Hull City

Cyberspace is all a-twitter with rumors that ex-England international Nick Barmby has been suspended as Hull City manager by the Tigers' Egyptian owners, Assem and Ehab Allam at 2 PM Monday. It is alleged that Barmby, who took the reins at the Kingston Communication Stadium, has been questioning the club owners' ambitions in the local media outlet, Radio Humberside.

The Allams are also placing Hull City up for sale as a result of the incident.

Barmby had been promised a substantial war chest to lure him to sign on the dotted line as the club's first home grown manager, after previous incumbent Nigel Pearson left to rejoin his old club Leicester City. It is rumored that despite attempts to make substantial player signings during the January transfer window, all attempts to make the owners follow up on their promises failed.

The lack of funding for player recruitment left the Tigers' squad paper thin and led to a dip in form due to injuries, suspensions, and fatigue in a congested March, which ultimately sunk the club's push for a playoff spot. The nature and timing of the club's loss of form led Barmby to question the owners' ambition for the club.

Barmby told the Hull Daily Mail after the 2-1 loss to West Ham on the last day of the season.

"We'll sit down with the owners and discuss our budget, but momentum is everything. You can't stand still at any time if you want to do well. We know we've got the basis of an exciting team, but we've got to keep it going now. We all want the same goal, for Hull City to be successful."

"I genuinely believe that we can be one of the teams that can be right up there next season. It's very important that we keep hold of our best players, too," Barmby added. "Everyone knows who those players are, and why it's so important. It's imperative we do that because we're not a selling club, and these lads want to be here. We owe it to them to really go for it next season."

However, if the rumors are true, it will be a sad day for the club as well as the City of Kingston upon Hull. From helping to salvage the club after the financially disastrous time in the top flight, the Allam family has moved up in the "Sunday Times Rich List" to have a staggering £417m, rising £130m from £287m over the last year despite spending approximately £51 million to save the famous old Yorkshire club.

The excitement and first flush of saving the club seems to have worn off, and the expensive play thing that is Hull City is back on troubled waters, rudderless, and floundering after showing such promise.

Arsene Wenger and the Gunners have agreed terms with Hull City for the release of Jay "Homer" Simpson. The young Arsenal striker has been touted as a signing for a number of Championship clubs with Leeds United, Queen's Park Rangers, Crystal Palace, and Hull City, as the leading contenders for the 21-year old's signature.

However, it is believed that Hull City were Simpson's favored choice from day one, but with the East Yorkshire club undergoing financial restructuring, the deal was far from a formality.

The England U17 and U18 striker has had successful loan spells with three Championship clubs and scored 12 goals in 39 league appearances for Queen's Park Rangers last season.

According to Simpson's agent Leon Callender, "Jay is fit, ready and raring to go. He's played okay in preseason, scored a few goals, and he's been training well every day.

He also told the Hull Daily Mail, "He's looking forward to playing for Hull and he's up for it as soon as the contract is finalised. Hull has always been his No. 1 choice, and he can't wait to get started on a new chapter in his career."

The young player underwent a medical with the club this afternoon, prior to signing for an undisclosed fee, in a three year deal.

The signing can't come soon enough for Hull City boss, Nigel Pearson. The Tigers have a lack of strikers after the exit of Gabon International Daniel Cousin to Greek side Larissa. The Tigers are still without the services of Irish international Caleb Folan and experienced Premier League striker/winger Craig Fagan, who is still not fit for first team football.

Simpson is the fourth permanent signing for the Tigers new manager, Nigel Pearson who will join Nolberto Solano, James Harper, Robert Koren, and John Bostock on loan.

The national image of Jimmy Bullard as the jocular funnyman of English football, is in wild contrast, and sitting at odds with the impression he is giving the management, board and the faithful of the Tiger-nation, in East Yorkshire.

When Bullard arrived in a record-breaking deal from Fulham, the talismanic midfielder with a never-say-die attitude and a sense of humor that had lit up the Premier League, with Wigan and then Fulham, was just that, and a great fillip for the club. His signing for £5 million, was hailed as a giant coup for the East Yorkshire outfit.

The rumors of £45,000 a week in wages and the uninsurable nature of his injuries did not put off the then chairman, Paul Duffen, from smashing the club's record transfer fee on the England fringe player.

Bullard had tried to extend his contract at Craven Cottage, but with his injury record, the London club were unwilling to give Bullard the three year deal that he craved. With the contract negotiations stalling, Hull City stepped in.

It is rumoured that Bullard had gone into contract talks with Duffen with the main aim of getting an extended three year deal, on the same wage as he was on in London, a reported £15,000 a week.

When he asked Duffen what he was offering as a package, it is alleged that Duffen offered £45,000 a week for four and a half years, with an added bonus for every 15 games played. It can only be imagined that if this was the case then Bullard took little persuading that Hull City was the club for him if they could offer such great deals, for a player that was uninsurable.

For Hull City and Jimmy Bullard the marriage got off to an inauspicious start, with Bullard unable to start straight away due to an existing injury. His first outing for the Tigers lasted 33 minutes against his boyhood favourites West Ham, before sustaining another injury to his knee that would put him out until mid-October of the next season.

At this time many fans could only feel for the man. A great talent, who through no fault of his own was suffering cruelly from an injury-blighted career . They only hoped that he would make a full recovery and show what he had been brought to the club to do.

He did just that, in a fantastic six-week period that saw him drive the Tigers from a mediocre start to a spell of eight points from a possible 12, in November and winning himself the Barclay's Premier League Player of the Month Award.

However, his renaissance wasn't to last. In an aerial challenge at Villa Park against Aston Villa, Bullard landed heavily on his other knee and was out for another four months.

With his return came even more expectation on his shoulders. The side had been struggling for points, and it was hoped that he would start off as he finished in November, but it wasn't to be.

In the intervening period the mood of the Hull City fans had gone from one of pity for their fallen, and unlucky hero to one of disdain for a player that had accepted the clubs money to be a regular on the physio's table.

It wasn't just the extended time on the injury list but the rumors of scuffles and binge drinking in local bars, that slowly saw the tide turn for the once popular Londoner.

It was also alleged that Bullard was advising young midfielder Tom Cairney in his contract negotiations, which lead to a spat with Hull City legend, Nick Barmby in front of the local Women's Institute whilst on a training run that demonstrated that Bullard's influence in the Hull City dressing room was also waining.

When he returned to the first team, with the club desperately needing his undoubted talents, he was clearly not his usual ebullient self. He was hiding from tackles and off the pace of the game. It could be argued that after his injury, he just needed time to get back to the pace of the game, but the feeling in the stands was that he was too afraid of receiving another injury.

After only 13 full appearances for Hull City in a season and a half and five goals, Bullard was dropped from the first team. It was now that the rumors about the 15 game bonus came to light, and with the club in serious financial difficulty, the overpriced Bullard would not be given more of the clubs money.

During this period, his close friend and golf partner, Phil Brown, was relieved of his duties as Hull City manager as well. The same happened to the man who signed him, Paul Duffen.

With a new Temporary Management Consultant, Iain Dowie and Adam Pearson, back in the Chairman's hot seat at the club, Bullard's allies were no longer around to protect him from the fans' growing anger.

After failing to survive the relegation dogfight, the Tigers brought in a new manager in Nigel Pearson after a successful spell in charge of Leicester City, but again with the club having serious financial concerns, it was necessary for the club to off-load the higher earners from the payroll.

Steven Moyokolo, Dean Marney, and Steven Hunt have been sold. Jan Vanegoor of Hesselink, George Boateng, Bernard Mendy, and Geovanni have left by mutual consent, but the clubs highest earner and biggest stumbling block for reinvestment for the club's playing staff, Jimmy Bullard, has still not moved on.

Many at the club have taken huge pay cuts to help the cash-strapped club, such as Kevin Kilbane, the veteran Irish international who halved his wages to help the club through this difficult period in its history.

Despite this, there has been interest in Bullard from clubs, with Celtic reportedly ready to offer him a place at Parkhead next season on a year long loan deal, with Hull City paying a portion of his wages. They were reportedly willing to pay him £20,000  on top of the Tigers paying him a portion of his salary.

However, it is reported that Bullard wanted Hull City to pay his full wages of £45,000  plus Celtic's paying £30,000, which both clubs baulked at, with Hull City's Adam Pearson, calling his demands, "ridiculous." 

So, where has this left Bullard? The expensive player has claimed that he does not want to leave the club, as his family is happy and settled in the area, but he is unwilling to take a reduction to his wage demands, which are seriously hindering the Tigers' rebuilding efforts.

New Tigers boss Nigel Pearson has his hands tied, with no chance of more new signings unless the club can off-load Bullard. When asked about this, he told Sky Sports, "We'll have to wait and see what happens further down the line. The window is open for quite a bit longer yet, so there's a lot that can happen.

"We'll re-evaluate that nearer the time, but until that arises, I think we're all pretty clear where we're at."

As it stands, Bullard is not training with the first team, and has not taken part in any of the club's preseason friendlies. Whether this is a precautionary measure to prevent more injuries for the club's benefit or prospective buyers, is unclear.

The prospect of him demonstrating his phenomenal talents in the amber and black of Hull City may not be what many Hull City fans want after this summers avarice. Added to this is the prospect of every Championship hardman looking to target him, the chances of him remaining injury free for very long seems very unlikely.

Adam Pearson with an eye to the start of the season that is under two weeks away said, "Perhaps Celtic will speak to Jimmy again and try to get the deal back on.

"We will see what happens in the next three-to-four weeks before the transfer window closes.

"However, if we come to the start of the season, and he is still here, there seems little sense in paying somebody £45,000 a week to just sit in the stands."

It was announced today after a very protracted negotiation process that Hull City's most successful manger, Phil Brown, would officially part company with the club.

Brown had been on "Gardening Leave" since March 15, with Adam Pearson the then club Chairman handing the day to coaching of the club to "Temporary Management Consultant" Iain Dowie.

Unfortunately for Pearson, his gamble failed to bear fruit, and the Tigers slipped into the Championship with a whimper.

However, after such a glorious and tempestuous tenure in charge of East Yorkshire's finest football club, it is only fitting that we look at Brown's time riding on the back of the Tigers.

When Paul Duffen appointed Phil Brown to the post of Hull City manager in 2006 after he had been brought in by Adam Pearson to help struggling young manager Phil Parkinson, it was seen as a bit of an uninspiring choice, and not a little bit worrying for some after his unsuccessful tenure at Derby County.

However, with the new manager effect, Brown managed to save the club from relegation and help sink local rivals Leeds United in the process. For this alone, Brown would be engraved in Hull City folklore.

The Tigers would go from strength to strength, playing at Wembley Stadium for the first time in the club's history, winning promotion to the top flight for the first time in 104 years of existence and surviving to fight for a second season in the top flight. All this whilst under the control of Phil Brown.

Duffen had come in with the standard three-year plan of year-on-year growth with the objective of promotion to the Premiership by year three.

The on-field plan was even more successful than expected, with Brown's Tigers winning promotion well within the first year, through the Wembley Playoff Final.

The year 2008 will forever live long in the memories of Hull City fans. It started with the Phil Brown's Tigers riding high in eighth place in the Coca Cola Championship after fighting relegation the season before.

The rest of the regular season would see the Tigers winning 11 of the next 24 regular season games and drawing five, which would be enough to see them through to the Championship play-offs in third place behind West Brom and Stoke City.

The Play-off Semi-Final was against pre-season favourites for automatic promotion Watford. The Tigers provided a 6-1 (on agg) demolition of the Hornets.

This saw Hull City head for Wembley Stadium for the first time in their history to play against a Bristol City side that were hoping to get back into the top flight for the first time in over 25 years.

The stage was set for a nail-biting match but for fans who weren't involved it was pretty much a dire affair that will be remembered for one of the best goals to have ever been scored at either the new or the old Wembley stadiums.

On 38 minutes, Fraizer Campbell received a threaded pass through the Bristol City midfield and weaved his way through the Bristol defence, taking the ball to the edge of the six yards box.

But instead of taking a shot on goal, the on-loan Manchester United striker saw the old war horse Dean Windass running to the edge of the box, and cleverly chipped the ball to the free Windass—who hit the ball sweetly on the volley into the top corner of the net, despite the despairing dive of the the Bristol City goalkeeper.

1-0 to the Tigers, and that is how the team got to the top flight of English football for the first time in their history, with a goal from a local lad who had saved us from bankruptcy by being sold many years ago in his prime, only to come back and save the club from relegation the year before and to be the oldest player to score at Wembley Stadium.

Conventional wisdom has it that the team winning promotion from the play-offs is at a disadvantage by being three weeks behind everyone else in preparing for the new season.

Phil Brown and Paul Duffen the Hull City Chairman didn't agree with this, they held the belief that we were ahead of the rest of the Premiership teams as we were fitter than the rest because we hadn't had the lay off that other clubs had had.

The battle plans were drawn up and new recruits were brought in: Geovanni from Manchester City on a free transfer, Anthony Gardner from Tottenham Hotspur, Marlon King on loan from Wigan, Kamil Zayette from Young Boys of Zurich on loan, Bernard Mendy from Paris St Germain, Peter Halmosi from Plymouth Argyle, and George Boateng from Middlesbrough. 

After an indifferent pre-season, the opener against Fulham would be at at the KC stadium in front of a sell out crowd or Tigers fans, and they wouldn't be disappointed.

As Ian Ashbee lead out the Tigers on that warm August day with fellow Hull City players Boaz Myhill and Andy Dawson, it is worth remembering that these three special players have been with the Tigers all the way from the Coca Cola League Two through to the Premiership.

Indeed Ian Ashbee has the distinction of being the only player to have captained his club through all four professional English divisions.

After going behind to an early goal from Fulham's Seol Ki-Hyeon in the 8th minute, a sublime strike from Geovanni on 22 minutes saw the Tigers go in at half-time all square.

In a game were the established Premiership side were supposed to be in control it was hardly the case and on 81 minutes Hull City sub Caleb Folan popped up and grabbed a late winner after some tenacious play from Craig Fagan, who stole the ball off of a Fulham defender on the edge of their box.

The season would carry on in this vein with Phil Brown's Tigers gaining confidence with every match. Even after the 0-5 thrashing to Wigan the Tigers resolutely stuck to their principles and played fast paced counter attacking football built on a solid hard working team performances.

The highlight of the season was the four game winning streak which included wins against Arsenal (this at the Emirates on only the second time Arsenal had lost there since moving to the new ground), Tottenham, and West Ham.

There were also some other notable games last season, against Everton we out played them for 75 minutes only to let them back into it in the last 15 minutes. After losing easily to Chelsea the Tigers traveled to Manchester United at Old Trafford and gave them the scare of their life in a gritty 4-3 loss.

Liverpool were lucky to scrape a 2-2 draw with the help of some dubious refereeing. The 2-1 victory against Newcastle United when they were in turmoil helped to give the Tigers belief that they could compete in the Premiership.

The season has had it's ups and downs, more ups to be sure but the season  ended on a low for the Tigers. Only seven points from the last 11 games and three losses on the bounce was not mid-table form but relegation form.

However, there was some hope to come out of the end of last season, with a few exceptions we have proven we are a very difficult team to beat.

Yes, there were heavy losses, in two of the last three games, but the loss to Sunderland was a game ruined by a poor sending off and a deflected goal. The first half against Manchester City was one of the best displays of attacking football I have seen for some time—and added to the fact that Hull City had one of their most lacklustre performances for that first half display added to our misery.

January brought a record breaking transfer in the shape Jimmy Bullard from Fulham and with him huge wages. The signing was also accompanied with a very suspect medical that was a toss up as to whether he was actually fit.

Bullard's signature was an attempt to stem the loss of form that was seeing the club slip down the able after the stellar start to the campaign. Unfortunately, he re-injured his anterior cruciate ligament on his debut for the Tigers, with in 40 minutes.

Duffen failed to file the clubs tax returns for the promotion season by almost nine months and they did not prove to be comforting reading for Hull City fans, and with Duffen and Brown intertwined it didn't look good for Brown as well as Duffen. From being a club on a stable financial footing to a club on the brink of financial meltdown in the space of a year.

From Brown and the Tigers reaping all the plaudits and fanfare of the clubs meteoric start to their first season in the best league in World football, the season ended with a whimper. Scraping survival on the last day of the season because other teams were poorer than the Tigers.

Brown's on field rendition of Hull City favourite, "the best trip I've ever been on" was roundly condemned by football fans of other clubs and pundits for its hubris considering just how lucky the Tigers had been in winning survival.

The last day Houdini act meant that the Brown and Hull City seriously needed to find new blood to bolster a team that had the Premier Leagues second worst defence, and the one of the worst home records ever recorded in Premiership history.

Hull City's Championship goal scoring hero Fraizer Campbell was a major target for Brown, from Manchester United and a fee of around £6 million was accepted but Campbell was away on England Under-21 at the European Nation's Cup, and he stalled to the point that he joined Sunderland.

Michael Owen was also a summer target for Brown after getting relegated with Newcastle, but when Manchester United came calling, the Brown lost out again. Marc-Antoine Fortune was targeted but he chose to team up with his former manager at Celtic rather than signing with the Tigers.

It was looking like Brown was the Bridesmaid never the Bride in his attempts to sign a much needed Striker. The tabloid press and some of the Tiger-nation blamed the lack of a solid second half of the season on Brown's on field dressing down of the players at Eastlands.

Then came the signatures of Stephen Hunt from Reading for £3.5million, and Seyi Olofinjana for £3million from Stoke City, Kamel Ghilas from Celta Vigo for £1.7 and Jozy Altidore the young American striker on loan from Villareal. Leaving the club and it's fans feeling better about the club and Brown's signings.

The Brown also managed to captured the signature of the Dutch international Jan Vanegoor of Hesselink who was out of contract after rejecting a contract at Celtic during the summer.

However, during this period the experienced Sam Ricketts was sold to rivals Bolton Wanderers with no replacement immediately on the horizon, which seemed to be a very bizarre turn of events. This was to look even stranger when at the start of the season Michael Turner, arguably the Tiger's best player was sold to Sunderland for an undisclosed fee, with Paul McShane going in the opposite direction.

The new season continued as the last one ended with the team playing back to the wall football and conceding goals like the Titanic taking in water, and the strikers failing to find the net.

The new signings brought with them huge wages with the club allegedly having an annual wage bill in the region of £40 million, which puts the club as the seventh highest in the Premiership. Add to this the £5 million that the club paid out to player agents involved in the transfers and it is not looking rosy for the club.

The financial miss steps ultimately lead to the resignation of Duffen as the Club Chairman, and with the late filling of the Club's taxes and his inability to get any of the high profile signings that the Club targeted it was proving harder for Duffen to have any credibility.

Duffen's staunch faith in Brown did not helped him keep his position. Duffen backed his manager and friend on a number of occasions even insulting Hull City fans in the process. However, it ws the sale of Michael Turner for a incredibly low sum that lost Duffen his job, but mainly blamed Brown for not stopping the sale of one of the clubs prized assets.

With the appointment of Adam Pearson the Club looked like it was stabalising after a turbulent couple of years. Pearson said he would give Brown some time to sort out the club's on field woes. He attempted to off load some of the club's bloated playing staff. with only a modicum of success.

Pearson's tenure is tied very closely with the affairs of Brown and the team on the playing field but it appears that Brown's teams sporadic performances have blotted Brown's copy book.

Since the arrival of Pearson and Brown's stay of execution the team went on a mini revival gaining eight points from a possible 12 that coincided with the return of record signing Jimmy Bullard, but it didn't last as Bullard sustained another injury and the club's form dipped yet again.

Since Pearson's return the club have only gained 16 points out of a possible 54 points, with Brown's side not wining any matches away from home and only drawing two. This has culminated in the Tigers going on a loosing streak since early February, when the team beat Manchester City at the KC Stadium in one of Hull City's finest ever performances.

Despite the club languishing in the relegation zone three points adrift of safety, when the tenure of Phil Brown came to a close. Brown had lead the Tigers through heavy seas and seen the club through some highs as well as lows. Would the club have ever played at Wembley without him? Would we have won promotion to the top flight without him? Would we have had such a fantastic first season without him?

Whatever your answers, without a doubt it has never been boring with Brown at the helm.

I know that some will say that my dislike of the Premier League is just sour grapes because the Tigers have just officially got an (R) next to their name on the league table, denoting 'relegated,' but they would be wrong.

I would like to think that regular readers of my articles will know that this isn't a knee jerk reaction to my club's current predicament but more a malaise at the inequity of the Premier League and all that it entails.

Since the euphoria of a playoff win two seasons ago and a few historic wins, the cold reality of what is needed to be a part of a wealthy and exclusive club has left a nasty taste in the mouth.

From the vanity and smugness of a chairman that bought into the idea that as a club, Hull City could compete on a level playing field with teams that had built their Premiership credentials over many years, to the arrogance of fans of the so-called elite of the division.

Now don't get me wrong at times it was invigorating and sublime. Bernard Mendy's raking runs down the flank at Anfield in our first season where he destroyed Andrea Dossena, turning him inside and out, or Geovanni and Marlon King running West Brom ragged with the Baggies having no reply.

The victory over Arsenal at the Emirates and the feuding that followed the Gunner's referee-aided victory in the F.A. Cup have been some of the most fun and have been a joy to be behold as a football fan, partly because of the extra element of the drama involved.

This season the whole team in the game against Manchester City at the KC stadium, where you would have been mistaken for thinking that the team full of top international were in amber and black.

Jimmy Bullard's goal celebration in the return fixture is one that will live on as a classic celebration for years to come. Myhill's super human display to thwart Spurs at White Hart Lane, to Michael Turner's herculean efforts at Molineux where he got in the way of everything.

Seeing some of the best footballers in the world play at the KC as also been a delight. Wayne Rooney's exquisite display in both of his games this season demonstrated just why he is one of the best strikers in the world. Frank Lampard's majestic performance, and phenomenal goal in Chelsea's first Premiership appearance in Kingston upon Hull, or Jermain Defoe's dismantling of the Hull City defence was a clinical master class in the striker's art.

However, the vast inequity of the the Premier League far out weighs the highlights of what could, and should, have been a glorious two seasons for the Tigers.

When the club won promotion everything in the news highlighted the playoff final as one of the wealthiest individual ties in the world of football, with the winner reaping the reward of a £60 million pay day.

The money should have meant financial security and stability for the club for seasons to come. Some shrewd signings and contract dealings would mean that if the club didn't manage to survive to fight for a second season in the Premiership, the funds would mean that club might be able to yo-yo back.

The reality of the Tiger's seasons in the Premier League sun are very different. Poor signings by a chairman that was wrapped up in the razzmatazz of the Premiership, dodgy dealing and ridiculous agents' fees. Greedy and feckless players out to make a fast buck at the expense of the club, but that is just the problems of Hull City.

The real problem is the Premiership itself. The false belief that it is the best league in the world that the Premier League-obsessed media perpetuates, ad infinitum the idea that it is the best league in the world when it is just the wealthiest league in the world.

Unfortunately, the wealthiest league in the world is a misnomer because for all the Premier League so-called wealth it is also the most indebted league in Europe, almost 50 percent of debt in European football is in the Premier League, with most of that with the top four clubs.

The division's elite maintains its top four status off of huge debts whilst the rest of the division tries to keep up with them. The Premier League is a division in serious need of reform. It needs one of its so-called big four (biggest debt four) to really struggle for a season and be relegated.

In 2008 before the recession Manchester United were in debt by £453 million in bank borrowings—over half of the entire Premier League's total borrowings from banks—and £152 million in debt from other loans. Chelsea had £620 million in bank loans and personal loans of £90 million. Arsenal were the least in debt of the top four with £268 million in borrowing, in part because of financing the Emirates Stadium. Liverpool were in debt to the tune of £43 million in bank borrowings and £13 million in other loans.

Now people will say that because of the huge turnover of these companies they can carry these huge amounts of debt and still be competitive. This is only because they are successful, something that they they have helped to perpetuate with the Champions League.

Since the Champions League has opened up to more teams eligible to take part the top four has become more solidified, this year is the exception but can you really see Liverpool not buying their way out of their current situation during the summer?

The Premiership's top four can remain in that position because they buy the some of the best players in the world because they artificially inflate the price because they can afford to buy the players. This precludes the rest from ever entering this elite group, unless they have a huge oil sheik to bankroll their attempt, such as Manchester City. I would hate to be Spurs' accountant if they fail to do well for another season.

Harry Redknapp is a very good manager but he does like to spend money to produce his successful teams, you only have to look at Portsmouth who are reaping the rewards of the excess that he started at Fratton Park.

Pompey's reported debts of £138 million is gross, in the extreme. How a club of Pompey's size could ever think they could compete with the likes of the top four is ridiculous yet they tried and are facing the possibility of having no club.

This is what the Premier League does to good football teams, it bloats them and then disgorged them out the other side in debt and destroyed, just look at Leeds United, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Leicester City. The list goes on. The Premier League is an old boys' club that has only a few members that are allowed to win anything and they help to perpetuate it.

I read recently about the Premiership and its so-called merits and this is what it said: "Worlds best players—no, world's best manager—no, highest average attendances—no, most success in club international tournaments—no, best business model—no, best at self promotion—yes."

I think that sums up the Premier League. Until the current inequity is destroyed then I will be happy to spend my time fighting it out with team on a more level playing field in the Championship. Unfortunately, I can't see the top four letting that happen.

After the defeat to Sunderland at the weekend, a result that made it almost a certainty that the Tigers would be playing Championship football next season, club captain George Boateng made some provocative comments in his post-match interview.

"After the situation with the team-talk on the pitch at Manchester City everybody tried to stay together and say that it wasn't a problem, but it was," Boateng told Sky Sports.

"After that we found it difficult to have confidence in the manager at the time, Phil Brown.

"That killed the confidence of everybody in the team. People will say 'why did you not say anything?' but he was our manager."

Boateng didn't totally lay the blame on Brown's shoulders, saving a small portion for his teammates, but it gave the appearance that the team would not have been relegated if Brown had not reprimanded the team on the pitch at Eastlands.

However, is it solely at the feet of Phil Brown that the Tigers have been relegated. From Boateng's comments you would certainly think so, but what are Boateng's motives, and do his remarks reflect the opinion of the rest of the Hull City team?

When Dean Windass, who played in the Eastlands' match, was asked about its effect on the team, he said, "People have asked that question on a numerous of occasions and the answer is no."

Windass continued, "At the end of the game nobody mentioned it—or on the bus on the way home. It's what Phil wanted to do that day, it was just the media who took it and dragged it on a little further."

Windass' comments seem to differ greatly from Boateng's, so is this just Boateng holding a grudge for 18 months against Brown. Both Windass and Boateng were sacrificed after that day because of the abject display put on by the Tigers.

It can only be surmised why Brown singled out Windass, Boateng, and Geovanni, but it may have been because as senior players they should have shouldered more of a responsibility for the team's awful display.

I have no doubt that it was humiliating for Boateng to be sacrificed for his part in the performance, and it is debatable whether Brown used the right tactics or not, but as a "professional" footballer Boateng should hold up his hand and accept that in part he was responsible with his teammates for that display.

Ultimately, when the team crosses the white line it is out of the manager's hands with the exception of substitutions to effect the outcome of a tie. Boateng's recent comments show a lack of class, and by squarely laying the blame for everything at Brown he is denying his part in the club's current situation. As the holder of the captain's armband, he has a lot to answer to.

It could also be surmised that Boateng is angling for a renewed contract for the new season, as his runs out this summer. Boateng was openly praising Iain Dowie, the Tigers' temporary managerial consultant, for his management style, but under Dowie the team's performances didn't improve one iota from Brown's Tigers.

If anything, the lack of inside knowledge from the new incumbent of the Hull City hot seat is part of the reason for the team finally receiving the final nail in the coffin.

Dowie has brought back into the fold players that Brown had discarded as not good enough for the Premier league, players that Tiger-nation said had been put on the "naughty step" by Brown. They include Folan who, despite his two goals against Portsmouth, was never truly up to the pace of the Premiership and was played at the expense of the American Jozy Altidore.

Altidore for all his tender years was at least up for the fight and would give defenders trouble when running at them. That was something that Folan could never do.

However, there is no doubt that Brown is at least culpable in the the club's current situation but for Boateng to lay the club's relegation this season on an incident that happened the season before is tenuous at best.

It would be interesting to ask the opinion of Paul McShane, Stephen Hunt, or even Jimmy Bullard who were all signed by Phil Brown after the Eastlands' incident if they agree with Boateng?

Is their silence a sign that they, or the rest of the team, agree with him or that they have more respect for the situation than to "put the boot in" after a season of poor displays from all of the team with only a few exceptions.

There is only one thing that can be truly gleaned from the current situation. The happenings at the K.C. Stadium are far from rosy and whoever comes in for next season, whether it is Dowie, a return for Brown, or a new manager, will have their work cut out to forge a team out of what remains of a thoroughly demoralised Hull City team.

On a day where Hull City went out with a valiant whimper after two seasons in England's top flight, the Tigers should not shed a tear for their misfortunes or their demise. They should be rejoicing at their two seasons in the sun.

For a club with 104 years of history before reaching the top flight they scared the pants off many more established teams in both seasons.

To be only the second team to beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium is no small feat. From a thrilling 4-3 loss to Manchester United at the "Theatre of Dreams" to beating Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, the Tigers have certainly had reasons to be proud.

Hull also beat Newcastle United three times and drew once in a single season, and they reached the quarterfinals of the FA Cup in the club's first season in the league. These are just two more of the high points that fans should relish for a long time.

This season the Tigers were unlucky to not get all six points against Chelsea, and they destroyed the millionaires of Manchester City at the KC Stadium. The unbeaten run in November where the Tigers beat Stoke City and Everton and drew against Manchester City and West Ham demonstrated that on our day we could beat some of the country's best.

The two seasons have also unearthed some great potential players for the future of the club. The three C's of Liam Cooper, Mark Cullen, and Tom Cairney bode well for the spine of the team for the future and to add to the home grown talent is the young Frenchman Steven Mouyokolo.

The Tigers still have three of the team that stepped up from the bottom division through to the Premier League in Andy Dawson, Boaz Myhill, and Ian Ashbee, and none of them looked out of place in the world's toughest division.

Yeah, we ended up getting relegated from the Premiership but at the end of the day we have punched well above our weight for two seasons. The fact that we have gone down with two games left of the season is nothing to be ashamed of.

The club hadn't "done a Derby" as predicted, or a Sunderland (2005-06), or a Watford (1999-2000), or a Bradford City (2000-01) for that matter, as all these clubs had disastrously low points totals. The club didn't fair as bad as Swindon Town (1993-94) with their truly awful 100 goals conceded.

If after the final whistle of the Championship playoff final anyone would have said that the club would have had two seasons in the Premiership most of us would have laughed at the idea.

Bring on the Championship and a level playing field, something that the Premiership can never be called. Never forget the good times of sticking two fingers up to the so-called big teams and their arrogance of looking down on our team.

Silverware? We don't care. We'll follow City anywhere.

Premier League Preview: Hull City Vs. Sunderland, Kingston Communication Stadium, Kingston Upon Hull, England, Saturday 24 April 2010, 15:00BST

It's a proverbial "cup final" in East Yorkshire with Hull City's Tigers taking on the Black Cats of Sunderland. If the Tigers do not win and West Ham beat Wigan it is good night Vienna for the Amber and Black army of Hull City.

It's an old cliche but Hull City's season now rests on the 90+ minutes of football at two ends of the country. A win for the Tigers and a loss for West Ham and it's all to play for, but a draw at the KC, might just do it as well.

However, that would mean that nothing less than victories at Wigan's DW Stadium next week, and then another victory against Liverpool who may be still fighting for that fourth Champions League spot make this game a much better target for three necessary points than the last game of the season.

All the while hoping that West Ham fail to claim anymore points this season, as the Hammers far superior goal difference could be the final nail in the Tigers' Premier League coffin.

Temporary Football Consultant, Iain Dowie will be happy to see the return of captain Anthony Gardner to the battered Hull City defence. However, with the ex-England defender light on match practice, a full 90 minutes maybe too much for the fragile centre back.

There are doubts about the fitness of Dean Marney and Bernard Mendy who will both face late fitness tests before the game.

However, Dowie will still be without the services of club captain Ian Ashbee, Richard Garcia, and Kamil Zayatte who are all suffering from knee injuries. Caleb Folan is out with a hip problem and Stephen Hunt is sidelined after surgery on a niggling foot injury that has seen the Tigers' top scorer miss the past month and a half of first team football.

Dowie will also have to rest the big Dutch centre forward Jan Vannegoor of Hesselink who suffered a concussion against Aston Villa mid week. Vannegoor of Hesselink was knocked unconscious for almost five minutes in a clash of heads with Villa captain Richard Dunne. Although the ex-Netherlands international was cleared after precautionary CT scans, it is thought that he will miss the Sunderland tie.

Steve Bruce's Sunderland side reached the safety margin of 40 points last weekend when they beat Burnley 2-1. However, Sunderland will still have a very realistic chance of a top half finish if they can win their remaining games as only two points separate 13th place from 10th position.

Bruce will have to give a late fitness test to centre back stalwart, John Mensah who has a hamstring injury, which could pave the way for a return to the side for Anton Ferdinand.

The Black Cats' could also see the return of captain Lorik Cana who has returned to training from a groin strain. However, the clash may have come too soon for Lee Cattermole who has been suffering from a niggling calf problem.

To add spice to the tie, it will see the return of two of Hull City's favourite sons in Frazier Campbell and Michael Turner, who were key to the East Yorkshire club's promotion winning season two seasons ago.

For Campbell it maybe a torrid time as many of the Tiger-nation will not have forgiven him for spurning the club in a protracted transfer negotiation last summer, but for Michael Turner it should be a very different affair.

Turner was twice the winner of Hull City's player of the year award but in peculiar circumstances the big centre back was sold at the start of the season to Sunderland for a fraction of his true value, with the player saying at the time he was very happy with the Tigers.

However, since last season things have changed drastically for the Tigers as they see themselves on the brink of relegation, with a new manager and an as yet, amount unknown financial debt.

Nothing less than a victory will be enough for the bedraggled Tigers.

In the aftermath of the dismal 4-1 defeat to relegation rivals Burnley this weekend, the Tiger-nation has been in a reflective mood as everyone is looking for answers to just how the dream came crashing down around our feet.

In the Chinese Year of the Tiger, many thought that some of the superstitious luck of the fabled Chinese Tiger might have rubbed off on East Yorkshire's mighty Tigers.

This hasn't been the case, but where did it all go wrong?

This is no easy answer to the question...just more questions, as there is no one reason for the fall from grace for the Tigers.

Maybe, it was the unrealistic expectations that fans had of the club's potential in the Premiership?

Maybe, it was a lack of finances of the club's owner or the financial mismanagement by the club's former chairman?

Was it the poor signings of the manager? Was it the loss of major players to other clubs? Was it the incredible injury list that club had to endure?

It was all of these and more.

When Phil Brown dragged our perennial underachieving side kicking and screaming up the Championship table, was it too soon? Was the team ready for the biggest footballing stage? We certainly looked the part when we walked out at Wembley Stadium and homegrown hero Dean Windass volleyed us into the richest league in the world.

We looked the part as we dismantled teams that were experienced Premier League outfits, with years of top-flight experience. We dismantled Arsenal, we dismantled Tottenham, we dismantled Newcastle on more than one occasion and helped to send them down. We beat teams that we should have had no chance of beating, but it wasn't to last.

The first year in the sun ended with a whimper, with a microphone forced into Phil Brown's hand as he was goaded into a poor rendition of the Beach Boys' "Sloop John B."

The lazy and self-generating media jumped all over Brown's song of relief. A song that was a release from a season of stress and tension that had gone to the wire. Fans of the club and rivals jumped all over it like Brown had crossed the line that nobody should. How could he have the temerity to celebrate a fantastic first season in the toughest league in the world if his team had lost on the last day of the season?

However, those people missed the point.

At the start of the season, the club and Brown were given no chance of surviving at all in the Premiership. Brown himself was tipped to be the first manager to lose his job, as the Tigers would struggle to cope with the high octane football environment of the Premiership.

His song of celebration was not one of not going down and scrapping past the post because others failed, but because over a season his Hull City team had, against all the odds, gone and survived for another season. For a great deal of it the team had been the toast of the Premiership.

The club's fizzled-out first season didn't help to stem the tide of second-season syndrome for Brown, as he would need many new recruits to bolster his struggling side.

Brown realised that the club had been punching above its weight, and despite misguided efforts to bring big names as a way of generating publicity for the club, his efforts to bring in the real players that he was targeting were blows to Brown.

Most notably, Fulham's Bobby Zamora chose to remain with the Cottagers, and Marc Antoine Fortune chose Celtic over the Tigers.

This left the Tigers with a hodge podge of sub-Premiership standard players and has-beens, with the club having to pay ridiculous wages to get them to even entertain joining the team, let alone signing with them.

However, during this whole affair and attempt to bring in new talent to the club, Brown's friend and club chairman Paul Duffen made sub-par deals that he would come to regret as he stretched the club's finances to almost breaking point.

The club's second season started how the Tigers' first season should have by conventional wisdom: struggling to find points and eking out results in a war of attrition.

The sale of ever-present centre back Michael Turner to Sunderland by Paul Duffen was a slap in the face for Hull City fans. The ridiculously low fee left Tigers fans feeling like they had been lied to by Duffen and Brown after their initial claims that he would only be sold if a fee of around £10-million was offered. The price Sunderland paid was well short of their estimation.

However, the form of the Tigers' first season continued unabated with players coming in for one or two games, playing reasonably well, only to find themselves dropped the next week. The lack of stability stood in stark contrast to the start of the previous season when only a handful of players were used.

Brown was constantly tinkering with his formations and his playing staff, to the point that it seemed that even the fans had a better idea of the club's best XI and which tactical formation the team should play, but the management team didn't seem to have a clue from one week to the next.

This was never more striking than when American Jozy Altidore was introduced for the first time at the KC against Bolton Wanderers. The Trotters were all over the Tigers, but with 30 minutes left Brown introduced the American and reverted to a conventional 4-4-2 formation from the static and defensive 4-5-1 formation with immediate effect.

From a team struggling even to make a shot on goal the team was rejuvenated. Algerian international Kamel Ghilas and Altidore made a formidable partnership up front, with the end result of them combining to give the Tigers all three points. This was in stark contrast to the first hour of the match that looked to be going only one way that was definitely not the Tigers' way.

However, after such a fantastic and energetic display by the front two, Brown inexplicably did not pick Altidore in the next league match, and when he did bring him off the subs' bench he took Ghilas off 10 minutes later, not giving either a real chance to combine or get an understanding of each other's style. Yet again, in the following game he replaced Ghilas with Altidore, and Ghilas has hardly had a chance since, much to the disgust of many Hull City fans.

Obviously, Brown and now Dowie get to see the players on the training ground but it beggers belief some of the negative and bizarre team selections this season.

However, the most bizarre selection has to be Adam Pearson's decision to place Phil Brown on gardening leave with only nine games remaining in the season. If he had chosen to replace Brown when he returned to the KC in November it would not have been as much of a shock to the system for so many.

It is not that Brown didn't deserve to be removed, because he did if it was just on results. Brown's tenure in the Premiership alone has been less than stellar, but the timing would not give his replacement time to assess the playing staff and formulate how he would tackle the club's ailing fortunes.

What was more surprising was the appointment of Iain Dowie. A manager who had been at the helm of two other Premiership teams and saw them drop into the Championship. Hardly, a ringing endorsement of his Premiership credentials.

It could be argued that if Brown couldn't keep the club in the Premiership at least he knew the playing staff and has proved that he can get a team promoted from the Championship. Can the same be said for Dowie? As a manager he has won promotion to the Premiership with Crystal Palace but in no short part off the back of a fantastic couple of seasons by striker Andy Johnson, who seemed to be scoring goals for fun under Dowie.

In Brown's defense it should be mentioned that as a manager he has not been bankrolled to the hilt like many clubs in the Premiership or the Championship, with Hull City owner Russell Bartlett the least wealthiest owner in the top two divisions of English football.

It has also been a hindrance that when the club is going through such financial problems, the club has been loaning money to its owner to enable him to be solvent. Hardly the recipe for a sound financial background for Brown.

It has been rumored that it was a liquidity issue for Bartlett that led to Turner's move to Sunderland for such a small amount and Bartlett was in such a financial bind that a quick sale was needed, even though Turner claimed to be happy at the club.

However, the club was struggling to sign players even with the silly wages that Duffen was willing to offer to the likes of Portsmouth.

Brown went on record regarding his disgust at Pompey's plight, not because the South Coast club has been deducted points after going into administration but because of their fiscal irresponsibility. It meant that when Brown tried to sign some of the players that are now at Portsmouth, the club could not compete with the money on offer at Portsmouth.

It seems ironic that mercenary players that took the money to sign with Portsmouth over a lesser deal with the Tigers ended up not getting paid because of Portsmouth's own mismanagement.

In defence of both Brown and his replacement, the temporary management consultant Dowie, they have both had some considerable injuries to contend with. In defence it is hard to remember a time when the club has had any stability at the back.

From Turner at the back with Kamil Zayette, to Ibrahima Sonko and Zayette, to Anthony Gardner and Zayette, to Sonko and Liam Cooper, and back to Gardner and Zayette. At the centre back position alone Hull City have started seven different players due to injuries at one stage or another, and this doesn't address the other defensive positions and the problems that the club have had in midfield and attack through injuries.

Arguably, the best two periods in the season were November with Jimmy Bullard in the midfield and in early February with Tom Cairney pulling the strings for the Tigers. However, in both instances the players and the team could get no consistency as injuries prevented them from a prolonged run in the side.

Ultimately, the Tigers' plight has been compounded by a total lack of funds in comparison to their Premier League opposition even down to the likes of Portsmouth, who have gone into administration. This has hampered the chances of Brown being able to bolster his squad with quality rather than quantity.

The team have had no stability, whether through a major run of injuries or Brown's management skills, to make matters worse.

However, it is just another reason to decry the Premiership's ever-increasing gap between the haves and have nots, with Hull City definitely in the latter category.

Premier League Preview: Hull City Vs Burnley, Kingston Communication Stadium, Kingston upon Hull, England, Saturday 10 April 2010, 15:00 BST

In football, it is often mentioned that a game is a "six-pointer," and this is never more appropriate than for this fixture. The points up for grabs at Hull City's KC Stadium could be the difference between Premier League survival and playing in the Championship next season, for both clubs.

Brian Laws brings his Burnley side to East Yorkshire on the back of a confidence-sapping 6-1 mauling from a rampant Manchester City side. The Clarets are without a win since early February, when they beat West Ham in their only Premiership victory of 2010.

The Tigers, despite a loss to Stoke City last week, have high spirits after the arrival of Iain Dowie in Hull.

With one win in three outings for Dowie's Hull City team, Dowie will be hoping to kick on from the disappointment of last week, where his makeshift defence conceded early from a Paul McShane error and further fell behind after the team was knocked down to 10 men.

Tigers Captain George Boateng was unfortunate enough to get a boot to the face from Tuncay Sanli after the Stoke City striker made an attempt at an audacious overhead bicycle kick, making contact with the Dutchman's head.

Boateng was stretchered off with a suspected broken jaw but luckily only ended up with a mild concussion. Dowie says that Boateng has a "45 percent" chance of being fit for the important Burnley game.

The Tigers will still be without Stephen Hunt, who is struggling to overcome a foot problem, but Ibrahima Sonko could make a return to the injury ravaged defense after parent club Stoke City blocked his participation in last week's clash.

Burnley will be hoping that club Captain Steve Caldwell is fully recovered from a long-standing groin injury that has sidelined him since December. However, midfielder Stephen Jordan will have to go through a late fitness test with his knee injury.

Laws's main problem in the buildup to the clash is the recent outburst by Joey Gudjonsson, the Icelandic midfielder, who has gone on record stating that the Clarets boss has lost the dressing room.

He told Icelandic website, fotbolti.net , "He lost the dressing room long ago."

Further he said, "I think all the players have lost faith in him, the performances say all that has to be said."

He went on, "This shows that the guys do not believe in what he is doing, this just does not seem to work out."

With the unrest in the Burnley camp, Hull City and Dowie will be hoping to capitalise and keep the club's 100 percent win record at the KC since Dowie's appointment.

However, the Tigers will be cautious of the backlash that they could receive from the wounded Clarets after last week's dismal performance.