On February 2nd we held our second Members Meeting of the year, which recorded the highest attendance so far. A total of 164 members attended the meeting which was not surprising as our guest speaker this month was Tan Kesler our football club’s Vice-Chairman.
Before Tan Kesler was introduced, Allen welcomed Pete Smurthwaite, the Chairman of Bridlington Town Football Club to our meeting.
NOTICES
- The draw for the KCOM match tickets will once again take place which will ensure that four members will receive tickets for all our remaining home fixtures.
- Allen reminded everyone that if anyone was interested in a signed copy of David Meyler’s book, they should give their name to the committee.
- Barbara announced that our March meeting would be in the Kingston Suite and we will have it for the full day. Nicky Barmby will be our guest speaker. Everyone will receive an email from Barbara setting out the details for the day.
INTERVIEW WITH TAN KESLER
Before the interview started Barbara gave an outline of the Senior Tigers Club to Tan so that he had an understanding of what we are about.
Once again Richard Beachell was the interviewer whose job was made easy by the open and honest way Tan spoke about his time here in Hull. Richard asked Tan, why they chose Hull City. Being part of English football was their dream. They were interested in 9 clubs that had the most potential of which we were one. We were the first club they visited and also their last, as once they had seen our set-up and found how well run we were with less debt than other clubs it was an easy decision to buy Hull City. Acun likes the city of Hull and found the people so welcoming and friendly.
Tan said the main concern when buying the club was that we didn’t own the stadium and surrounding area. However, the Hull Council wanted to work with them and talks are ongoing. Whatever they do they are mindful that the stadium is shared with Hull FC and may also affect local businesses that need the football club supporters. However, they do intend to improve the match day experience whilst considering the local businesses in whatever they do.
Throughout the interview, you got the impression that they wanted the club and its supporters to be one family. They intend to talk things through and make sure that the fans know what they are doing. They care about the club and supporters and want their fans to be looked after and to be transparent in what they do.
Honesty, openness, and communication was the recurring theme throughout the interview.
Pat gave her usual vote of thanks to Tan. We all left the meeting feeling optimistic about the future of The Tigers after hearing Tan talk.
Tan Kesler and Pat Ellis
PETE SMURTHWAITE
Finally, as Greg Docherty who was to have been another guest speaker this month had to cancel due to personal reasons, Pete Smurthwaite was persuaded to step in for us. He originally came as a guest of Pat’s not expecting to be up on stage with Allen. However, the stories of how he got hooked on football from the age of 10 years had us all laughing. He told us how he started playing football for local teams, managing them, and being a team physio. He became a jack of all trades culminating in being the Chairman of Bridlington Town FC. He told us of the many scrapes he got into on the way. Pete gave a hilarious account of himself. He finished off by saying ‘we need to get the youngsters involved as they are the future’. How right he is.
Pete Smurthwaite very kindly drew our usual raffle which raised £309.00 from the sale of tickets.
