There was a story in the Observer’s unmissable Said & Done Column at the weekend, which hinted at one of the reasons for Hull’s financial problems. Their debt is apparently around £16m, which the Observer claims is the same figure that the Jimmy Bullard deal cost the Tigers.
I’ve got a lot of time for Adam Pearson, who has just taken over as chairman at the KC Stadium. He did a sound job as Leeds’ commercial director and can’t be tied to the disasters that befall the Elland Road club as they chased ‘the dream’. Plenty of people were surprised when he left to buy Hull, who were in administration at the wrong end of professional football’s pyramid. Two promotions later – and with a brand stadium – nobody doubted Pearson’s judgement, particularly as Leeds were heading swiftly in the other direction.
It comes as no surprise that Pearson’s auditing the transfers that seem to have placed Hull in such a mess. No prizes for guessing which one comes first.
Adam is looking at all the transfers at Hull over the last couple of years and has got his teeth into the Bullard one. He has been going over the reports from the club doctor and looking into all aspects of that and every other transfer.
A Times report last week, published around the time that Deloitte revealed their reservations about Hull’s financial position, suggested that Fulham were staggered by the amount of money Hull were offering both them and Bullard, who has been beset by injury problems since he made the move.
When they spent a club-record £5 million on Jimmy Bullard in January, Fulham were staggered by the figures being quoted for a player with a dismal injury record and who is now 31. Hull were attempting to make a statement, but notwithstanding that Bullard immediately succumbed to a significant knee problem, it had a desperate feel.
This thread suggests some Hull fans are beginning to think they might have made a mistake.