Hull City - stagnation from the jaws of progress

Last season, Hull City were charging towards the Championship play-offs with an exciting squad under a vibrant manager. Then one choice changed it all.

Nothing sums up the angst and frustration of Hull City fans quite like the loud boos echoing around the MKM Stadium midway through the second half of their draw with Portsmouth on Saturday.

The Tigers were desperately in need of a second goal to retake the lead after Josh Murphy cancelled out Joao Pedro’s opener just seconds after the break. Slow, ponderous and even aimless play from the back irked the home fans. It was a natural reaction to a frustrating situation, but the ire felt different and symbolic of a deeper issue with the principle and direction of the club under manager Tim Walter.

This is the first column as part of my new multimedia journalism project, ‘Exploring Football’; through articles, podcasts and videos, I hope to do exactly as advertised. The aim is to tell authentic football stories in England and Europe, whether they be centred around the players, the fans or the general culture of a particular club. I really hope you’ll subscribe both on here and YouTube for all the latest updates and insights.

Hull was the perfect place to start, chiefly because their story is so captivating. A disgruntled fanbase growing tired of a deeper malaise by the week may not seem unique. But looking a little deeper, the reasons why they are floundering is almost entirely self inflicted, and the result is an atmosphere incomplete contrast to last season.

Liam Rosenior, a former Hull player, was in charge, and laying foundations built on hard work and collective responsibility. He created a team spirit which captivated players and fans alike; the squad he built was brimming with attacking talent and quality, mostly on loan, including Liam Delap, Fabio Carvalho and Tyler Morton.

Attracting those players, which came down to Rosenior and Acun Ilicali, the Turkish media mogul and Hull owner, selling them a vision, embodied the ambition and capability of Hull to gain promotion. But it was all or nothing; they had to deliver.

Ultimately, they couldn’t get over the line. Having finished seventh in the Championship, the loan players returned to their parent clubs and stars like Jaden Philogene, captain and academy product Jacob Greaves and Jean-Michael Seri all left.

Ilicali sacked Rosenior despite him being nominated for Championship Manager of the Year, blaming his style of play. He appointed Walter, who arrived with great promises of entertaining the crowd and pushing on once again.

But the sheer size of the rebuild required has been crushing; 25 players left in all, 18 arriving. At the beginning of November, there is still some understanding that it is early days for Walter. But with just three wins from 13 games putting them 15th in the league, results aren’t coming and, as the booing against Portsmouth showcased, there isn’t much goodwill towards the football his side are playing, either.

Rosenior was not perfect. Hull have only won three home games in 2024 and a huge part of that is down to him. There are fans who will say he sacking him was correct. Losing the core of quality and experience is tough on anyone, too.

Events since have damaged the extremely positive image supporters built of Ilicali, who arrived a saviour in 2022 when he bought the club from the Alam family, Assem and his son Ehab.

Their reign adds another layer of intrigue to the narrative within itself. Initially, they were the saviours, buying the club for £1 after Premier League relegation in 2010 and saving it from financial obliteration. That tale is too old now; club gets into the ‘promised land’, spends beyond their means and pays the price when it all goes wrong.

By any barometer, the Alam era is Hull’s most successful on the pitch; two more promotions followed in 2013 and 2016, they reached the FA Cup final in 2014 and subsequently had the briefest experience of European football. But this is the crux of the matter; both why Hull was a stopping point on this journey and in terms of defining the point of embarking on it. Football, at its heart, can never truly be characterised by individual custodians and eras; it has to mean something. It is about the fans and feeling a connection; that is what eroded over time.

The beauty of English football in particular is the role of community within it. Almost every town and city has a team to gravitate towards and that becomes something to be shared and treasured. But tradition is so important to that, and as soon as the Alams attempted and failed to change the club’s name to Hull Tigers a decade ago, any relationship severed, crowds wilted and the club drifted. After their second Premier League return, manager Steve Bruce, who had overseen almost everything positive, departed before the season began because of a relationship breakdown with his superiors.

Relegation inevitably followed, and by 2021, Hull found themselves in League One.

It wasn’t hard for Ilicali to galvanise everybody given what he inherited, but now he faces his toughest task yet. Hull City fans are weary; there have been years of ownership protests and time in the lower league wilderness after staring extinction in the face.

But this was supposed to be the time they moved onward, the good times were in sight again. Now they feel as far away as ever, and the sad truth is they brought it all on themselves.