Hull City: Acun Ilicali trait that's "a blessing and a curse" identified | OneFootball

It can be difficult to predict what the Tigers owner might do next

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Hull City owner Acun Ilicali has been described as ‘spontaneous’ by FLW’s Tigers Fan Pundit.

Ilicali spent £20million to purchase the club from the Allam family, who had owned the club for the previous 11 years.

Since then, the club’s league position has improved year upon year, but that trend could soon end due to a difficult 2024/25 campaign so far.

Recently, we asked our Hull Fan Pundit, Ryan, for his thoughts on the owner.

Acun Ilicali difficult to “keep track of” according to Fan Pundit

Speaking to Football League World, Ryan said: "I'd sum up my club's owner with: spontaneous.

"I think he’s an amazing chairman, I think he always produces when we really, really need him to. But it's a blessing and a curse, because you can't track what he's going to do next for a minute.

"You never know what we're going to do in the transfer window, can be very underwhelming so far, and then he can just switch it on, and we can get in players that should be absolutely nowhere near the Championship.

"Even to the fact of when he calls press conferences just off the bat and Q&As, just because he wants people to know the inside of the club, but then he goes and gets a job at Fenerbahce.

"You can't keep track of him, and I hope that he keeps us as his priority."

Ilicali has done his best in recent windows

Despite their relatively poor league position, it’s hard to argue that Hull haven’t had enough investment.

In the summer, they brought in the likes of Mohamed Belloumi, Abu Kamara, Ryan Giles, Liam Millar and Mason Burstow for significant fees, to name a few.

All were recognised names but have performed to varying success. On paper, it was a strong window and, while the buck ultimately always stops with the owner, it’s difficult to see how Ilicali didn’t hold up his end of the bargain.

Performances didn’t stop him going heavy in the January window either, fending off strong Championship interest to land Louie Barry on loan, adding another temporary switch for Joe Gelhardt and spending money on permanent moves for the likes of Eliot Matazo and John Egan.

There is a lot more to ownership of the football club, but the easiest way to quantify an owner’s performance for fans is the players brought in, and the money invested — on both of those metrics, Ilicali is currently scoring high.

Ilicali taking up a role as vice chairman of Turkish outfit Fenerbahce is exactly the sort of spontaneity Ryan speaks of, meaning Hull fans will never be totally at ease, and will be watching to see if his involvement in Hull drops as a result.

That, and any potential relegation for Hull, would undoubtedly change the debate around Ilicali, but at the moment many fans will feel much like Ryan, that although he can take people by surprise at times with his actions, on the whole, the work he has done for Hull has felt like a positive.