Yeah. The very same who's 'decisions' have taken us from virtual obscurity to the SL play-offs in less than 5 years. I'm sorry but banning your mascot and giving your fans the south terrace for derby games is hardly a recipe for our own downfall is it.

Now for those in the real world; Hudge has always said he would one day look to hand over the reigns to someone who could take the club further, so if this story is true, I'd be the first to thank him and wish him all the best for the future.

IIRC this is the first time they've stated it as fact and mentioned that he's already informed colleagues. That last bit is what makes it interesting TBH as it hints that maybe someone at The Sun has had info from within the club or board. Another point in favour of there being at least some substance behind it is the alleged reason - disillusioned with the way SL is going. There have been a number of public comments from NH since Rovers were promoted that indicated things in SL were not how he expected them to be and he didn't like it much.

Of course, it being The Sun it could all be made up from whole cloth.

Thats great then,no problem.

And over the same timespan have put your club in a far less favourable financial position, to the extent where NH has publicly stated that the current situation is unsustainable. Swings and roundabouts - someone less passionately involved as a fan might have taken things slower and left you in a better all-round position.

You got no chance getting James Rule.

Perhaps, although a great deal is made of a debt that will become sustainable if we can attract an average of 10k to our games - not easy, but far from an impossible goal.

A large proportion of that debt has amassed from upgrading the ground and the facilities to SL standard and whilst I take your point - we maybe could have been a little more prudent with the money we've spent on players - would we have been scrapping around at the bottom of SL with much smaller crowds if we had?

It's swings and roundabouts, but it goes without saying we're a top club again thanks to this man.

Neil Hudgell ate my hamster!!!

There's no doubting that NH has worked one of the most successful 'quick fixes' to a clubs playing fortunes I've ever seen. However, IMO the real test of how good he's been for Rovers will be how things go over the next few years. If racing to the top 4 of SL is bought by years of struggling financially then it may well turn out to be less of a good thing than it seems right now.

In fact the cynic in me wonders if the real reason NH is planning to leave now, if indeed he is, has rather more to do with him knowing that there is some necessary pain ahead and not wanting to be associated with it. If he leaves now and someone else takes over, his memory will remain associated with your remarkable successes of the last few seasons rather than anything less enjoyable that may come along.

So on the one hand, he loves the club too much to make correct decisions, and on the other he's going to run away, ditch us and leave us in the lurch??

I suppose as a hull fan you can pick and chose your side of the fence depending on who you're arguing with eh?

Like I said, I'm reasonably well informed about Rover's financial state, and the club will start to become self-sufficient if they can hit an average crowd of close to 10k. Considering how we've performed in SL, the continuous developments to the ground and the big increase in pass and merchandise sales, I'd say thats a pretty good place to be right now.

This gradualist approach wouldn't have worked IMO. The SL drawbridge was being pulled up and in the absence of anybody building us a stadium we had to get in, stay in and prosper on the pitch. Our losses are far from exceptional, and reflect RL as business generally rather than NH's alleged profligacy.
It isn't cynical to think that after 6 years, he'd feel he'd fulfilled his remit, was knackered and felt someone fresh would be better able to deal with the next set of challenges.
On the other hand, it is only the Sun.