Dr Allam – Winning back Hull fans or just righting the wrongs?
Article by Dave WilkinsonFollow e-Hull City on Twitter!
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Have we all settled down from Monday’s excitement? No, me neither. What a day. I can hardly remember a better transfer deadline day to be a Hull City supporter. Four confirmed signings (five, if you count Brian Lenihan, although I think that was already done before Monday) to add to the summer acquisitions of Jake Livermore, Robert Snodgrass, Michael Dawson, Andy Robertson, Harry Maguire and Tom Ince.
Steve Bruce has been allowed to spend more than £36 million on squad improvements since the end of last season and, ironically, it looks like we now have a team that is capable of handling the additional demands of a run in the Europa League. But I won’t get into that.
Steve Bruce himself has spoken about his delight at the business the club has done, not just on Monday but throughout the summer, and has heaped praise on his employers.
“A lot of people have worked tirelessly and I think we have done some fantastic business,” said Bruce, who you’d have to assume, is referring to Assem and Ehab Allam.
He then went on to say, slightly more explicitly, “But again, the big pat on the back has to go to the people that employ me.”
He’s most definitely talking about our controversial owners here. But is he right to heap so much praise on the owners after what they’ve put fans through over the last 12 months or so? Of course, Bruce isn’t foolish enough to publicly criticise the ruthless Egyptian owner and his son, but does he need to say anything? After all, the manager deserves a huge amount of credit for the pulling power that he so obviously has.
In Steve Bruce’s own words, he didn’t want to sell Shane Long to Southampton after such a short and impressive start to his Tigers’ career, and the sale of one of his “favourite players” in his time here, George Boyd, couldn’t have been easy for him. But the assurance from the Allams that the £15 million from these transfers would be reinvested on top of what we’d already spent must have softened the blow.
The whole ‘Allam debate’ is one that I’ve remained well and truly on the fence over and, quite frankly, I’m bored of it. I’ve been lucky enough to have met both father and son through social and business circles and one thing I do know for certain, is that they’re genuinely committed to the success of this football club, and I respect them massively for their passion and determination. However, in previous articles, I’ve been known to have voiced criticism. Not of their intentions but of the way they have gone about it and the way they have communicated with supporters and the media.
Looking back on one article in particular (entitled ‘A Week at Hull City’ from March 2014 - http://bit.ly/1Cuv9yT), I’m embarrassed to read that I referred to the man’s actions as “senseless, juvenile and narcissistic.”
But, in my desire to remain impartial on the topic, I wrote:
“If his motives are genuine, I congratulate him for pressing ahead with this [name change] so relentlessly. I’ll refrain from considering him to be a self-aggrandizing fool.”
So, like him or loathe him, the significant backing of Steve Bruce must be respected. You can argue that his investment is merely a loan to the club and that he could take it back at any time, but it’s a loan that isn’t coming from anywhere else and few would argue that we don’t need it if we’re going to compete this season.
The 2014/15 season is going to be a very difficult one for at least a dozen clubs for various reasons, but the headache that the recent team strengthening has given our canny manager, is one that he won’t want to go away any time soon.
Next Monday’s match against West Ham is one I’m relishing and this international break has been an unwanted distraction for me because I’m so excited to see Ben Arfa, Hernandez, Diame and Ramirez get their City seasons off to a start. I’m not even going to speculate on a starting XI because the list of possibilities would take me too long to type.
Notice how I managed to get through this without mentioning the Aston Villa performance.
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'You can argue that his investment is merely a loan to the club and that he could take it back at any time, but it’s a loan that isn’t coming from anywhere else and few would argue that we don’t need it if we’re going to compete this season.'
ReplyDeleteConsider me one of the few then. We comfortably avoided relegation last season, even with Danny Graham for half of it, a six-game slump once we reached the Cup final, and numerous long-term injuries. £30m of new players is far more than we needed.
Only if you want to be relegated or be all season looking at what's behind you instead of what's in front. We now have a squad that can compete in the top half of the table and be the type of side that no club will want to be playing at the end of the season be it for a place in the Champions League or to avoid relegation. Fantastic signings and money well spent!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sick of hearing the whingers looking for negatives. I don't want a name change simply because it doesn't make financial sense and if it did clubs who have been in the Premier League far longer then us would have cottoned onto the idea before now. But I do want the Allams and I do want them to concentrate on building up the fan base locally before embarking on their World Domination Tour. We need to get around the table with the council, like Manchester City have done, (I know easier said then done with some of the dead heads on the council) and sort something out with the stadium as it's too small by about 10,000 seats. Build the club from within by all means but please lets drop this name change nonsense and concentrate on enjoying the best days in our Hull City supporting lives.
ReplyDelete