In any kind of weather cause it's where my PE teacher from Villa Place (Mr Cameron) gave me the chance to by a ticket for 1/6d in 1969.

In any kind of weather - I've followed them ever since they've made me laugh, they've certainly made me cry.

In any kind of weather -they are in my blood and now my families just as much.

In any kind of weather even - though I've cried through the pains of Wembley losses.

In any kind of weather - I've seen the best the world can offer, Norton, Sterling, kemble and Swain.

In any kind of weather even though I've witnessed players so bad, they've caused emotional pain (that rhymes!)

In any kind of weather through all the Derby's and God I hate em'.

In ant kind of weather at Thrum Hall, Crown Flatt, New Hunslet and Donny!

In any kind of weather at the best stadium - KC.

In any kind of weather - at the beloved Boulevard - even now in all it's ruin of sticks and stone.

In any kind of weather - at the start of every nervous season.

In any kind of weather - for those who have gone to the 3d Stand in the sky.

In any kind of weather -for the passion, the banter, the 'ull lads an lasses' that set us apart.

In any kind of weather - It's tattoo'd on my lads arm and in my heart.

I will be renewing next season, but I can't deny that my interest has significantly waned in recent seasons.

I'm prepared to put up with the 'lows' I sat/stood through the late 90s for example, but back then there was a reason we were rubbish, we coulden't afford it. Playing in a clapped out ground, to average gates with few other revenue streams. The move to the KC changed all that, and after a slightly jittery start in 2003...until the end of 2007 we delivered. HullFC were back at the top end of the game.

the board controversially sacked Kear, but despite a few complaints from fans, at the time most trusted and had faith in their decision. Their decision paid off and Sharp improved the side and took us to our first Grand Final.

then the wheels came off.

the Cooke saga shattered the boards reputation IMO and further scandals such as Thackray playing in the cup further damaged the reputation. Aside from a few good moments (the end to 2007 was good, as was the run to the 2008 CC final and gutsy performance in the final) its been a gradual decline back to being also-rans.

We are now in a position where the board are happy to just let the club 'tick-over' so long as it makes the top8 and the tills keep ringing then that's it for the season and the hype starts again for the next season. The rugby is boring, and we seldom win the 'big' games of importance anymore.

after decades of financial incompetence at HullFC, I am of course delighted that the club turns in a profit, and is ran well in a business manner. But sadly that does not excite the fans on the terraces, and with no relegation in SL...a season plodding around in mid-table is very dull.

the optimists would say 'ah, but we nearly made the top4 last year' but ultimately we didn't: we lost to Wire, lost to Leeds, lost to Rovers...and didn't look anywhere near getting to the grand final.

We go into next season with the same squad, all a year older, no doubt the same tactics and will generally stand still whilst other teams improve. Nothing will be done to change this, because from the board's point of the view the formula is a 'winning' one.

so yes, still a fan and always will be....but will the excitement still be there? not unless there are big changes, starting with the out of depth, unproven, head coach.

Great post and much more representative of my own feelings than some of the sanctimonious bilge others have posted on this thread

1st class post







I've supported the club for many many years (1st game 1968) and have seen some dreadful lows, specifically the mid 70's and late 90's when the club very nearly went out of existence. As you point out there was mitigating circumstances which accounted for the team's poor performance in those eras, namely the appalling financial strait which the club found itself in.

At least the current board have removed that fear from supporters hearts. But,as you rightly say, when watching the team today, it's difficult to get away from the feeling that we are selling ourselves badly short. We are a heavyweight who punch like a welterweight. The worst part of this is the fact that we manoeuvered ourselves into a position of challenging for the game's major honours on a consistent and regular basis (2004-06) only to throw that advantage away in a welter of bad decision making (both on and off the field).

I will still be there next season, "In any kind of weather" as, like most on here, Hull Fc is in my blood (thank you Daddy). I will support the club until the day I die because I still love the game and everything that surrounds it. The banter around the ground, meeting up with my mates, the communal feeling that we only really get these days at sporting events. But that enjoyment has during the last few years been counterbalanced by an increasing sense of frustration at our inability to transfer our undoubted off field success into a tangible equivilent on the field.

We need a leap of vision and imagination to lift the team from mid-table mediocrity and into the game's true elite which is where a club of our size and standing should be. A top four finish should be the minimum of our ambition, not some holy grail merely to be dreamt of. I hate to keep banging on about this (as I have done in various other threads) but in order to achieve the lofty goals which our superb supporters should witness, we need some major surgery on the playing side of the club. The squad, as it currently stands, simply isn't up to the task in hand. As for the coach, I'm baffled as to how anyone can believe he is the one to take us to the summit. He's a decent guy no doubt, but he lacks that X-factor quality that raises players & teams to play at a level previously beyond them. And until someone at the club realises this and changes the whole culture within the team then we will continue to walk straight into a dead end marked nowhere.

I have no expectations for 2011. I have a nagging feeling it's going to be more of the same. The odd game where we look capable to be followed immediately by a performance of shocking ineptitude. I've decided to take next season week by week. If we win (hooray and I'll enjoy the week ahead). If we lose. I'll merely shrug my shoulders and move on to the next game. But. long term, I feel we are going round in ever decreasing circles.

Whatever next year may bring, I will be there, supporting my team "In any kind of weather" because it is in my lifeblood. Passed down from Grandfather to Father to me. There is no escaping it, no running away from it, no matter how much you would like to. It's a part of all our lives and I'm sure all our lives would be considerably duller without it (the highs and the lows).

Have to agree with just about all the sentiments on here. The problem - for me - is the lack of elite experience on the non-playing side of the club. They genuinely believe that they know what it takes to reach the top of the game but they have no idea, because they've never really experienced it. Specifically, I refer to Richard Agar, James rule and Kath Hetherington who have absolutely no experience at any level of any signficance.

Kath has been around the game for years but has only ever been directly associated with the likes of Sheffield, Gateshead, and Bramley before us (all three of which went bust soon after!). Many people talk about her knowledge of the game which cannot be denied but its a parochial out of date knowledge and totally out of touch with the fast changing modern game.

In the modern game, the value of a coach / CEO / chairman is not who they bring in as a marquee signing (anyone can sign a big name if they're prepared to offer contracts that are either longer or more lucrative than anyone else); the true worth of the club's leaders comes in who they can squeeze in under the salary cap. Hungry players desperate to perform or blokes that have lost their way but can be turned around under good coaching. They're the sort that can turn a team around and - arguably - we've not really brought anyone in that fits that description under the current regime. Harsh? maybe, but even the likes of Tansey and Turner who started so well last year seemed to have lost their way completely by the end of the year.

Rumblings from within the camp suggest that one of our aussie marquee signings is less than impressed by the general lack of ambition within the current set up and he won't be taking up his third year option for 2012.

It should be no surprise. Why is agar still in charge? It can only be because it makes life much easier for Kath and Rule. Agar and Webster lack the experience to challenge them and are happy to plod along doing their best but, really, paddling frantically to stay afloat.

Martin Sadler in the League Express reported last week that since SL began, the title had been won five times by someone in their first season as a head coach (such as McGuire) and three times by someone in their first season coaching that club (such as McLennan) so the whole notion of Agar being a 'rookie coach' and 'not having his own team' was just a load of bull - he's got more experience than some of his peers, its just experience of mediocrity and he's just not good enough. Rule and Hetherington have kept him in position; they also appointed Peter Sharp. Once Agar gets the bullet (as I firmly believe he will before mid-season next year) then can we really trust them to make the right decision next time around?

The pendulum is swinging back to the Aussies once again; British coaches are well down the pecking order - overtaken by the new ideas coming from Smith, Brown and McGuire. Look at how many of the England squad come from Wigan, Warrington and Huddersfield. Our determination to stick with an English coach is not even admirable any more - its just stupid

Blimey, so O'Meley's had enough already. Maybe he'll be joining his buddy Mason at Rovers.

Really? How do you know this to be a fact?

it isn't fact, it is opinion, where did I state it was a fact?

What a great post. Sums up the club perfectly.

agar learnt his trade playing under coaches in the 2nd tier of the game and playing 2nd fiddle to 2 failed coaches at Hull. How the hell can we expect any more from him than we get?

Your comments about the type of player we bring in shows how good mcrae was (and still is) in this area. The type of coach we need won't come to Hull and work in the environment we expect the coach to work in. IMO we need an experienced DOR and an up and coming aussie coach to work under him. rule may be good at the business side of things so let him concentrate on that and bring in someone to run the rugby side

Read it again. Where do you indicate anything else? It's a flat statement without any indication of the possibility of the situation being other than as stated.

Well said! In any kind of weather .... unless its cold or the team is losing .... in which case.....

Been a passholder for years and years and Might buy one this year,I say might ,because until I see some semblance of ambition at the club why bother.People say about us missing out on top 4 by 10 mins and finishing 6th,Rubbish !!! we missed out on top 4 and possibly higher by totally inept displays at places such as Wakey,Salford,Wrexham and Murreyfield,also not being able to score points when the position presented itself,
We need new signings,what are we getting,Probably Dowsey for another year [Cheaper}same applies to Radford,Also our front line Halfbacks HOPE they dont get injured again,Missed a few games last season due to Festivals and stuff but didnt miss many away games,think my Pass money could be better invested in my Glasto ticket.
Things will probably change and I will probably end up buying a pass as always,but I must say I have never felt so non plussed about a new season for years !!!!