My only slight criticism of AP is that stated with 100% certainty that we would be signing 2 of 4 HB targets that were up there with the best in SL because our current HBs simply aren't upto the job and blaming the previous regime for continually making that mistake. Now if we end up going with Seymour next season that will dent his credibility somewhat. Other than that I think we are extremely lucky to have him making the changes in culture and infrastructure at our club that were so desperately needed.

quote of the day so far
lets get this into context here
many of the so called "targets" and "done deals" were in the minds and imaginations of folk on here who simply trawled through the OOC list and then made it up to get kudos on the forum but in reality know FA...Hull FC have never NEVER even mentioned 99% of the so called targets we have missed out on , the only place those targets were discussed was on here and rags that use this forum as their info line or mentioned by agents calling news rags to fuel their remit to push clubs into upping players deals etc!!

Next Rant. I too am appaled at the way some thin skinned so called FC fans are now slagging AP because we havent announced benji Marshall or someone similar to replace Rangi , WHEN FC HAVENT EVEN OFFICIALLY YET ANNOUNCED THE RANGI THING IS OFF FFS

AP is a shrewd businessman who will do his thing in his way and whilst I am unsurprised at the ammount of folk telling him how to spend his money (people in hull never do that eh) the fact is he , Bomber and PG know the game, availability AND more importantly what they are prepared to spend more than anyone on here ...
If they have spoken to the press individually about something you can bet your last dollar its with the knowledge of all concerned and based on some truth at that point...

i have a close pal i drink with weekly who is Lee radfords own extended family, he asked lee directly for a nod of what is going on and who is coming in and Lee told him catagorically that HE doesnt know who were really after and who we have signed etc OR what the situation is with rangi because Lee told him himself that the security around what AP, PG and bomber do and who they speak to is now so tight no one outside those three and their PAs know anything due to all the leaks that were going on at the club with Info, so quite where everyone on this forum gets their "deffo" info from is beyond me!!

OK put it to bed now
1, no one on here knows nowt were all guessing based on rumour thats why no one says a name and a deffo date of signing!
2, 99% of the targets were started on here by guessers or in newspapers with nowt else to print and not by the club.
3, we have not finished our recruitment and there is still a long way / time to go between now and the start of pre season so weeks left in which to finalise deals etc.

i think some of you have forgotten quickly how bad it was under our last regime!!! get a grip FFS

I am very happy with the changes that have taken place since AP became owner and how the club is now being run compared to how it was before.

I think we have an excellent coach and I am optimistic of a good season next year. I don't think we are going to win anything but I expect us to be playing good rugby and challenging and competing with the best teams.

So far as recruitment is concerned I think that

1. if Ellis had been announced now rather than months ago everyone would be very happy. People seem to have almost forgotten about him. He is (so far) the biggest signing by any SL club for next season. If we had signed Chase as well we would have had the two biggest signings.

2. the only reason some people are unhappy is because AP built up our expectations and the new signings revealed so far are not what we were expecting. They are not bad signings at all and we have recruited better than most clubs and will be stronger next year than this, but we haven't signed players of the calibre we were led (or allowed) to believe we would be signing.

Maybe in the future AP should try to manage our expectations rather than build them up. Its always better to deliver more than you promise than less.

GARETH ELLIS AND HOLDSWORTH
1000% better team already , live with it bet!!!

Maybe you should read the thread...

The Fans expectations should remain high, but this is a long term plan. AP went out on limb and he himself is probably disappointed that he has not yet brought in the players he thought were nailed on. Sometimes plans go astray, it can happen to us all. But would anyone doubt the man will deliver ultimately what he promised ? a top team that is vying for honours every season ? certainly not I.

Can't we just be patient and cut them some slack ? and wait for the final piece in this season squad ?
Whatever that piece is for this season it will not be the last because the man will not rest till he has upgraded all areas of the clubs activities to a level of excellence. He's done a great job already, he's achieved so much in a very short time. We take things for granted sometimes....remember how we all felt 2 years ago.

Look lets not string him up just yet eh? he's an honest man, some things have gone on behind the scenes that haven't gone to plan thats clear. But it WILL all be right.
Lets wait for the roof to go on and see how it all looks before we complain the first delivery of materials is later than promised.
Patience is a virtue.

maybe you should stop whining for no good reason other than to just have a pop FFS

If you read the thread you will see I have already stated Elllis & Holdsworth are quality instead of wading into a debate! People are not having a pop for the sake of it, they are discussing/debating in an adult fashion what they think, something you seem to struggle to do.

where have I been childish, it seems your the one with the initial personal stuff!!
Listen love clearly your stressed, nip upstairs stick in some new Duracels and give the rabbit a bash for 10 mins ... when you come back on you will be much calmer

enough said...

for the 1st time i can remember, if your team is just as good as last season you have a big chance of improving your finishing position, as i think, as it stands, wire and pies are much weaker, and who knows what Brown will do at saints, tell ya what if i was a hull supporter id be confidant. (i can see the points made about A.Ps promises being perhaps misguided tho, maybe he didnt understand how rugby league works) Anyway good luck, just not against us

one of your adult conversations you mentioned was it ??

see you in 10!!!

Ultimately i don`t think anyone can doubt that AP and PG are taking the club in the right direction, if anything AP is probably guilty of building peoples expectations up too much with some of the things he has said.
On the playing front there is no doubt that we are in need of a quality half and a full back (probably Mcdonnell) at the minimum to start taking us up to the minimum level we need to be at, my onlyconcern is that if we don`t get the half back we need we will be left with our usual problems that we havn`t resolved for a good few years, certainly playing either Horne, Heremaia or Mcgoldrick at 6 or 7 is not the solution to our problem, only time will tell if we have resolved the issue so until we are told our squad is complete we can only hope we have a positive outcome.