Reality check 1: Hull are playing the best the have all season. They were tipped to challenge for silverware this year based on the squad they'd assembled but had a poor first half to the season with plenty of calls on their side for Gentle to go.
Reality check 2: After nearly 3 seasons under Denis Betts we're still not playing as well as we should be and still look out of our depth in SL for long periods in games.
I argued to let him have they run of the franchise, see how we build and then decide his fate based on the 3rd seasons performance in SL. Now two things have come to a head: We cannot recruit because the attendances are low and the coming restructure after next season.
If we're gonna change coach it should be now, not part way through next season, unsettling the team and risking another poor season. Personally I think our problem is caused by the half-arsed recruitment signing Brown at great expense knowing he'd be the only big name in the side but not making him captain. Signing too many ill-disciplined players and expecting an untested coach to sort em into shape. Deciding that was all we were signing cos the crowds were too low to sustain further squad building. Failing to blood the young players and selecting/retaining some championship standard older players in front of them. Should have been:
Season 1: Play with kids, fill any gaps with whoever we have left from the championship, expect low crowds and pastings but save cash and build towards signing a top Forward, Half and Back to start in...
Season 2: With some quality in the spine of the team see which kids have come on and sign em up while looking for weak areas and signing to fill those gaps ready for...
Season 3: Attempt to reach play-offs and judge coach based on this season's performance ready to change if need be going into a new licensing period.
If Betts had done this we'd not be worried about the restructure because we'd have an established first team and hopefully would have built crowds. We've paid too much for Brown too early and are suffering the consequences.