should pearson go, NO

No I don't expect him to say nothing like I've already said he could of been more diplomatic with his wording.

I hope for everyone's sake Pearson stays, best thing to happen to this club in 15 years. He needs a trusty RL advisor.

The clubs will be getting around £1/2 mil extra a season under the new sky contract which should allow many to more or less break even at full salary cap

IF we had a choice..YES.
He's made mistake after mistake after mistake. The current BIG one is biting us so hard that we could face a very bleak future & are even discussing the possibility of wanting another owner never mind a new coach.

He's got money and that's about it, I wouldn't want him anywhere near me from a business POV, he's far too erratic and lacks the ability to control things when it really matters the most. And all this talk of Pearson 'losing' £500K a year, truly laughable.. Yes paying off players/coaches is going to hit the bottom line directly but that is of his own making, it would appear that the majority here have no concept of what an 'investment' is, not all of it loses value, in fact some of it increases in value but whatever, the downturn in turnover/profitibility is largely down to HIS mistakes.
Pearson is no benefactor, he's bought the club for one purpose and one purpose only..PROFIT, that's his risk as in any business, why are people feeling sorry for him ffs and we are a viable business of that there is no doubt.

Pearson has shown time and again that he lacks the forethought and business know-how to make this club successful, yes some things have being good but those have being more than offset by the bad.
if there was someone wanting to buy I'd want him gone in a heartbeat, but for now we are stuck with him...god help us.

Was going to start with "i dont believe what i am reading" but unfortunately I am. How on earth you can criticise pearson is beyond me.If some billionaire come along with no connection or knowledge of the game along wanting to buy ,would we turn him away because he is not a "rugby man"? yes he has made mistakes through listening to advice from "Rugby men"In any sport you need luck and for Fc thats something we have not had I just hope that Pearson takes all this crap on the chin or it could spell the end because I cannot see anyone coming in knowing the abuse they are likely to get

Hey if bumpy says it, it's true.

He's the foremost authority on all aspects of running a business, man-management, structuring a training plan, coaching, conditioning, you name it he's the man.

Better get him round to change the settings on my 7 day re-programmable central heating thermostat then.
F+++++g thing.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to Bumpy.

On your last point - do you seriously believe that anyone interested in buying the club would pay the tiniest bit of attention to the assorted ramblings posted on an internet message board? Or that Pearson even reads it?

But Pearson is a bad businessman aswell.. He (or the people HE has employed) has totally destroyed our merchandising. We were once the envy of the league. Now we make awful products at high prices, none more highlighted than, by far, the worst shirts in SL. Cheap tat at £50..

The club is losing £1000s in revenue because of how bad they are but what does he do?

Not correct the problem and make them properly... Just make them even cheaper so we make more money on the sheep that just buy them no matter what!!

There is much - much - to complain about at present but that is just garbage.

How do you know the shirts are the worst in the league? Have you sampled the quality of all the others? What are the sales figures compared to previous years given you claim we are losing "£1000s".

The additional income will help. But with reports of a marquee signing rule coming in shortly, fans will expect a wedge over and above the cap to be spent, probably what, £200k. Gates are down across the game. Losing 1000 off the gate is £200k pa. The user agreement's getting more expensive with the SMC. People talking about Brian Smith or similar are dreaming IMO. Firstly he'd want a wedge but he wouldn't come to a back room staff of three.

In simple terms, AP bought what he thought was a viable business with growth potential. With the size of our fanbase (14k average at one point), strong merchandise operations and stadium, you can see why. The reality though has been financial challenge. Undisclosed tax liabilities on acquisition (was due diligence adequate?), poor selection of advisors (primarily McRae, plus agents) and resultant bad decisions. For all the convenient nostalgia for Gentle we broke a record in each comp exit just before he got sacked. I think the potential attendance numbers have dropped since the acquisition in line with the game overall, but actual attendances will be way below what he'd have expected four years ago. The guy's taken a bath on acquisition costs, tax bills, pay-offs, increasing SMC charges and investment in youth development for the fans to respond by not turning up (not judging, just pointing it out) so he's squeezed at both ends. Can't blame him if he's trying to cut his losses, surely?

Virtually all RL owners are benefactors, right? Still waiting for proposals on who has the cash and appetite to take us on.

The two things I'd like to see changing are developing better contacts in Aus to get some independent advice. Build an informal network of the likes of Kearney, Brian Smith, Fitz etc to push our club over there and get insight on availability beyond agency. Thinking about it, our scouting here's not brilliant either. And for AP to be more humble in his communications, admit mistakes but be calm and articulate about what's being done to sort this perpetual mediocrity out.

Small sample size, but the FC training top I got this year is miles better than the NQC one I got in Townsville last year.

Every shirt I've seen is considerably better quality than ours, even those by the same manufacturer..
I can't give you exact figures but I'll tell you that I have always bought all 3. So there around £150 lost. I know at least 5 other people that feel exactly the same, so that's another £750.
So £900 in my circle of FC fans friends.
I have seen many people complaining about it and I spoke to the guy in advantage sport who said that he amazed how much business he's doing on NRL gear because Hull fans are coming in complaining about how bad FC's gear is that they're buying NRL gear.

I'd be pretty confident of saying £1000s in lost revenue. We are already selling out shirts off with massive discounts within a couple of months of the season starting... Our shirts have gone downhill year on year since AP took over.
It's more painful that it's our 150th year. We should have made a proper shirt that people are proud of that would last for years it as usual most won't see the season out!!!

Not a fan of Pearson but i dont think theres anything wrong with the shirts. I think theyre better quality than a lot weve had recentley. I bought five this year after only buying polos last