RugbyLeagueGeek

I think it's a much bigger question than that to be honest - I think serious questions need to be asked/answered about what we want the international game to look like in the northern hemisphere, what is realistic/feasible, and what steps do we need to take to get to that point. And by 'we' I mean the decision makers in this part of the world. As it stands, the state of the international game is a complete and utter disgrace IMO - by and large just a complete afterthought with no long-term strategy whatsoever.

Excellent point. Hit the nail on the head there. England could play pretty much anyone outside of the heartlands, and with the right promotion (I appreciate this will never happen) they could easily get bigger crowds than they get for their half-hearted mid-season efforts in the heartlands. There just isn't the vision, expertise, money, resource or will to do it. I'll tell you exactly what would happen if we reincarnated the Wars of the Roses - we'd do it for 2-3 years, with diminishing interest, then talk would shift to "why don't we try an England v All-Stars type game?" And then after 2-3 years of that with diminishing interest, people would be asking "why don't we play France every year?" And we'll come full circle back to where we are now.

Ah this old chestnut again. The team may have been called England, but it represented Great Britain. For example, Welshman Jim Sullivan did the 1924, 1928 and 1932 Lions tours, and captained them on the 1932 tour. There are loads of Welsh players who played for 'England' before they were seemingly officially called Great Britain. We shouldn't fall in to the trap of looking back at things like team branding and identity of the pre-war era through 21st century goggles. There's been loads over the years. Depends how far you want to go back. E.g. Scotsman Dave Valentine toured with the Lions in 1954 and was GB captain when we won the world cup that year. Obviously there's also the likes of Clive Sullivan, Gus Risman and Billy Boston in terms of all-time greats who played for GB in Ashes series. If you look back, Welsh players have played a massive part in the history of rugby league.

Can I be Ramirez please?

The problem we've got is that for the Wars of the Roses to be a success, we're relying on the same people who have proved utterly incapable of making the international game a success. So reinstating a Roses match would be like moving deckchairs on the Titanic IMO.

This is utterly bizarre to me. It only makes any sense if the rumours about the potential investor are also true. It may prove to be a master stroke and a brilliant appointment, but there's no hard evidence to back that up, so it's basically a bit of a hail Mary from Pearson. If I was a Hull FC fan I would have zero confidence in what's happening at the club at the moment.

The same places where the expansion programme has been funded and resourced appropriately.

Lots of exciting talent to pick from at the moment. But... Are they actually going to be playing this year??

Having listened to the interview with Pearson yesterday, he sounds like a good talker but says nothing of any substance, and what he does say doesn't stand up to any scrutiny. He'd apparently been giving Smith his full backing until very recently, but then also claims to have been talking to this prospective Director of Rugby for several weeks - both can't be true. And he's obviously not committed to that 'long-term project' that they've been banging on about. If the rumours are true, and Myler is being given the gig, then it's absolutely crazy to me that you would oust Smith for him. And if the other rumours are true about the potential investor, then I fully expect that to go pear-shaped for one party or the other at some point...

Tex Hoy isn't busy at the moment...

I think that's a slightly selective stat to be fair. He took Hull KR from down the bottom of the Super League to the playoffs, and I would argue laid the foundations for where they're at currently. There's no doubt this is a big challenge, but I hope they persevere with him because I think he'll turn it around given time. What was quite telling when Sky published the table of highest spending teams was that Hull FC were near the bottom, so I don't think they're going to get a better man for the job given their spending power.

I think it's more difficult for halves to shine in those circumstances, but fullbacks can still play really well and demonstrate lots of positive qualities in a losing side. I just haven't seen any of that from Hoy in any games I've seen him play over the last 2 years.

If I had a quid every time I slated a player for him to then end up being man-of-the-match I would be a wealthy man! Now watch Tex Hoy join a new club and become Man of Steel! This (amongst many other reasons) is why I'm not a rugby league coach

One swallow doesn't make a summer, as they say. Every time I've watched him play he's done next to nothing on attack despite showing some fancy glimpses, and then made some very half-hearted defensive efforts. Bottom line is if he was playing really well then he'd be in the team ripping it up every week, and Hull would be much the better for it. But he isn't, and they're not. Reading some of the comments on twitter defending him and slating Smith/Hull, it sounds like they're describing James Tedesco! But from my experiences watching him he seems more like Hull's equivalent of Latrell Mitchell... Doesn't do anywhere near enough good stuff, especially considering that he's probably one of Hull's higher paid players.