It’s a Long story

Article by e-Hull City Correspondent Dave Wilkinson

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“A rollercoaster,” replied a bemused supporter when asked the question, “What’s it like supporting Hull City (correct name at time of print)?”

You can’t blame him though. For the last 12 months, the club have provided local and national media with headlines for both the back pages and the front pages, thanks to their outspoken Chairman, Dr Assem Allam.

Since their takeover of the club in October 2010, Dr Allam and his son, Ehab, have never been afraid to voice their opinions. An initial investment to rescue the club was seen as heroic but a series of controversial decisions has led to anger from some corners of the KC Stadium. The most controversial of which was the proposed name change from Hull City AFC to Hull Tigers that first came about at the start of the last campaign.

That ongoing saga tarnished what was otherwise a hugely successful campaign for ‘The Tigers’ (note: inverted commas), achieving their highest ever top flight finish and qualifying for the Europa League a narrow defeat to eventual winners Arsenal, in a thrilling Wembley FA Cup final.

But with a new season comes renewed hope. Steve Bruce acted quickly to secure the exciting signings of Jake Livermore on a permanent deal from Spurs for a club record £8 million, Robert Snodgrass from Norwich and Tom Ince, who turned down the likes of Inter Milan. He later added Andrew Robertson and Harry Maguire from Dundee United and Sheffield United respectively.

These signings, together with January acquisitions Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic, have filled most Hull fans with understandable optimism for the test in front of them.

But, as most fans will be used to, all of the excitement and buzz was soon followed by disappointment, with the surprising news that a £12.5 million bid from Southampton had been accepted for Shane Long, just a few months after securing him from West Brom. In fact, City spent more time chasing the Republic of Ireland international than he has spent at the club.

Admittedly, the prospect of almost doubling their investment makes the deal slightly more palatable, but Steve Bruce will have to work extremely hard to fill the hole left by Long. Finding a striker with Long’s pace and desire will be hard enough, but finding a striker who can fit into Hull’s style of play and form a partnership with Jelavic as quickly as he did will be near impossible.

The tired legs on display against AS Trecin last week showed that a short pre-season, interrupted by Europa League qualifiers, has already affected Hull’s preparation. The last thing they need right now is another distraction.

Not everyone at the club will be upset by this move. Tom Ince, who already has something to prove this season, will relish the chance to lead the attack. A start in a more central and forward role against QPR at the weekend would have been what the former Liverpool youngster will have been targeting when he signed for the club. Some of the Black and Amber Army who made the trip to Stuttgart for the final pre-season friendly have already been treated to what Ince can do in this position so perhaps there’s no need to panic after all.

However, if Bruce is going to bring in a replacement before the end of the month, I’d have 100% faith in his choice. Based on his transfer activity so far, you’d be a fool to doubt him.

Even with the possible distraction of European football, this promises to be another exciting season for Hull City fans. And if the football doesn’t have them all over the back pages, we can always rely on Dr Allam to make sure we never forget about little old Hull.

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