I have seen a few messages, reports and tweets from a number of you, and I am sure you will visit this website from time to time. I would like to put my feelings on record, these are totally mine, and I am not a member of HCST or the official supporters club, and speak for no-one other than myself. The players, Steve Bruce and his back room staff have my 100% backing. In a season blighted by injuries the fans have been extremely understanding, and Steve Bruce has mentioned on several occasions how the fans have backed him & his team even in the "dark days of Winter" This backing will not waver, even in the unlikely case of relegation. There are very few in the game with a record to beat Steve Bruce in taking teams from the Championship to the Premier League. However, I am supremely confident that we will beat Burnley on Saturday, which may be enough to secure safety, we have the quality throughout the squad to do so without question. On Saturday a full house will cheer Steve Bruce and the lads onto a vital three points. BUT.....as you all know, whilst the relationship between fans, players and manager is as strong as I can ever recall it, the relationship between the fans and the owners sadly has broken down significantly. A match day is the only chance we get to voice our displeasure at the way we have been treated, and I don't think a couple of minutes protest during the entire 95 minutes or so is of detriment to the team at all. We always make sure both before and after our short protest we back the team to the hilt. As previously mentioned this is all off my own bat, not a member of any group, but the small list below is just a quick example of why our owner has managed to turn the fans against him in such dramatic fashion. For me personally, it all began with the whole name change version one, to this day there has been no economic case put forward for it, a fact Ehab eluded to in several interviews, there was no super sponsorship deal lined up. The next wedge between club and fans came when all the fans in E1-E3 were told with a couple of weeks notice they were being moved and the away fans were being put in their place. I had had this seat with friends for a number of years and had made friends with people all around us. These were just "casual" friends you saw at the football. One lady near us who we knew had just been diagnosed with Leukaemia a fact we only found out at the last game of the season before the eviction was announced. To this day I don't know how she is getting along, as we expected to see her again at the start of the next season as we were all renewing our seats, or so we thought. So we were moved into the North Stand, with a 30% price increase, from £395 to £514, with a poorer view, and bizarrely the ones in the North Stand had to pay more than the South Stand, the more vocal of us against the name change plans were seemingly being punished again. Despite all of the claims by Mr Allam about never changing the clubs badge logo or wording, all of this was changed without any consultation with the fans, we are left with a piss poor badge with no name, its laughable. Virtually every communication received from the club does everything it can not to mention the name "Hull City" The Allams have indeed put large sums of money into the club, but these are not gifts to the community as they make out, they are loans from Allam House, and within a few years they will have had their investment back in interest, and will no doubt be looking for an overall profit should the club be sold. The long running name change debacle part 2 is now in full swing, and the FA have asked for fans views, 99% of a recent poll voted against Hull Tigers, this being the HCST trust poll as asked for by the FA. A few weeks ago, the 3G pitch was laid at the Airco arena. This building is a community facility, not owned by Hull City or the Allam family, and local community groups are now being deprived of a much needed facility in a city with a high obesity in youngsters. This is another example of the Allams riding roughshod over local people with scant regard for their feelings, morally bankrupt. Our renewal forms for 2015/2016 have come through, despite the 30% increase last year, the club think they must have been too cheap still as another increase will apply. We appear to be from reports I read at the time, the only club to be stopping help for the disabled with regards to concessions. I have two disabled cousins who now cannot afford to go this and next season. PROUD - Is the theme running through the renewal forms, proud of everything it seems apart from the name of the City and the football clubs actual name, both conspicuous by their absence anywhere in the wording. The whole ASI shambles has further alienated fans, when Steve Bruce and the lads would welcome extra away support, the club has deemed that they do not want to help their own fans with subsidised away tickets/travel, but will instead spend it on plasma TV's in the away end, and nice T shirts and posters for the visitors. As Ehab quoted "the fans are irrelevant". IN CONCLUSION The vast majority of you players & management are millionaires. I don't begrudge that. That's the market place, and if I could play like that or motivate and cajole squads like Brucie, and the money was offered, bring it on. But the fans are not, a lot will take home £200 a week. It's a big chunk out of our wages, and we are being treated appallingly by the clubs owners. The same owners who bleat about improving the away end to get more visitors and then bizarrely put the prices so high that fans protest and decide not to come, but no-one can question their business acumen? With respect, the majority of you players & management may be here for another year or so, and will then be off to pastures new. That's football, we get it. BUT THE FANS WON'T, WE CAN'T, WE WILL STILL BE HERE DEALING WITH OUR DICTATOR-ESQUE OWNER, WHO IS STRANGLING THE VERY LIFE OUT OF OUR CLUB, TURNING FAN ON FAN. THAT'S WHY FOR A FEW MINUTES, NO MORE, ON SATURDAY, PLEASE RESPECT OUR RIGHT TO PROTEST, IT IS THE FUTURE OF OUR CLUB AT STAKE, AND THE FUTURE OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF HULL CITY AFC FANS, BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL START WALKING AWAY IN DROVES, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. THANK YOU. CITY TILL I DIE. ALLAM OUT.
Superb post......I'm positive this reflects the vast majority of supporters. Three matches left to show 100% support to Steve Bruce and our team.
Well done. So many bullet points and not a single point that hasn't been regurgitated hundreds of times before. Please respect my right to boo you and the other chanters on Saturday. It's the only chance we get to protest against the small minded minority who think that chanting Allam out is the best way to get behind the team.
I agree with most of that and if the protest does only last a couple of minutes then fine, but not all the way through the game like on Monday please.
Spot on. To add to the above, Steve gets to spend every weekend with his son, sharing something they love. Some dad's don 't get that chance now, because some of the actions listed above have meant that the younger ones are walking away, ending many, many years of shared experiences. There are also groups of friends just scattered to the winds. The protests, and even the anti-protests show that passion exists. Just think if that passion could be focused on backing the players, if only it wasn't for the issues listed.
Thanks Simon being far away doesn't lessen my passion for City.I am nervous but I think we will just do it.Great post
I don't think it was all the way through, and I'm in the middle of the North Stand ghetto What did happen was that when it went quieter because no one was singing an Allam Out chant started to fill the silence Apart from the couple of minutes at 19.04 if there were people starting, or continuing, singing all the way through then there wouldn't be any others anti songs But I may not be representative anyway, and probably won't renew unless he's gone because I can't stand this fiasco dragging on, and when it's out of season withholding your money is probably the only way to protest Sadly 5 of us go together, mostly for well over 35 years. I don't think any are renewing ( although one is pretending he is so he still has a good excuse to get out of the house!) Maybe being evicted last year makes it easier to give up this year. If that what his plan was he's business genius
And booing supporters is a great way to get behind the team and show support isn't it? I'd respect your right to chant in support of the owners, booing just showcases your small minded attitude. If you want 'respect', you have to show magnanimity to others who may share a different outlook to you.
