Having attended the KC stadium last night I came away with mixed feelings about the game. On one hand there was a distinct improvement in both effort and application. On the other hand we were woefully inadequate in so many departments.

Hull started brightly playing with enthusiasm and aggression. They seemed a little more organised and for 39 minutes weren’t too far behind Saints (on the score board anyway). In this game and last week against Leeds there was plenty of evidence to suggest everyone is trying to turn things around even though these were two heavy defeats.

This for me though is at the heart of the problems at Hull. They looked ok and gave plenty of effort but they, as a team, are just not good enough. A lot of the blame has been put on the players but is it all their fault?

Having had the chance to compare Hull side by side with the best side in the competition it is my opinion that the majority of the problem lies in the coaching which makes me worry about next season and beyond. It doesn’t matter how many good players you have, if they don’t play as a team and don’t have good basic skills they’re not going to win anything.

I have several issues with Hull’s play. In defence their line speed is poor. To often (although not always) they are static in the tackle with the ball carrier hitting them at pace and invariably gaining extra yards in the tackle, dominating it and getting a quick play the ball. The amount of clean breaks against them this season which have often lead to tries indicates also a problem with the defensive patterns Hull use. They seem unable to defend a full set in their own thirty meters and often are exposed badly in the three quarters with two or three men overlaps against them. Many of the tries Hull have conceded this season have come from teams just playing simple basic plays executed well. The players also need reminding that players cannot run without their legs!

In attack things are just as bad. The play the ball is very slow and too often players do not make the effort to get up and play the ball quickly. Quick play the balls are priceless in adding yards to a set and can often mean the difference between finishing the set with a defensive of offensive kick and good field position. A lot of Hulls success in recent years has come from a good kick and chase which they are currently incapable of executing.

In addition to this Hull’s attack plays with no depth, support or second phase. Players almost always take the ball from a standing start or just one or two paces into their stride. This makes the attack predictable and allows opposition defences to play with quick defensive line speed thus reducing the yardage made by the attack and the opportunity for breaks and tackle busts. Too many times when some pace is injected into the attack the ball carrier is looking around for support and sees his team mates setting up for the next play the ball instead of being on his shoulder. When second phase attacks are attempted the quality of passing and movement is so poor that the wing of centre usually ends up going to ground outnumbered by the opposition to avoid going into touch!

These are just a few observations from an average fan. What I want to know is that if I can see all this with no coaching knowledge at all why can’t the coaches at Hull? And if they can why aren’t they sorting it out.

As I have already said having had the chance to compare Hull side by side with the best side in the competition it is my opinion that they are a million miles away from being a top side. The fact that there are probably eleven or twelve other teams in the competition in the same position does nothing to ease my despair about my beloved clubs current predicament. I will continue to follow my team with the same passion I’ve always had for them but I don’t expect any measured success any time soon. The Darkside is very much where I’m at right now!

All that f**king effort and that's it.

Mick potter , Anderson , Millward ..ect couldn't mold this current squad into anything near the Saints team are playing. We have donkeys , They have thoroughbreds.
The signings we are making for 2010 are a positive step in the right direction but they still will be coached by a donkey !.

welcome to the last 2 years plus. our attack play and options are a disgrace imo and i beg the question what do we do in training (apart from the one man rugby training sessions we apparently do )

I agree with everything you say,you sound as frustrated as the rest of us

Well said, please forward to James Rule and Kath Hetherington and ask them to read it to RA and JS.

Doesn't Rule have a radio show?

Feel free to quote me BONES!

Great Post - Pretty much summed it all up for me.

Unfortunately I can't see any improvement for the foreseeable future. As you say, even if the board get some balls and removed Agar they would only take the cheap option of Jon Sharp.

I don't think our 'exciting' recruitment will really change much. Will Fitzgibbon really add anything different to our 2nd row or go forward? Why are we chasing over the hill 30+ players?

Long is a decent addition but again too old. He's not a player we can start to mould a side around.

Tansey - A solid signing but you question why would Leeds be willing to let him go if he was as good as Hull's website makes him!!!

Unfortunately if we don't recruit any big names then I think we will start to see fans voting with their feet. I fear for our season pass sales for next year and can't see us selling anywhere near the 8000 we have the past 2 years.

What's that for? Good post Dave.

Yeah you're pretty much spot on there. We have the players to be a very good side in my opinion, and they are trying to make things work, but something is missing.

That said I still think we are good enough to be in the playoffs. We are better than Wakefield and Cas imo. Next week is a big game.

Sadly I think your last statement says it all. Only a few years ago we would have put these sides away with no trouble. Now I doubt that we really are better then them??? The league doesn't lie and I think we will finish around 12th

Fair enough as you state the above coaches would struggle to get this team playing the same rugby with them players as Saints

However what i can't defend as a coach why cant Agar work his players to speed the ptb up,why can't he get his interchanges right,why is his man managment so poor,why does he persist in playing radders at 13, why can't he get any aggression into the team,why can't he coach the team to play with dummy runners and have the ability to create an overlap????

So it's all well and good saying he hasn't got the players but he has a lot of shortcomings himself

we have lost 9 from the last 11which is just not good enough and tbh Cas and salford could have easily beaten us and we could have been 0 from 11

the coach should have the ability to be able to get everything out of his team week in week out and i don't beleive he is capable of this

I still think the way a team plays is a reflection of the coaches personality. RA AND JS are both very laid back to say the least and never really show any emotion. This is passing onto the pitch with this oh well another defeat attuitude. Thye only players who seem to be above this mentality are players who have not been part of this set uo for very long. Just my thoughts. But its strange how Agar kicks uo a fuss about Thorman and he suddenly plays better.

No need to worry. We have a grade A licence. We have been rubbish all season but are still only 4 points off top spot (actually this was what the sheep amongst us were saying a few weeks ago to try and convince themselves evrything was OK - will be 20+ points by season's end). It's not agar, it's the players and bringing in 5 or 6 new ones will transform us into a team challenging for honours. Give agar a season with his own team. etc etc

agar and sharp are the problems and we won't ever achieve our potential with them in charge

I agree with all that. Its the basics that he cant seem to get right, which is very worrying !!

Have you been on the pop again Jake?

Read it again.

Read the post again baz