Agreed. A round of applause as well as an awkward (on my phone) copy & paste
Here goes
Get yourself a glass of wine and settle down to read an exceptionally good online news comment (possibly the first time that has ever been said)
Officer
Thank you David. An interesting piece. It's worth mentioning, however, that the story of Hull City fans vs the Allams is a long and complex one. There have been notable flashpoints - the cack-handed attempts to change the club's name and the ill-thought-out membership scheme being the two main ones - but there has also been a drip, drip, drip of petty, malicious and sometimes downright nasty stuff coming out of the club. From the denial of funds/resources to Nick Barmby and his eventual trumped up sacking, to the humiliation of local rugby league legend Johnny Whiteley in an attempt to piss off Adam Pearson, to the petty attempts to stop YouTube channels showing old Hull City goals (which the club didn't have the right to anyway), the the sidelining of any backroom/communication staff that were popular with fans, to the threats to move the club away from Hull into East Yorkshire, to the petty manner in which any celebrations of our achievements were ushered away from the City Hall, to the disgraceful conduct regarding the use of Airco Arena that saw - among others - sports teams for disabled youngsters being left homeless, to the removal of some disabled concessions, to the fact that someone as amiable as Steve Bruce couldn't bear to work with them, to the complete and utter under-resourcing of this summer, to the lies about wanting to sell.
Even with the name change, it's not just the fact that they attempted to change our name. It's the fact that we were initially lied to (our then CEO first told us there was no intention to change the name of the football team, which was "sacrosanct"), to the toadying that the local press had to do to get any access to the Allams, to the "they can die when they want" comments, to the horrendous 'poll' they conducted among season ticket holders regarding the name change that the FA rightly laughed out of court, to the continued branding of the club that keeps on using Hull Tigers over and over again and goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid mentioning us being called "Hull City".
I could go on. I've been a Hull City fan since the early 1980s. I've been there throughout our brushes with extinction in the 1990s, throwing coins into a blanket at a crumbling Boothferry Park so the players could receive some payment. I know City fans from back then who would miss holidays, family occasions, nights out, even meals so they had the time and money to spend on going to away games even though we hadn't won on the road for months on end. Thanks to the Allams, many of these people will no longer attend matches at the Kcom. I saw a member of a well-known City supporting family at Wembley in May. I asked him where the rest of his clan were and he replied 'just me today'. There'd been about 20 of them at every other Wembley appearance for Hull City. If families such as that one are no longer able to muster the enthusiasm to support the club in person on such a landmark occasion, then things really are screwed.
This is an important thing with the Allams. Just when you think they've managed to plumb a new depth, another interview is done, another idea is belched out, alienating yet more fans. Our support for much of the bad times (not all, admittedly) was good. When we moved to the KC and stormed up the divisions it was outstanding, in both volume and passion. It pains me to see empty seats at play-off finals and League Cup semi-finals. Because I know under any other circumstances we'd be locking fans out (as we did in League 2 matches just over a decade ago). With many of the people who I know who don't go to home games now, it's almost as if they care too much.
The Allams are killing Hull City once ****witted idea at a time. They could and should have been feted, all-time legends at Hull City given the circumstances of their buying the club, given their philanthropy in the city in general. But their spiteful, vindictive, oversized egos mean that they are left nigh-on friendless. When loyal, able lieutenants such as Steve Bruce and Peter Chapman can no long bear to be associated with you, then something really stinks. The Allams can't leave Hull City quickly enough.
