Re: Pre Season - 2025 : Sun Jan 05, 2025 2:37 pm  

Mild Rover wrote:

Hull really needed a clean slate after last year. With new ownership, a new coach and a squad that has been rebuilt very quickly, you have got that.

The fresh start is definitely a positive but it does mean that this year and probably next year, to a lesser degree, will have to be about getting foundations in place.

Myler’s job, so far, could be seen as easy or difficult depending on how you look at it - because what else could he do?

Money can accelerate a rebuild but in fairness the new owners have already put in quite a bit, by RL standards, just to stop the club from going under. It’s easy to think ‘what’s a few million here or there, when you’re that wealthy?’, especially when it is somebody else’s money. It’s worth remembering that a lot of that wealth will be in businesses, investments and property that they won’t want to liquidate, rather than sat in current accounts waiting to be spent on transfer fees or big marquee wages. They won’t want to be embarrassed and I’m sure there’s plenty enough to make a difference over time. But the ‘no money out for 3 years’ thing feels like it was included in Pearson’s statement to temper expectations. Possibly, optimistically.

You are Kier Starmer and I claim my £5

Re: Pre Season - 2025 : Sun Jan 05, 2025 4:36 pm  

The Dentist Wilf wrote:

This argument is poor for me because the whole situation on recruitment is summed up in one sentence. If you were an up and coming or even an established success in Super League at the end of last season when talent was in short supply and every team was looking, would you have come to Hull FC? Because of the salary cap you can't pay phenomenal amounts to several players, so across the board I think we have probably compared with this time last season, got the best we could get!! For me, its certainly a lot better squad.

We have room on the salary cap now and if we hadnt wasted money on signing the likes of Chamberlain,Briscoe and Abdul then it would have been quite possible to add two quality players.
Little point saying would players come to Hull FC .You have to have the ability to sell the club to players irrespective of last seasons position.Pearson did it with Gaz Ellis and im sure Motu has had to do some selling when at the club then there was the Bunting era when someone at the club did a great job of promoting Hull FC
Some people have that abilty others dont
I agree the squad is more experienced should be stronger on the field and if the fitness levels are raised much higher which it seems is happening under Cartwright then we should compete but lack of strike in the backline is alarming and we dont have the forward strength to dominate teams up front to compensate

Re: Pre Season - 2025 : Sun Jan 05, 2025 7:58 pm  

bonaire wrote:

We have room on the salary cap now and if we hadnt wasted money on signing the likes of Chamberlain,Briscoe and Abdul then it would have been quite possible to add two quality players.
Little point saying would players come to Hull FC .You have to have the ability to sell the club to players irrespective of last seasons position.Pearson did it with Gaz Ellis and im sure Motu has had to do some selling when at the club then there was the Bunting era when someone at the club did a great job of promoting Hull FC
Some people have that abilty others dont
I agree the squad is more experienced should be stronger on the field and if the fitness levels are raised much higher which it seems is happening under Cartwright then we should compete but lack of strike in the backline is alarming and we dont have the forward strength to dominate teams up front to compensate

I would respectively suggest that in answer to your points selling the club to Gareth Ellis with a team that had just finished 6th in the League, had an average attendance of well over 11,000 and had Yeaman Tickle Westerman O'Meley, Willie Manu Tom Briscoe Richard Horne Heramaia and Rich Whiting all signed up was a lot easier than selling the rag bag we had representing us last season to anyone!! The same goes for Motu who benefitted greatly by the number of NRL players who were clambering to get to Super league because the difference between the two leagues was so much closer and he had the contacts in abundance. And as for Arthur Bunting, he oversaw an era in which I only missed 7 games home and away. Well he inherited two big signings from DDD and then attracted the best players in the British game to the club simply by offering them '3 times more than any one else could afford' if we wanted a player we just got him, as we were at the time the richest club in the game. With no salary cap issues we had all the money. I once asked Knocker exactly why he signed for us and he replied very honestly for the money. I still maintain that selling the current HullFC to players in a buyers market such as exists in Super League at present was a tough one. We have actually got a couple of players I would never have thought we would have. Give Myler and Cartwright and indeed our new owners a chance for once.

Re: Pre Season - 2025 : Mon Jan 06, 2025 10:18 am  

Armavinit wrote:

Is he having the procedure? If so that’s not too bad considering the SL season starts in 6 weeks?

I was told without the operation so if true and with the season six weeks away then it's looking like the first 4 or 5 rounds he could miss.

Re: Pre Season - 2025 : Mon Jan 06, 2025 10:22 am  

Would that be the third season on the bounce that one of our marquee half backs has missed the start of the year?

Re: Pre Season - 2025 : Mon Jan 06, 2025 10:26 am  

HU8HFC wrote:

Would that be the third season on the bounce that one of our marquee half backs has missed the start of the year?

And in 2022 we had Gale and Reynolds in the halves

Re: Pre Season - 2025 : Mon Jan 06, 2025 12:01 pm  

bonaire wrote:

We have room on the salary cap now and if we hadnt wasted money on signing the likes of Chamberlain,Briscoe and Abdul then it would have been quite possible to add two quality players.
Little point saying would players come to Hull FC .You have to have the ability to sell the club to players irrespective of last seasons position.Pearson did it with Gaz Ellis and im sure Motu has had to do some selling when at the club then there was the Bunting era when someone at the club did a great job of promoting Hull FC
Some people have that abilty others dont
I agree the squad is more experienced should be stronger on the field and if the fitness levels are raised much higher which it seems is happening under Cartwright then we should compete but lack of strike in the backline is alarming and we dont have the forward strength to dominate teams up front to compensate

I do think all fans miss the biggest point in relation to recruitment. No matter how much money an owner is worth it's very unusual for them to part with cash with potential return unless they are fans of the club ie Huddersfield and Rovers. Players have two priorities, money and winning. If winning is a priority, money no matter the amount will not attract quality players. The pools you fish in are not governed by money but by potential success.

Re: Pre Season - 2025 : Mon Jan 06, 2025 12:35 pm  

Steve0 wrote:

And in 2022 we had Gale and Reynolds in the halves

Having halves on the field is not our strong point in the past few seasons.

Even in 2022, Gale got sent off after 30 mins in the second match v Saints and got banned for 5 weeks. Think he also picked up another ban later in the season? Can’t remember how many games Reynolds played that season?

Re: Pre Season - 2025 : Mon Jan 06, 2025 12:44 pm  

Rugby Raider wrote:

Having halves on the field is not our strong point in the past few seasons.

Even in 2022, Gale got sent off after 30 mins in the second match v Saints and got banned for 5 weeks. Think he also picked up another ban later in the season? Can’t remember how many games Reynolds played that season?

He got done for sticking a leg out against Wire at home. Think it was Easter Monday.

We binned Reynolds off after a Catalans away game june/July time if I remember right.

Only Sneyd who we signed after Cooke left that could string a few games together Dykes, Head, Long, Seymour, Holdsworth, Trueman. I'm sure I'm missing plenty of others

Re: Pre Season - 2025 : Mon Jan 06, 2025 12:54 pm  

Steve0 wrote:

And in 2022 we had Gale and Reynolds in the halves

he said one, not both