With the shock departure of Liam Rosenior after the end of the 2023-24 season many City fans were unsure what the new season would bring. However the appointment of new Head Coach Tim Walter looked to be a positive appointment with the German saying he would bring a heart attack football style to the MKM Stadium which compared to Roseniors cautious style gave people optimism.

The early transfer business was limited with just Ryan Giles making his loan permanent from Luton and Cody Drameh coming in from Leeds United in July.

This meant it was a youthful looking squad that took on pre season with some of the Tigers academy side stepping up to the first team to cover the gaps with the loss of at least eleven first team players at the end of the previous campaign.

There is an old saying that pre season is all about fitness but the results in pre season left the faithful slightly concerned as Walters men didn’t claim on victory in the six matches played. Firstly two matches on their pre season camp in Turkey, a 1-1 draw with Kasımpaşa before a 5-1 defeat at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium the home of Fenerbahçe.

Back on home soil we made a short trip to Doncaster Rovers but the 1500 travelling Tigers were dumbstruck as the League Two Rovers claimed a 4-0 win with the Tigers performance been somewhat lacklustre.

However performances did improve as Newcastle United and ACF Fiorentina visited the MKM Stadium. The Geordies went back to the North East with a 2-0 victory but we managed to hold I Viola to a 2-2 draw.

The final pre season outing was a trip to face Rubén Sellés Reading side in Berkshire. A 2-0 defeat was somewhat disappointing but one that Sellés will have been happy with and more on him later.

More additions arrived to bolster the squad before the opening day visit of Bristol City to the MKM. Former German youth international Marvin Mehlem joined from Darmstadt 98 along with Liam Millar from FC Basel and goalkeeper Anthony Racioppi arrived from BSC Young Boys.

So Saturday 10th August arrived for the opening day of what many hoped would be a steady season with even the possibility of another push towards the top six. So Bristol City arrived from the west country and almost took home all three points with a late goal from Fally Mayulu but an injury time penalty from Óscar Estupiñán managed to get us a point to start the campaign.

Next up was a Carabao Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday at the MKM in a game where both sides played weakened sides.

The first trip of the season matched the final trip of the previous campaign as we headed to Devon to take on Plymouth Argyle who were now managed by Wayne Rooney and another point was gained with a Lewie Coyle wonderstrike in a 1-1 draw.

The final two games of the month saw Millwall visit East Yorkshire in what was a rather drab 0-0 draw and the final game of the month saw what was probably City’s best performance of the month but they went down 2-0 to Elland Road to Leeds United though the whites had to work hard for the points. So we went into the first international break of the season with three points from a possible twelve and sitting in 19th place in the Championship table.

Further additions had arrived in the month of August which enabled some of the points to be won with permanent additions in Mason Burstow from Chelsea, Charlie Hughes from Wigan, Kasey Palmer from Coventry City, Mohamed Belloumi from Farense and Abu Kamara from Norwich City. With Loanees coming in the form of Óscar Zambrano, Chris Bedia, Gustavo Puerta, Finley Burns and Carl Rushworth joining the ranks from L.D.U. Quito, Union Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion respectively.

Steven Alzate also then joined after the window after his release from Brighton and Hove Albion to add another body to the squad.

Following the international break there was to be a run of five matches before the next stoppage starting with the visit of newly relegated Sheffield United to the MKM. The Blades headed home with the spoils and Walters men still had no wins to show for their efforts.

A trip to Stoke has never been a happy hunting ground for City and with half an hour to play and being 1-0 down another miserable night in Staffordshire was on the cards, however the boys sparked into life and goals from Kasey Palmer, Regan Slater and a Viktor Johansson own goal saw us take all three points for the first time under Tim Walter with a 3-1 win.

A further addition to the squad was announced following the Stoke game as Brazilian born but Italian native striker João Pedro arrived after leaving Fenerbahçe.

The clubs 120th year Anniversary game followed as Cardiff City headed North, donned a one off all black and gold kit we saw off the lowly Bluebirds 4-1 to claim back to back wins and a much needed boost of confidence for the squad after a slow start.

The first midweek away trip of the season saw us head to West London to take on Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road who at the time were also struggling at the wrong end of the table. A dogged performance was put in and a great strike from Cody Drameh and strikes from Chris Bedia and Liam Millar saw off the hoops in a 3-1 win and the small number of travelling fans had seen their side win three in a row.

However as usually happens with City they were brought back down to earth with a bump as they headed to Norfolk on the following Saturday and they torn apart by a Norwich side that looked a class above with the Canaries seeing off the Tigers 4-0 and truthfully it could have been a lot more.

So City had reached the second break of the season in 14th place with twelve points in what had been a satisfactory start to the season.

Following the break old foes Sunderland made the trip south and went home with the points though we did claim a point against eventual promotion side Burnley the following midweek and rounded off the week with a 1-1 draw ay Derby County in what was a game of two poor sides so a draw was the right result.

As the clocks went back the Tigers faithful were hoping it would not be a winter of discontent but unfortunately most of it turned out to be that.

The first weekend of November saw a return to East Yorkshire for the first time in front of a crowd since 2011 for Portsmouth, Pompey had visited in 2020 behind closed doors but the first time for many of the younger generation for them hearing the old chant Play Up Pompey at the MKM and the team from the Island City managed to grab a point to go back with and the pressure was starting to build on Tim Walter.

Another side City hadn’t faced away for a long time in front of fans was Oxford which has never been a ground where they have claimed many points, again they played The U’s in lockdown so this was the first time for many of the City fans that travelled on a cold damp Bonfire Night.

As the U’s claimed a 1-0 victory The Tigers fans had seen enough and voiced their opinions on the football style being played by Walter and most demanded he be removed from his post.

However Walter was still in charge as West Bromwich Albion became another side to take maximum points away from East Yorkshire and as the third international break of the season arrived City sat 19th with fifteen points and just one home win of the season so far.

Newly relegated Luton Town were the next opponents at Kenilworth Road and this time the home side took the spoils with a Mark McGuiness header going into Citys net for The Hatters to claim a 1-0 win in Monsoon conditions in Bedfordshire.

The following Tuesday came another home game this time with Sheffield Wednesday and the Owls took the easiest three points they would win all season as City looked devoid of ideas against their Yorkshire neighbours and with more fan dissatisfaction and boo’s ringing round the MKM at full time Walters time in Hull was up as the following day Acun Ilicali took the decision to part ways with the German.

Andy Dawson as he has done before stepped in as interim manager for the trip to play off chasing Middlesbrough and a much improved performance was showed by City even though they went down 3-1 to the Boro.

Two home games would follow first up Blackburn Rovers as Dawson still remained in charge and the Lancashire outfit became the second third successive side to take three points home with them.

Now about that game at Reading in pre season again and Rubén Sellés well he was the man that was chosen to get the Tigers out of the quagmire that they were now in as they sat bottom of the league with just fifteen points as Watford visited HU3 on a wet Wednesday night two weeks before Christmas. Sellés must have made an impression as we claimed a respectable 1-1 draw against the Hornets.

City have a rather good record at Coventry City having not lost their since 2007 but in Sellés first away game the Sky Blues finally managed to get the better of their Yorkshire visitors claiming a 2-1 win in the Midlands.

With only one solitary home win since the start of the season it was surely time for another and it finally came four days before Santa arrived as Swansea City were dispatched 2-1 to give the Tigers fans an early Christmas gift.

So boxing day arrived and a trip to Deepdale to face Preston North End was facing Tigers fans. On another wet dreary day the Lilywhites claimed a 1-0 win and people though Sellés honeymoon period was over. However to finish the year three days later it was back to Lancashire this time to Ewood Park to take on Blackburn Rovers and to the surprise of the faithful the boys managed to claim a 1-0 win with a Ryan Longman strike and as the year ended City sat in 21st on twenty two points and Sellés and his team knew they had work to do in the second half of the season if they were to retain their Championship status.

The new year started with two home games against Yorkshire rivals firstly Middlesbrough came on New Year's Day and went home with a 1-0 win in the final minutes of the game in a game which City were well worth a point but just came up short and three days later the eventual league champions Leeds United arrived and despite City going 1-0 up the Whites hit back to lead 3-1 with just nine minutes to play and looked like they would be heading back to West Yorkshire victorious. The Tigers had other ideas though as João Pedro tapped in from close range after a Ilan Meslier error and a sweet volley from Abu Kamara a minute from time saw City fight back for a 3-3 draw much to the frustration of the visitors.

The FA Cup gave us a break from the league on the second weekend of January as we kept up our poor run of form in the worlds oldest cup competition by losing on penalties to Doncaster Rovers at the MKM.

A trip to Millwall was once a daunting prospect but these days it is less so. The Lions seemed to be in a giving mood as with a Jake Cooper own goal they gifted City three points in the capital in Citys first win at The Den in twelve years.

After such a fantastic boost in SE16 City were back at home again the next Tuesday night as Queens Park Rangers visited the MKM and managed to reverse the result from earlier in the season as they claimed a 2-1 win.

Bramall Lane has never been a place City have had much luck with just two wins since the war at Sheffield United. The Blades sat second in the table with City in the bottom three and surely anyone who was there or watching on the TV couldn’t have predicted what happened. City sliced through the blades with a 3-0 victory much to the shock of the sold out away end.

One of the goal scorers on that famous night in South Yorkshire was Matt Crooks who arrived from Salt Lake City in the US along with Nordin Amrabat from AEK Athens, Kyle Joseph from Blackpool, Elliot Matazo from Monaco and John Egan from Burnley made up the permanent January additions. Joe Gelhardt also arrived on loan from Leeds United, Lincoln from Fenerbahçe and Louie Barry from Aston Villa being the other loan signings.

February stated with the visit of Stoke City to HU3 and another poor home performance meant the Potters took the spoils and the home form was still a worrying concern.

City’s early exit from the FA Cup meant a blank Saturday in the second weekend of the Month with the league visit to Cardiff City postponed until later in the month with the Bluebirds progressing to face Aston Villa in the fourth round.

The return to league action came at promotion chasing Burnley in the following midweek and despite their best efforts the Clarets claimed a 2-0 win at ease.

Ruben Sellés knew his charges had to start picking up points in their quest for survival as they welcomed Norwich City to the MKM. On a soggy afternoon a Matt Crooks goal meant they claimed a 1-1 draw against the Canaries.

After the Norwich game came back to back away games at oppostite ends of the country first up a trip North to take on Sunderland who had not lost a home game this season when the Tigers rolled into town however a goalkeeping howler from Anthony Patterson gifted City a 1-0 victory and a much needed three points.

From the North East to South Wales as three days later City headed to Cardiff hoping to back up their victory on Wearside against a Cardiff team struggling alongside City. However another lacklustre effort meant the Bluebirds managed to claim al three points in a game of poor quality and those travelling that night knew it had to be better with bottom of the table Plymouth Argyle next up at the MKM.

Argyle arrived in East Yorkshire having stayed in the north after their cup exploits at Manchester City on the Saturday and with City not having won any of the three previous contests with the Janners and no home win since December there was a nervousness around the ground before the game.

City did finally manage to get that vital home win against what many saw as the poorest team visit the MKM and a huge sigh of relief was felt as defeat would have dragged City into the drop zone and possible relegation.

There would be just three more games to pay before the next international window with Oxford to visit the MKM and two games on the road. Firstly we headed to the South West for the second away game in a row to face play off chasing Bristol City and compared to the Cardiff game a much better performance was put on by those in Amber and Black shirts. An early João Pedro goal gave the travelling contingent something to cheer however the big striker soon was heading for an early shower as he lunged into a challenge on Cam Pring and referee James Linington gave him his marching orders, The Robins did equalise in the second half but overall a hard earned point for the Tigers.

Now onto the Oxford game and like the Plymouth match the previous midweek it was a must win game and that they did with a Gustavo Puerta goal at the death giving us a vital three points towards survival.

The month ended with a trip to The Hawthorns a ground city have visited many times in the last twenty years and with West Brom sitting in the play off places they knew they’d have their work cut out to get a result. Albion went 1-0 up early in the second half and honestly City looked like they would be facing another defeat on the road but up popped Abu Kamara ten minutes from time to gain another vital point on the road and with ten games to go City sat 19th with forty one points knowing three more wins would probably be enough to maintain their status in the second tier.

First up after the two week break was a visit from Luton Town to the MKM who had improved under new manager Matt Bloomfield but most thought after the home wins against Plymouth and Oxford, City would have enough to see off their Bedfordshire visitors however the Hatters upset the odds to claim a 1-0 win and to drop City back in the mire.

The worst performance of last season the lads put in was probably away to Sheffield Wednesday on New Years Day 2024 as they went down 3-1 to the Owls in their first defeat on the famous old ground since 2007 and their 2025 visit wasn’t much better in a game that seemed to be like an end of season dead rubber with a lack of quality on both sides. It looked like we were heading for a 0-0 draw but upstepped Charlie Hughes as he leapt like a salmon in stoppage time to power a header past the Wednesday keeper and send the 3000 travelling Tigers into pandemonium in the Leppings Lane end as they had completed the Sheffield double for the first time in their history.

From the elation of Hillsborough to the despair of Hertfordshire as we headed for Watford the following Tuesday and again like the Cardiff game we just never got going and created little and the one bit of quality in the game gave the Hornets a 1-0 win as we once again were looking over our shoulders at the drop zone.

A rare Monday night fixture was next up for the The Tigers as Coventry City visited the MKM in what many looked at as the toughest game left to play. However a respectable 1-1 draw was gained and a renewed optimism going into the easter weekend and a double header of games and should the team be able to claim six points that would all but wrap up safety.

Good Friday came and the second longest trip of the season for the faithful as they trekked down to Glamorgan to face Swansea. Swansea has never been a happy hunting ground for City with their only win at the Swansea.com Stadium being in 2016 in the Premier League and before that just four league wins at the Swans old Vetch Field ground in thirty one visits. Their luck however didn’t change as the Swans bagged themselves a 1-0 lead and held onto it much to the frustration of those in the away end.

A short turnround was probably what the boys needed after the Good Friday disappointment and as Preston arrived in HU3 they knew they had to get points on the board. After going 1-0 down to North End, two second half Joe Gelhardt penalties managed to turn the game and give his side a 2-1 win and with Derby next up at the MKM must knew a win against the Rams would all but seal survival and give those booked to go to Portsmouth for the final day a relaxing end to the season.

Typically though with City this did not go to plan as they dished up their worst home performance of the season even topping the Luton game a month earlier as the Rams carried out a smash and grab at the death to go home with a 1-0 victory and they knew they were all but safe going into their final day at home to Stoke City and for the 2100 Tigers that were heading to the south coast for the final day a nervy week was ahead.

So Saturday May 3rd arrived and their was a nervous tension in Hampshire, with fans not able to eat due to nerves and some even not wanting to enter the ground as they couldn’t face what was to come but thankfully everyone made it in and what a day they had. Matt Crooks opened the scoring In the first half and with Luton Town behind to West Brom we were safe.

Pompey winger Christian Saydee managed to bring the Chimes level and as Luton went 5-1 down all City had to do was hang on for the point and that they did and on the whistle the party started in the away end as despite all the worry of the final few months City had survived by fourteen goals over Luton Town as they ended in 21st place with forty nine points.

After the conclusion of the season, owner Acun Ilicali decided to part ways with Sellés and his assistants James Oliver-Pearce and Tobias Loveland which baffled some but since then he has appointed Bosnian Manager Sergej Jakirović who arrives from Kayserispor in Turkey so lets see how he gets on. We must all hope that he has much better start than his German counterpart come the new campaign.