The 3rd of May 2025. Game 46 and in 22nd place of The Championship, City were looking down both barrels of L1 and sat on the trap door, 90 minutes away from knowing our fate lining up for a 12:30 kick off down on the South coast against 16th placed Portsmouth in a sun filled Fratton Park.

The teams scrapping for their Championship lives on the last day of the season were Cardiff who were already relegated with Plymouth, Hull, Luton, Preston and Derby, just 3 points between us all and everything hanging in the balance. With all teams on a minus goal difference it wasn't about who was going to be the best team but a case of who was the least worse and City looked every inch done for.

A season that started poorly with the second unknown manager of Acun Illicali's tenure, the first being Shota Arveladze who managed just 30 games over two half seasons and had never managed in English football. This 2024 / 25 season Kicked off with Big German, Tim Walter, another manager untested in English football management who boasted "I'm different" and was hard to work out with his noncommittal explanation of his style and just generalised it with "Walterball.

Well, "Walterball" failed to set the club on fire and after just 108 days he was given his marching orders for achieving just 3 wins in 18 games subjecting the Tiger Nation to a 13 game run without a victory in sight. Next up, Spaniard, Ruben Selles who took us over in mid December and didn't fair much better. A mildly experienced English football manager who ironically held the reigns at Southampton and also at Reading didn't manage to lift our game and so we sat miserably at the bottom end of the table until May.

It was a beleaguered Ruben that sat in the dugout at Portsmouth amongst his subs such as Jones, Burstow and Palmer but hoped his first 11 was good enough to get us over the line. A win would be nice but we were relying on other teams. On 18 minutes, former Boro player Matt Crooks dug us out of a hole and scored the goal that would ultimately save our skin and although a 1-1 draw was all we could manage, it was Luton that failed to win their last game and a point was enough for us to celebrate staying up with a minus 10 goal difference to Luton's minus 24 goal difference and both teams on 49 points. Tree to the rescue.

We lived to fight another day but Ruben Selles was dismissed straight after the game and Acun must have been wondering where he was going wrong with manager appointments. Grant McCann sacked, Arveladze sacked, Rosenior sacked, Walter Sacked, Selles sacked and all that in just 3 years of ownership just escaping L1 football but STILL the City faithful believed in him as crowds were testifying with Selles last game at home V Derby seeing over 24,400 fans turn up to roar The Tigers to survival but sadly we were beaten 1-0 but not undeterred with fans already selling out the away allocation for Portsmouth.

What now?

June 2025. Just 26 days after Ruben Selles was given his P45 and joined Tim Walter in the "Sacked file", Hull City announced the new head coach. Some fella from Bosnia, the old Yugoslavia. I'm not sure how Acun expected the fans to react but from where I was stood it was a unified "WHO? NOT AGAIN? Because we were now on our 3rd manager who had never managed in England before and a case of once bitten, twice shy, let alone a third time which was heard by Illical an in true form, always one to make himself available to the fans in public when needed, explained yet again the reasons and the need to get behind our new gaffer and so calmed the nerves and Memberships grew based on the promise of a new dawn. After all it couldn't get any worse could it?

Oh yes it could.

For whatever reasons, soon after the appointment the club experienced an "Accounting Error" which ultimately resulted in the EFL imposing a season long fee paying transfer and loan embargo. The first hurdle for Sergej to get over and any promises made about signings went straight out the window. Thankfully, we had some behind the scenes experts on the case, namely Martin Hodge our new scout and former Stoke City analyst, American, Jared Dublin our Sporting Director who went into overdrive and cherry picked players, not just locally but from all over the world and one target in particular, Oli McBurnie who was prised from the sunny beaches of Gran Canaria with a promise from him bagging 15 goals in exchange for playing in a damp East Yorkshire stadium and Patty and Chips for supper. A deal nobody could turn down.

Sergej has gone about his work in practical silence, no noise, no bragging, boasting, the pass back keep ball is all but a thing of the past with a dressing room that appears to be harmonious. Just honest no nonsense blue sky thinking with a good management of limited availability with 35 players used for the whole of the 25/26 campaign which started off pretty much as the Walter / Selles one ended. First 7 games where hit and miss dropping to 20th after 5 games, up to 18th and then a sustained top 8 place since October with 5th place being our most occupied position throughout and of course the last magical game when we saw off the Canaries 2-1 cementing out play off place because Wrexham couldn't hold onto their lead twice against a determined Boro away at The Racecourse ground.

Millwall the first leg of our play off games with a fair stalemate game at home and a decisive end result at the Den when The Tigers mauled The Lions 2-0 and a clean sheet for Pandur across both legs, 6th place beating 3rd place taking us to the ultimate arena.

A Wembley Final. The unknown fella from Bosnia, with his inexperience of the EFL, an Embargo millstone swinging from his neck and against the 9/1 odds for a top 6 finish has done the unthinkable. A £200 Million shootout in the most iconic stadium in football History. A stadium Hull City has never lost a play off final at. A stadium we have never conceded a goal in a play off final at and a Stadium we rocked Arsenal off their pedestal for a while in the FA cup final when going up 2-0 in just 8 minutes.

Middlesborough the opponents who have been rewarded because of an infringement caused by Southampton rule breaking that needs no explaining at all means Crooks and Giles will be facing their old club. Tree as a once full time player on Teeside and Giles who was on Loan from City as not deemed good enough by former managers. How wrong has he proved them?

City deserve this, in fact we've earned it. Captain Coyle for leading the line. The Players for their graft and determination. The fans who have turned up in our droves. Sergej and his coaches for their hard work and tactics, The scouts, The Club Operation wallahs such as Andrew, Brendon, Henry, Joe, Caroline, Leanne, Natasha, Jarred. Martin, David, Pete, Ebru and of course our great community and engagement groups, Tigers Trust, Hull City OSC, Senior Tigers BUT....Most of all.

Acun Illicali. If anyone deserves a Premier promotion. It's the man himself.

My line up.
Similar to Millwall away.

Pandur.
Coyle - Ajayi - Hughes - Egan - Giles
Belloumi - 50K - Crooks - Millar
McBurnie.

Prediction V Boro. I can't see it going any other way than a City win. 2-0 Oli McBurnie for the first. Belloumi for the second.

UTT.