LONDON’S CALLING………………

Sunday 19th April will see the Robins visit the capital to take on Harlequins at the stoop, although we don’t have a particularly good record in this part of the world our loyal support always travels down in strong numbers and im hoping this year will be no different, but with the match being played on a Sunday i wonder how many fans will actually be attending. Myself along with some friends who live close to the capital will be meeting a few fellow friends and fans at Kings Cross station at midday who have traveled from Hull.  Are there any other London based Rovers fans attending this match? How are the people from Hull travelling down? by train? by car? by coach? Has anybody any indication of numbers that are prepared to travel, normally we take a good 3000 but then normally the game is on a Saturday!!

COCKAYNE? ROCK AND A HARD PLACE!

So sentence hour has passed and Cockayne can regard himself a very lucky boy, “51 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 2 years” is a real let off for me, but stop too think about it and you might just question yourself on where you stand on this?

Undoubtedly a talent in our game, it could be argued that at the age of 25 and being a “role-model” he should be able to control himself . It was a vicious and heinous attack by all accounts, having not seen the CCTV  evidence and having only read about the alleged assault, it would be hard to put an argument against that testament, even Cockayne himself pleaded guilty! But  don’t be fooled 2 years suspended sentence is no walk in the park, any slight misjudgement and the law will come down on him hard.

Ben for all his misgivings is only human, we all are, we all react differently, to different circumstances, many of us have lashed out, had a fight, an argument made a mistake, its undeniable, we can all look in our past and find fault. Some will see the sentencing as ” getting away with it” and many will say that ” the justice system is falling apart” we have seen miscarriages of justice time and time again,  but think about it, everyday court cases the length and breath of the country take place from minor offences to GBH and to even grander scales and often the sentence that is served is lenient, it is just that this time it’s brought too the public eye because it is a high profile sportsman sitting in the dock, why then apart from being a “role model” should he be treated any different from Joe bloggs down the road. People need chances

Hull Kingston Rovers now have a dilemma, do you stand by Cockayne, back him up and throw him straight back in to the set up to show that as a club we believe in you? Do we terminate his contract? A move that would send a message out that Hull KR will not tolerate  any misbehaviour regardless of talent? Will the club punish him internally with fines and a playing suspension for tainting the name of Hull Kingston Rovers and the game of Rugby League?

From reading many forums today the majority of fans quite rightly are disgusted with Cockayne, a common theme was the suggestion that the club and Cockayne should part company, a few fans out there have even gone as far as too say that they are ashamed to be a Hull KR fan today which i found perplexing, personally Ben should be fined heavily by the club for bringing us into disrepute, suspended for at least 6 weeks, kept firmly out of the lime light get his head down and work damn hard in training, after that period of time the media storm would have blown over fans and delegates of our game would have had time too think the situation over, discuss it, and get on with the bigger picture that is rugby league. It will give Ben the time he needs to evaluate himself, take a look at himself and realise how lucky he is and see where he is as a person, where he’s heading and where he wants to be, and then when he makes his return, hopefully he will be focused and ready too work hard to appease the fans unrest towards him. Cockayne’s destiny really is in his own hands, you can only be lucky so many times and there only so many chance’s one person can get.

In all of this we forget the victim of that assult, what happened that night could not be wished upon anybody, Im sure Ben and Kiel thompson deeply regret the events of that night, however for them to move on they must learn from this period of time in their life.

STADIUM DEVELOPMENT! WHATS YOUR TAKE?

I love craven park, it’s special, it is unique,  i have never come across a place like it, OK it’s kinda got that 70’s feel about it, but that’s good, that was a time when sport was for the fans, the harshness of the south-stand, the loneliness of the west-stand, the openness of the north-stand and the sheer ferocity of the east stand all contribute to making craven park wonderful, everybody come as one and leaves as one win or lose, so here’s the thing,! 

in 2007/2008 new and exciting plans were unveiled to develop the north stand to the sum of £7.2million pound, it’s not only a facility for the club to use and provide better conditions for visiting fans but it’s  also a key development for the wider community, an enormous step in the further development of Hull Kingston Rovers.

 In the uncertain econimic crisis we find ourselfs in,the club have made the correct decision to delay the project, brilliant financial management by the board although a little obvvious, however we will get through this and when the recession lifts the current plans will get the go ahead and the build will begin one would presume, but is this the right stand to develop?

As a season ticket holder in the east stand i find myself being in a position of luck being guaranteed a tickets in arguably the best part of the ground and i know only a few limited tickets are held back for every home game, leaving a  lot of fans disappointed.

Having just extended the east stand towards the north stand and increasing the capacity, would it not make sense now to further develop the same stand towards the south stand?  the room is there, the demand for tickets in the east stand is growing at an alarming rate, season ticket sales are up again this year, and it would be cheaper for the club to build the stand, and at the same time not run the risk of losing any revenue, as you would do if you were to develop the north stand?  our gate receipts would raise, more people would be attracted to the club, and craven park would become even more formidable, merchandise markets would rise, beverages and food sales, match day programs would rise, and so on and so on.

maybe plans are afoot these are just my sometimes misguided views but i believe that the east stand development is vital and would be more progressive than developing the north stand?

I understand stadium development and facilities are a key part of the franchise scheme but over the next 3 years i can only see the Robins going from strength to strength, new north stand or not, on and off the field.

To be packed in the east stand singing with pride and passion, enjoying a pint and sharing the joy of thousands of fans spurring on the Rovers is something many people want to do regularly and for some is something they don’t get a chance to experience!!

So where are you on this? whats your take?

*The views above are of the Author and by no means are 100% correct, they are just my musings, my thoughts, and welcome any criticism or priase to the above article, if you feel need.

Why KR?

As an avid Arsenal fan, and football prodominatly dominating my sporting life for the the last 30 years, i understand the ethos of  the word “team” Arsenal is more than a football club  it’s an institute, run from top to bottom as one entity, as a team,  so it is with no great coincedence that my passion  for Hull Kingston Rovers has become just as immense in such a short space of time. 

So the question is why is Hull KR and RL all i think about?

Im lucky, i have only witnessed Rovers on the up,only since they have had SL status, so you could argue that i dont know the real life of Rovers but i can tell you about the passion that runs through the club, the development of the club, the people, not just at the club, but all the fans, the hospitality im shown, the friendship,the desire to do well but also the willingness to accept defeat to understand the strides and achivements we are makeing whilst not forgeting where we have come from..

The club like Arsenal is run like a team from the fans to the kit man to the chairmen we are a unit pulling in one direction, pulling together for one goal…….to be the best we can.

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