In view of the present situation that the club finds itself in, one must question just what has been going on in recent times. To those of us watching from the outside it appears that there has been a breakdown of trust and co-operation between the players and management, be it the coaching team or further up the management scale. Poor performances and a resistance to change a playing system, which was obviously not working have led to this situation. The owners have alienated vast swathes of its fan base in recent years, stating that they didn’t matter and could die when they wanted. This may have been so in the days when Premier League and TV money was abundant, but now, more than ever, they will need those remaining fans to stay, and they must do something to build bridges and encourage those who no longer attend matches to return and fall in love with Hull City AFC again. Whatever has happened in the past, the club now finds itself where it is. The question is then, how does the Club see its future? We call upon the club to respond to the following points. Sale of the club The club has been for sale for 6 years now with little progress being made. We believe that this is due to unrealistic pricing, especially as there is a depleted playing squad and tangible assets limited to a small training ground. Can the club please confirm: the club is still for sale the asking price will be sensibly reduced rather than being the debt owed to Allamhouse Limited Playing resources Recent profits made by the club have largely been down to player sales and parachute payments. As the latter have run out now it is clear that the strength of the playing squad will be vital to the short-term future of the club. Can the club please confirm: they will continue to invest in the academy and build on the progress already made you believe that the current recruitment set up is able to identify suitable new players at the appropriate fee and the current manager is the man to develop those players will there be a change in approach to renegotiating player contracts given the number of players who have refused to sign a new contract over the last few years Membership scheme Whilst there are still flaws in the membership scheme the price changes made last season have at least made it workable. Can the club please confirm: the scheme is to continue for 2020/21 the pricing is not going to increase that charges are only going to start when supporters are able to attend due consideration will be given to reinstating concessions for disabled fans the ‘benefits/bonus’ packages for members will finally materialise Fan Engagement We urge the club to re-engage with the trust at this difficult time – remember we are all in this together. Under Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) guidelines football clubs must have “structured dialogue” with supporters and this must involve a Supporters Trust (if it exists). This is now part of the EFL Rulebook. Stadium capacity The club has recorded some of the lowest attendances at the KCOM during the last season and the Trust is concerned that this decline will continue with League 1 football. Can the club please clarify what steps will be considered to increase attendances to levels previously recorded in League 1 at the KCOM. Can the club please confirm: there will be no further stand closures special pricing initiatives will be adopted at half term and other special times loyalty of fans will be rewarded walk-up one off prices will not be excessive The KCOM Stadium We note that the stadium management company has made significant losses whilst under the current ownership and as far as we are aware has not paid any return to Hull City Council. Can the club please confirm: appropriate steps are being made to reduce losses and ultimately make a payment to the council a reasonable refurbishment policy will be adopted to bring areas of the stadium suffering wear back to the required standard that a suitable dilapidations provision is being made in the accounts by the end of the current lease http://hullcitysupporterstrust.com/...23bJQpdQqhwPOCTWpd72dfbqcVvxE6BjVyypNgASjGl-c
Nicely worded, but it's like me getting angry at a puppy and demanding to know why it's pissed on the living room floor. It doesn't understand what i'm saying, doesn't recognise the problem and doesn't have the cognitive ability to give anything even approaching a sensible and rationale answer. May as well go and shout into the wind.
Regarding Stadium Capacity. A lot of hard work ahead. https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/hull-fc-kr-city-stadiums-4360053
I'm sure they do understand, at least sufficiently, but as Assem said "nobody tells me how to run my business. Nobody". That is the problem. I guess the Trust have to go through this step of attempting to engage (yet again). The real question is, what follows when the attempt fails this time. Geoff Bielby alluded to some big plan.
Is it the SMC who would be responsible for stadium repairs etc? I'm sure we've had this discussion before and it's actually down to the council to make repairs and such?
What are they bothered about making a payment to the council ? Irrelevant they’ll never ever work with the trust so come out fighting ffs
I'd have left that bit out, there are no circumstances under which our current owners would try and generate any income for the council and to be fair, nobody else would try to either.
Not entirely comfortable with that and some of the reasons have already been made. It comes across as the unentitled demanding answers, that is certainly how the Allams will see it. The points and questions are completely valid, but this is the Allams we are dealing with. niceties and olive branches have by and large been batted aside time for a new tack.
Absolutely nobody expects any response to this letter, it's just ramping up the pressure a little, in the hope that there's a cumulative effect of all the negative press and it increases the irritation and speeds up their exit. I'm not sure anyone should expect a big plan, from either the club or Geoff, but he is working on quite a nice idea that I'll post details of once it's sorted.
A leaseholder is always responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the property they're leasing. And sagman is responsible for the safety and maintenance of the stadium on behalf of Hull City Council, so probably knows his arse from his elbow (in fact, I know him and he definitely does know his arse from elbow).
Ta. So the council basically get a fully maintained asset that they own and it costs them absolutely zero to maintain/keep/update/repair etc... But if ever sold would keep 100% of the selling price
This comes across as something that was rushed out. Why a numbered point 1 but all the others just bullets? Might have been better to ask open questions too, then respond to any reply or failure to reply. Mentioning "die when they want" in the preamble will immediately turn off the Allams, and it's become a tired trope now. We just need to start to rebuild and the change needs to be driven by the owners, whether new or existing, so we should focus on that. What scope is there for the trust to become more actively involved?
On the other hand the football club and a rugby club got a brand new purpose built stadium, all they had to do was pay enough rent to cover the upkeep of the place. The SMC also got the Airco Arena to rent out as they saw fit. On top of that The SMC could use the stadium for any other revenue generating events like pop concerts and shows. Should the football and rugby clubs decide to do one, the council is left with an asset that is worthless because no one would want to buy it. There was an opportunity for the SMC to make money, sadly that time has passed. And I officially withdraw my offer of 5 pounds to buy it.
All leasehold property is leased on this basis, when you lease a shop, you're responsible for its maintenance and at the end of the term, you have to hand it back in exactly the same state it was when you took it over. When a shop is fitted-out and lots of holes are made in walls and holes are cut in the ceiling for the lighting and then the new carpet is worn out over the term of the lease, the leaseholder is responsible for re-plastering those walls, making good the ceiling and having a new carpet fitted before they return the keys. If they don't, they get fleeced with a 'dilapidation bill', where they're generally charged double what the works actually cost.
