If he did it's his fault if he didn't he's a puppet.

You're welcome. I love patronising those less fortunate than myself

We're really not the biggest team in the world and most Hull fans I know fully expect us to implode some time soon.

Very, very true...

What is most disappointing about the current state of affairs is that nobody at the clubs seems to be taking ANY responsibilty or has any accountability for the obvious failures and the buck is been passed around freely.

The ultimate leaders and decision makers are the chairman and vice. Now they may say they employ people like a CEO, Football Manager , coach, defence coach and a highly paid captain to take care of the playing/rugby side of things, but if this is so at least one, probably more, of those people is getting some important decisions wrong.

It would be fascinating to know the decision process that resulted in the farcical situation we are now in where we have no direct line of junior players to call on, however good or promising, and decided to cut virtually all local ties to the first team squad. I assume the 5 year plan must include the possiblity that Hull FC become a reasonable side again and we languish perenially in the bottom 4 or worse , leaving the best talent from the City of Hull academy a pretty straightforward choice when they graduate.

I assume the plan also includes leaving overseas recruitment to our captain to get his mates on equally overpaid contracts but still ensures the CEO gets his annual holiday to Australia , which produced those top signings this year...

The plan seems to further involve a similar situation on the domestic front but with the football manger in charge.

The plan must obviously include small print in the playing contracts that value for money is not expected nor does the value or length of your contract relate to your actual ability or indeed willingness or availability to play. In fact these may quite often be inversely proportional.

The plan also seem to include paying big bucks for a defensive coach who only turns up on Friday afternoons.

As indicated in prior posts the situation is made more galling in view of the fact that FC have turned their own situation around dramatically it seems, and in no small part due to a Mr Motu Tony, whose recruitment skills are obviously par excellence.

Well, Rovers plan did in fact entail turning down Mr Tony for a role at the club prior to his employment across the way, as obviously our guys are doing such a good job...

I do feel a little for Chester because he does not have much to work with but he is the author of his own misfortune if he has failed to impose himself.

I think some brutal self appraisal and honesty needs to be applied from top to bottom and not just by the first team squad, who after all, didn't award themselves their lucrative or not so lucrative contracts.

I fear some may be fiddling whilst Rome burns.

very good post, this should be put up in your boardroom and changing room, you may have to do what Radford and Pearson have done over the last few years and pay off over inflated earners and go back to basics.

Great post and a nice line in irony too. In the words of a yank watching the University Boat Race for the first time - "oarsome"

Please can I place an order with you for more of the same in future, ta.

Yep all you posted appears to be happening from an out sider looking in.

You didn't mention the amateurish preparation and coaching. A coach who appears to acquiesce to everyone soon loses credibility and this seems to have happened.

Why another layer of management in Peacock. If he really was in charge how did Poaching keep his job? How and why did we get involved with Sauilima? Campo must have been involved. Advocating a player we don't have space for or need in that position. Surely Peacock just goes......no.

Far far too many chiefs at Rovers.

Things need addressing quickly but I fear it has a feel of nepotism and no one making hard decisions. If they don't make some soon I really fear the hole will be too big to get out of and its years in the lower leagues again.

Didn't realise what a mess the acadamy merger is. Sandercock changed our academy and our juniors results were much better with international call ups for the first time.3 years later....Surely it should have been given more time.

Decisions need making....Poaching is on borrowed time. He either doesn't know what to do, can't communicate it or both or is just stealing a living. The evidence that Chester is struggling is clear. It ain't gonna get better. 'We're over our adversity' as quoted from our coach after the Cas game was harrowing for me. 1 draw and everything is ok. Please.

Some players need to step up but are they willing to. Albert looks thoroughly miserable. I certainly am and don't see a way out without drastic changes.

Peter Mannion....Keep an eye out for Malcolm.

Chester In/Out
In all truth I don't have a lot of faith we would appoint anyone far better tbh. The endeavours of the JM replacement yielded Craig Sandercock. Who in truth was tasked with an impossible job/remit - all against the backdrop of a lot of uncertainty with investment (be it continued or new), but ultimately failed. The subsequent appointment/rise from within of Chris Chester seemed more about ease to me and not wishing to repeat the CS endeavour. Pretty sure very little changed on the pitch to suggest Chester was the clear candidate in the initial interim period. To date he's overseen some pretty awful performances ... vs Hull 0-28 (2014), 20-46 (2015) / vs Wigan 0-60 / vs Wakefield 24-44 / vs Leeds 0-50. The particular high(s) of reaching Wembley are not be forgotten, along with the some proper grit performances @ home vs Wigan/Saints/Hudds last year.

For me it comes down to what our current 5 year plan really is …

If it’s to continue meandering along content with 8-12th – then we may as well keep him.
When he moves on, we’ll have another ‘rebirth’- ‘new beginning’ ‘new philosophy’ moment - but I doubt little actual change and we’ll continue whereabouts we are currently.

If the club’s intention is really to push into the 5-8th bracket and/or even higher, then I don’t believe Chris Chester is the right guy to achieve this. If the club really think he is, then I have little faith in their 5 year plan tbh. Our defence has been pants for sometime. It spans many seasons, a few coaches and many players. Chris Chester has been the common denominator throughout.

Everybody has an opinion of picking the best team taking into account who is available. The point this is Chester's team and he is happy with the squad and after every defeat we hear, "we gave away to many penalties and due to the extra defence we put it we tired". Rover spend roughly what Castleford spend on the salary cap, the difference is the bloke who picks the team and coaches them. We have Chester and Poaching. If he is happy then he can ply his trade in the championship.

Is Chester the man to take you forward? I highly doubt it. But regardless your squad just isn't close to being good enough, and I'm not sure what you guys expect. What you did last year is realistically all you can hope for this.

If and when Chester goes I fully expect Peacock to take over.

Peacock has already said he doesn't want to coach if Chester goes I fully expect an Aussie to come in

I think it would take a pretty harsh Board of Directors to sack a coach 2 games into a season whilst they are in the midst of an injury crisis. Hudgell and Crossland wouldn't go down that road.
However, the question is, can Chris Chester get the best out of his squad if he ever gets them all on the park? Of the evidence we have seen so far during his tenure I would suggest he can't.
We have some superbly talented players in our squad and others with great potential. We are a couple of aggressive forwards away from being genuine contenders for the 5-8th positions. We all know what we need so why wasn't it sorted? My personal view is that we missed the boat on signings when we ended up in the middle 8s last year. Top players are not going to sign for a club that may go down. Chester can't use this as an excuse though. After all it was him that coached us into the middle 8s.
I've never been an advocate of sacking coaches. I didn't want Morgan to go and despite his all round grumpiness I didn't really want Sandercock to go because I could see what he was trying to achieve and the structures he was putting in place. He pretty much lived at Craven Park. I haven't got a clue what Chesters vision is.
For me he should go now and give somebody else 20 rounds to sort out the situation, maybe wheel and deal a little and get the best out of the quality at our disposal.
Does Albert Kelly's current physique and demeanour give the look of somebody giving his all for his coach? Alberts professionalism needs to be questioned but we also need to know why and how it has happened.