Jon Wilkin's three-point plan to make Hull FC great again with family investment addressed
Jon Wilkin has given new Hull FC director of rugby Richie Myler a plan to turn the club's fortunes around, and it starts by instilling hope and belief within the fanbase. The ongoing developments at the MKM Stadium were a big talking point ahead of Sky Sports' coverage of Leeds Rhinos' game with Huddersfield Giants as Brian Carney and the pundits dissected the news of Tony Smith's sacking and the arrival of Myler.
Myler is tasked with turning the fortunes of the club around. Hull look all but certain to miss out on the play-offs for a fourth straight season in what has been a disappointing decline in recent years. His all-encompassing role will see him oversee the appointment of a new coach, the recruitment of new players and all other on-field matters.
Discussing the appointment, Wilkin was asked to map out what Myler must do to get Hull moving in the right direction. He cited a re-establishment of a fractured relationship between players and fans, the right appointment of a coach and players as well as a long-term plan that culminates with silverware in 2027.
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"There's a real disconnect between the fanbase and the playing group and you can sense it; it's tangible," he said. "There's an atmosphere there, it's vitriolic and it's negative. You've got to address that really quick and you've got to be positive but that only comes through performances on the field and I just believe he's got to address that.
"They've got to, in this timeline of Richie Myler's tenure to 2027, they've got to win some silverware. They've got to get back to winning silverware."
During the week, Wilkin had described the appointment of the Lance Todd Trophy to the role as 'weird'. Elaborating on those comments, Wilkin said: "To go and get involved so quickly into a role like that, I'm saying it's weird from the public to just come out of the blue to go with someone so naive and when it's such a big task of turning Hull FC around.
"They need a full root-to-branch change because it's not been working for some time, since Lee Radford and the Challenge Cup days. Hull's demise has been quite remarkable."
He added: "You don't necessarily need experience to do a job role. It's preferential, isn't it, to have some trodden miles along the path to do the job well. But you can go into a role naive, completely green to it, and smash it. Sam Burgess is doing that with his coaching. It's exciting for Richie, but the task ahead of him is huge."
Hull Live reported over the weekend that Andrew Thirkill, who has links to Myler, was anticipated to provide some investment to the club, a development that Wilkin believes makes sense.
"I think it paints the picture in colour a little bit more. You describe the family investment that's maybe coming which suggests Richie gets a job on the back of that, for sure. But family businesses work like that, there are many businesses around the world who recruit people they trust that are loyal to them and that happens to be family sometimes. That's the way the world works."