This is pleasing to hear. It's exactly the opposite of this sort of thing that worries me about the Allams - usually it's cutting costs left, right and centre and giving good people very bad deals, so it's nice to see this happen along with (hopefully) a £2m signing today.
There is a bit of an anomaly with them cutting costs then making all these donations, maybe it's just me being cynical but something has never rung true with these Allams and I'm not going to pretend everything is la-de-da because Barmby's sacking proved otherwise
The Allams are very generous. They donate a lot of money to great causes that never gets reported. The most upsetting thing about the NB scenario for me was that it was so needless and caused such resentment when the Allams previously, and deservedly, had such goodwill. The donations either come from their personal fortune or from their thriving business. Cutting costs at the football club is unrelated. The club is a business. It has to run as efficiently as possible and support itself. It can't rely on the Allams putting money in forever. What they do with their money is none of our business. The club has to be streamlined or it will die if they do.
Since the Barmby thing I'll always be a bit wary of them because even though things are good now, they have shown they are the sort of owners (all too common these days) who will chop and change managers on a whim because he said something they didn't like. They can do that again whenever they like and with AP gone they really are free to do whatever they like wqith the club. I don't think there's any doubt that their intentions are good but I think they lack the expertise and general football sense. I think they like that they can give money to causes like this and everyone is happy, and I think they expect football to be the same but it requires a lot more from them especially since they've got rid of AP and other decision makers. Hopefully everything will stay as it is now and we'll carry on improving but now they've done it once I will never be surprised if they again do something crazy like sack Bruce at christmas when we're in the top 6.
Spot on Theo and spot on i saw the premier league tigers. To say everything's turned out ok only a few months after the Barmby thing is incredibly premature. We don't even know if Bruce is a good manager for us yet for starters... for all we know he could take us down. He hardly flourished towards the end of his Sunderland spell after all. This is football and there's plenty that could happen yet, even before the season starts. The Barmby thing doesn't fill me with confidence but in honesty who couldn't be happy with the way things are going at the moment? Theo nailed it with his post.
The jury's still out. Astonishing how trusting some supporters are given this club's history and that of others. I get uneasy when I see very expensive cars with personalised plates and chauffeurs in our car park, when staff are getting laid off, the club mag is now ****, the programme is heading south, the website is pants, no official fixture card is issued and so on. All minor small things, but all pieces of a bigger jigsaw.......
It is a shame about the programme, Strawberry did a good job for many years and it's a shame our programme is no longer made by a fan of the club. In fact, it's made in Yeovil or somewhere, probably by someone who's never even been to Hull.
I am quietly optimistic that we can do well this season but would hold back from heaping too much praise on Mr Allam because of the way the Barmby situation was handled. I think he is quite unpredictable and can throw a strop at any time de-railing everything good that has gone on. On the giving to good causes front It is very generous of him to do this and I am glad he has backed the ladies team but he can afford it can't he and it does sort of put him back on a pedestal and make everyone think he is wonderful which I think he really really likes. I believe he does have good intentions and ambitions for the club but will sometimes go about things the wrong way.
Thats a great response, I guess it's OK to be a little sceptical but they are businessmen though. Blind faith is another matter entirely!
Why would the cars worry you? They are their own cars bought out of their own money which has nothing to do with Hull Cty, unlike some of the cars under the previous regime. What should Mr Allam do, trade down to a Ford Fiesta because he spent millions rescuing Hull City?
Big cars and fancy plates are a little Brough boy racer, tbh. Not sure why such very wealthy people which to draw attention to themselves in that way- but of course that's their prerogative. When so many cuts are being made at the club, and admission prices are rising, to flaunt your wealth seems crass and ugly. Don't ask me what car they should drive- cars are **** unless you are under 14 years old when they still seem really interesting. How about one where it's fast, discreet, roomy, safe and anonymous?
the donations are very generous yes.. but perhaps publicising this is a PR move as the Allams no doubt know by now they've pissed a lot of City fans off over Barmby-gate. My own guess why Barmby was sacked is that they didn't think he was good enough. It was ruthless yes, unfair & deeply unpopular. They clearly want a proper crack at promotion.. they didn't think Barmby could deliver.
