Category: NoToHullTigers

The results of the Hull City Official Supporters Club’s ballot of its members on the name change were published today.

A quick reminder of the context of this poll first. On Tuesday 14 January, Sky Sports reported that Dr Allam had promised to “walk away” from the club within 24 hours if the FA did not approve the name change. The very next day, Wednesday 15 January, the club announced the record signing of Nikica Jelavic, and ballot papers began to arrive with OSC members.

Despite the threat of financial uncertainty, and significant investment in the playing squad, a clear majority of OSC members still chose to vote against the name change.

The question asked was:

Do you agree to the Club’s request to change its playing name from Hull City AFC to Hull Tigers? YES or NO.

The results were as follows:

Members who voted YES: 377 (40.5%)

Members who voted NO: 555 (59.5%)

Ballot form sent to 1477 members

Total number of votes received: 932

Turnout: 63%

You can read an OSC statement on the poll here: http://www.hullcityosc.com/news/members-name-change-poll-results/

City Till We Die would like to thank the OSC once again for providing the resources required to conduct this poll, the results of which will be included in their submission to the FA. Now that a clear majority of their membership have voted against the name change, we trust that this will be reflected in future OSC statements and policy.

The fact that so many OSC members voted in favour of keeping our historic name despite Dr Allam’s threat to “walk away” clearly demonstrates the strength of feeling on this subject. It also further weakens claims that a so-called “silent majority” are in favour of Dr Allam’s plans, or that the No To Hull Tigers campaign only reflects the views of a small minority of City supporters. It should now be clear to any impartial observer that neither of these claims is true.

This is just the latest in a series of poll results that demonstrate majority opposition to the name change proposal (see www.citytillwedie.com/stats for further details), including a Hull Daily Mail poll in December, in which 69% of 3,450 respondents voted against any change to the club’s name. In a previous OSC poll (with a significantly smaller turnout) conducted in October, 58% voted against the name change, with just 29% in favour and 13% “indifferent”.

The results of the new OSC poll complete the jigsaw: all Hull City supporter groups who have voted on the issue have now come out unequivocally in opposition to the name change. They are joined by the Football Supporters Federation, Supporters Direct, supporters’ trusts around the country, leading football journalists, pundits and former players, experts in business and marketing, and numerous members of Hull City Council. All are now speaking with one voice to say, “No To Hull Tigers”.

No further discussion is required on the subject of whether or not the No To Hull Tigers view is a majority view. It clearly is.

The question that remains unanswered is why Dr Allam is continuing to attempt to force through this change, against the wishes of the majority of his existing customer base, when there is no real evidence that it will benefit our football club. No surveys have been done. No hard data has been presented. No serious case has been made to support the argument that it will bring in additional revenue.

We await his answer.

CITY TILL WE DIE

City Till We Die represents Amber Nectar, City Independent, Hull City Southern Supporters, the Tigers Co-op, members of the Not 606 forum, Tiger-Chat, Tigerlink and the ‘Ulltras.

Present: F.Beill, C.Cooper, A.Dalton, K.Ellis, M.Gothard, J.Greenwood, M.Gretton, C.Jackson, R.Harmer, P.Mills, L.Motherby, R.Skelton, I.Waterson

Remotely connected: A.Beill, I.Berriman, M.Scott

Minutes of the previous meeting

All agreed they were a true record of the meeting on 6^th January 2014.

Matters arising (not on the agenda)

None.

FA consultation process

Review of submission A document

The document to be submitted to the FA on Friday 24^th January was discussed. All were happy apart from I.Berriman. 

Action: I.Berriman to directly liaise with M.Scott on small finishing touches to submission A by Tuesday 21^st January at absolute latest.

Action: M.Scott to get finalised document to N.Johnson on Tuesday 21^st January.

Review of lobbying process.

• ERCFA –Met with ERCFA to understand their process. ERCFA council members have been written to.
• Local Members of Parliament – All have been written to.
• Hull City Council – Happy with the support we’ve had from individual councillors.

Action: Include the best three quotes from councillors in submission A.

• FSF – They’ve been asked to present to the FA.
• Supporters Direct – They’ve sent us a copy of their submission.

Action: M.Scott to add a copy of SD submission to the forum for all to view.

• Football League – Officials and 72 clubs have been written to.

Action: C.Cooper to speak to the Football League this week. 

• Premier League – R.Harmer and C.Cooper attending meeting on Thursday 23^rd January.

Action: A version of our submission A to be available on Thursday for C.Cooper/R.Harmer to take with them.

• FA council – All have been written to.
• Local media – Article expected in the Hull Daily Mail on Tuesday 21^st January featuring M.Gretton, I.Waterson and G.Bielby.
• City of Culture bid team – M.Gretton emailed them the information pack, thanked them for their hard work and offered to work with them on relevant issues.

Plan submission B presentation

Action: A.Medcalf and J.Greenwood will lead on the presentation.

Meeting with Councillor S.Brady and A.Johnson MP

Discussed meeting CTWD have been invited to. I.Waterson concerned that original purpose of the meeting (Influencing the council, being introduced to the All-party group on football and discussing the stadium freehold) is now irrelevant. All felt it’s still very worthwhile meeting and establishing a relationship. 

Action: I.Waterson, K.Ellis and F.Beill to attend meeting on Friday 24^th January.

Action: A new thread to be created on the forum so that everyone can contribute questions/ideas.

Media

Review media contacts process

Agreed CTWD should be proactive in media appearances and not simply respond to whatever arguments are coming out of the club.

FA meeting

Agreed to respect the FA’s wish that any meeting we are offered should not be publicised. Our submission and a statement will be released to our supporters immediately after the meeting.

Membership

Latest membership count is 1603.

Agreed that membership applications will remain online only for the foreseeable future.

Finance

Another batch of wristbands has been ordered and paid for. Postcards have been paid for.

Action: Order another batch of 5000 postcards.

Action: Order another batch of 3000 badges.

Future actions

No To Hull Tigers Day

It was felt that this is unwieldy. Focus instead on working with Cardiff’s supporters trust for a joint statement before the game at Cardiff City Stadium (check date).

Action: Ulltras to take this on as their own project.

Billboard

This has been investigated but requires too large a commitment and the company are not flexible. No longer pursuing. 

Strategy after consultation

Not for this meeting but something to be thought about for the next meeting. 

Meeting with journalist A.Clavane

R.Skelton and M.Gretton to accompany K.Ogram on Wednesday 22^nd January.

AOB

I.Waterson had a request from a local radio station to conduct interviews at the video shoot. Asked to politely decline as time is very tight already.

M.Gothard heard a journalist on the radio saying that MK Dons were a precedent for this case. J.Greenwood explained that the ERCFA told CTWD that the rule that is in place was only introduced after that debacle and that it has never been tested.

C.Cooper asked what CTWD are doing with the responses from other supporters’ trusts. We believe K.Ogram is collating some information.

Action: A.Beill and F.Beill to follow up with all trusts who could not be previously contacted.

Action: C.Cooper to liaise with K.Ogram on documenting the responses.

Date of next meeting

Provisionally Wednesday 5^th February.

On the day that City Till We Die formally submitted their written response to the FA over the club’s proposed name change (Friday 24 January) members of our committee met with Hull City Council Leader Steve Brady and Alan Johnson (MP for Hull West and Hessle) at the Guildhall.  

The meeting was exceptionally positive and cordial, with both parties recognising and commenting upon how professionally the CTWD campaign has been run – and how much support has been widely captured by CTWD since our inception in September 2013.  

This respectful and engaging meeting was essentially designed to establish how all parties could work together, move forward on the name change application submitted by the club, and plan for the future, whatever the decision the FA make.

All parties were keen to stress their commitment to work with Dr Allam on the matter and discuss how each of us can progress this relationship and the future of the club to everyone’s benefit.  

Encouragingly, a further meeting is planned in the near future to follow up on initial foundations laid during our discussions. CTWD will be delighted to meet again with both Councillor Brady and Alan Johnson MP at the appropriate time.  

CITY TILL WE DIE

Members of the CTWD group met with senior representatives of the ERCFA this week and discussed the process by which this critical local stakeholder would provide formal submission to the FA.

CTWD were impressed at the vigour being shown by our local Football Association in this matter, and their determination to ensure all local Leagues and constituent members have their full say before ERCFA provide final submission to the FA on 6th February was testament to the professionalism of the people representing the grassroots of our game locally.

ERCFA clearly recognised the significant part they play within the national FA approval process and it was encouraging to hear that members of other regional FA’s see Hull City’s name change issue not just as a local issue for our club but as an issue for the wider football family to provide feedback.

CTWD would like to thank the ERCFA for their time and wish them well in soliciting their members’ views before formally responding.

CTWD would advise if you are involved in local football and wish your view on the name change application to be considered – especially with the wider implications for football – that you should contact the secretary of your local league (County League, Sunday League, Boys League, Driffield League) before 3rd February. Please see link for contact details.

The potential name-change was one of the main topics of discussion on this morning’s David Burns show on Radio Humberside, with views from all sides represented. If you missed it, it’s available to listen to on iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p01nr1mc/David_Burns_16_01_2014/

From a No To Hull Tigers perspective, the stand-out was a very moving contribution from a listener called Sally, which really brought home why the name of the club matters. We urge you to listen to her call – you can find it at 2.15.12 in.

If you don’t have time to listen to the whole show, we also recommend the following sections:

0.26.13: JJ Tatton disproves the idea that “Hull Tigers” will be more appealing to people in the far East.

0.35.25: City Till We Die spokesperson Mark Gretton.

2.35.28: A text from Julie about Hull-born FA founding father Ebenezer Cobb Morley.

2:43:38: Caller Paul corrects some misinformation about CTWD.

City Till We Die welcomes the decision by Hull City Official Supporters Club (HCOSC) to poll all of its members once again on the issue of a name change to “Hull Tigers”, in order to supply the FA with more comprehensive data on the views of their members.

A one-page ballot paper has been sent to all HCOSC members, along with a Freepost envelope in which to return the completed form. The deadline for returning forms is Thursday 23 January.

The question asked is: “Do you agree to the Club’s request to change its playing name from Hull City AFC to Hull Tigers?” (Yes/No)

We fully support any initiative which seeks to gain a clearer view of Hull City supporters’ opinions on this important issue, and commend the HCOSC for spending funds on facilitating this ballot.

City Till We Die urges all HCOSC members (some of whom are also members of CTWD) to take part in this important vote. In the words of the HCOSC Board of Directors, “Please don’t waste this opportunity to have a say on the future of your club.”

In an interview with Sky Sports, Dr Allam today reiterated his promise to “walk out” on the club if he does not get his way over a name change to “Hull Tigers”. He made similar remarks to The Independent On Sunday on 1 December. The difference this time is that he is now treating the views of the FA just as dismissively as the views of Hull City supporters. 

You can watch a video of his key remarks to Sky Sports here: http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/9115932/allam-to-go-if-new-name-is-rejected

This news piece contains further quotes: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11714/9115906/premier-league-assem-allam-tells-fans-he-will-go-if-fa-dont-back-hull-tigers-name-change

City Till We Die is disappointed that at a time when Dr Allam should be making the positive case for change and showing respect for the consultation process which is underway, instead he is issuing threats.  

We are confident that supporters of Hull City will see through these remarks, and believe that the Football Association will be unimpressed by Dr Allam’s lack of respect for their authority as the regulators of the national game.

Further coverage of Dr Allam’s remarks can be found below.

City Till We Die spokesperson Ian Waterson gave his reaction on sportsTALK: http://talksport.com/football/hull-city-name-sacrosanct-says-supporters-group-chief-14011475637

City Till We Die spokesperson Andy Dalton was one of the contributors to the discussion on Radio Humberside’s Sports Talk: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01np51v

Sports Journalist Of The Year David Conn wrote a story for The Guardian:  http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jan/14/hull-city-owner-allam-quit-tigers

And the news was also reported by the Daily Mail http://bit.ly/dmallam, The Daily Express, http://bit.ly/deallam, The Mirror http://bit.ly/mirallam and The Telegraph http://bit.ly/telallam. 

Finally, a poll on the talkSPORT website currently has 75% support for the No To Hull Tigers point of view: http://bit.ly/Talkspoll

Assem Allam said the word City was “common, lousy and irrelevant” when he proposed changing Hull City’s name to Hull Tigers. In order to change our name Dr Allam must have the agreement of the FA and so made a formal application to them on 15 December 2013. The FA have decided to consult all of the club’s stakeholders, which include Hull City Council amongst others.

CTWD are in the process of lobbying as many of the stakeholders as possible ahead of a deadline for initial written submissions to the FA of 24 January. But we urgently need your help to convince Hull City Council that we are against the name change. At present we do not know how the Council intend to respond to the FA’s process of consultation. It is possible that they are wary of antagonising Assem Allam further than they have done in the past. Therefore we need to convince them that fans of Hull City AFC are clear that we want Hull City Council to keep Hull City AFC. 

We would like all our Hull-based members and supporters to email their Hull City Councillor asking them to ensure Hull City Council responds to the FA opposing the name change application. During the year Hull is City of Culture our professional football team should be called Hull City, not Hull Tigers. 

Contact details of each ward councillor can be found here: https://cmis.hullcc.gov.uk/cmis/YourCouncillors/Councillors.aspx

Please do this as soon as you can and send a copy to the Council leader, Steve Brady at councillor.brady@hullcc.gov.uk. Copy us in at NoToHullTigers@citytillwedie.com. 

Tell Hull City Council we’re Hull City AFC!

Over the last few weeks members of the City Till We Die (CTWD) committee have been, at our instigation, talking to committee members from the Hull City Official Supporters Club (HCOSC) and the Hull City Southern Supporters (HCSS), in the hope that we could agree a joint statement acceptable to all parties about the proposed name change to form a part of our submission to the FA.

HCSS are in the process of polling their members and are considering in committee their response to our joint statement. Sadly, HCOSC have decided that they cannot be a party to a joint statement with us and HCSS. In order to be as transparent as possible we have published here the email from the HCOSC directors declining to be part of a joint statement, and below this the CTWD email response.

Email received from HCOSC follows:

With reference to your E Mail of 0917 dated Monday 6th January 2014 attaching your draft statement. 

Just to clarify and remove any possible confusion on the matter, the Board of Directors of the Hull City Official Supporters Club (HCOSC) do not wish to participate with Hull City Southern Supporters (HCSS) and City Till We Die (CTWD) in an agreed statement to the Football Association (FA). Please do not include the HCOSC on any statements or press releases that you issue. 

We will be making our own submission to the FA, taking into consideration our members views, on the Club’s request to change the playing name to Hull Tigers. Nothing has changed, this has always been our intention. For the record, we recognise that there are many strongly held views for and against the name change, and, it should be said, many who appear indifferent to the proposal. Whether the indifferent are in a majority or minority is not something any group can legitimately claim to know. There simply isn’t the evidence base for anyone to make definitive claims for or against a name change. 

That said, it is certainly not our intention, at any time, to criticise any individuals or groups within the Tiger Nation on the issue; that will serve no purpose; it would also be downright unfair. Separate submissions can be made without undermining the fact we all value our football club. We all want to see the club prosper on and off the field and we believe this is best achieved by everyone getting behind Steve Bruce and the players. 

We have spoken to the FA recently and made it clear that we will be making our submission on behalf of our members only. We have also made it clear that the submission will not seek to convey the impression we represent the majority of Hull City fans – which is manifestly not the case. Indeed, if the FA genuinely want to know what the vast (silent) majority think on the matter, in terms of preferences, the thousands of season card holders plus those who have attended games this season and indeed hundreds if not thousands of fans who cannot get to games will need to be asked . 

Signed
HCOSC Board of Directors
10th January 2014

The CTWD response follows:

Board of Directors of the Hull City Official Supporters Club (HCOSC),

This is in response to the email you sent to our committee member with whom you have had recent contact. The email has now been considered by the wider City Till We Die (CTWD) committee. We agree that it clarifies your position on the issues that you cover and are grateful for your candour. CTWD has never released a press statement claiming alignment or support of any persons or group unless that support has been clearly forthcoming and of course will not do so given your views as stated. 

Nevertheless, we are disappointed that you feel unable to sign up to a joint statement on the proposed name change along with ourselves and the Hull City Southern Supporters (HCSS). Many of our members are HCOSC (and HCSS) members, so it still seems a sensible aim to us and one which a number of our supporters had urged us to pursue.

We strongly disagree with your statement “…there are strongly held views for and against the name change, and, it should be said, many who appear indifferent to the proposal.” The polls we have seen from every fans group – including the HCOSC – have shown an overwhelming majority vehemently opposed to the name change from those who have voted. As to “indifference,” we consider it a misrepresentation to assume that people not voting in any poll means they do not care. It is just as likely to be some other reason, for example the poll may not have been as well publicised as it could have been. It is wrong to attempt to second guess why people haven’t voted. In any event, the 1500 members who have joined us in our first two months as an organisation, the 5,000 followers on twitter, the 4000 ‘likes’ on Facebook, the 30,000 leaflets people have taken from us and the 9,000 “No To Hull Tigers” badges that are being worn, the 3,000 people who have signed the giant flag, along with the 15,000 people who have signed the petition against the name change, suggests to us that this is an issue of the first importance to the Tiger Nation. We are unsure what you consider “definitive evidence” but as a group that is currently a “one issue” organisation, CTWD could not have achieved the reach it has without this huge support from Hull City AFC fans across the globe.

We do agree that it is important that all fans continue to give their full-throated support to Steve Bruce and the team. At CTWD we will to continue to urge this, as we have done throughout our campaign. We agree too that a wider poll of Hull City AFC fans on this issue would have been useful, which was why we wrote to Assem Allam in November offering to organise a poll of season ticket holders. Disappointingly, he never responded to us on this, which was clearly an opportunity missed. If you are intending to do further polling of your fans, we are very happy to help with this as we have said before. We are aware that the HCSS are currently polling their membership on the proposed name change and it will be interesting to see the result of this now that the name change proposal is formally on the FA’s table.

We remain willing to meet and talk further about this should your views change, and to share ideas and information where this is mutually beneficial. Given that you have been good enough to formally set out the position of the Directors of the HCOSC on this issue, we will put your email (with the email address and the name of the sender redacted) along with this response on our website so that we remain as transparent with our supporters as we have attempted to do throughout the campaign. Please feel free to make public any of the recent email trail between your committee members and ours (again, with names and addresses redacted).

Best wishes,

The City Till We Die campaign committee

As the countdown continues to a decision on the name of Hull City AFC, City Till We Die is exploring lots of different ways to make sure that the FA understand the strength of feeling on this issue. To that end, we have produced 10,000 postcards to send to the FA.

On one side is the message “Say No To Hull Tigers”. On the other, the card is addressed to FA HQ at Wembley, and there’s room for your name and address, and some comments about why the name Hull City matters to you. You can see the design of the postcard here: http://bit.ly/NTHTpostcard

All you need to do is fill it in, slap a stamp on (50p is well worth it to do your bit to save our name, right?) and pop it in a postbox.

We’ll be handing the postcards out at City matches over the coming weeks, starting with our home game against Chelsea. We’re keen to ensure that everyone who’s given a postcard takes the time to fill it out and send it off, so rather than push them into the hands of everyone who passes, we’ll be handing them out over the course of several weeks, taking the time to explain what they’re all about. We’ve also put postcards in with the latest batch of membership packs.

To get hold of your postcard, look out for our volunteers around the ground, or come and find us by our giant City Till We Die flag.

Exiled supporter who can’t get to the KC? If so, email your name and address to postcards@citytillwedie.com and we’ll send you one. (Or, if you’re from a household full of City supporters, a few – just let us know) 

As you are aware CTWD have been invited to submit evidence to the FA as part of their consultation over Hull City AFC’s application to become Hull Tigers. We will be presenting the results of our on-line petition which you may have already signed. We intend to supplement this digital petition with a good old-fashioned paper version.
 
We would like you to;
 
1. Print off the petition (as many copies as you can fill). You can download it here.
 
2. Collect signatures from family, friends, work colleges, neighbours etc.
 
3. Return the completed/partially completed forms to CTWD.
 
Once you have completed the petition please send us an e-mail to petition@citytillwedie.com and we’ll arrange collection (which may be at the Spurs home game). If you have questions please ask.
 
The petition is an important way of showing the FA that Hull City supporters say No to Hull Tigers, so please do all you can to make it a success.
 
Thank you,
 
CTWD

Now that the club has officially written to the Football Association requesting to change our playing name to “Hull Tigers”, the time is right to focus our campaign on the FA. And there is no better time to be doing so than during our home game against Stoke City. 

The FA are celebrating 150 years of their history this year. As part of the celebrations, Saturday 14 December 犀利士
has been designated Ebenezer Morley Day, in honour of the Hull-born man who was the FA’s first secretary, and is considered one of the founding fathers of Association Football. FA dignitaries will be at the KC to watch the game, so let’s make our voices heard loud and clear!

In addition to the “City Till I Die” song we sing at 19.04 minutes into every game, we are encouraging City supporters to sing two extra songs. Join us in singing “We say no, FA, we say no” and “Everywhere we go, let the FA know, we are Hull City”, and keep the songs going at future games. 

And that’s not the only way you can help us make sure, over the coming weeks, that the custodians of the game understand the strength of feeling on this subject. As promised, we will producing and distributing “No To Hull Tigers” postcards to send to the FA. In the meantime, if you feel passionately about the name change proposal, you can contact the FA by the following means: 

Fans’ View phoneline: 0844 980 0699

Email: info@thefa.com

Post: The Football Association, Wembley Stadium, PO Box 1966, London, SW1P 9EQ

Twitter: @FA

Sign our petition: http://www.citytillwedie.com/petition

Let the FA know!

CITY TILL WE DIE

Not long to go now until our public event, which takes place from 2.30–4.30 this Saturday at Tigers Lair, 64-68 Anlaby Road, HU3 2JA. (Reminder: the home game v Stoke City kicks off at 5.30pm.)

Here’s what’ll be happening:

From 2.30PM:

• Meet the CTWD team
• Membership enquiries and sign up
• CTWD scarf sales/collection

2.45 – Vinnie Whitehead acoustic set

3.00 – A welcome from CTWD

3.05 – Guest speaker: Mark Herman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Herman)

3.15 – Cuba Drive acoustic set

3.30 – Guest speaker: Malcolm Clarke (Football Supporters Federation).

3.50 – Vinnie Whitehead acoustic set.

犀利士
>4.00-4.30PM

• Membership sign up
• Scarf sales

See you there? If you’re planning on coming, please let us know via our Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/365710716899095/

On Thursday evening, City Till We Die staff and helpers gathered together for three hours and stuffed a staggering 890 envelopes (some with multiple memberships…) with membership cards, wristbands and letters. 

They’ll start going out in the post on Friday 13 December. We’re doing them in order, so the ones which have been waiting the longest will be going out first. With a bit of luck, that first batch should all be in the post by Monday.

Huge thanks to the volunteers who joined us to help – and apologies again for keeping you all waiting.

Not signed up yet? Get yourself to http://www.citytillwedie.com/membership sharpish, and rectify that right now! Go on! It’s only two measly quid!

We’ve seen numerous football columnists and pundits slating Dr Allam’s name-change plans, on the grounds of history and tradition. But what does a marketing expert think?

Mark Ritson won Columnist Of The Year for business magazines this year. In his regular column in industry journal Marketing Week today, he has the following to say about the “Hull Tigers” fiasco:

“… All this illustrates one of the most important points about brand management – how you enact a strategy is often just as important as the strategy itself. Much of the ‘marketing theory’ being quoted by Mr Allam is, quite frankly, nonsense, but the one area he has completely failed to grasp is brand engagement.

The lesson for other marketers intent on radical changes like rebranding or repositioning is that the more ambitious and dramatic the proposed strategy, the more gentle and engaged a marketer must be to ensure the strategy is first accepted and then executed correctly.”

You can read the full column here: 犀利士
gweek.co.uk/opinion/4008852.article”>http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/opinion/4008852.article