THE INCREDIBLE HULSE - A TRIBUTE TO RHYL'S EX-MANAGER

JOHN Hulse will go down in history as one of Rhyl Football Club's most successful managers of all-time and whoever succeeds him in the Belle Vue hot-seat will have a tough act to follow.
In six seasons in charge of the Lilywhites the Birkenhead-based boss won seven trophies, including an unprecedented four in 2003/04.
Under his leadership the Lilies have qualified for Europe five years in a row and over the past five seasons have never finished outside the Welsh Premier League's top three.
Hulse first arrived at Belle Vue in 2000/01 as Lee Williams' assistant with a great pedigree.
After a playing career which included stints at West Ham United and Tranmere Rovers was cruelly cut short at the age of 23 through injury, the plain-speaking Wirralian went on to experience managerial success at
many levels of the game.
Numerous trophies in the West Cheshire League led to a couple of spells as assistant manager at Bangor City in the 1990s, first alongside Paul Rowlands in 1992/93.
Between 1995-97, Hulse was in charge at League of Wales club Conwy United, this time with Rowlands as assistant, and he led the Tangerines into the Inter-Toto Cup.
Then came a stint at Bangor City in 1997/98 alongside Everton and Scotland legend Graeme Sharp, the pair winning the 1998 Welsh Cup together.
Vauxhall Conference side Altrincham became Hulse's next port of call but he faced the one and only dismissal of his distinguished career at the Moss Lane outfit.
Following a season and a half as Lee Williams' number two, Hulse became manager of Rhyl in July 2002.
Over the past six years John has been great to work with. The relationship between manager and reporter has been as it should be - based on trust and respect.
Quite often he would tell me things "off the record" and not for print which never saw the light of day, but our regular chats also led to more than a few interesting stories for the Visitor or the Lilywhites Online blog.
We did not always see eye-to-eye, but whatever disputes did emerge - and they were rare - the matters were forgotten very quickly. John was always very professional in his approach and I did my best to match that.
Towards the latter end of his time at Belle Vue, Hulse attracted occasional criticism for what some fans perceived as negative football, too much of the long-ball approach rather than the passing game.
However, competing against full-time clubs and consistently giving them a run for their money, and also establishing Rhyl as the top part-time side in the WPL, few could argue the Hulse years were anything but an overall success.
Had he taken the club as far as he could? Maybe, but if a full history of Rhyl FC is ever published a very special chapter or two should be reserved for John Hulse.
JOHN HULSE'S ACHIEVEMENTS SEASON-BY-SEASON
2002/03:
The club finished sixth in the LoW but also won the League Cup, beating Bangor City on penalties in the final at Belle Vue and clinching their biggest trophy in Welsh football in 50 years.
2003/04:
Under Hulse's managership, the team won the quadruple of Welsh Premier League championship, Welsh Cup, League Cup and North Wales Coast Challenge Cup.
They also reached the FAW Premier Cup final, losing 4-1 to Wrexham but only after eliminating a full strength Swansea City 2-0 in the semis.
2004/05:
Rhyl had their first sojourn into Europe, losing 7-1 on aggregate to crack Latvian side Skonto Riga in the Champions League qualifiers. They finished second in the WPL and reached the League Cup final for a third successive time, only to go down 2-0 to Carmarthen Town.
2005/06:
Rhyl entered the UEFA Cup and created history by becoming only the second WPL club to win a European tie when they beat FK Atlantas of Lithuania on away goals. In the second qualifying round they gallantly lost 3-1 on aggregate to Viking of Norway, then managed by current Fulham boss Roy Hodgson.
The Lilies finished third in the league behind full-timers TNS and Llanelli, but qualified for the UEFA Cup again after lifting the Welsh Cup, beating Bangor City 2-0 in the final at Wrexham's Racecourse.
Another trophy was secured when Rhyl defeated Denbigh Town 2-1 in the North Wales Challenge Cup final.
2006/07:
There was early elimination from the UEFA Cup at the hands of Lithuania's FK Suduva, but Rhyl came second again in the league and once more made it to the League Cup final, losing on penalties in a farcical affair against Caersws.
2007/08:
The start of the season brought one of Rhyl's finest performances under Hulse as they defeated crack Finnish side FC Haka 3-1 at Belle Vue in the UEFA Cup, but sadly they went down 2-0 in the return and lost on away goals.
A fifth League Cup final appearance in six years brought a 2-0 loss to Llanelli, who also knocked Rhyl out of the Welsh Cup at the semi-final stage. Nonetheless, Rhyl finished a clear third in the league and sealed an Inter-Toto Cup spot.