Hull FC • 7 years ago today
HU8HFC wrote:
I remember going to this game without an ounce of nerves, a complete contrast to the year previous. It just felt right for this club to wait over 150 years to win at Wembley, to then do it two years on the bounce.
What a team that was, Sneyd, Kelly, Shaul and Houghton, a spine all in the prime of their careers. Looking back i was probably guilty of taking that squad for granted, i hope for us to be able put a squad of similar quality together in the near future, it does sadly feel a bit of a way off.
Throughout the 2017 run we looked like a team on a holy mission to retain the cup. Beating Cas at a time when they were looking unstoppable in the league, the semi-final demolition of Leeds when we imperiously swatted them aside in the second half. We looked like a group with a clear objective in mind and woe betide anyone who got in our way.
In truth, the final should have been a repeat of the Leeds game, so dominant were we, but we couldn't quite kill off Wigan in the second half (credit to them for hanging in) and we very nearly saw the prize slip through our fingers in the last few minutes, which would have been a travesty if it had come to pass. Remember Wane graciously conceding that the best side had won on the afternoon.
Even at the point of victory I promised myself to enjoy the moment. I have been watching us for far too long to ever take success for granted. Even in August 2017 there was a quiet nagging voice in my head telling me that there is always a price to be paid for success when it comes to our club, Witness the aftermath of the 1991 Premiership triumph and the 2005 (Cardiff) / 2006 (GF) achievements. There always seems to be a swift fall after a tortuous climb to the summit where we are concerned.
But not even in my most pessimistic nightmares did I ever envision a slow steady seven year decline from the heights of Wembley euphoria to the depths of being outclassed by a glorified championship side. Seven successive years in which we have continued to slip down the hill with no one at the club seeming to have either the awareness or the gumption to apply the handbrake to stop the bus from sliding down the mountain side, a bit like the end of the Italian Job!!!
I will always treasure Wembley 2016/17 as the two most special moments in my time following the club, but there seems to be something about the club which stymies prolonged success after our irregular triumphs. It's what makes us one of the most frustrating clubs to follow. We never quite seem to be where we all think we should be, there is nearly always a piece of the jigsaw missing somewhere stopping us from truly scaling the heights. Although in 2024 we would appear to have lost the whole jigsaw and the box with the picture on the front such is the predicament we now find ourselves in!!
How NOT to run a sporting organization (Hull Fc 2018 - 2024).
Statistics: Posted by BP1 — Tue Aug 27, 2024 4:10 pm — Replies 9 — Views 1388