A bit of a contradiction this post

D'oh. I was going to get a pass but this thread has reminded me that that Thursday night games are still a thing. I can't attend mid-week matches as I work away.

Cherry-picking for me then.

Let's hope that next season we don't play badly in games we win, and play entertaining rugby in games we lose - you won't know whether you're coming or going.

OK - let's be clear about a few things...

Pearson didn't blame anybody last night. He simply stated some facts. Uncomfortable facts to be sure, but I'd rather he did that than sugar-coat things. Attendances ARE down, the club WILL struggle financially if they don't recover. Quite how this amounts to blame is, frankly, beyond me. In fact the only people playing the blame card are those blaming Pearson for [itheir personal decision[/i to stop financially supporting the club.

Fans who have decided not to buy a pass and/or not to attend games are perfectly within their rights to do so. However, they should be very clear that the end result of their decision could be financial ruin and/or relegation. A sports club is not like any other business and does not have access to outside investment to replace paying customers as a major source of revenue. If Pearson runs out of cash or decides he's thrown enough away then we're done. Unless you want to hang your hopes on another 'white knight' riding to the rescue.

I attend maybe 1 or 2 games a season due to distance, Friday night games, and personal commitments. I still bought a pass last year and again for next season. Why? Because I could afford it and I understand that without financial backing from fans the club will inevitably fail. And fail hard. I don't want us to suffer the same fate as Bradford or possibly even fold if Pearson can't find a buyer when he runs out of money. And he WILL run out - sooner rather than later.

Do I think that Pearson has made all the right choices? Definitely not. Do I think that his [iintentions[/i were good when making those choices? Definitely yes. Has he put his own money where his mouth is? Without doubt. For these reasons, and those outlined above, I will continue to support Hull FC with my money for as long as I am able. Regardless of performances. Because if I did otherwise and the club folded or was relegated I wouldn't need anyone else blaming me. I'd know it was partly my fault.

Great post. Sums it up perfectly for me.

we were also dire for 60mins of the game against Leeds

It is, but it was more a dig at the Saints fan.

I think having good halfbacks is massive and we have recruited pretty well for next season, in a market that is hard to find good halfs.

Nowt more to say really. All I would add is if you're a complete stay away then include this forum on that list as well.

To a certain extent yes, but what was our average attendances in 2008/09 in the early Agar days, when performances were much worst than last season?

I think there are few other factors, Hull City in the Premiership and people not being able to afford to go to games.

Still not sure how you can compare a normal business to a sports club as it is totally different IMO.

Great post, can't argue with any of that.

The club moved games to Friday night and I had no option , I could not attend games. I fitted in odd games as and when. Last season due to my retirement I can attend matches and I still did not buy a pass, I attended every home game. This season I have not and will not be buying a pass, I will no doubt still go every time I can. In all honesty I have not enjoyed watching the last few years, some games have been painful to watch. We have recruited poorly, in haste and been sold short for years. Now we seem to be heading to the cliff edge and people wonder why, mis-management was rife under the last regime and the birds are still coming home to roost ( Manu).

I have said bad times will return for long enough, every club has these cycles and only if the core base support is strong will teams survive. I think our core base support is now smaller then it has been for years, its been in decline since we left the Boulevard. Too many fans expect too much every week and then find other things to do.

I will always be there, its a way of life but my passion for FC is less then it used to be. I feel distant from these players, management and some of our less then intelligent fans.

Kosh don't start bleating on about if you don't support the club it will fold. You and others spent years giving us the same tripe about Hetherington and her stooge Agar and did it ever fold???

The fact is people have had enough. I bet next year season tickets will be massively down but we'll have a lot more walk ups like myself and my family. I will pick and choose games, if theyre playing well I wont miss many, if theyre playing poorly I wont go to many. This is a result of the clubs false promises, false dawns, lack of team effort, poor coaching etc that's been going on for years and hasn't really changed whilst Pearson has owned us in fact you could argue its got worse under his tenure.

More lately weve had this constant droaning on about how youth will prevail but it will take time. Problem is people have now had enough and Pearson is running out of cash so we may not ever see the fruits of the youth system, again another thing Pearson has got wrong. So despite people rubbishing Rovers they've done it the other way and not really bothered with youth and just bought players in and have achieved basically the same but on a much reduced budget.

Basically this club has been an absolute disaster for years and continues to be so, the last owners were idiots and the current one is exactly the same but in a different way and that there in lies the major problem

I said no such thing. I said that if they hadn't come along we [iwould[/i have folded. I never urged anyone to support the club financially under their tenure, not least because we had healthy crowds and (on paper at least) healthy finances.


To be clear, when you say that people have had enough do you mean that they've had enough of the club existing? Because that's what's on the line here.

Anyone withdrawing financial support when they can afford to continue it needs to ask themselves one simple question - do I care if Hull FC get relegated and/or go bust?

If the answer is no, then by all means walk away. Please don't pretend to be interested in the club's success though. In fact at that point you wouldn't really fall under even the most generous definition of supporter. Which is fine.

If, however, the answer is yes then withdrawing your financial support is at best illogical and at worst intellectually dishonest.

For me there is another factor keeping some fans away and that's the poor standard of match officials. How many times have we walked away from games, sometimes after winning, feeling wound up by the ref. Me and my old man came close to not renewing last year purely for that reason.

I also agree that the KC no longer feels like home. You can't even go to the toilet without being a tigger or tiggeress. I was hoping there was some truth in the rumours circulating earlier this year about us getting our own place. Get Allam to build it in exchange for the KC. It's supposed to be a community stadium, but other than football and rugby (and polo ) it's not used for much else any more. I'd be glad to see the back of it tbh, and I think that's what Allam wants me to feel.

As for Radford, give the guy a break. It was his first year as head coach, and there has been a cultural change at the club. I think it came as a bit of a shock to some players, and took time to get used to. Results toward the end of the season suggest to me this was starting to happen. While 11th looks terrible, it does not tell the whole story. Our points difference would have put us in the 8, which for me says we are not far off. As far as I am concerned, consistency has been one of Hull's problem for quite some time. Last year we were consistent with the exception of our games against Wigan. Consistently losing yes, but by small margins. I believe that our new halves, combined with a group of good players that are more settled into the new culture at FC will translate into more consistently winning these close games.

Time will tell, and there is no doubt next year is a big year for FC, for Radford, and for Pearson. I am looking forward to the new format of superleague. It's not perfect by any means but it has got to be better than franchises and should make things more interesting, which will hopefully translate to more fans through the gates. I have my pass, so I will be there.