I've held back from commenting so far but I am getting a bit fed up of reading the Anti Agar stuff now so thought as an outsider I would make a comment.

The three best sides in the UK play with a very disciplined set of forwards who lay a platform for 4 or 5 strike players who are generally on the field at the same time.

If Hull had Tansey at Full back, Horne and Long at 6 and 7, Westerman at 13 and to give the argument more standing Houghton at 9 (I appreciate he is a forward technically) they would have one of the top 4 or 5 offensive line ups in the League.

That is why I believe Phil Clarke tipped them as dark horses for the comp.

Yesterday two major things went wrong for me.

After 15 mins the forwards lost their discipline, giving Rovers piggy backs up the field and heaping pressure on an already fragile fringe defence.

The second thing is that Whiting is not the player in attack Tansey is and Turner is a poor mans Richard Horne meaning that once Rovers had got a strangle hold on the possession Hull were relying on Long to tip the balance back for them.

If you can point the finger at Agar for anything I think he should of played Westerman for much longer giving and Turner some options.

For me FC will improve as the season goes on when they have Phelps at full back, Horne at 6, Long at 7 and Westerman at 13 with the influence of James Webster they are going to be a real threat.

Lets remember they scored 22 points yesterday without really playing for more than 15 minutes.

Rich Agar will get it right, the fans need to look at the first quarter of an hour yesterday and hope that by the end of the year your playing that stuff for 70-80 mins.

Yes he did, he also signed, Tansey, Sharpe, Westerman, gave Briscoe and Lyne their chances, has been trying to mix youth and experience at a steady pace while also trying to meet the fans expectations of a top 6 finish. Did you not get what you wanted last season? Surely this year is about progressing from there but accepting other clubs have progressed too so these last minute set backs have really hurt your chances of a top 6 again?

Fact is, you bring in a new coach now, they are stuck with the same players having to play them out of position until the end of this season when the new coach will sign around 5 or 6 new players who will then time to gel and at the end of that season it will be all over the press how great it is to have a full off season together...etc So your initial "lets get rid of Agar" becomes another 3 years of nothingness at least and what is to say the coach you want is out there available at a price your salary cap can cater for?

All this while you could be supporting Agar and giving him more than one game before getting all over his back. You was the same with Kear, he did wonders with your lot and a few losses and your board were "oh the fans want him out lets get rid" maybe this time they have learnt that fans do not always know best!!!

I don't think Agar can take the team any further than where we're at now. The sooner he realises this , The better for the club. A big defeat on Friday and I would say he should be 30% on his way out.

Ok so REALISTICALLY who would you as fans bring in to coach the team? Do you replace the whole set up or just Agar, he doesnt do it all on his own now does he?

What then do you expect this new coach to bring to the table? Who is available for that coach to bring in and improve your team for 2011? Are you happy to fail this season with a new coach in early so he can rebuild ready for 2012 or would you expect a huge turn around from this new coach?

Can your salary cap afford to pay off Agar along with paying another coach a full years salary this year? Would this extra strain on the salary cap mean the new coach couldn't bring in a player that could turn around your season?? Or do you expect Agar to just walk in to job centre with no such pay off?

I'd rather Hull made an appointment before the end of the season . With room on the cap to bring in some quality for 2012 ,It would give more time for the new coach to sign who he wants and study the team .

Sharp gave Briscoe his debut at Hull. Tansey proved to be a poor signing, he had problems at Leeds with discipline and Agar could not rectify those problems. Westerman has previous with drinking etc and is a risky signing, especially when you consider the hefty price tag attached. Sharp is a good signing and i think he will go well at the club, if he is given chances.



The players are mainly being played out of position because Agar deems that it is better to move 4 or 5 players out of position to fill one spot. Yet other clubs have faith in their reserves to step in and play in their preferred position.
Also the coach has nothing to do with the salary cap.





Agar has had 3 years to sort this out. He had HIS team last season and showed he really has not moved the team forwards. Yes we finished higher than previously, but when you consider the players brought in and our previous position, it was hardly a tough job. Do we just keep burying our heads in the sand in the hope he might eventually get things right?

In my opinion I believe that should the team loose heavily on Friday night, then he should go @ once, but based on previous/similar Heavy loses I do not think that it will happen. I think that Richard Agar has taken the team as far as he can.

Wait... you think the coaching staff's wages count on the salary cap? And I thought you were doing quite well for a while there

Good post mate.

I think we have a good side and it's upto Agar to get the best out of them, he needs to start picking the right side which means Westerman at 13. I think if he goes with the side below we can mount a good challenge this season.

Phelps
Briscoe
Yeaman
Whiting
Sharp
Horne
Long
O'Meeley
Houghton
Radford
Tickle
Manu
Westerman

Fitz (prop)
Moa
Hame
Obst

You've posted some really good points on here. I said before the season began that if Agar couldn't improve us from last year's finish then he should go. If it gets to the point where we can see ahead that we wont be top 6 then if he goes in advance fine by me. Two things disappoint me at the moment ..

1. In yesterday's game our defence was pathetic. We defended OK last year - could have been better but not bad nonetheless. Yesterday we were an embarrassment. It overshadowed some much better work with the ball in hand which is a shame.

2. The acrimony and vitriol against the club by many on here does not, in my opinion, take into account the big progress made last year. Sure we didn't pull up any trees and all in the garden certainly isn't rosy but we were in the top 5 for the vast majority of the season which is better than Morgan achieved. That isn't a pop at Rovers whatsoever it just seems as though Morgan is every Hull fans yardstick so I'll join in. We won the derbies 2-1 last year - yes I know we lost the knockout but we were doing it tough by then. I've read on here that "we've been the same for
3 seasons under Agar" but the facts totally dismiss that argument. Facts are things that some on here struggle with.

In summary - we should never have slipped back as far as we did 3 years ago. We maybe shouldn't be taking as long to get back as we are. If the Head Coach takes us backwards this year, or even looks like he might then he should carry the can. But after 1 game and the progress that was made last year there's too much moaning and negativity. Just the thoughts of one fan - as someone once said.

Totally agree with that team Paul, it is the side I would go with and believe it will be the side that (injuries permitting) shocks a few of these Agar critics with a different brand of RL that should see them finish 4/5th quite comfortably again.