TIGERS TO GET THEIR TEETH INTO FOREST'S BARK

I've been to Hull today, the City of Culture 2017. I didn't have time to take in the sights as the Hull City Tigers Stadium, KCOM, beckons for an FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest. Why? Well Geoffrey (Forest fan) wanted to go, so I (an old mate looking for any excuse) joined him on his way to the Minerva Pub. This hostelry was recommended by Mike and Mo, who are Hull season tickets holders and who generally get across for home matches all the way from Kirklees, but not today.
The Minerva is a place of refreshment in the Docks, so I hoped to get a view of the wind turbine blade or similar eccentricities at the county's largest port-not obvious! Culture over?

Hull are nestled fourth from bottom in the Championship, on goal difference, and it is manager Nigel Adkins' job to keep them up. He is the fourth manager employed by the owners in 19 months. Other managers recently include, Steve Bruce, Mike Phelan, Marco Silva and Leonid Slutsky. Mind you Adkins has done the circuit, Scunthorpe (across the water), Southampton (more water), Reading and Sheffield United. Any port in a storm!

The Tigers' club was relegated last season from the Premier League and played in the 2014 Cup Final. The club is in serious decline, a long way from the heady days of Steve Bruce, who took the club to two promotions from the Championship and Wembley three times in three years. How the Tigers roared.

This has come about "possibly" due to ownership issues, where the "Allam family" are no longer wanted. Mike told me that attendances would be poor because supporters have lost faith, he was correct. I spoke to several locals en route and they all said the same.
There was the name change "issue" (now Hull City Tigers) which did not appeal to the locals, 16 players have left the club and 11 brought in to replace them in an attempt to raise money. There were plenty of empty seats, there were the politically correct male and female "tiger" mascots all in a very efficient stadium; we had an interesting match.

Forest have beaten Arsenal already on their cup run, so the Tigers needed to dig their claws in, hoping that a cup run will raise the roar.
Forest were shedding leaves and the Tigers did dig their claws in. We left just before the end, missing Forest's goal, though they were already two adrift. Final score was 2-1 to Hull.