Quote GrahamBray="GrahamBray"I think it is a sign of the general demise of the sport of RL in the UK, obviously combined with the effects on people's mindset of covid, that a team as fanatically, and often blindly, backed by its fans, such as Hull are now struggling. That decrease among Hull members is an massive percentage and has me very worried . Would there still be a smugness among opposition fans or general alarm if a club folded? What if our noisy neighbours suffer a disastrous season, for whatever reason, similarly Salford, Huddersfield, Wakefield or Cas? Could they survive? I say that because I do think the position of RL, in the UK's mindset, has been eroded to such an extent, by media RU bias and other factors, that unless someone can remedy the situation quickly, you'll see a part time game, akin to the pre SL era, among all but a handful of clubs, who rely on rich owners to support them. Pessimistic maybe, but the game has been squeezed financially by SKY, additionally now through a pandemic and most people agree that the standard of the game in the UK, in recent years, has been on a steep decline.'"
Rovers are going from strength to strength so no need to worry about us. We'll be purchasing the freehold to Craven Park very soon and the future looks very bright. Obviously we're hoping for a good season but Rovers are looking far beyond that and on firm foundations.
You're still spending miles more on players wages than Rovers but it's with money you don't have which is why you have such huge losses. Is it really worth it just to finish 8th?
Even before COVID Adam Pearson stated that Hull FC's spending was unsustainable so now it's with knobs on. So why spend marquee money on mid 30's injury prone Luke Gale? A player who Leeds stripped the captaincy from and were delighted to let go for nothing after they had paid a huge transfer fee, just to free themselves from his marquee wages.
Every year Pearson gambles on expensive signings which he thinks will transform Hull's fortunes and bring the fans in but every year he gets it wrong. His problem is that he owns the club lock stock and barrel and the only alternative is to cut his losses and pull the plug. Believe me, sooner or later that is exactly what he is going to do.
Please don't confuse your plight with other clubs. Salford cut their cloth, spend what they have and nothing more. Huddersfield have a multi-millionaire backer, Wakefield are used to managing on a budget. Rovers are a club on the rise with owner Neil Hudgell's law firm now one of the biggest in the UK.
Hull FC are in decline with yet another season of hoping that excessive spending can arrest the situation. IMO it's not going to happen. I'm sure I'll get the usual criticism but really I've said nothing that isn't true.