City Till We Die: How 13 Hull City fans became 13,000 voices for the FA to hear in 'Tigers' name change row
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On Friday the Football Association will be presented with a formal submission from the Hull City fans' group City Till We Die over club owner Assem Allam's bid to rename the club Hull Tigers. Philip Buckingham talks to the fans to find out more
WHEN 13 like-minded Hull City fans settled around a table in the Halfway House pub on Spring Bank West, it was a meeting with more hope than expectation in attendance.
Assem Allam’s controversial plans to rebrand the club as Hull Tigers had stirred opposition, but the first protests had proved disorganised and poorly-attended. “They were doing more harm than good,” said Mark Gretton, a long-standing fan of over 30 years.
So on September 24, in the hours that preceded the visit of Huddersfield Town in the Capital One Cup, the campaign group City Till We Die was born.
What has followed has taken even the optimists in their number by surprise. “It’s become a monster,” says committee member Ian Waterson with a disbelieving shake of the head.
The original 13 has since become a paid-up following of over 1,500 members. As well as 30,000 leaflets and 12,000 badges distributed at City games, 1,200 scarves have been sold bearing the name of campaign. An online petition has attracted 13,000 signatures. Interest and appreciation has come from Australia to Argentina, from Indonesia to Italy and from New Zealand to Norway.
A collective voice has cleared its throat and carefully spoken in favour of Allam but firmly against his proposal for change. Soon they will be left to hope the Football Association are willing to listen.
With Allam’s application to become known as Hull Tigers from the start of 2014-15 lodged with the game’s governing body last month, the work of CTWD begins to culminate with a written submission outlining their beliefs to the FA on Friday. A meeting at their Wembley headquarters is then expected to follow next month.
Other views will be taken into account, including those of Allam, the Hull City Official Supporters Club, Tigers Co-op and the East Riding FA, before a final decision is cast by members of the FA Council in April. Then either Hull City AFC or Hull Tigers will be approved to begin a new season in August.
Neither Allam nor CTWD are yet willing to contemplate defeat on this increasingly divisive issue but members of the proactive campaign group continue to cling to the hope of victory.
Waterson, 42, Gretton, 51, and Geoff Bielby, 57, who together boast 100 years of service following City, are three of the 1,500 supporters Allam famously remarked could "die when they want" in the fight against change. None of the three resemble either “militants” or “hooligans” but all state their case passionately.
Waterson, who was present for the group’s inception in September, has watched the expansion first-hand.
“It’s been fantastic,” he said. “We were really taken aback at the level of support, both from our fans and from other clubs. We’ve had so many football fans getting in touch wishing us luck with the campaign and offering their help.
“It would be easy to mock us because that’s what football fans do, but we’ve had applause from rival fans when we sing ‘City Till I Die’. You don’t see that very often.”
Gretton is in full agreement. He said: “If I’m honest I didn’t expect this level of support quite frankly. We started off thinking it was about hearts and minds, having to convince people.
“There was always going to be people who said ‘It’s his club, he can do what he likes’ but there was way more support for our campaign than I ever imagined. That gave us a real buzz because before it had been a step into the unknown.
“The reaction has been really heartening. Sometimes when we get down or tired, someone produces an email from around the country or the world offering help and thanking us for what we’ve been doing. It’s a real lift.”
The campaign has bounded out from its Spring Bank home and all the way down to Fleet Street, attracting endless headlines and widespread support in the print media. Significant backing also came from Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, who voiced his displeasure at the notion of Hull Tigers before Christmas.
Allam has had support, too, reminding us this has never been blanket opposition. Former deputy Prime Minister and East Hull MP John Prescott has been vocal in his defence of Allam in recent days, while Sir Tom Courtenay, president of City’s OSC, has been another high-profile supporter at the owner’s side.
“It’s fair to say fans, including people connected to the campaign, have been conflicted along the way,” observed Gretton, accepting that Allam is delivering success beyond their imagination when rescuing the club from financial meltdown in 2010.
“There’s a recognition that you can be thankful for what he’s done for the club but also be realistic. The gift was saving the club and we owe him hugely for that, but that doesn’t mean to say he gets the only say on what happens to this club forever.
“You can buy a listed building and though you might be the owner, there are restrictions and requirements placed upon you.”
Bielby, the great, great grandson of John Henry Bielby, a member of City’s first board of directors in 1904, believes that explains the support from further afield.
“I think all supporters understand this could be the thin end of the wedge and they wonder where it’s going to stop. There’s a feeling this could happen anywhere and football would be the worse for it.
“There’s a real genuine fear from football fans in this country that the whole game is starting to become dysfunctional.”
That wider issue will make City a fascinating case study this Spring. With Allam last week publicly declaring he would walk away “within 24 hours” if the FA reject his application, a harmonious resolution appears impossible. There can only be one winner in this fight. Picking them is another matter altogether.
“We don’t know how it will end is the honest answer,” said Gretton.
“When the FA has been faced with important issues in the past it hasn’t always made the right decision in my opinion.
“What you have to do is make sure we’re as well-equipped as we can be to give the best case we can. We’ve tried to lobby as many people as we think the FA will talk to about this issue. We’re making it clear why it matters so much to us.
“By the end of all this we just want to be sure we’ve done everything we possibly can.”
Bielby adds: “I wouldn’t want to be sitting somewhere this summer with Hull Tigers having suddenly happened and knowing I hadn’t done something. I don’t want to have regrets that we didn’t do enough. We want to get the message out there and hope the FA make the right decision for the best interests of my club.”
And if the decision goes in the favour of Allam? “I’d be absolutely gutted, no two ways about it,” said Waterson.
“We’ve owed it to our forefathers. This is the name they’ve always known and that heritage is important to us.
“If we hadn’t made an attempt to try and save it then Hull City could be called whatever you want. I couldn’t live with knowing that our name had become insignificant. It wouldn’t sit comfortably with me. I believe I’m doing the right thing. The final decision is out of our hands but we know we’ll have done everything we can.”
And with that the matter will soon land on the in-tray of the Football Association. Soon their opinion will be the only one that matters.
http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/City...tory-20468124-detail/story.html#ixzz2r1b42zTo
I believe this article is expanded to a double page spread in today's paper.