Give it a season or two of bad results and then try the Trojan horse act again, believe it or not there’s a bit of a feel good factor around the club at the moment.

[quote="DSJ1983":3rusit2y]I was as sceptical about the take over happening as anyone, but it’s official now and it looks they’ve already put a decent amount of investment in the club. I’d also have Myler down as someone who’s pretty thick skinned himself. I admire your dedication to your club but I’d just give it up for now at least, Myler and the board are not going to pack up and leave us in the lurch already just because one Rovers fan pretending to be a Hull fan on a message board is always sticking the boot in. Give it a season or two of bad results and then try the Trojan horse act again, believe it or not there’s a bit of a feel good factor around the club at the moment.[/quote:3rusit2y] The feel good factor comes from having two guys in charge who have money and its money the club need to turn this around. A few big up player reports in the HDM may excite the optimistic and deluded on here but reality is the squad is poor quality put together by a novice whos first major mistake is now seen signing a crocked Abdul on a lucrative three year deal. You only have to look at our backline of Barron,Hardaker,Chamberlain and Briscoe to see how poor most of Ritchies recruitment has been and if Cross is signed its hardly a major step up.We should be aiming higher and showing R/L that we have ambition and the financial backing of two wealthy owners. Quality not quantity.He didnt have to sign a player just because he thinks there is no one else around.Get off your backside and find what we need Lets face it would he be the DOR of Hull Fc if his father in Law was not the part owner of the club.NO My feeling is we have wasted a building opportunity for 2025 which because of the length of contracts will undoubtably effect what we can do in 2026 when that year should have been the real step up year with three quality possibly marquee players accquired. Thats highly unlikely now unless we have another large player movement out and that means paying off several contracted players to make room which again costs the club money. As for me being a Rovers fan thats way off the mark and anyone can see that by simply checking my profile but what i will say is that they have a well laid out strategy for the future a very good coach,lots of ambition and have put together a very good squad for 2025. Will we get anywhere near defeating them on the pitch i very much doubt it

[quote="bonaire":2ovcigc0]The feel good factor comes from having two guys in charge who have money and its money the club need to turn this around. A few big up player reports in the HDM may excite the optimistic and deluded on here but reality is the squad is poor quality put together by a novice whos first major mistake is now seen signing a crocked Abdul on a lucrative three year deal. You only have to look at our backline of Barron,Hardaker,Chamberlain and Briscoe to see how poor most of Ritchies recruitment has been and if Cross is signed its hardly a major step up.We should be aiming higher and showing R/L that we have ambition and the financial backing of two wealthy owners. Quality not quantity.He didnt have to sign a player just because he thinks there is no one else around.Get off your backside and find what we need [b:2ovcigc0]Lets face it would he be the DOR of Hull Fc if his father in Law was not the part owner of the club.NO[/b:2ovcigc0] My feeling is we have wasted a building opportunity for 2025 which because of the length of contracts will undoubtably effect what we can do in 2026 when that year should have been the real step up year with three quality possibly marquee players accquired. Thats highly unlikely now unless we have another large player movement out and that means paying off several contracted players to make room which again costs the club money. As for me being a Rovers fan thats way off the mark and anyone can see that by simply checking my profile but what i will say is that they have a well laid out strategy for the future a very good coach,lots of ambition and have put together a very good squad for 2025. Will we get anywhere near defeating them on the pitch i very much doubt it[/quote:2ovcigc0] Hope you feel this passionately about Danson at Wigan putting hisson on the board there. It happens in a lot of businesses, it's not just an FC thing. Just out of interest which experienced sports administrator should Pearson or Thirkill have appointed instead? Gus Gould? Shame you didn't go to that fans forum, you could've told Myler all about your much better plan and how to roll it out.

[quote="bonaire":2vkl5kl3]The feel good factor comes from having two guys in charge who have money and its money the club need to turn this around. A few big up player reports in the HDM may excite the optimistic and deluded on here but reality is the squad is poor quality put together by a novice whos first major mistake is now seen signing a crocked Abdul on a lucrative three year deal. You only have to look at our backline of Barron,Hardaker,Chamberlain and Briscoe to see how poor most of Ritchies recruitment has been and if Cross is signed its hardly a major step up.We should be aiming higher and showing R/L that we have ambition and the financial backing of two wealthy owners. Quality not quantity.He didnt have to sign a player just because he thinks there is no one else around.Get off your backside and find what we need Lets face it would he be the DOR of Hull Fc if his father in Law was not the part owner of the club.NO My feeling is we have wasted a building opportunity for 2025 which because of the length of contracts will undoubtably effect what we can do in 2026 when that year should have been the real step up year with three quality possibly marquee players accquired. Thats highly unlikely now unless we have another large player movement out and that means paying off several contracted players to make room which again costs the club money. As for me being a Rovers fan thats way off the mark and anyone can see that by simply checking my profile but what i will say is that they have a well laid out strategy for the future a very good coach,lots of ambition and have put together a very good squad for 2025. Will we get anywhere near defeating them on the pitch i very much doubt it[/quote:2vkl5kl3] Did you have a happy Christmas?