Football / Rugby - talent tug-o-war?

If the main reason we can’t recruit our transfer targets comes down to lack of cash, then the long term answer should be getting the academy up and running and ‘growing our own’. But I wonder how many local kids are pushed more towards playing rugby than football in Hull and if so would our academy be handicapped?
I’m sure a lot of people have already looked into this already and maybe it isn’t a problem, but if it is; would the academy money be better spent on extending our youth scouting network? I remember how successful Dario Gradi at Crewe was at finding new talent and if we had someone like him we could save millions in transfer fees.

 

Firstly, if you're tending towards the 'Hull is a rugby City' nonsense then stop right there.

You're right that we need to produce more pros. Not sure why we don't really.

 

I'm not tending towards anything, it's just a simple question.

 

OK, I was worried you were getting at it being a rugby City, as is often stated.

 

Judging by the fact there are something like 24 divisions of junior football and about 6 of rugby league I wouldn't think the amount getting pushed into rugby is a problem at all.
The fact that by the time they are adults there are nearly 70 divisions of adult football on a weekend but only a couple of rugby league suggests that as the kids get older and can stand up to their parents forcing them into something they don't want to do. either htat or they ahve simply got more sense.
When you look at all these claims of it being a rugby city there is actually nothing to substantiate them.

 

Our youth set-up is embarrassingly bad. You only have to look at Crewe, (in the 4th division FFS) to see how it could be done even on a smaller budget.

 

This is a complete wast of time as a discussion point, as the assumption (which is flawed) is that Football Club Academies are filled with local boys.

 

I don't care whether they're local boys, just that we have some young blood (preferably talented) coming through.

 

The locality of an academy will obviously have some bearing on where families choose to send their kids.

 

The kids are there. There are plenty enough playing football on Sunday mornings. It's about nurturing them through to the right age. the clubs are doing their bit. There are a number of clubs running soccer schools now for kids as young as 3 and 4. In 10 year time, we should have a crop of youngsters who've been taught technique, balance and discipline from a young age. If we can't make footballers from them, we never will.

 

Don't we hear that every year though? I mean didn't Mark Cullen score 20 odd goals in the youth league?

 

Apparently the last lot were the worst, but other than that I think hearing "these are the best we've had" has become an annual occurrence.

 

Going back to the original post, although we should be pushing ahead with plans for an academy the financial issue is caused by 5 players taking up half of the playing budget. By the time any academy is setup and producing players that issue has gone, so you can't use that struggle to match the wages offered elsewhere as the reason for pushing ahead with the plans.

 

From their playing record @ national level they Are

 

Sports UK have just cut the funding to the Rugby League by 1 million, due to not enough people playing it at grass roots level.
Think I've got it right, don't have much interest in the sport, but it just announced on Blunderside.

 

I was brought up with both my mam and step dad been more rugby fans, mam been a massive FC fan and step dad been more of a KR fan but I ended up a Hull city fan, although I do watch a lot of rugby, mainly FC , so I don't think its a case of been pushed into any sport. Saying that at school it was always football we played aswell.