Roam Ranger wrote:
Same thoughts from me. I still think there's a player in there if he gets his fitness right. But I don't see it being with us and I think there's a big question mark over whether he wants to get into that kind of shape himself.
Me too (was about to post the same!).
I think/hope/believe that Pele could still be a decent standard SL player, but probably not with us and certainly not in 2024.
I wonder if he is one of those players who constantly needs kicking up the backside in order to keep him motivated which in turn then gets the best out of him? The current working in environment at Hull Fc is hardly along those lines so, like the bulk of the others, he's just dawdling along, getting paid for his 15 minutes work each week!
It's partly his fault, partly the coaching staff's fault, but underpinning all this is the ethos/attitude/culture/ call-it-what-you-will that has been running right through the club for too many years now and which is the real cause of out problems.
In many ways, Pele is a microcosm of everything that is wrong with the club. An unwillingness to work, an inability to get the best out of what we have at our disposal, a refusal to confront fundamental underlying issues which continue to stifle any hope of the club moving forward.
Franklin Pele certainly has to take some personal responsibility for the fact that he clearly is not doing the job, for which he is paid well, to a satisfactory level. But the club must also stand accused of failing to provide an environment which makes players want to better themselves and give their all in the common cause.
It would be interesting to see how Pele, and indeed a number of other under-performing players, would respond to a strict disciplinarian regime at the club, a shape up or ship out kind of attitude across the board. I suspect we will never find out in his case, unfortunately.