Despite spending three of their last four seasons in the Premier League, Hull City face a precarious looking future.
Billy Jones sinking Hull City for Sunderland at the weekend really was written in the stars. A full-back who hadn’t scored in 19 months of football, playing in an already relegated Sunderland side – one of the worst in Premier League history – who were completing the double over the Tigers to end Marco Silva’s unbeaten home record which stretched back three years and 41 league games… Typical City, you might say.
The importance of the goal was not lost on many. Silva’s men have two far more difficult games than Swansea to contend with and survival is no longer in their own hands. The financial implications of relegation are severe for any team. Even the lucrative parachute payments haven’t been enough to support some relegated sides. However, at Hull City, there is a more alarming concern – the whims of the man who calls the shots at the KCOM Stadium.
General view of the KCOM Stadium
In terms of rebuilding ahead of a season in the Championship, the Tigers would almost certainly have to be looking for a new manager, with Marco Silva unlikely to be struggling for offers. Any new manager will have to oversee an enormous squad overhaul. Five players who turned out for Hull City against Sunderland at the weekend were loanees, and that has been a familiar situation ever since the club rolled the dice on a six-month plan under Silva back in January.
Then there would be the inevitable departures. Harry Maguire, Sam Clucas, Andy Robertson and Kamil Grosicki would all likely move on, most probably staying in the Premier League. You could hardly begrudge Josh Tymon, Abel Hernandez and Eldin Jakupovic a move either, should a good offer come in. Obviously the six loanees will return to their parent clubs, unless purchased by Hull City (highly unlikely if relegated), and Shaun Maloney will be released.
The worst case yet distinctly possible scenario; the Tigers are back where they started this season, with around 13 senior players, but this time of lesser quality. In a week where we saw Blackburn Rovers join Coventry City and Leyton Orient in the line of woefully mismanaged football clubs to be relegated this season, the concern for Hull City is obvious. Whilst they bounced back at the first time of asking last time they were relegated, the erratic nature of the decisions made at the top of the club is a worry.
As a fan, relegation does not devastate me. The Championship is a competitive and enjoyable division, as are League’s One and Two for that matter. The implications of relegation though, worry me a great deal. Still the biggest problem at Hull City is the stubbornness of those involved with the club. Their insistence on persisting with a disastrous membership scheme which has scrapped concessions is absurd.
Hull City vice-chairman Ehab Allam
Gates will be low if Hull City remain in the Premier League under the Allams, but in the Championship, they will be embarrassing. This is the gravest loss of all. Even if relegated, depending on the play-off results, Hull City will likely still be the top team in Yorkshire, a title they have largely held for the entirety of the last decade. In a county of over five million, the possibilities for a team with sustained success is enormous.
At least in Hull and the East Riding, kids should be growing up supporting Hull City, yet the Allams are depriving both children and the club of untold riches. It is as farcical as it is stupid, but most of all, it is terribly depressing. This is what I fear. Not the trips to Burton or Brentford. Not even the possibility of finishing below Leeds. It is the continued association with a mean-spirited club that has already lost thousands of fans and will continue to lose thousands more, that it what hurts the most.
There are question marks over the future of Hull City
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