A very warm evening at the King and Queen pub was the venue for our AGM, and in attendance were Paul Ashbridge, Rich Gardham, Keith Dean, Andy Beill, Dan Heap, Mike Scott, Mark Gretton, Mike Lamb , Adrian Hoggarth, Eamonn McCusker and Chris Kneeshaw. Jon and Lucy Tennison also joined the meting via Zoom. Apologies were received for non attendance from Rob Tuffnell, Ian Thomson, Andy Coates, Pete Helsby, Jason Murvin, Iain Armitage and Mike Lawton.
Address from the Chair Paul Ashbridge
There can be no getting away from the fact that the 24-25 season was not a good one for Hull City. After just missing out on the promotion play offs the previous season we survived relegation on the final day at Portsmouth and now have the unlikely and unwelcome feat of having sacked 3 managers in the space of 12 months. And very recently of course we have news of a transfer embargo lasting for the next 3 windows lasting until January 2027. I dare say we have not heard the last about this and await to see what will happen in the next few weeks. Already the era of Tim Walter and his dreadful football is becoming a distant memory!
The fact that the player of the season was a goalkeeper, the excellent Croatian Ivor Pandur was a sign of the team’s struggles. Full credit to him though, very fine dispays throughout showcased a sound addition to the team.
We have had to curtail our sponsorship of the Hull City Ladies team, both for cost reasons and due to issues relating to the the governance of the club (the Ladies team is not afilliated with the parent club). We certainly wish all the very best to the players in the team, many of whom would seem to have had very unhappy experiences at their club of late.
My thanks to all of my fellow committee members who have all helped me in my one year role as HCSS chair., particular best wishes to Rub Tuffnell who has stepped back after 6 years as our treasurer. Richard Gardham had provisionally agreed to take over as chair this summer and was duly nominated and elected at the meeting
Tigers Eye Editor’s notes from Andy Beill
This was my fifth year as Tigers Eye Editor. The format has remained consistent with my previous issues, with the same page count as last year.
It cost £265 to produce 210 copies with our longstanding printing company in Sunderland (up £10 from last year), and £190 in postage, so £455 all together.
I’m aware of the decision to move the travel guide to a digital-only format, which makes sense for a number of reasons including a significant cost saving. It’s my belief that members would prefer the fanzine to remain in its traditional print format, which is a selling point for a return on your membership fee – unless anyone here at the AGM feels this should be up for discussion.
In terms of our digital offering, we didn’t publish any pieces online last season apart from Rich Gardham’s update to his article rating how harsh every Hull City managerial sacking has been, which we prepared in advance and published as soon as Tim Walter got the sack. It may be too much of a commitment for Rich to continue updating this article, given how prolific the club has become at sacking managers. If anyone would like to write for the website during the season, I’m happy to have the responsibility for publishing. And likewise happy to continue in the role of Tigers Eye fanzine editor.
Access issues report from Mark Gretton
Having been assured that the committee wished this new role to be made permanent Mark confirmed that a high priority must be in ensuring that the pubs we visit have easy access for those with mobility issues.A particular case was brought up of an otherwise excellent pub in Derby not being chosen due to poor accessability. Mark has also been liasing wit the parent club to discuss disability issues, in particular working with David Batte. It was important to bear in mind how sensitive it was not to push too far so as not to endanger the excellent relationship with the club regarding match ticketing. Mark is more than willing to answer individual questions you may have on these issues.
Treasurer’s report from Rob Tuffnell
The bank balance at the last AGM stood at £1,073.25. Membership fees received throughout the 24/25 season totalled £818.09 as well as a one-off contribution from a HCSS member of £50, however as of today the Monzo account balance stands at £65.77, noting:
- £600 player sponsorship for Hull City Ladies was made for the 24/25 season, which was decided post AGM that we should discontinue for the 25/26 season.
- Travel Guide costs stood £358, which we have since moved online.
- The outflows include two editions of Tigers Eye (the largest HCSS expense) for both the 24/25 season (£437.50) and 25/26 season (£455).
The balance will increase in the coming months once membership fees are credited to the account, which as of today stand at £891, meaning that there will be enough funds to cover the remaining costs of running HCSS (£25 as of 24/25 season) prior to the next AGM.
It was suggested that we should look to keep a minimum balane of £500 to cover at least the main expense of producing Tiger’s Eye. After the savings made we can confirm we can hold membership fees at their present rates for the coming season, with a further review in this regard to be made next summer.
Keith Dean has agreed to take on the treasurer’s role for the new season and we wish him well in this new job.
Travel Guide and legal matters , a report from Ian Thomson
- Travel Guide. The list of pub has now been finalised (reccies having been undertaken in Derby, Southampton and Wrexham) and the copy for the Guide is now in the process of being written. Plan is to have the TG completed ready for circulation by the end of this month. As previously announced, the TG will be produced solely in an online format henceforth, the costs of postage and printing being too onerous to warrant continuing with a hard copy format. I think it might be a good idea to forewarn the membership of this so will put something on Announce in the next few days;
- Legal stuff. As mentioned last year, I was keen on looking into incorporating HCSS as a company limited by guarantee but in light of the fact that (i) there will be a cost (albeit a fairly modest one) (ii) we are not very flush at present and (iii) there’s no pressing legal reason to do it right now I propose that we shelve the idea for twelve months and review, short of any unforeseen emergency arising which renders it advisable. Also, there are some imminent changes to data protection law but, in case anyone asks, they won’t affect what we currently do and in particular will not impose any additional work or risk upon us: I’m happy to elaborate on this if necessary.
Ticketing report from Mike Scott
Very pleased to report that of the approx 600 ticket applications during the season all were granted, the final match at Portsmouth being the only one we only just got our allocation. The likelihood of more clubs adopting online tickets and how we can adapt to this was discussed. Membership having dipped to 180 during covid times has now increased to circa 270. Once again the strong relationship bulit up by Martin and Mike with the ticketing office has helped us to get such exceptional service with getting match tickets. The committee passed on their thanks to the officers for their many years service in helping us to get such a premium service
Marketing Report from Rich Gardham
HCSS have, for the forseeable future stopped posting on x/twitter and are now using Bluesky, volumes are down but the trolls have largely disappeared which is an acceptable payoff. We are keen to engage younger members (Mike Scott confimed that we are still getting new recruits who seem to have just moved down south) and if you fall into this category and may be able to assist us in engaging in the more modern platforms we would be very pleased to hear from you. We are looking at meeting ex players for a social evening with HCSS in the London area, either as a one off event talking about their career and answeing questions or a more informal occasion watching a televised City game with the fans.