For seven years a bell has lay dormant in Hull. On the 16th August it shall be rung to a crescendo of applause rising out of the KC stadium and all of England will know that Hull City are about to play their first ever match in England’s top flight. And what a journey it has been to get this far and even Hull fans wearing rose-tinted glasses would have not been able to envision the rise of Hull City over the past seven years.
In 2001 Hull City were on the verge of becoming bankrupt and dropping out of the Football League completely. Yet on the 12th March 2001 Hull City’s future was saved, just. The then benefactors presented the club with a bell with the condition that it should not be rung until the club’s first day in the top flight, and this coming Saturday it will ring out and be music to the ears of the hardened Hull fans.
The progression up the football pyramid has been remarkable, after two languid years in the fourth tier of English football Hull gained back to back promotions as runner-ups, jumping up to the Championship for the 2006-2007 season, under the guidance of former England Under 21 manager Peter Taylor. Yet Taylor left the club in December of 2006 but Hull managed to avoid relegation by ten points, building a platform to scale further up the Championship table in the next few years. After three successful years, Hull appeared to falter, yet another management reshuffle took place and by June 2007 Hull barely avoided relegation finishing in 21st place. But once more a transformation took place, improving from 21st Hull finished 3rd in the Championship last season and gained promotion to the Premier League via the playoffs, beating Bristol City in a nail biting Playoff Final at Wembley, with Hull City legend Dean Windass, defying his advancing years to score the only goal.
Their ascent from fourth tier football to the Premier League is the third quickest in English football (Swansea and Wimbledon share the honour for the quickest climb) but surely a bigger test of character, grit and determination await over the course of the next 38 league games. Can Hull survive in the Premiership alongside the free-spending billionaire owners and former European Champions? Many pundits believe they cannot, but if History has taught us anything, it is not to write off The Tigers, and on Saturday when the bell rings, The Tigers will roar.
Chris Boothroyd (Online Ed.)
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