https://youtu.be/dBcoP7Mr3vo?si=p6EHA1InzIpp1mhF Forum is now available to watch on YouTube

https://youtu.be/dBcoP7Mr3vo?si=p6EHA1InzIpp1mhF Forum is now available to watch on YouTube

He’s obviously struggling to sleep

Tossing and turning with nightmares of FC rising again and winning trophies

A very enjoyable evening. As other's have said, impressed with Andrew Thirkill and the main thing for me is he's a rugby man. Can tell how passionate he is about the game and also liked how realistic he is too. No big statements about trophies etc. Just a real desire to get the club back being competitive and then hopefully challenging again. Also impressed with how well JC and RM spoke.

Agree with that - however it must be weird for JC reporting to Myler. Having a huge NRL coaching CV and working for Myler who has no experience and arrived as York's scrum half must be a bit odd.

Also do we know anything about Hood? I think I read he's from Buttershaw which is nearish to Odsal but no idea whether he has any RL interest

To be fair, we’ve all had experience of reporting to bosses who know less than us!

Enjoyed the forum, it flowed well and for the most part had some good questions raised, a refreshing change and hopefully something the club continues to host maybe twice a year.

They've got the priorities right, investing in the playing squad and backroom staff whilst reconnecting with the community game. Starting to win on the pitch will see things like the 'matchday experience' thrive off the back of it.

I genuinely think i'm now ready to forgive Richie Myler for cheating on Helen Skelton.

Apparently Hood is a good friend of Thirkhill and they have worked together on a few business ventures in the past. Whether he's got much interest in Rugby League I've no idea, but it would be a strange move for him if he didn't. A well run Hull FC can be profitable I'm sure, but the amounts you would be talking would be pocket change to a guy worth nearly half a billion. Surely he has an interest beyond simply making a profit.

Most interesting for me was the stadium comments. So despite the victimhood some of our fans have manufactured about the SMC and no doubt helped by lies spread by Rovers fans AT said him and David have looked at the lease and think it’s a very good deal. Two self made businessmen worth half a billion quid have looked at it and knowing the terms have decided to buy the club, I think we can safely say it’s a complete myth when white trolls claim the rent is ‘crippling’ Hull.

Also, maybe it’s just my interpretation but the words AT used were interesting. He said they didn’t really want to re-negotiate the lease. I know it’s been mentioned on here but never confirmed that the lease is actually for 50 years but the 25 year point was simply there for re-negotiation if circumstances had majorly changed. To me that seems to make massive sense now. I find it hard to believe the club would have been sold especially to major players like that had there been any chance we could be ‘booted out’ and left homeless in 3 years, again another popular myth mostly peddled by our red and white friends. AP and AT seemed very relaxed about the situation and seems maybe as fans we’ve put too much emphasis on the 2027 stadium situation.

Just watched the extra 15 minutes and recommend it to everyone to do so. One thing that has really struck me from that extra part is that they acknowledge that the matchday experience has to improve and whilst they talk about improving fan zone's pre and post match, they still feel the best way to do that is by delivering an attractive product on the field that we can get behind.

I think something that also added fuel to the flames on the lease situation was AP's very poor relationship with the Allam's when they were in charge of City and the SMC which at times was publicly fought out in the media. That's not a dig at him as he's made it very clear how much that relationship has improved with the new owners, just saying it helped create a picture in people's minds of tensions and that the lease may have been more precarious than it actually was in reality.

AP even admitted in that extra bit of the forum that the club has been choosing not to pay for certain things at the stadium whereas the myth there was that the SMC were behind it all.

Absolutely. I mentioned that on here just before the forum. AP called it stadium branding and we’ve taken a decision not to spend on it. With Covid and such it was likely the right call and hopefully now might be able to make it more like home again. Hardly fair if City pay for these things (the tiger print on the stairs for instance) if Hull got it for free. Get things sorted on the pitch and then I’m sure the other stuff will follow.

I especially enjoyed the bit where AT mentioned about a conversation he had with Nigel Wood?

With both Hull clubs cashed up and with good coaches there clashes will be the hottest tickets North of the Trent

We are lucky to play at one of the best stadiums in the North of England. We might not own the ground but therein lies the business opportunity. To compare our clubs situation to that of the unwashed across the river (as so many of them do) is futile. Both clubs have been close to liquidation over the years and have dealt with the situation in different ways due to the circumstances at the time. A SWOT analysis of any business would reveal premises ownership to be in both the Strengths and Weakness column. Hull FC doesn't have the capital costs of stadium purchase or the maintenance, cleaning, refurbishment and revenue costs (as they are included as set costs in the lease agreement) of maintaining a deprecating stadium asset. Providing the club ensures that revenue streams increase and exceed revenue costs over a counting periods Hull FC is a financially viable business. The business opportunities will be realised by improving first team performance and improvement of community involvement. This will see increasing attendances which will drive the other elements of the match day experience.
All of this "Hull City's tenants" stuff is complete nonsense. Hull FC at the best stadium in the league is good for all parties concerned. Even Paul Lakin recognises it, which leaves him out of sync with the majority if his club's supporter base!