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Hull horror: A season of failure leaves Pearson with plenty to ponder
BY ROSS HEPPENSTALL
WHEN HULL FC owner Adam Pearson announced the sacking of Lee Radford live on Sky Sports, just minutes after a televised home surrender against Warrington Wolves in March 2020, it underlined his impulsive, ruthless streak.
Pearson, a football man by trade having worked at Leeds United in two spells and also owned Hull City, had finally lost faith in Radford’s ability to fashion a serious title challenge.
Radford famously guided the Airlie Birds to back-to-back Challenge Cup final wins in 2016 and 2017, which ended their Wembley hoodoo and put him and his players in the history books.
Radford, however, never really came close to delivering a maiden Super League title to the black and white side of a rugby league-obsessed city.
You have to go back to 2006 for Hull’s only Grand Final appearance when, under Peter Sharp, they lost to the all-conquering St Helens side at Old Trafford.
Pearson took control of the club in 2011 and has enjoyed two Challenge Cup successes, but the silverware he really wants now is the Super League trophy.
After the poor start to last season, Pearson threw Radford out.
Pearson spoke to Ian Watson, then still head coach at Salford, about the prospect of succeeding Radford but nothing materialised. The pair met, sounded each other out, then shook hands and went their separate ways.
Watson ended up taking over at Huddersfield Giants and Pearson, having put Radford’s assistant Andy Last in interim charge, cast his net far and wide.
He dispensed with Last’s services at the end of last term, even though he had guided Hull into the second round of the play-offs, and went big and bold with the acquisition of Brett Hodgson from Wests Tigers.
Hodgson, a highly distinguished fullback who starred for Huddersfield and Warrington, was an NRL Grand Final winner with Wests Tigers and also played State of Origin for New South Wales.
Hodgson built an impressive CV as a coach after hanging up his boots in 2013.
He served as an assistant coach at Widnes Vikings, worked at Hull as a coaching consultant and also spent time with Sale Sharks in rugby union, in addition to working with a number of NRL clubs and coaches as part of his development.
Hodgson returned home to Wests as assistant coach to Ivan Cleary in 2017 before working under Michael Maguire when the former Wigan boss joined the club twelve months later.
Hodgson also served as head coach of the club’s feeder team Western Suburb Magpies, therefore his pedigree was not up for debate when Pearson decided to appoint him.
Josh Reynolds made the same move from Wests to Hull during the off-season and the arrival of the Aussie duo encouraged hopes of a genuine title challenge.
Pearson again spent up to the salary cap on the squad this year and his club are supported by one of the largest and most passionate fanbases in the British game.
The Black and Whites began the season in impressive fashion with a commanding opening-day win over Huddersfield Giants at Headingley.
When they claimed a gritty 20-10 victory over Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup on May 8 in front of the BBC television cameras, belief grew that Hodgson was the man to make them a serious force.
Hodgson’s side enjoyed three straight Super League wins in the month of June.
But their next three fixtures were postponed due to Covid outbreaks in the camp and from there all momentum was lost.
It was almost a month later when they took to the field again and a 40-26 hammering away to Huddersfield was followed by a home loss to Leeds seven days later.
The thumping at Huddersfield brutally exposed Hull’s rustiness and by now the rot had well and truly set in.
A 42-10 home loss to St Helens was followed by another pasting, this time at Catalans.
A thrilling 23-22 Hull derby win on August 21 reinvigorated the Black and Whites’ season and gave their fans hope that the team was ready to clinch a play-off finish.
However, it merely papered over the cracks and proved a false dawn.
Mahe Fonua missed the derby through disciplinary reasons having been pictured drinking in a pub in Hull in the days leading up to the game.
Since beating the Robins, Hull have lost every match and eight defeats from their last nine games have ended their top-six hopes in dismal fashion.
That Coronavirus-cause break robbed Hodgson’s team of their spark at a time when they were beginning to fire.
That cannot be denied. The loss of Reynolds and Joe Cator to season-ending injuries in the Hull derby were similarly devastating blows.
Other players such as England prop Scott Taylor have spent a lot of time on the sidelines through injury, but the way in which Hull's campaign has unravelled has been shocking nonetheless.
Every team has had injuries and Covid disruptions to contend with, not least Leeds and Wigan, whose squads have been decimated at times.
There are still plenty of big names in this Hull team, such as Jake Connor, Marc Sneyd, Danny Houghton, Adam Swift and Chris Satae.
In their past nine games, Hodgson’s men have conceded a staggering 44 tries.
That is an average of nearly five tries shipped per game – a damning statistic which underlines their defensive frailties and lack of resolve.
Hull are fourth highest in Super League for errors made and bottom of the pile for tackle busts and also for clean breaks.
Recruitment for next season has so far been low key, with Darnell McIntosh arriving from Huddersfield to bolster the backline and a prop also likely to be signed. As rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads reported yesterday, the club is after Joe Wardle.
Pearson used his programme notes in last week’s home defeat to Wigan to suggest he will swing the axe on an underperforming squad.
“Excuses or not, the fact remains we have not performed to the standards we expect at this club or to a level at which this squad should be performing over the second half of the season, and it will be addressed,” Pearson wrote.
“We share your disappointment and frustration in equal measure, if not even more so.
“There are a lot of people here that invest a huge amount of time, dedication, passion and emotion into this club, often at the detriment of their families and lives away from Hull FC.
“It’s a club that demands such commitment, so you can trust me when we say we are hurting more than anyone at the way the season has transpired.
“And it is for that reason that you can be reassured that you have our full commitment to making noticeable improvements for next season.
“A thorough review of our performance activity is underway this season, as it is at the end of every season.
“But we are already aware of our strengths and weaknesses and out energy and focus is on improving in those key areas, which will include some changes to the playing squad.”
Clearing out a squad of players who are on big money and remain under contract will not be done easily.
Nor is it the first time that Pearson has threatened such a course of action.
Beyond that, Pearson is also facing the challenge of huge financial losses during the pandemic in addition to ongoing problems with being tenants at the KCOM Stadium.
The Black and Whites, who have shared the council-owned stadium with co-tenants Hull City since it opened in December 2002, have seven years remaining on their current lease with the Stadium Management Company.
The SMC, which is owned by Hull City owners the Allam family, operate the stadium on behalf of both clubs and Hull FC have grown increasingly frustrated with a number of aspects of their ground sharing situation recently.
Hull rent their training ground too and are seeking to move to a new base at the University of Hull.
It remains to be seen how long Pearson will stick with Hull FC and whether he might one day return to football, his first love.
He attended Leeds United’s match with Liverpool last weekend and keeps a close eye on the football scene.
Hodgson, for his part, has clearly fallen well below expectations this season.
The emergence of bitter rivals Hull KR as a respected force this season has merely magnified Hull FC’s failings.
It seems almost certain that Hodgson will remain in position, but given Pearson’s damning assessment of the team’s performance in 2021, the 43-year-old has it all to prove next year.
Hodgson was tight-lipped about comings and goings for next season at his pre-match press conference on Thursday.
He said: “I came with a job to do last year and I think we could see there was change at the start of the season.
“We know that things have happened out of our control have eventually got us to the point we are now, but we will continue evolving the squad.
“That’s what I’ve spoken about since minute one. I’m not going to speculate on what that means but we are looking to bring people in, there’s no doubt about that.”
Hodgson was asked whether that might mean that players under contract could potentially leave.
“As I said, I’m not going to speculate on any of that at this stage,” he replied.
“What I will say is that we need to get to the heights of semi-final football and above and we will work hard to make sure whatever happens in the next couple of weeks is directed towards that.
“Adam is very passionate about this club doing well and he has been for a number of years.
“Obviously he hurts more than anyone when we don’t get the results and he’s desperate to get us to the level that he wants and that we want as a club and the supporters want as well.
“He is right in the trenches with me and we’re having these conversations constantly and we will work together to make sure we get ourselves where we want to get to.”
When Hodgson and his players begin their preparations for the 2022 campaign later this year, turning around the shambles of the past season will clearly take some doing.
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