Chester has a competitive win rate of around 49%.
His squad size is 27 players - one of these is 16 years old.
That squad doesn't contain 1 specialist Fullback, Shaw is the closest thing to one but even then is more utility player, and as he's not been selected yet i don't think CC trusts him.
prior to game 1 we had Lunt, Larroyer, & Campese out injured.
Walkers case was known about prior to the season starting, i fail to accept he has 100% focus on RL matters.
Every single fan thinks he has recruited in the wrong areas, leaving us confused as to what the bigger picture plan is.
After all his time in charge there has been no improvement on the whole. the odd decent performance, a rare cracking performance but the norm for a CC side is a dire defensive performance.
Last seasons crap league form was papered over by the CC cup final appearance and a middle 8's unbeaten run...we got honked in the cup final and were people really happy to be in the middle 8's regardless of results?
The signs are that this season will go the same or worse than last season, bottom 4 beckons, this is unacceptable to me. i know some fans are a little less ambitious than myself and would like to give him more time. but IMO he should go, take Poching with him and do that NOW!
Who would i replace him with? I'm not sure who's available but someone of the Darryl Powell mould (I know, but regardless of THAT incident, he is a cracking coach) would be good.
Just go now before you do too much damage and it can't be undone!

I'm not sure many other coaches would be doing much better with the squad he currently has available.

Putting together a squad is not just his responsibility, but Peacock, Hudgell & Crossland's responsibility too. It's very harsh to only point blame at Chester for this.

There's likely to be a big proportion of your salary cap sat in the stands, including captain and playmaker, both hookers and kicker. Maybe there are some issues with the balance of the cap and how that's been apportioned to accommodate some high earners, but again, not Chester's fault.

That point versus Cas is a point more than most people would have predicted. 2 games is not enough time for any coach, let alone one who has so many injuries to contend with

Agree, not his fault that players are injured.
We are saying he needs to sign a big set of forwards? but most of the players we would want are already signed to other clubs, we can't sign players that don't actually exist. Maybe he is a little green as a coach but who else would we get? We have to be realistic Wigan/Leeds/Saints/Wire can probably sign better players for less than we could simply on their name, they also have long well established & funded youth set ups (something we appear to be trying to sort out with the city of Hull academy) I am quiet prepared to wait a couple of seasons as long as we make small improvements along the way. We have no right to be a big club we must earn it & then maintain it. & lets face it we are not bottom Leeds are.

You are correct in saying he is not directly responsible for the injuries but he was largely responsible for recruitment, he had the initial say and then it was up to the board to sanction those requests.
For example, Dane Tilse was a panic buy and is not good enough in most fans opinions, he should not have got a 2 year deal, we have also brought mostly unknown types of players, with potential I would agree, but we should have gone for one or two big impact players that would have made all the difference now and then bought one or two lesser established types, but with potential for the future.
Some People keep on saying that we will be a different team if and when Campo comes back, well yes we might be but only from an attacking perspective, lets not forget that last season even with campo in the side we were still pants in defence with one of the worst points against records in super league, up to now this side of our game has not changed and I honestly cannot see it changing any time soon.
You go on to say, you are prepared to wait another couple of seasons, by that I assume you mean retain Chester for another couple of seasons.
Well I'm afraid in that case you may have to do your waiting in the national league because at the moment I see no way we are going to make the necessary improvements to become a force or god forbid even stay in super league while employing the current coaching set up along with their questionable coaching methods and choice of players, with or without Campo and Lunt, assuming the former even gets back playing for any length of time.
With regards to Leeds been currently bottom, they may well be at the moment but I would bet my house that they will start to climb and then make inroads into the league table before we do.

i don't think the board are helping out, instead of spending funds on the squad they seem to have trimmed a bit off the squad and invested into peacock and the new gym and other things going on behind the scenes

But Chester is out of his depth the team dont believe in him anymore our defence is awful our attitude towards games is awful, I'm not sure what Chester has done to sio and Kelly them seem shadows of the players they were last season

It's not a great feeling to be supporting rovers at the minute but i will still be there on Sunday you can't go enjoy days like the promotion or the semi final at Leeds without enduring the bad days

Agree with what you are saying that we will if we do not get rid of chester we will finish up going down we need to do something now not wait and see

Its an understandable reaction to what is an underwhelming start to the season, and if we look a little closer it can be sourced back to the start of pre-season when the opportunity to work solidly on defensive formations should have been of prime concern. I must say I couldn't believe it when I was told contact and drills weren't started until January! When I played (albeit amateur) we combined gaining fitness on the training pitch with the track and the gym from week one of the schedule. I don't think the game has changed that much, has it?

Chester also knew he had a problem in the pack - two big units - but no one has arrived at the Lightstream. I suggest the reason for this can be found in the clubs emphasis on finding the right fit. No matter how deep you filter and delve into the individual there is always a risk (ie Adam Walker, whether guilty or not you cannot detect these things). I know Ben Kavanagh turned Rovers down because of the faffing about this process was causing, although I feel we dodged a bullet with him IMO. TBH you don't need to be well-grounded to be a forward, you want someone who is a nutter (for want of a better word). Would the current selection process sign Ben Westwood or going back in time Burton or Hogan. Its all well and good going for 'image' and 'brand' but come on, this is rough tough rugby league.

As for calling for Chester to resign, I suggest it is premature. Lets wait until the likes of Campo and Lunt return before we get the 'Chester Out' banners. . .but it might be worth a punt at the bookies to take advantage of still reasonable odds!

I think the key to this whole argument is PERSPECTIVE AND PRIORITY - not our PERSPECTIVE and PRIORITIES as fans but those of Chezzie as coach and the board who appointed him and currently support him.

WHAT DO I MEAN BY THIS?

To me, Chezzie overinflates the value and ability of his players. He puts them on a pedestal, tells all and sundry they are a tight unit and a talented, quality bunch when the reality is definitely below this PERSPECTIVE. Player personality, collegiality and culture fit is PRIORITISED and favoured above ability and achievement. Very new Labour. Doesn't matter if your core skills, talent or mindset are below par, or your mentality is not a winning one because you'll have your teammates to support you, slap you on the back and bail you out when you fail, so the plan goes.

In Chezzie land, It's likely you'll fail more often than not. No need to practice defensive drills in in this altruistic but complacent la la land, because we can experiment as we go along losing game after game all season and eventually get it right when it's too late. No worries, we can prove to the rest of the RL fraternity that we are good enough to stay in SL by cruising through the middle 8s again.

If the board has bought into this concept and vision, then their PERSPECTIVE of what constitutes a successful SL team is seriously flawed and then we as fans need to question it.

Chezzie has got 2 more games to turn things round, if not, I hope he's toast. Poching should be gone already imo. That's my PERSPECTIVE AND PRIORITY.


FINALLY OUR ESTEEMED COLLEAGUE, BARHAM RED, SAID IN ANOTHER THREAD - "IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN, YOU PLAN TO FAIL." This outcome is usually the sign of a bad manager. Perhaps that is why the board have brought in JP to manage us out of this exact situation.

I respect what Rob and Neil have done, and even they admit when they've made mistakes. But unfortunately they are currently making one right now. They are very loyal to any staff or players they employ, but this blindness loyalty is fast becoming their undoing. After all this hasn't been just this season, but way back to the challenge cup final in August last year up to the present date.
The Wakefield game has come at the wrong time for the club and the section of fans unhappy with this coaching regime. This game most probably could be the stay of execution for Chester. A shame really as we all know that this sorry affair could drag on for longer than is necessary.
Blind faith will not bring results. But a change of coach could well do.

If Chester is sacked who do you think you would realistically go for? The new coach will have the same problems with a weak and injury hit squad.

I'd have Morgan back in a heartbeat. He knows the club fans and regime. Others have mentioned McNamara, we could do worse.
As for inheriting the same problems, you have a point. But I've heard there's more than just injuries that are causing some bad displays.

I would hope jp has someone in mind already, if him and the board are not thinking about it already then we are in trouble imo

A change of coach (if it is the right person) can work wonders with a good but underperforming team or an average team or a poor team over time. Conversely, a poor coach can have the reverse effect.

Examples - Powell at Cas, Smith at Warrington, Gillespie at Yorkshire, Hiddink at Chelsea.

Chezzie has had time enough, has had a reasonably free rein on recruitment, has openly stated "Willie Poching was one of his shrewdest acquisitions" and coached the second worst defensive team in SL last season. Says it all, really. Our current plight with injuries and squad depth, whilst unlucky, smacks of incompetence on a massive scale. It's not as if we didn't have a dry run in this regard last year.

If we fail to beat St Helens at home in 10 days time, given how Salford eviscerated them last week after a heavy opening weekend loss, Chezzie ought to be lynched.

Get Morgan back, make a move for Steve Mcnamara or Paul Rowley. Or an Aussie assistant coach at one of their recent NRL success franchises (therefore excludes Canberra, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Parramatta, Penrith and Wests), who has represented his country at test level.

I think Morgan would be a good appointment. Since he left Rovers he must have gained more experience and new ideas in the NRL.

If there is a change I think McNamara is more likely.

Some people are saying that we should give CC more time due to injuries and the like, we conceded nearly 30 points per game for all of last season. Some are saying that our pack is small, I accept that the second row are a bit light (Coxie wanted to play second row) but our front row are big lads, they're just not performing.
The truth is that the board have never provided this club with an experienced coach, Morgan, Sandercock and Chester have all been novices. Do the board fear an experienced coach?

John Kear has always had an impact wherever he has gone or Geof Toovey sacked from Manly last year could be options. One thing is for sure, Chester is not up to the job.

People are being too harsh on chester IMO. Does anyone have any evidence that he's the one who has chosen the players and squad make up? Did he hand out big contracts to kelly and campese? Was he the one who green lighted tilse last season?

Didn't rob crossland come out and say the other day you've purposely chosen younger, lighter forwards as you're making plans for reduced interchanges - wasn't that when he criticised the Hull pack for being too big? Seems to be a club policy to me and not down solely to chester. How much input have hudge, crossland, smith and peacock had in recruitment and retention?

Last season he got you to wembley and you were only 2 points off the top 8 despite a bad injury run including losing your best player for most of the season. You also went undefeated through the middle 8's.

What do people realistically expect? You're one of the smaller clubs in SL (in income/attendance terms) and have very few quality young players who have come through your academy meaning you've had to backfill from elsewhere. You're probably punching at your weight in real terms around 7th to 11th and there's only really cas who have bucked the trend to some extent although they're still spending at the cap.

As for your overseas signings, campese, sio and kelly are top quality players even if 2 are injury prone - you sometimes have to take a chance on these players which can blow up in your face but it's hardly chester's fault.

These things often seem worse when the team across the city are doing better. I'd say if it hadn't been for the derby friendly bumming and the fact we've started like a house on fire then most rovers fans would have been happy with a point from your first 2 games. I've no doubt you'll beat a woeful wakefield side on sunday and think you have a decent shout against saints as long as you don;t pick up any more injuries.

Can your club even afford to sack chester and can they afford the salary for these coaches on everyone's shopping list?

Your back row is definitely a major problem with your forwards. Your props would be a lot better if they had decent back rowers taking the pressure off. The luxury radford has at the minute of bringing pritchard on after 25 minutes or so is massive and our back row has been the major part of our 2 wins so far IMO

I don't mean to be rude but I am not focusing on any other team at the moment. Our back row could have been strengthened in the close season but w Chesters at fault.asn't, Chester has to take some responsibility for that. Regardless of our size our defensive line is too slow and timid, it was for the whole of last season and this problem has not been addressed.

Paul Rowley a good shout...

You need to pull in some loan players, if only the relationship with Hull FC was a little better there is a embarrassment of riches in the forwards that could do a job for KR. Selling Taylor to Wigan may become a costly mistake

Pure crap and some of it a bit patronising, especially the smaller club analogy.

Hull KR is a team. RL is a team game. As a team, Hull KR is misfiring and underperforming in its current iteration and somebody has to carry the can.

Rewind 12 months.

Last season, we beat you in preseason and we beat you at yours. We never won away from home again in SL. We beat some other top 4 sides at home. We won 3 on the bounce over Easter and then it all dissolved to rats**t. At the same time the suicidal lemmings on the dark side of the chocolate divide were screaming for Radford's head. Then fortunes went in reverse. A team that could defend, suddenly found some cohesion in attack. A team that couldn't defend but could attack, lost its playmaker and on field game manager. The rest is history. We were consistently inconsistent in line with previous seasons.

So we got to Wembley but got hammered by a record score. We missed out on our target of the top 8. You beat us at Newcastle and at ours.

Fast forward to 2016. You fix up your 2015 weaknesses in the off-season by recruiting players who can compliment the talent you already had and take your performances up another level.

We fix our 2015 weaknesses and legacy by - failing to sign a half to play alongside Kelly and to provide cover for Campo and Kelly; failing to address our pack weakness and size especially in the back row; failing to sign a specialist fullback; failing to practice core defensive structures in preseason according to stand-in captain Graeme Horne; failing to increase the size of our squad and by the look of it, failing to practice offence.

There is a talent pool out there and we understand from our directors that it was our coach's responsibility solely last year to tap into it. This year he has had input in that regard from JP.

So as we see it, it is Chezzies team for better or for worse, hands tied behind his back or not. As fans, we expect an improvement and yes the more sanguine and realistic members of our fan base, myself included, would not act to get rid of him at this exact moment in time. That said, we do wonder if this current team has the capability to react. Despite the point against Cas, the team is performing at the level of skill and intensity of the middle 8s and worse than at this time last year. Things have to change to avoid a repeat of last year. Personally, I don't see it happening without a major shakeup, starting with the coaching set up.

Great post


This fc fans patronizing that seems to be happening is doing my head in as well they forgot how they have been doing the last 4-5 seasons and just so happens they have started this season well and now they are the biggest team in the world again

The point you make about chesters hands being tied regarding signings the club shipped out something like 18 players and let him have free will on who he signed and he signed some very good players but for 1 reason or another those sane players don't believe in him anymore and surely the board can see that,

Not that size is the only measurement that's important, I don't agree with this bit. I don't know income, but attendances are in the public domain. I reckon us to be 7th on average home attendances. That's where I expect us to be in the league year on year.

Which Hull FC fans have said that?

If he did it's his fault if he didn't he's a puppet.