Time for some pre-season thoughts on Hull City, for 2025/26.
Did you really expect a boring pre-season?
- Well it feels like a long time ago that we scraped survival thanks to Portsmouth not being bothered to win, but that wasn’t enough to save Ruben Selles. Hardly surprising given our owner’s preference for making decisions, though I think he did a creditable job – for the period he looked after the team, we were 12th (if I recall correctly) and he achieved survival.
- We showed glimpses of quality – remember beating Sheffield United 3-0 away? Yet towards the end he looked like he was trying to manage an exhausted team – one assumedly exhausted by Walter’s over-training.
- So it isn’t a surprise that he left. Nor is it a surprise that Ruben Selles has got a job with a club with higher expectations than ours.
- The transfer embargo is good news, right? I’m being serious, as it means we cannot buy 10 average players for several million each, every single transfer window.
- I’m more persuaded by the idea that it is poor management/business practices from Acun and/or whoever has ultimate responsibility for paying the bills, as oppsed to something more serious, like with Sheffield Wednesday.
- Though the rumours of local suppliers not being paid, if true, are pretty abysmal.
- One piece of advice I once received is to learn how to manage your manager. The same applies to the fans and owner of a football club, as fans we need to learn how to manage Acun Ilicali. Whilst we probably won’t stop his continual desire for change, we can piss him off enough that he loses interest, and perhaps wants his £60m back…or whatever the figure is. We can piss him off enough to end up in shit street, along with Sheffield Wednesday.
- I’ve long thought Acun owning a football club is like a kid in a sweet shop, and he still behaves like so. That said, I don’t think he’s a crook – I don’t think he’s going to fuck us over, at least not on purpose. We should try to keep him on board, and try to keep him aligned with the club. Hopefully he’ll have more time for Hull City, now he’s not involved with Fenerbache.
- Heck, all with be forgiven anyway if the managerial appointment of Sergej Jakirović is a stroke of genius. It could go either way, but I have more hope for him than I did for Tim Walter. The noises from the club are more positive, and our pre-season involved winning some games, unlike under Walter.
- So what to expect for this coming season? Fuck knows. A few early defeats with poor performances and it could be pretty grim, especially at the KC.
- However, we did reasonably with Selles, we haven’t lost any of our better players from last season, maybe bar Jones. With a more positive pre-season, a thinned-out squad, a couple of more unknown signings like Ndala (on loan from Manchester City), Ollie McBurnie who will hopefully provide more of a prescence up front, still the chance of some more loan signings – then I wouldn’t rule out a top-half finish.
- I feel cautiously optimistic. Whilst relegation feels possible if Sergej Jakirović is the new Tim Walter, I’m going to stick my neck out and predict an 11th place finish.
- Finally, as a London-based fan, I’m excited to see all the London games are scheduled to be on a Saturday…fingers crossed I can make at least a couple this season.