I know we had a number of parties involved at the time keeping Rovers as a stand alone team but who was incharge at the time of this suggested merger? Dont think Barry Lilley was still there nor was Neil Hudgell, The administrators where called in but who actually stopped the merger?

In 1996, the first tier of British rugby league clubs played the inaugural Super League season and changed from a winter to a summer season.[3] As the sport in Britain entered a new era, controversy was sparked in the city of Hull when it was suggested that Hull should merge with Hull Kingston Rovers to form 'Humberside'. Hull's shareholders gave the idea general approval but it was ultimately resisted.[4] The club like many other rugby league clubs re-branded and became known as the Hull Sharks. It is unclear who came up with the 'Sharks' as a nickname but for a nautical city it was a fairly obvious choice. Hull finished below the cut-off point of 10th in the existing top flight and so were excluded from the new Super League.

Phil Sigsworth joined the club in 1996 and coached them to the First Division championship title and promotion to Super League in 1997. However the club struggled to gain a foot hold in the competition under new manager Peter Walsh. [b]The renaming was unpopular with the supporters and the club spiralled in to financial difficulties and went out of business. [/b]Hull Sharks closed and was taken over by the recently formed expansion team Gateshead Thunder at the end of 1999 (with the backing of the Super League).[5] The Association of Premiership Clubs blocked proposals for the newly merged company to enter a Hull-based team in the Northern Ford Premiership[6] and so Hull FC closed and Gateshead Thunder took over the traditional Hull FC identity in Super League and moved its home games to The Boulevard. Most of the Gateshead playing squad moved to Hull along with their Board and ex-St Helens coach Shaun McRae who remained at the helm until 2004.

interesting bit about Hull going out of business!

I think fan resistance from both sides to the idea was what prevented a merger, whoever's name was above the door.

Rovers forum, so as long as the thread is a Rovers-centric view of this interesting period of RL history, that is fine. We don't need a thread to slag off the doings of Hull FC of 10-15 years ago.

There's plenty of fresher stuff to go after, if we weren't above that sort of thing. Which we are, of course.

A cut and paste article citing no references that's going to end up in a pointless Slag-A-Thon.

Good to see the OP keeping up their high standards.

Wow - wikipedia

Gospel

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugb ... 82250.html dave Hadfields take on at at the time

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugb ... 82250.html dave Hadfields take on at at the time

I hate Tuesdays anyway, now I'm really fed up.

Don't worry it will soon be monday again.

I've seen it before, but it never fails to raise a smile that we're the second most glamourous club in Hull. Even when Hull were still at the Boulevard. An unglamourous sport played in an unglamourous city, and we still come number 2 for exoticism and razzamatazz. Dowdier than Nora Batty buying brown bread and slightly out of date baked beans from Awkwright's (to mix my sitcoms - though Kathy Staff was in Open All Hours a few times, iirc). At least Granville might have been half-Hungarian, which was kind of out there by the standards of 1970s Doncaster.

Also, why do so many people not understand that 'fiscal' is not simply a clever-looking synonym for 'economic', and has a precise and particular meaning? Rob Crossland did it the other day, too. I know the difference and therefore deserve to be rich. And President of the UR. Egomaniac, me. Anybody fancy a burger?

Glad both clubs proved Lindsay wrong (for now at least!). The potential was always there, it is obvious with hindsight.

I understand that a new book is being published about the problems in sport and the financial situation most clubs are in. The only reference to Rugby League is the 2 Hull clubs and the dark days of the merger. Thats the only reason for the post. I did not realise that Hull had gone out of business, I thought it was just the Gateshead merger/takeover.

The sports finance book when its published will be mostly to do with football I guess. Dave the Rugby League reporter with the face hair is writing about our club.

Dont forget Rovers going out of business and the CVA from the old company paying its debts at 1p in the £