For me, sorting out the indiscipline has to be the no 1 priority. Fix that and then work on the rest of the faults/omissions.

The discipline is the key for me and thr errors, I was worried mainly from a defensive point of view but given the amount of possession and territory rovers had I though we stood up well, especially given they have some very good backs and halves, I thought our backline would be absolutely shredded but they held their own for the most part.

Think you make some fair and valid points.

What is a worry for me is that like Hodgson, Smith has been here a year and had a complete off season to make improvements in the basics and discipline. Given the experience of Smith it’s not to much to expect to have seen a fair degree change/improvement.
From what we saw on Thursday it’s like Groundhog Day with discipline as poor as ever.

We may not have the quality but that doesn’t excuse the ill discipline and errors.

Fans will & do accept defeats but it’s when we see the same issues that bite us hard season after season going unresolved you begin to question everything. Let’s face it we’ve gone through Coaches and now players yet we still seem to have the same old issues ingrained.

He's had two off seasons to make changes and make improvements but there haven't been any, he's got one more off season and recruitment round to make changes and see some improvement, but agree an experienced coach should be able to get a team doing the basics correctly like passing, not giving away penalties etc. Brian Noble was a top coach at the time, but the game has moved on since then, I wonder if Smith still has the desire and whether the game has moved on a bit since he was at his peak and more ambitious coaches have also come in to superleague wanting to make their mark. We didn't look like a happy team either on Thursday night.

I really want Smith to be a success, but... IF he can't iron out discipline and ensure the team play the basics of RL at a competent level, he could be on borrowed time.
We all know, he has one arm tied behind his back,with regards to financial resources, but Salford are probably in a worse financial situation, and dont have marquee players, but still look competitive.
I hope we see some green shoots soon

We won’t get better than Smith with the current set of circumstances.
There are things we can see improvements in, without it costing money - i.e. on field discipline and style of play. We really need to see improvements in this area, and quick.

What’s Smiths contract…3yrs?….it definitely needs another off season recruitment then Houghton and Carlos will be off contract as well as others and with the Covid loan behind us,which has hurt us far more than some think….there are worrying signs with the discipline which just won’t go away…..

FWIW he signed 2 years. Pearson quoted as saying he is the last coach he will appoint? Smith was sacked by Rovers for his unprofessionalism and disrespect of the clubs ethics. He signed for Hull on a quoted bumper deal and Pearson saying he is the highest paid coach in SL at that time. Smith lost the dressing room at Rovers and the players were disillusioned with his tactics. He openly admits he didn’t have the contacts here or in Aus anymore and relies on agents and referrals. He thinks the old approach of being the players Best friend is the way the cement their relationship. he is incapable of the big decisions which involved dropping players of even moving them on. Hull are in perpetual decline and with the mounting debts Pearson is running up it can only mean one thing. Come next season grading Hull will be a mid”B” but safe for another year. As for 2026 I fear the worst and I love the Derbies but they will be a thing of the past.

You Pearsons accountant?….you don’t know about the debts,just guessing…..as for all the other waffle…just waffle

He didn't find it hard to drop Korbin Sims, relegated him to the golf course

I do actually agree with a lot about what you're saying about Tony Smith though, I think he's long in the tooth and a bit out of touch for modern rugby. He talks about playing the young kids but he loves a square peg in a round hole lol.
I think Hull would be better off moving him upstairs and letting Grix have a go, he may be inexperienced but he'll at least have modern ideas.

Why would a Covid loan hurt us more than other S/L clubs,that is the big question
The real problem we have with finance is that Hull FC is Pearsons only income,we know funds are tight
but we dont know how much he takes out of the club.

I'm glad people are starting to cotton on to Pearson.

Entirely depends how much was borrowed surely?
I assume the clubs with very wealthy backers managed to do without one.
Clubs that own their grounds also presumably had less outgoings as they aren't still paying rent.
Pearson is by no means perfect but where has this idea that he is somehow impovershing us by taking all the money for himself come from?

Probably because we still had to pay the going rate per week/month even when no games where going ahead and when games were played but no fans allowed in the Stadium.

But there are other clubs playing in Joint stadiums with football teams,RU teams or council controlled stadiums.
The difference as i said is that Hull FC is Pearsons only income and whilst he is entitled to receive money from the club what we dont know is how much he actually takes from the club in salary or other means.
Its probably one reason why he seemingly wants to retain full control of the club.
I am not having a go at Pearson but whilst the club is in a truly dire situation on and off the field it wouldnt be a bad thing for him to engage with the fans on a regular pod cast on FC live.Say it as it is and let him hear what the fans think.He seems to have gone away from what used to be a reasonably close relationship with the fanbase
If he loses support of the fan base the club is dead

You get the occasional interview in the Yorkshire Post and HDM which raises more questions than answers but I agree with the state of play at the moment he needs to engage with the fans directly. And soon.

I don’t disagree

I don't even know why we have an academy, when was the last quality player, not just someone who can get in the team, came out of it? Horne/Houghton? That's nearly 20 years.

When was the last time Hull FC academy produced a fantastic
7 , 6 or centre ?

When ??? The answer will surprise you and I mean a player on the verge of Intl honours

Cooke - we won 1 Challenge Cup with him
Horne - full back ? And again very little success
Yeaman - as above

Before them ?

It’s clear that the Academy only creates forwards in general

Remember FC rejected Shaul despite me advising them to take him and he played at Skirlaugh Open Age

So we really have a shocking track record at producing a 7 , 6 or centre

Mikey Lewis.

Oh, wait.....

Jez Litten too

Only club not to score a single point and at home against our arch rivals. Can see much more of the same come Friday.

Finance information is available to all for LTD companies.

Rovers and Hull FC need to be in SL. Since time began the rivalry has been part of our lives and no one wants to see Hull out of business. I can’t explain why Hull have two really wrong people at the helm.

Smith is a disaster waiting to happen. If he cannot control all things Hull FC he will want out. Pearson has an arrogance which won’t allow Smith to do that and for that reason they clash.

I would guess Pearson has zero external income so keeps control to pay his own bills. He won’t be on minimum wage either. The loans he must have personally underwritten meaning they are the clubs debts but he guarantees them, somehow. companies house is an interesting one and the change of name. No bank will ask you to change your name surely other than for new loans having to be in the name of the applicant.

I guess the salary cap spend will come out at some point but if as he quoted Hull are at CAP then that’s further proof of Smiths miss management.

COVID loan getting a lot of mentions in here as a mitigating circumstance for continued failure.

But how much season ticket money did the club retain during this period? I would be surprised if it was not the majority of it, given the loyalty of the ST holders in the face of unending disappointment.

All of the fellow ST holders I know did not request a refund due to the messaging of dire consequences for the club at the time.

As an aside, what did we receive by way of thanks? A badge about the size of a tic-tac - although I o ly know that because I saw someone else's: the aper envelope I received was torn and the badge must have fallen out - so I didn't even get that.

Although in a way that seems fitting given the clubs' level of engagement for some years now...


N

Maybe because other S/L club owners didn’t apply for them as they have a lot more money than Pearson.All I know is that Pearson said that we was in good place before Covid hit us and we are struggling with the aftermath of it.Lets face it no one knows how much Pearson pays himself or what his wealth/debts are but doesn’t stop people being experts on it.We do need investment,it’s obvious to see…new ownership completely?….dont know about that as the old saying goes…careful what you wish for