Quote Easty="Easty"Maybe it's this attitude that people within the club at Hull FC also have.
Granted, Rovers haven't won trophies, we don't have a luxurious 25k state of the art stadium with amazing facilities, but what we do have is a stadium fit for purpose. I don't profess to know how much Hull pay to play at the MKM, what's easy to assume is you pay a decent amount, for the privilege of playing in a stadium that's too big for your needs, albeit for one game a year, why, because its shiny? It needs to be more it needs to be cost effective, actually bring revenue into the club through more then just ticket sales....
Rovers are investing in all areas of the club, they're looking at making that 1 1/2 decent stand you say we only have, into 2 1/2. and frankly that will be good enough. We are actively improving facilities and matchday experience to increase revenue streams which ultimately benefit the club.
This club you dismiss so lightly has made that an actual reality through having a vision and the willingness to drive the club forward.
Who knows what the future holds but Rovers are striving to give themselves the best possible chance of sustained success.
Don't dismiss it so lightly.'"
Good post Can't disagree much with that although many will
No doubt I 'll get a load of abuse for my reply but here goes.
Business model wise Rovers are without doubt moving the whole organisation forward in the realms of their domain in that they now own the ground and are hitching their wagon (nay sucking up) to the IMG stuff which is apparently the way forward, but which is it appears today scaring some more less progressive clubs to death. If I take my black and white specs off, then for all that, in the current state of the game, the club have to be commended. (But not too much
)
That said Rovers and Hull would not be as successful as they have been for as they will be without the other club, you need both clubs for the game to thrive in the City
In turn we on our part have been steadily regressing results wise yet we have made massive steps forward at academy level and are developing youngsters in good quantities that we can only hope make the grade, (much of which is due to some astute appointments in the youth training staff). Our new training arrangements are a pretty unique set up too, with a new facility about to be built at the university, and all that under a coach who I think its fair to say laid many of the foundations playing wise that Rovers are building on this season. So at last we have an excellent coach, to go with fan base which is probably the best supporter base in the game. Who else could get gates of 11,000 plus when we all know the team is playing like a bunch of petulent kids at times.
That said being just a tenant in a stadium, all be it the best ground in the competition, is not exactly ideal, and a bit of a worry. But, the biggest difference I can see is the structure at Rovers going forward, is the recruitment you have made to the Board which when compared with the days that you were a one man Band under Neil Hudgell, is pretty revolutionary across the game. You have not just brought in money (something that most clubs have found impossible anyway) but also a deal of business acumen and expertise.
We have a Board as such But to all intense and purposes we are still a one man band under a guy who has been a tremendous owner, someone who really cares, who is a fabulous benefactor and a real guiding light for our club, taking some of us to what was for the greatest moment of our lives. He is a great owner but going forward and seeing how frustrated he is becoming with some of his charges, having just one owner is a bit of a worry. Quite how we rectify that I don't know but the owner will not last forever and quite where you get a new one from in the current climate of the game is up for question. Mirroring what is going on over there is East Hull, In the old days when a chairman resigned another board member took over which usually saw a seamless transition and was not a bad scenario really.
So yeh Rovers are developing their organisation well and along the lines that the games seems to be following. Clubs falling out with IMG just goes to prove that some aren't doing as well. Mind you you core support is still about 3000 less than 'the no hopers in the West', but if you want to double your gates perhaps you should attract more People Like Billy/Keith who seems to be at least two people in one, I think you could be justified in counting him twice when he comes through the turnstiles?
