I suspect the OP is saying that if more money is available elsewhere, then staying is the same as taking a pay cut.

A pay cut is a pay cut no matter how much you earn. I wouldn't accept it and wouldn't expect anyone else to either.

By the way, I don't believe a word of this contract talk. Are we seriously expected to believe that the Rovers Chief Exec is privy to Hull FC contract discussions? Pull the other one!

No its not! It's staying the same (as you yourself pointed out).

Did I?? It's a play on words, I know, but if he could earn more elsewhere, then he would be taking a pay cut (or less money, say) if he stayed.

I don't either but if what Pearson was alluding to in his interview is anything to go by then I suppose it's possible we may have offered Crooks more than we should have initially? Using the alleged £80K as a figure, was Crooks worth that when he was offered that contract? This obviously been before he was a regular, top tryscorer, Dream Team member as you pointed out along with SL Young Player of the Year.

Pay cut is irrelevant, advising your son to stay somewhere out of your own loyalty when he can do better elsewhere is just daft.

I don't claim to know what money Crooks is on now, what he has been offered or how much he wants.

I do know that at his age [iif [/iI was offered a contract for less than my current contract I would take it as an indication that my club wasn't bothered whether I stay or go.

Having the third highest salary and being 12th was meant to sound alarming. His entire point is that we're paying over the odds for average and worse players. Which is down to the deals done by the former incumbents.

His point about players being unavailable is that their unavailability is down to either attitude or cost. Some players have been loaned out to minimise or remove their impact on the cap. He specifically mentioned that we would be OVER cap if we hadn't loaned out players. Others have been loaned out because of their response to the increased discipline/workload. This is part of the restructuring of the squad that he feels is necessary which is why he blames McRae/Gentle and not Radford/Tony who are doing what he asked them to at the beginning of the season.

I'm still not convinced that Radford is the man for the job. At all. But it does seem that the problems and challenges behind the scenes go deeper than we might have thought. And it's abundantly clear that Pearson sees Radford and Tony as implementing changes he himself has decided are necessary, so they won't be going anywhere any time soon.

There is absolutely zero evidence of this. And in fact the picture being painted by a couple of posters of Radford as some kind of Machiavellian genius who has manipulated and bamboozled a successful sports businessman into doing his bidding is, frankly, risible.

But you said you wouldn't advise him to "take a pay cut"?

I think this something that all Radford doubters/haters are going to have to accept. He'll be in charge at the beginning of next season. We may not like it after the season we're currently enduring but given the way AP spoke in the interview then I would say it's a fact.

Zero evidence of what? That he back-stabbed his way to the job or that he wasn't ready for it (and still isn't)?

Quite frankly one of the most incredible theories ever presented on this forum - not sure whether to laugh or cry. Adam Pearson being 'brainwashed' by Lee Radford. LMFAO.

As for the interview it backs up some of the suspicions I've posted on here about how much Gentle and McRae's recruitment has set the club back. Pearson must have learnt a great deal about the game in the last two and a half years that's for sure. Seeing the likes of Joe Arundel, Jacob Miller and like coining it in big time at his expense must rankle a bit - no wonder he feels it perfectly legitimate to voice his displeasure at the previous incumbents. I read with interest people thinking he's 'too harsh' criticising Gentle and McRae all the time. Easy to say that when it's not your cash being frittered. Also had it not been for Lee Radford and an injury to Shannon McDonnell then we'd not have seen Lineham or Shaul play at all last year - would have been interesting to see how Nick Youngquest went for us I suppose.

Finally I read in some posts about this being the 'last chance saloon' for AP. Actually AP is 'the last chance saloon' for Hull FC in my opinion. As he states clearly there isn't a queue of people offering him money for the club. He needs the backing of the fans more than ever that's clear - for those that walk away and expect to pop back when things are better you'd better hope that AP hasn't done a runner by then as well otherwise there'll be nothing to pop back to.

But he was brainwashed by McRae and Gentle is a much more sensible theory obviously.

I still don't understand how the recruitment last year has set us back so much that finishing 12th is anything other than a complete farce. Even the most pessimistic fans wouldn't have predicted lower than 9/10 for us this season yet suddenly with hindsight the squad is complete rubbish. It's excuses plain and simple.

It sounds to me that there's a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that we the fans aren't aware of and it's had an effect on the team and the performances this year. AP acknowledged more than once that the season has been a disaster.