Hull City have something the likes of West Brom and Sheffield Wednesday would dream for | OneFootball

Club ownership across the Championship, League One and League Two has been a topic well and truly thrust into the limelight in recent years, with an array of sides in the EFL experiencing contrasting fortunes as a result.

Whilst the period between 2012 and 2017 under the Allam family's regime was ultimately, on paper, the most successful period in Hull City's history, the Egyptians had ultimately undone themselves during and after said period with a barrage of controversial decisions - none more so than the attempt to change the club's name to Hull Tigers almost ten years ago.

After completing his takeover of the club just hours before a televised 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers in January 2022, the club's stature on and off the pitch under the Turkish media mogul has reached profound heights.

The 54-year-old has made no secret regarding his dreams of ending City's time outside the Premier League, which has been since 2017, and this season in particular, he and Tan Kesler both seem to have understood the rigors of the Championship more so than when they first took over the reins.

That mainly stems from a chaotic summer transfer window that occurred in the summer of 2022, which saw a scattergun approach to proceedings under former boss Shota Arveladze, and one which couldn't have panned out worse as the Georgian was sacked just weeks later.

Ultimately, just five of those signings still act as regular fixtures under new boss Liam Rosenior, who also must be given his fair share of credit for stabilising the squad on the pitch. During the second half of the season last term, the Tigers were notoriously hard to beat despite a lack of cutting edge going forward, as Champions Burnley were the only league side to taste victory at the MKM Stadium after the 2022 World Cup break.

With a solid defensive core, it was clear that the main improvement needed was at the other end of the pitch, and a number of those have only further increased the positive feeling around the club, which all stems from Ilicali.

Rosenior's fluid attacking style in particular has been added to with an array of young loan signings that perhaps wouldn't have been attracted to the club if it wasn't for the synchronised ambition that filters right across all areas.

This includes the eye-opening signing of Jaden Philogene from Aston Villa in the summer window for an estimated £5m, and whilst the England U21 international has been injured in recent weeks, his goal contribution tally beforehand proves the influence he has even at such a young age.

Fellow U21 internationals Tyler Morton and Liam Delap have also made respective moves across the M62 from Liverpool and Manchester City and hit the ground running, with Delap firmly putting previous loan struggles behind him as he's notched 7 goals so far prior to sustaining a knee issue.

But above all, the recent loan capture of Fabio Carvalho - also from Liverpool - has made many take notice of Hull's attempts to affirm their promotion credentials, beating fellow hopefuls Leeds United and Southampton to his signature.

Once again, those sentiments were laid bare for all to see by Ilicali in an interview with Hull Live.

"We are in a battle with some very big clubs, but we are Hull City," he began.

"I say don't forget that Jaden Philogene picked us over 10 other clubs. We are very excited too. He is a very unique player and we really want to see him at Hull City, but as with every important transfer, we have some big rivals to sign him, from big Premier League clubs and many Championship clubs."

Contrasting ownerships at fellow Championship clubs

However, not every Championship club finds themselves in such predicaments, as Sheffield Wednesday and West Bromwich Albion can vouch for.

Whilst Wednesday have been given a real chance of survival under Danny Rohl, the unpredictable nature of Dejphon Chansiri in recent months will leave Owls fans slightly wary that a decision could, once again, unstabilise the Hillsborough club during a crucial period.

There were similarities between Chansiri's first years in charge in S6 to where Hull find themselves now, but they ultimately feel like distant memories at present for Wednesdayites.

As for West Brom, Carlos Corberan has continued to work wonders with an established squad on a shoestring budget under the unpopular owner, Guochuan Lai. Despite purchasing the club for over £200m eight years ago, it has been a hugely unstable period in Albion's history, which has also led to a number of fan-led protests and disillusion as the club has regressed significantly.

There has been recent murmurings of a takeover, but Baggies fans are left to play a waiting game at present, but will hope that a new consortium can help the Spaniard alleviate his squad to the next level, regardless of if they achieve promotion after a strong opening 26 games or not.

They, like Hull, remain firmly in with a shout of the play-offs, whilst Sheffield Wednesday fans will be hoping their own boardroom battles can be resolved in the near future, with stability on and off the pitch at the forefront of all supporters' minds.