Hull City vs Crystal Palace preview - Allam issues Hull spending warning

Posted Friday, October 03, 2014 by PA

Hull owner Assem Allam has warned he will stop "throwing money" at the club if he cannot force through his controversial 'Tigers' rebrand.

Allam has been bank-rolling Hull since saving the club from financial calamity in 2010, and has invested upwards of B£70million in the team since then.

He believes the only route to sustainability lies in changing the official name from Hull City AFC to Hull Tigers, a move he thinks would lead to sizeable overseas investment.

Despite the Football Association Council throwing out his proposal in April, Allam backed manager Steve Bruce's rebuilding plans this summer with over B£30million of transfer funds.

But the 75-year-old Egyptian, who is engaged in arbitration with the FA over its decision and has also put the club up for sale, insists there will be no more spending unless he gets his way.

"That [the money] stops now. It has to stop," Allam told BBC's Football Focus.

"I won't pay out if I cannot create income. That is called 'throwing money at it'."

"I won't throw money at a problem. I want to deal with the problem."

Allam's latest intervention cannot have been welcomed by Bruce, who has done his level best to play peacemaker in an increasingly bitter stand-off between the owner and sections of the fan base for over a year now.

That his words come on the eve of a home match against Crystal Palace, meanwhile, represents an unwelcome case of deja-vu.

It was the corresponding fixture last season when protests against the name change plan reached fever pitch, with supporter demonstrations proving an unwanted distraction as Hull slipped to their first home defeat.

The atmosphere at the KC Stadium has been on a knife edge at times this term, with chants of 'City Till We Die' now booed by rival elements of the crowd.

What awaits in the stands on Saturday, when Bruce's main priority is a first win since the opening day of the season, is now an open question.

But the manager was pragmatic when asked to comment on Allam's position ahead of the match.

Bruce noted that no further spending was now possible until January but insisted he would not be shy about requesting funds when the time comes.

"The window's finished and I'm sure he (Allam) is delighted, but it's my job to knock the door and want better and if I'm not doing that I'm not doing my job right," he said.

"I will always, always ask the question. Of course it's not a bottomless pit, we understand that, and I have to say the chairman and the owners have assembled a wonderful squad together here.

"We can't argue or grumble about what we've been able to put together. So I wont be mithering him now but then the window doesn't open for another three months. I'll have a little nibble then."

Veteran goalkeeper Steve Harper returns to the Hull side with Allan McGregor out for up to six weeks with a shoulder injury.

Bruce must also decide whether Hatem Ben Arfa or Gaston Ramirez are ready to make their first Barclays Premier League starts since arriving on transfer deadline day, while James Chester is in line for a recall if Bruce chooses to return to a 3-5-2 formation.

Robert Snodgrass (knee) remains a long-term absentee but David Meyler is set to return to the squad.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock believes Bruce deserved to win last season's manager of the year ahead of his Eagles predecessor Tony Pulis.

After winning promotion from the Championship, Bruce steered Hull to a 16th-placed finish in the top flight and led the club to its first ever FA Cup final.

He was beaten to the top manager's prize, however, by Pulis, who rescued Palace from the bottom three and guided the Eagles to 11th.

Warnock believes Bruce should have been given more recognition for his success last term.

"I know Tony got manager of the year but I thought Steve Bruce was head and shoulders the best manager around," Warnock said.

"To make a club like Hull very comfortable in the Premier League and to get to the FA Cup final - I thought that was fantastic.

"He's done an incredible job and he's got fabulous support from his chairman too.

"I know the chairman gets criticism but there aren't many teams in the bottom half who have had as much money put in as Hull.

"He's been fantastic and they've bought some very good players."

Warnock has a fully-fit squad to choose from for the trip.

Marouane Chamakh played 18 minutes against Leicester last weekend and the striker is considered fit enough to start after recovering from a hamstring problem.