Having started supporting City in 94/95, Ive seen a massive transformation in our club and experienced wildly fluctuating carnations of HCAFC. What events in your time following city have made you think a) God, we're massive, and which have made you think b) we're a small time club. For me there have been several examples of both but for A, and in no particular order): 1 - The original invasion of Hullsborough in 2004, still one of my finest moments supporting City. 8,000 plus City fans dumbfounding the home support and the team playing the once mighty premiership team off their own pitch 2 - The tuesday night game in league 2 against Swansea, when we had to turn people away with a 20,000 gate which we criminally under prepared for. Also getting 20,000 plus crowds in about 10 of our 23 home games that season. If that would have been someone like Leeds, we would have still been hearing about it to this day! 3- Dominating the entire front and back pages of the Sunday mirror and other national press when being promoted from the premiership (and league 2) B) 1- Sitting amongst 1,750 fellow fans for a league game v torquay watching a team who in todays game would probably struggle in the blue square north 2 - The embarrassing firework display before the league cup game with Chelsea in 2007, a year before we would meet them as league (almost) equals 3- Probably the worst memory of every city fan, being kicked out of our main stand to allow Bradford City fans to occupy us and outnumber us by nearly 2 to 1 in 96. Anybody got any others to add to either section?
Hull have grown alot over the past 10 years with the promotions and new stadium. You went from an average lower league club to a competitive championship club with the ability challenge for prem.
Before that in my time supporting the Club we had been a well established Second Division side (now NPC) 66-78 86-91 - history of underchievemnet for city the size of Hull - record crowd 55019 (note larger than Leicester's) - only now just about putting it right.
Record attendaces dont mean too much. I have seen the list OLM put up and their is some surprising names at the bottom and top of the lists. Hull had the same thing as us, at Boothferry Park and Filbert Street although we loved them as our home they did stops the clubs growing. Moving to new stadiums make the interest in the club grow and the fan base increases as a result. As the fanbase goes up more money comes in allowing the club to attract better players and become a better club for it. We have attracted Brazil, England, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid to our stadium while they wouldnt of given Filbert Street a second look. Same with Hull and the KC Stadium, do you think if you still played at Boothferry Park you would have been in the prem and be where you are today. The impact of new stadiums is sometimes under estimated. But it also can go badly wrong if you look at Darlington, we nearly went bankrupt over building a new stadium
I agree our move to the KC was the catalyst for our return to the Second Tier of the English game in just two and a half seasons - without the move from a dilapidated Boothferry Park our rapid rise up the leagues would certainly have been hindered. The revenue streams alone made progresssion out of Lgs 1 & 2 that much easier. There was also a feeling amongst many diehards that the Club was jinxed at BP and a move to a new stadium would herald the start of a new dawn -it certainly did that.
Here's my list for A and B a) That night at Hillsbrough in 2004 Our away followings to big/famous grounds, especially in 07/08 Watching city at Old Trafford, Anfield, The Emirates, White Hart Lane etc in the same league as our opponents. Signing million pound plus players, in 2001 our record signing was only 250k. Storming through leagues 1 and 2 and into the Championship in just 2 years. b) The fireworks pre Chelsea in 2007 Watching city struggle in the bottom league from 99-01, losing to the likes of Darlington, Torquay and Kidderminster. The first season back in the championship in 05/06, brought us back down to earth a bit.
I always thought that season was a pretty average season given us having just leapt two divisions in two years. We didn't look like going down at any point but didn't rudely gatecrash the whole league like Norwich/Southampton. If anything, the season after was more of a ballache. We went backwards and almost ended up relegated when the players we had were capable of a lot better.
I'd completely blanked that Chelsea game. God that was embarrassing. We even had an opera singer didn't we?
Yeah the season after was a big disappointment after finishing a credible 15th (I think) the season before. After we came up from League 1 we lost the tag of 'big fish in the small pond' we'd had for a couple of years, and we were now coming up against more established sides who were a different proposition to what we'd faced in the years beforehand. We'd gone from been fancied in nearly most games to being the underdog, I remember that feeling like a big change to what i'd become accustomed to seeing with City.
(a) Yeovil away - watched the game on big screen at the then Gemtec Arena - what a momentous day. Swansea home Lg 2 - Elliott bullet header - thousands locked outside cos plod wouldn't let them in empty North Stand. Watford playoffs home and away and of course Wembley. (b) Bradford home when plod again forced Martin Fish's hand and gave Bunkers to their supporters. Hearing that we went into receivership (not adminstration but receivership) in 1983. Too many heartaches in the whole of the 90's to mention.
I think we've reached our competitive level now and hopefully can become a yo-yo club like your West Brom & Birmingham's. That night @ Hillsborough was amazing, one of the best along with The Emirates, Old Trafford & Anfield in our first season. At times, I still believe we have a small mentality in terms of our support/atmosphere.
We finished 18th under Peter Taylor which was pretty decent for a side who had finished 13th in the old Division 3 only three years earlier. It all went to **** when Parkinson took over (W-D-L was 4-5-12) and that was when reality really kicked in for me.
I thought that until hearing some of the others. I believe someone (Sheffield Wednesday??) play the Star Wars theme tune instead.
It's Sheff Utd. I don't see the problem with things like that tbh. Ours is obviously just supposed to generate atmosphere and when the crowd are interested (like TWS last year) it does just that. It's a lot better than drums, goal music, etc.
