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 I Guess that winning trophies and League Championships is what our sport is all about, but obviously not everyone can do that, and so as a fan it’s heartening that there are times when other aspects of being a supporter make the whole, often soul destroying business, of the love affair that is being a ‘fanatical follower’, gloriously worthwhile.
Whatever happens or goes wrong in the next 22 games, whether we win at Wembley, follow last seasons footsteps and slide down the table, or what is more likely, do neither, I am just pleased that I can always say, I saw Craig Fitzgibbon in a black and white shirt.
Fitz, voted Engage player of the Month, was simply awesome again on Friday, and it is without doubt already an absolute privilege to see him out there in our famous strip. Kearney was great, and a real icon, but this man is, dare I say it, even greater!
I think, on Friday, for the first time this season, he played like a proper old fashioned loose forward, rather than a brilliant second rower playing at the back of the pack. He passed more, and created a lot of fine close up stuff, that was a wonder to watch. Horney, following him like some obsessed stalker, joined the party too, as Fitz just mesmerised, the Cas defence, to the delight of the thirteen and a half thousand who braved another freezing night to attend the KC. Not a bad accolade for a guy who was written off as too old by some ‘Expert’ when he signed. If you are reading this and care about the FC, but have not seen him ‘in the flesh’ yet, do so if you can, for, believe me, he’s a legend in the making!!!!!
Not far behind was the Ogre, who later in the Diary I will cite as the main instigator of the period that blew a plucky and illustrious Cas team out of the water. The Tigers are without doubt as good as anyone in the oppositions twenty, we let them in there too often in the first half, and I feel paid the penalty. In the end however you have to say that Agar got the selection right, despite there being some raised eyebrows about Whiting dropping to the bench. Then just two weeks since we thought he was a fading hero, Richard Horne was back to his best, with that breakaway try taking us all back 5 years. It was vintage Horne. The game plan on attack is the one that Longy and Agar devised all that time ago back in November, it’s based on patience and backing up and we should never underestimate the importance of the ‘Longy thinking’ behind it! But it was that scintillating second half spell that sent everyone home buzzing!
Not bad for a, “one man team”, still missing that ‘one man’ is it?
In this week’s Diary we will look at another fine performance in the end, what I thought went wrong in the first half, and player performances. Plus there’s, Longy, Mark Calderwood after a contract, Airlie Night, trouble at KCFM, Dennis Touffour, Ewan Dowes-the energy man, Friday nights v Sunday afternoons again, Fitz (loads about him and why not!!!), a look at Wigan’s Stadium and the old Central Park and in Codgers Corner its Gerard, Muggleton and Billy Mallinson!!
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| The Dentists Diary - 189th |
Well was the Crusaders game just a blip then?
I have to say that I think it was, because that display on Friday was one of the most focussed and controlled I have seen for a while. The two hallmarks for what could only described as an easy win, were, for me, our consistency in defence and our patience in attack. There are few games that we watch these days when you could say that the result was never in doubt, but on Friday for me it was not a issue! The Quins were not at the races, but a lot of the time that was because we would not let them be!
Our defence was solid, worked in numbers and consistently drove back the opposition, whilst in attack we waited, and waited, till the opportunities presented themselves and then grabbed them with both hands; despite lacking a couple of play makers our execution was, I thought, pretty good.
I approached the game, with some trepidation, and told everyone who wanted to know that I thought it was a big test of our coach’s ability to get the team in the right frame of mind after a poor performance. That display went some way to answering my concerns, but it becomes more and more obvious to me that Longy, Fitz, O’Meley Radford and Cusack are making sure that the focus out on the field never wavers. Out there over the whitewash is where Agars control and influence has no bearing whatsoever. He needs those generals to keep the rest of the player’s feet on the ground and minds on the game plan.
You can only play what is in front of you, but we were so focused, that a lot better clubs than the Quins would have struggled to get a grip in the arm wrestle last Friday. We played the game at an excellent tempo, worked for each other, and took our chances. Plus in Whiting, Fitzgibbon and Berrigan we had three outstanding performers. It will be a lot tougher next week against Cas, they won’t keep on bombing chances like they did at the weekend, but the same attitude and passion is all we can ask for.
In this week’s Diary I look at that game, player performances and Tansey on the naughty step! Plus, Magic Tickets, Dual regulations and the toilet brush from the Halliwell Jones. Then there is a look at Longy’s injury, Referee’s Fitz, message boarders, the under 20’s and in Codgers Corner there’s another extract from the book I am endeavouring to write, when we go on a memorable trip to Blackpool with the Half Way Hotels weekly FC coach.
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| The Dentists Diary - 188th |
Well after two great performances and all that hype, we’re back were we all hoped we wouldn’t be, asking the question, are we a one man team?
As for coaching, well these are the games you have to get ‘em up for‘, and although Richard Agar will say that they spent last week getting their attitudes right, once again, as was the case on many occasions last season, we were just not clever enough, and the team of tryers, with the game plan, who lay on all day, have come away with the spoils. Perhaps I am over reacting, but like a lot of you, I’ve seen it all before!
Why do I say that? Well because dumb rugby and lack of ideas is a trait from last season. The energy and effort was there, but if you’re going to do anything, you have to win these games; you have to be clinical and play at the same intensity week in week out! Like Wigan on Saturday you have to find something from somewhere to get over the line. As for all the pundits who have said since yesterday that a lot of clubs will come unstuck in Wales, I ain’t interested.
I am disappointed that all the talk of us being more professional, more consistent and with ‘leaders all over the pitch’ has found us out already! We have to learn from this and learn quickly! Sadly, as I say, this getting near the line and not being able to get over stuff, is all too familiar for me, we have seen it all before and only a thumping good performance against the Quins will put it right!!!!!
It’s still early days but it’s still disappointing and another showing like that on Friday and I‘ll really be worried!
In this week’s Diary we look at that game and player performances or lack of them, at Richard Whiting, Fitz on our bench strategy, Ewan Dowes and Jordan Tansey. Then I have a look at Airlie night last Wednesday and our accounts, the definitive RL rules on fog, there’s a ‘Two Penneth’ from me on reducing the number of clubs in Super league, Mark O’Meley, a sponsorship rights evaluation, CD’s of past games, Wigan’s nappies and in Codgers Corner there’s a real blood and thunder 100th win against the Dobbins to savor!
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| The Dentists Diary - 187th |
The post match analysis in the Drum And Monkey started with my friend Kathy walking through the door and saying, “Tonight‘s was a good ‘Old Fashioned’ game‘, and I guess I have to agree with her. Forwards dominating, neither side getting completely on top and open flowing rugby at a premium! But so exciting and tense at times, and a win in the end!!!
You know for me, there are two ways that you have a successful season, firstly you can be so good at attacking (like Leeds and Saints last season) that you will invariably score more than the opposition. Then of course, you can do what Huddersfield did last year and play teams at their own game. That’s what I think we did on Friday, because we knew that they were coming to try and do what they did last season; wear us down, take their chances and run home with the points.
Instead this time around, we appear to be a different proposition. We were patient, waited for our chances, took them in the first half and then adopted their usual ‘what we have we keep’ attitude and beat them at their own game in the second. We had a game plan and stuck rigidly to it! We also got a bit of luck. They nilled us last year, we almost did that to them this!
We may not be attacking as slickly as we should, but now we have the personnel in that department who can improve things. I think it will be round 7 or 8 before we get that bit running smoothly. However in defence, particularly in our own quarter, we have been second to none. We have to keep that up and grow the rest of our game, but these first two results are a great foundation to build on.
So a good win in another good week, which, off the field, included some great news on our last financial year. This week in a Dentists Diary exclusive, our resident Accountant and FC fan extraordinaire Mrs Barista, suggests, and tries to answer, the four questions that every ‘Ordinary’ fan might be asking about all this financial malarkey and the accounts we have posted at Companies House this week!!!
Also in this week’s Diary I have a look at game day, the match as a spectacle, personal performances and the captain and Coaches blogs. Then there is an exclusive about the shops, training this week, the importance of a game plan, O’meley and Fitz settling into the English way of life, and a look at the ground we visit next week. Plus in Codgers Corner there is a trip back to probably the lowest point in our history as a Rugby League club.
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| The Dentists Diary - 186th |
Now, lets not get too carried away shall we?????
Well frankly I am afraid I already have a bit, because that was just unbelievable stuff on Saturday, predominantly because there were, for this fan, a few things on show that I have not seen for ages.
For me we could not have asked for more from our first game of a season that was promising so much, but which we knew in our heart of hearts, was always in danger of blowing up in our faces in Lancashire.
We had cranked the excitement and expectation up with big signings, record season ticket sales, beating Rovers in the pre season, posted another profit, avoided any pre season injuries of note, and then? Well we all knew what was going to happen then didn’t we, we would blow it big style at Saints, and another grind of a season would begin!!!! I know you will say, you should have faith, but some of us have seen it all before.
That was the script for me anyway, simply because although we all hoped for so much, and wanted to believe, we knew that just when the going is good, reality would turn round and kick us in the proverbiales. That’s how it usually is when you’re an FC fan. But then just as you think you’ve got it sussed, just as you have got yourself conditioned for the inevitable, that rarest and sweetest of happenings occurs, and you witness something that justifies all the expense, heartache and time you have expended on the team that you love. We might still be in for that kicking but I’m loving this week!
That was Saturday in the fog for me, and it ranks as one of the top five performances by any FC team I have seen in the 12 years we have been in the Super League, and our best by far under Richard Agar, it was simply a privilege to be there.
There was pride, passion, and enthusiasm, in spades but this was a first class TEAM performance, everyone knew what they were doing and did it to 110%. There were no ‘Only here for the beer’ roll over and die characters coming off the bench this time around, everyone played their part. It was also for me a night when I experienced that rarest of commodities in the current RL world, in that all of a sudden, for the first time in years, we have a real hero. A ‘Captain Fantastic’ type character, who the fans, and the media, have taken to their hearts!!!
Who know what Friday or the rest of the season will bring but last Saturday at St Helens was awesome!!!!!
In this weeks Diary, we look at that game the players and their performances, there’s an injury update and some cultural tips from the Ogre, a great Airlie Night show last Wednesday and a couple of Exclusives about match days! Plus there’s Fitz, Willie Manu, James Smailes, ‘Red’ Gwilym, our part in the FC team, what having a pass means to me, Phil Clarke in dreamland and in Codgers Corner a look at the great Terry Kirchin!!
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| The Dentists Dairy - 185th |
AND So….. it Really Begins!!!!
At long last after around 20 weeks of waiting the new season is upon us and all the talk and hype has to stop as we travel across the Pennines for probably the most difficult starter we have had for several years. But, ain’t we just a bit confident? Well I guess we should be, because in the end all we ask if not a result, (although that would be nice), is a performance of spirit, fire and determination like we saw against the Dobbins, and that will do fine for starters!!
Off the field I found myself saying this week that I can never remember my club being in better nick. We have posted a profit for 2009, season ticket sales have gone past the magic 9000 and we have no injuries in the run up to our first game! No stone is left unturned as far as preparations are concerned, and we can only hope against hope that we get a bit of luck and a few wins to get the confidence flowing, so that we finish at least in the top 8.
However most of all for me personally right now (and no doubt everyone who is reading this), it’s the big kick off at the weekend and the start of another season of worry, high times, controversy, injuries, media batterings and hopefully this time around a bit of success thrown in too! Lets face it, it would not be Hull FC were it otherwise.
The forum proved the club are up for it, the papers on Saturday said Longy was itching to get to Knowsley Road, and as for me, well I just can’t wait! Lets hope it’s a successful 2010 at the KC!!! Good luck to you all!!
In this weeks Diary we look at the Fans Forum and some of the stuff that did not make the websites and headlines from that excellent event, there’s Longy’s eye, HERIB, Berro’s injury and the fall out from the game at Sheffield. Plus there’s reducing the Super League to 12 teams, Radders, Peter Cusack, season ticket sales and three pivots. In addition there is also a few facts about Knowsley Road that you might not know, who watched the 4 nations, and in Codgers Corner for a change a game from more recent times against Cas!
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 **FC VOICES PRESS RELEASE!!**
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| The Dentists Dairy - 184th |
So I guess you would say that after two hit ups pre season, the report reads, “A good start with lots of positives, a bit still to do and a bit of hope!”
In the first half at Sheffield when we stuck to the game plan, and players played in their usual positions, everything seemed to work well. We controlled the ruck, had bags of variety and a really good tempo of play. When we went in at 34-0 up we had almost bombed as many chances as we had converted. The big thing was though that we were creating them. In the second half we fielded all our youngsters and moved a few players around whist Sheffield came out to play for some pride and to try and keep the score down, which of course they did.
Perhaps the only worrying bit was the fact that we could not keep the first half stuff going.
As for our missing players well for me if you are satisfied that your top players have had enough game time and can get whatever else they need on the training field, then I am all for resting them because you know, and I know what would have happened if they had played! Injuries!!!!!!!!
I thought it was a good hit out, the impact of which was slightly diluted for the viewer by the fact of what we had seen the week before at the KC. You tend to forget that all ‘Friendlies’ are not like that! Still it was a good match to watch, and I enjoyed a game on a Sunday afternoon, in good company, with a few tries to enjoy and No Pressure!!! Plus it looks like we go into the start of the season with a few selection headaches and no injuries!
The match came at the end of a week that has brought us bags more positive stuff off the field with Season ticket sales about 600 up on this time last week and still selling well! The shop is going manic and it looks like we will be taking a big crowd down the East Lanc’s Road a week on Saturday as Saints tickets are selling well too! Everything is poised for a big season start. You know if we give it a go at Saints I would not be surprised to see well over 14,000, for the Huddersfield game the week after!
In this weeks Diary we look at the fallout from Last weeks Derby, the game at Sheffield, player performances, the leadership group, Washy, season ticket and shirt sales Reece Lyne’s eye and Radders new found energy. Plus there’s a bit about the new rules, The Wail v The Dobbins, New Grounds, James Childs, Longy and that T shirt and in Codgers Corner we travel back to the early 80’s and a team that we were just totally fed up of playing!!!!
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| The Dentists Diary - 183rd |
And so it begins!!!!!!
What a great, great occasion that was and what a tribute to a fabulous servant to our club. Richard Horne deserved all the plaudits he got yesterday and a crowd that I believe is possibly an all time record for a British RL players Testimonial game.
Big thanks too to the Rovers supporters who went along and made it a great day…. and then went home with their tails between their legs. It was good to win, and I must say it certainly makes a change. At Matt Diskin’s Testimonial against the Loiners old enemy Bradford, (a match up hailed by Stevo a couple of years ago as the greatest Derby of them all) there were just 5,759 spectators. At the KC yesterday 16,200 turned out to honour Richard. Only in the Capital of Rugby League!!!!!!!
Before we started we all knew in our heart of hearts that we could never take that much from the game but I have to say that already out there something, somehow is different!! Did you feel the same? Its hard to put your finger on it but the intensity was better in a Friendly than it was for most first team games last season, the forwards swarmed into the tackle instead of going in, in ones and twos and the way that Longy lead us round the field meant that at last we have a proper scrum half, he was magnificent!
All in all it was a good afternoon for most of the folks in that bumper crowd. Some of the Aussies must wonder what actual Super League games at the KC are like, when they experienced that great atmosphere for a pre season “friendly”. We need to keep away from injuries, and have a bit of luck too, but for me the dream continues, and I think that with the forwards that we have out there on the field this season, we will have some fun on the terraces as they terrorise a few packs this year!
All in all a great afternoon, for a great RL legend, I loved it, it’s got me hungry again, and I can’t wait for the Saints Game.
In this week’s Diary we look at that game at performances and what the future holds, plus there is Longy in his new role as Captain Jack, Radders doing a number 2, Rich Whiting, Berro’s shoulder, the Weir Bar and that ridiculous article in the Wail and Jamie Thackerey. Plus Chris Thorman, Richard Horne (Of Course), Directions to Sheffield Wolfie and the ‘snow plough’s’ and in Codgers Corner a trip back to the Brian Smith era and a very ordinary game at Salford plus two flat tyres!
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| The Dentists Dairy - 182nd |
So at last after about 14 weeks of the closed season and the Dentists Diary hanging on by its finger tips its just 6 days to our first competitive hit up, weather permitting of course. Under any other circumstances I would not personally welcome a pre season game against the Dobbins because quite frankly I have never, over 50 odd years of watching the club, enjoyed local Derby’s that much. However as a tribute to Richard Horne, what better way is there to get a big crowd at the KC and honour one of the clubs great servants!
Its great to get back to some live rugby again, and it looks like we could be looking at between 13,000 and 15,000 there. But most of all I am just looking forward to seeing all the pals I have around where I sit. They are the folks that I have rejoiced with when times are good, and who I have therefore suffered with for most of the last two seasons!! I for one am pleased I renewed my season ticket again, but then again I knew in my heart of hearts that I was always going to, and it looks, by the amount that the club has sold thus far, that many others also agree with those sentiments.
I never put too much store on pre season friendlies and after this week’s game which, because of the opposition, will be a deal more spicy than has been the case in the last few pre season programmes, I am really looking forward to a trip to Sheffield with no pressure on.
To say that the result is not important on Sunday is questionable I know and it’s likely that whichever set of fans are celebrating that’s just what the other lot will be saying as they leave the ground. But of course games against the old enemy are always important aren’t they??
I just hope we get through the next two weeks with the minimum amount of injuries and that we can start the season with a fairly representative roster to choose from!! Still it’s that time of year again and, as we prepare for the new season to lift off, we had better strap ourselves in for another 9 months of the frustration, anguish, elation and head scratching that is usually the roller coast experience of watching Hull FC.
In this week’s Diary I look at Captains Day, The training camp in Wales, the experiment to extend season ticket sales beyond 31st Dec and Graeme Horne. Then there is this coming seasons list of players out of contract, Danny Houghton, a nice Sunday in Wrexham, The Dobbins relationship with the Mail (or rather none relationship with the Mail), Player Profiles and ‘Old Rag Blues’ back on the agenda at the KC. In addition there’s James Clarke, new media initiatives and new improved service for FC fans from KCFM, the arguments about RL being a ‘Northern Game’ and in Codgers Corner a great Kicker who perhaps does not get the raps he deserves!
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| The Dentists Diary - 181st |
STEVE Prescott MBE!!!
There is not much more to say really, except what a worthy and deserving recipient Steve is!!!! Could there be any better a headline for any FC fan on the first Diary of the New Year?
Steve was a legend in the short time he played for our club and as is always the case with those who gave their all for us fans on the terraces, we have since then all followed the ups and considerable downs of his illness and rehab, as everyone hoped against hope that he would get through it OK!
Although established as a real hero both on and off the field little did any of us expect the response Steve would give back to other people who find themselves in his predicament. It would have been sufficient once he started the arduous process of Chemotherapy and treatment to get through this and to try and get some normality back into his life. However Steve had other ideas.
The effort he has put into raising funds through the Steve Prescott Foundation and developing awareness of the Christie Cancer Hospital and the Rugby League’s Benevolent Fund, should be an inspiration to us all, and I am sure all FC fans would agree that Steve, who was 36 on Boxing Day, has shown even more courage in his life after Rugby League, than he did on the field when he played in Super League. Well done to Steve, his family and all the folks who have done their bit to help, this sort of acknowledgement is for me just what the New Years honours list is about, and it’s a great tribute to his dignity, courage and selflessness, as well as a great day for Rugby League. Well done Steve!
In this weeks Diary we look at the media’s response to the award of that honour, at Gareth Raynors departure, on the offers he has already had, what the players did on Christmas Eve, and at Jordan Turner out to impress. Then there’s Motu Tony and James Rule not coming face to face, the Briscoe Dynasty, record ticket and merchandise sales, The Wail appearing to go after the Dobbins just before Christmas and announcing that perhaps Judas is up for sale! Plus, there’s the Dentists Diary being used for Missionary work, Chris Moyles and his removal from Featherstone, Danny Tickle, Why the Aussies still have the edge over us, how we’ve buggered the pitch up at the KC again and in Codgers Corner a great victory over Leeds at the Boulevard in 1978/79.
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Team |
Pts |
+/- |
| 1 |
Wigan |
8 |
116 |
| 2 |
Warrington |
8 |
106 |
| 3 |
Hull FC |
8 |
70 |
| 4 |
Huddersfield |
6 |
82 |
| 5 |
Leeds |
6 |
74 |
| 6 |
St. Helens |
6 |
44 |
| 7 |
Bradford |
6 |
-16 |
| 8 |
Hull KR |
6 |
-30 |
| 9 |
Wakefield |
6 |
-32 |
| 10 |
Crusaders |
4 |
-72 |
| 11 |
Castleford |
2 |
-41 |
| 12 |
Catalans |
2 |
-96 |
| 13 |
Harlequins |
2 |
-136 |
| 14 |
Salford |
0 |
-69 |
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