We've had two periods where we've been on the cusp of establishing ourselves as a top side in super league and messed it up, 2004-6 we built a top quality team, won the cup and made it to our one and only grand final going 13 games unbeaten in the process, then mismanagement with cooke contract and the subsequent sacking of probably our best coach of the SL era and appointment of our worst led to a period of decline. Then in 2016/17 we could have again established ourselves as a top side that competes at the top, but poor recruitment in 2018 with the likes of fariamo, paea, Dawson Jones, langtree, nzogu and the like, combined with the loss of Ellis, minichello, Manu, fonua (1st time) meant that we lost the platform we had built for ourselves, we've never recovered and further cost cutting and poor recruitment in Gale, Reynolds, Pele, Okunbor, Evans etc has led us to where we are now
Heartbreaking really

All very true, but also all of it could have been easily forseen and avoided by competent management - something Hull has (with 20/20 hindsight) lacked throughout.

Of course, the Hetheringtons sacking Peter Sharp to install their (inept) godson was devastating stupidity; but that's nepotism for you.

Personally, I consider Pearson doing the same to Peter Gentle in favour of Radford (no nepotism to excuse this one) as almost as bad.

I've always believed that Peter Sharp could have taken us to the top of the game if he'd had the right support. Similar to Cartwright, a very experienced assistant coach in Aus with a great skill set. Let's hope Cartwright gets the support that Sharp didn't and turns it around for us in the next few years.

I remember going to this game without an ounce of nerves, a complete contrast to the year previous. It just felt right for this club to wait over 150 years to win at Wembley, to then do it two years on the bounce.

What a team that was, Sneyd, Kelly, Shaul and Houghton, a spine all in the prime of their careers. Looking back i was probably guilty of taking that squad for granted, i hope for us to be able put a squad of similar quality together in the near future, it does sadly feel a bit of a way off.

Good post Pete.

Be nice to think there's a couple of signing announcements to announce this week in the build up to the Cas game to give us all a boost

The club has been so badly managed in terms of recruitment and retention. We've wasted huge amounts on poor players. Makes you wonder where we would be had we had a "proper" rugby man in charge of signings

Throughout the 2017 run we looked like a team on a holy mission to retain the cup. Beating Cas at a time when they were looking unstoppable in the league, the semi-final demolition of Leeds when we imperiously swatted them aside in the second half. We looked like a group with a clear objective in mind and woe betide anyone who got in our way.

In truth, the final should have been a repeat of the Leeds game, so dominant were we, but we couldn't quite kill off Wigan in the second half (credit to them for hanging in) and we very nearly saw the prize slip through our fingers in the last few minutes, which would have been a travesty if it had come to pass. Remember Wane graciously conceding that the best side had won on the afternoon.

Even at the point of victory I promised myself to enjoy the moment. I have been watching us for far too long to ever take success for granted. Even in August 2017 there was a quiet nagging voice in my head telling me that there is always a price to be paid for success when it comes to our club, Witness the aftermath of the 1991 Premiership triumph and the 2005 (Cardiff) / 2006 (GF) achievements. There always seems to be a swift fall after a tortuous climb to the summit where we are concerned.

But not even in my most pessimistic nightmares did I ever envision a slow steady seven year decline from the heights of Wembley euphoria to the depths of being outclassed by a glorified championship side. Seven successive years in which we have continued to slip down the hill with no one at the club seeming to have either the awareness or the gumption to apply the handbrake to stop the bus from sliding down the mountain side, a bit like the end of the Italian Job!!!

I will always treasure Wembley 2016/17 as the two most special moments in my time following the club, but there seems to be something about the club which stymies prolonged success after our irregular triumphs. It's what makes us one of the most frustrating clubs to follow. We never quite seem to be where we all think we should be, there is nearly always a piece of the jigsaw missing somewhere stopping us from truly scaling the heights. Although in 2024 we would appear to have lost the whole jigsaw and the box with the picture on the front such is the predicament we now find ourselves in!!

How NOT to run a sporting organization (Hull Fc 2018 - 2024).

Great post after my own heart well done!

2019 - 2024
W 57 L 88
These stats just leave me scratching my head, I hope Cartwright is a resilient coach because it doesn't get any tougher than turning this club around.

Would love to see a stat of how many of those wins came in the final 3rd of a season too, when other clubs click and push for the playoffs we fall asleep.

Hindsight is a great thing but the Australia trip in 2018 was a turning point for me, maybe we all got complacent at a young side (plus Albert desperate to impress to get an NRL deal) at Stadium Australia running St George very close. We returned home injuries hit, the season ended disastrously (Radford should have gone then) and aside for a short spell in a very odd 2020 season we haven't clicked since.

Ignoring 2020 when the season ran to November (and we actually finished OK) our August/September record is

2018 P7 W0 L7
2019 P6 W1 L5
2021 P8 W1 L7
2022 P6 W1 L5
2023 P7 W1 L6

Total P 34 W4 L30

Things that annoy this increasingly grumpy guy are the club booking end of season awards before the playoffs, players being allowed to bring kids onto the pitch before the last home game of the year, and the players seemed to find flights and accomodation at 'last minute' for a trip to Benidorm quite easily last year...the whole culture is wrong.

In contrast Bradford used to be masters at starting averagely then turning into world beaters come summer.

Cripes!!! I knew our results weren't exactly top drawer at the end of recent years, but seeing it in bold black and white makes it all the more stark!!

Can't remember off the top of my head who the 2019 & 21 wins came against? But seem to recall that in the past two years we managed to record home wins against Toulouse (finished bottom and relegated) and Wakefield (ditto). The Wakefield victory last year was then followed by six successive defeats to end 2023 on a bit of a downer.

Seem to recall thinking to myself 12 months ago; things can only get better next year, can't they!!!

As been highlighted by the journalists on a yearly basis since then , truly awful results .