Dear Assem and Ehab,
As owners of Hull City, we expect you’re feeling the pain of relegation like any supporter. After the abundant highs of the Premier League, not to mention a run to the 2014 FA Cup final and into Europe, it is deeply disappointing that this is now a League One club.
City are sadly at a low ebb. There is disenchantment among supporters and, as we’re sure you saw after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Luton, plenty of anger too.
Fans are worried about the direction of their club. They have seen the dark times and toured the lower leagues. They are also familiar with the warning signs that are currently flashing on a team that has been relegated with just one win in 20 games.
This club feels as though it has arrived at a crossroads and only you have the capacity to change its course this summer.
As a family you have made it very clear you are ready to sell the club. Since April 2014 you say you have sought a takeover but, as yet, new owners have still not arrived.
This club needs a fresh start. You have previously accepted as much and we trust that when the right buyer comes along you will be ready to finally hand over control.
Until then, though, things have to change for the better. Or the discord and apathy will only spread into next season.
The time has come to communicate your long-term vision for City. You arrived with sights fixed firmly on the Premier League but where do you aim to be now?
It is also time for any of the rumoured local business people interested in purchasing the club to come forward and at least investigate the details.
Grant McCann says there is a plan that will stay “in house” but that cannot be right. Supporters, more than anyone, deserve to know where their club is heading.
Do you have ambitions to get City back to the Championship? Will you invest to make that possible? And will McCann be trusted with the job of rebuilding this team?
This club currently feels as though it is drifting. We understand the need to cut costs and safeguard financial health but there is more to football than balance sheets, profit and loss. Never forget the intangibles; the power of passion, belief and togetherness.
Fans do not expect a winning team but they need hope that the best days are to come. That precious commodity has been in short supply throughout 2020 and relegation to League One has left supporters disillusioned and concerned. Ambition is increasingly hard to spot at a club where so much has gone so badly wrong in the last three years.
Supporters also want to feel involved again, as though they follow a club that cares as much as they do about what happens on the field, but also cares about them.
You have seen with your own eyes what City can be. You have seen the KCOM Stadium packed out and watched supporters in their thousands head all around the country every other Saturday.
But the interest is dwindling rapidly. Too many have grown detached from City in the last three seasons. Matchday revenue has been slashed in a period that has seen attendances cut in half and winning those supporters back, especially the younger generations, is now of paramount importance to the club’s long-term health.
Fans do not ask for the earth but they want more than you are currently giving them.
If you cannot turn the tide then it is time to step aside this summer. The club is rolling backwards and only you can change that.
To a successful 2020-21 and happier times ahead,
