Good piece by Phil Buckingham... please log in to view this image AS THE dust settles on another famous win beneath Wembley's arch, it grows increasingly apparent that Hull City are facing a summer like no other, writes Philip Buckingham. Steve Bruce, the architect of promotion back to the Premier League, will take a week or so to consider his future as manager, while the long-term ownership of the club is also wide open to conjecture. The threat of change is all around in the aftermath of victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship play-off final but on a certain level it feels a must before the Tigers reclaim their place in the top flight. Although the 2015-16 campaign found its joyous ending in the capital thanks to a swing of Mo Diame's right boot, its last chapter could not fully mask what has been an arduous, weary journey back to the Premier League. There was pride in a club restored to the top flight and satisfaction in bouncing back at the first time of asking, but scratch beneath the surface and there was an incongruous mood to be found at Wembley. Try as you might to pretend otherwise, completing a hat-trick of Premier League promotions did not evoke the same emotions as 2007-08 or even 2012-13. More news: When are Premier League fixtures announced? Those two escapes from the Championship were captivating, all-consuming moments in City's history. They gradually built to a crescendo behind waves of excitement. Just the memories bring a smile to the face. please log in to view this image Perhaps this season will eventually be recalled with the same fondness, adopting a similar romance in time, but the thread of discord running through this season makes that transformation improbable. Saturday's empty seats in the eastern end of Wembley were certainly in stark contrast to the club's only other Championship play-off final. Back in May 2008 the clamour for tickets was something to behold. An initial allocation of 36,000 was sold within five days of City reaching Wembley for the very first time. Hundreds camped outside the KC Stadium to ensure they would be there and plenty more spent the night queuing when another 1,500 tickets were made available two days before facing Bristol City. The interest – and demand – was insatiable. This time around City took roughly 11,000 fewer supporters to Wembley. Both rugby league clubs, Hull FC and Hull KR, were also in action on Saturday but a third of the Tigers' following at a play-off final had gone missing inside eight years. The magic of 2008 might never be repeated but the red seats that drew derision from a packed Sheffield Wednesday end should not be ignored. Each one told its own little story of disenchantment. A supporter that could be lured to Wembley eight years earlier no longer felt compelled to return. Saturday saw the same promotion won but it showed a worrying disconnect between club and supporters, revealing how a light needs to be quickly flicked back on. There is something uncomfortable about Plymouth Argyle taking 34,000 fans to the League Two play-off final yesterday, 8,000 more than followed the Tigers over a similar distance. Whether it is by the current owners or, more likely, by new investors, bridges have to be rebuilt for City to prosper in the long-term. Divisions that began with a proposed re-branding of the club in the spring of 2014 have widened with the introduction of a new membership scheme. please log in to view this image Even after the celebrations over the weekend, too many supporters remain unhappy with their club. Quite where City go from here is unclear. Owner and chairman Assem Allam is still seriously ill in hospital but son Ehab told Sky Sports on Sunday that the family would take time to decide "whether they are still motivated to sell the club." All the while interest grows in City. As well as a US-based takeover bid, there is continued links with parties based in China and Thailand. The only thing certain is that City have suddenly become infinitely more attractive to would-be buyers as their piece of the Premier League pie is sliced. Then there is Bruce's position. Despite masterminding a second promotion in four years, sandwiching adventures to the FA Cup final and into Europe, he feels there is a need to weigh up his options before committing to a fifth season at the City helm. No such considerations were made when reaching the Premier League three years ago but the demands of the job, particularly in the last 12 months, have left him weary. The spring in Bruce's step at Wembley appeared only minimal immediately afterwards. There was, though, a telling acceptance of where City are failing. "Our PR is poor," he said. "We have to improve." Bruce has been around football long enough to know that unhappy clubs rarely make for successful clubs. A talented squad, combined with his own managerial skills, have still delivered promotion against a backdrop of unrest but the cracks cannot be papered over indefinitely. Bruce is well aware that he will need every man, woman and child back onside if the Tigers are to avoid relegation next season. And that has to be the biggest change made this summer. http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Prom...tory-29338042-detail/story.html#ixzz4ADkGjUTS
The full Premier League fixture list for the 2016/17 season will be released on Wednesday, June 15, at 9am. cant wait, little over 2 weeks.
Now the dust has settled after Saturday, it's hit home that we're a Premiership club once again but we still have all the usual **** to deal with (the ridiculous no concessions membership scheme being the worst offender). It's taken the shine off what should be a period of celebration. And I reckon we'll now have a period of no communication from the club which just leaves everyone second guessing about the ownership, the future of the manager, whether the club will spend in the summer, etc.
I would assume silence will continue for a while After all they are still deciding whether they are motivated to sell or not. Nothing to say until they have decided that
Been saying it for a decade. Unfortunately, City - including under Pearson - put far more importance in on the pitch matters. Now of course you might say it's right to do that, but not to the extent that they did where the gap between the 2 was frankly ridiculous. When you've got players earning over 40k a week but they wont pay key back office staff more than 18k a year then what kind of candidate do you expect to attract? Ive absolutely no doubt whatsoever that in each of our Premier League seasons, the person at the club in charge of external communications was the lowest paid equivalent in the entire division and probably lower than every equivalent in the division below for a role that should be earning £50k minimum. As a result I can think of at least 2 people in this role who had zero - literally zero - appropriate experience and were simply people given the job from within "cos there's nobody else to do it". Now combine that with owners who are plain mental and just say what they want without any thought to the consequences then you've got a perfect bad PR storm.
Ironically, we still had a highly respected backroom person dealing with the press, who was ridiculously moved sideways and taken out of that role.
As good as he admittedly was, he was appointed to the role from within with zero experience. It was pure luck that he happened to be good and no other premier League or championship club would do the same.
Echo the sentiments - the club will feel infinitely happier, even if just for a few days, once those twats **** off.
You need everybody together which isn't the case now plus the fact with the ownership as it is when will SB or who ever know when they can starting competing on the transfer front because many other clubs will have things in motion and if things are not sorted quickly then we could find our selves well behind. Whether you like the Allams or not now is the right time for them to go, lets hope everything is sorted quickly
Agreed, we need quick decisions on owners, managers and transfer kitty so that the serious business of putting a team together, can start We will all be a lot happier talking about the football
I'm getting really fed up of people referring to the fact that the rugby teams had games at the weekend. FC got a poxy 11,000 and Rovers were playing in ****ing France! I reckon the cross-over support is nowhere near as large as people reckon. I'm only going on the people I know, but most people are either football or rugby fans; I know very, very few who go to both. I reckon there must be 5,000 at the most who regularly go to City and FC games. Are there any stats to back this up?
We are not a hot bed of Rugby League, its hardly even played where half our support comes from in the East Riding.
Agreed. I dont know anyone who would choose to support either rugby team over City playing at Wembley.
How many of that 11,000 would have been regular City watchers? If anything, such an attendance figure for a win against high profile opposition, which saw them go top of the league, suggests, if anything, that quite a few FC fans actually went to Wembley instead! And don't even start on the idea that even one single City fan would've gone all the way to the South of France to watch Rovers getting an inevitable stuffing!
Excepting the description of the goal. ' A swing of Diame's boot' ? It was a classic goal. Superb execution. Hardly a swing of the boot.
