Quote: "HULL FC fans were obviously not happy to see their side go down to a 56-10 defeat at Wigan, with some of them deciding to call for coach Lee Radford to be sacked.
But just because a 'Radford Out' banner was unveiled at the DW Stadium, it does not mean getting rid of him would be in the best interests of the club. Far from it, in my view.
If Radford was given the boot, he would become the fifth coach to leave FC in the last nine years and that sort of turnover is far too high if you want to achieve any sort of long-term success.
If that's the case, then it is the process of how FC recruit their coaches which needs to be looked at.'"
Interesting points by the Doc. We'll never all fully agree whether we should stick with Radford or not. Radford could come good for all we know. That turnover of coaches that Doc mentions is shocking so we do need to stick with a coach in order to achieve the long-term success. But it must be the right coach. Is Radford that man? I personally don't think so. And again the Doc is right when he says that we must review how we recruit coaches should Radford be shown the door.
Quote: "Instead, I believe the real problem lies in the thirst for immediate success. Rather than see long-term strategies put into place which will benefit the club for years to come, fans want success yesterday. Because fans by their very nature are fanatical about their club. They want success and they want it now.
Radford may have been a winner throughout his career, but even he cannot deliver that. I doubt if any coach could.'"
I can see where he is coming from here and I think we can all agree that a long term strategy sounds brilliant in theory. But what he fails to mention is that we've been waiting for signs of success since the dizzy heights of 2006 when Sharp got us to Old Trafford. I think the fans are fast running out of patience. I know I certainly am and I don't think I'm alone.
Quote: "But by putting the emphasis on bringing through groups of young players, and trying to change the work ethic at the club, he is trying to instill characteristics which will help Hull to be successful in the long term.'"
Nice ideal but shouldn't be done at the expense of first team performances.
Quote: "For me, he must be allowed to remain in his role if the club is to reap the benefits of his thoughts, ideas and aims.
Owner Adam Pearson has previously come out and said that will be the case, so it looks as if he will get time to implement his policies.'"
He should only get the time if there are signs that his strategies are working. I haven't seen much evidence of this myself.
Quote: "Against Wigan, Hull were probably able to field around £800,000 worth of talent from their salary cap of somewhere near to £1.6m.
Robbed of a host of names because of injuries, Radford put out the best side he could. Okay, so they did not perform as well as he would have liked, but his hands are somewhat tied at the moment.'"
I think most people expected a defeat against Wigan. But a bit of pride, passion and effort should be in evidence whether you have £800,000 worth of talent on the field or £1.6M. Are we getting that?
Quote: "In truth, only Jordan Thompson, Joe Westerman, Fetuli Talanoa, Jamie Shaul, Gareth Ellis and Danny Houghton have been consistently good enough for Hull in 2014.'"
Not sure about Talanoa but agree with the rest for the most part.
Quote: "With players usually on contracts of around three to five years, turning over a squad and getting it shaped how you want it to look takes time.
Radford has not even been in the role for a full season, yet some fans still want him out. If he had lost 20 games on the spin, I would agree but he hasn't.'"
Agreed but there should be signs that we're moving in the right direction.
Quote: "What he has done, though, is give a host of youngsters the chance to taste Super League and found out that they will form the basis of his squad for years to come.
No-one had heard of Callum Lancaster or Jordan Abdull before the season had started, but hopefully they will now be key men for Hull under Radford's guidance.'"
Gentle also gave youngsters a chance. And he got us more points and a higher place in the table.
Quote: "Yes, there have been a lot of negatives this season and the possibility of missing out on the play-offs is the main one. But there have also been many positives too, most of which are in the club's best long-term interests.
Admittedly, that is probably not something fans want to hear. But supporters at Leeds and Wigan can testify to what can be achieved if someone looks at the bigger picture.'"
The negatives far outweigh the positives for me. I really would love us to get to Leeds or Wigan's level and I am aware that that will take time but we'll only ever achieve that with the right man in charge. Based on this season I don't believe that man is Radford.
