TIGERS TALE STILL HAUNTING ALLAM

HULL’S match with Nottingham Forest on Saturday was temporarily halted, after fans threw tennis balls on the pitch in protest. The 3-2 defeat leaves them 17th in the league, and animosity towards owner Assem Allam is unrelenting. Allam, who should be a hero for the relative success he brought the club during his time in charge, made one mistake. He prioritised ambitions inspired by the seducing wealth of modern football. The Hull Tigers debacle has proved ruinous. At a club of Hull’s size, what endures is the loyalty of the locals. Hull will go up, Hull will go down, but those who support the club remain. In alienating them, in buying into a flawed dream of the big time, Allam lost the best friends he could ever have.