Hull City must crave Acun Ilicali positivity that Blackburn Rovers remind them of | OneFootball

This weekend's clash with Blackburn Rovers will bring back fond memories to Hull City and Acun Ilicali

January 19th, 2022 will always be a significant date to remember in Hull City's recent history.

A few months and years before, not many would have believed that a re-arranged Championship fixture against Blackburn Rovers would be earmarked as the encounter which started a new dawn for the club after years of disillusion and unity among the City fanbase in the latter years of the Allam family's reign in HU3.

However, the clash with this weekend's opponents will no doubt bring fond memories back to current owner Acun Ilicali and those who were among the 13,950 crowd at the MKM Stadium on a bitterly cold night in East Yorkshire.

Ilicali's interest in buying the club, who found themselves in the lower reaches of the Championship under Grant McCann after winning League One the previous season, stretched back a number of months.

However, just hours before kick-off against Tony Mowbray's side, who were vying for a play-off position at the time, it was announced that the Turkish media mogul had completed a reported £30m takeover to take the reins over from the Allam family, who were at the helm for the previous 11 years and one month.

"I am happy that I have fulfilled one of my biggest dreams today," Ilicali stated.

"We are starting a beautiful journey with Hull City. We have many big dreams and goals to achieve together with our fans.

"I would like to thank Allam family for the friendship and sincerity they have shown during this process. I genuinely believe that we will achieve success with the amazing fans of this beautiful city," Ilicali concluded.

Unsurprisingly, the news sent the Tigers fanbase into fever pitch and the Turk was given a heroes welcome pre-match, with City continuing the mass wave of positivity which spread around HU3 with a remarkable performance.

George Honeyman was the first scorer of the Ilicali era for the Tigers, as his low drive was eventually forced past Thomas Kaminski following a neatly-threaded through ball by Ryan Longman.

And, on a night where everything seemed to go Hull's way, it was to be expected that 'cult-hero' Tom Eaves would round off the most perfect of days for those of a Black and Amber persuasion with a towering header on 67 minutes, despite Rovers' protestations over a potential foul.

This would be a significant week for the club, who followed up the success with a statement 1-0 victory against eventual promotion-winners AFC Bournemouth just three days later, in what was McCann's final game in charge before being replaced by Shota Arveladze.

Acun Ilicali will hope Blackburn Rovers serve as a reminder for Hull City positivity

It goes without saying that the landscape of the club which Ilicali inherited in 2022 compared to the present day is chalk and cheese in many respects, despite the current negativity which surrounds the club after an extremely underwhelming and unexpected start to the 2024/25 season.

Many believed, and will continue to believe, that under the stewardship of Ilicali, that Hull will eventually end their Premier League exile which stretches back to 2017, and the club haven't been shy of signalling their intentions with a number of statement signings in recent seasons, such as Jean Michael Seri, Ozan Tufan and Fabio Carvalho among others.

However, there is also a feeling that Hull have regressed back to the predicament they found themselves in back in the Autumn of 2022, where the aforementioned Arveladze was sacked after a run of five defeats in six games, with Tim Walter recently dismissed and City currently on a winless run of ten games.

Therefore, it's imperative that the Tigers are to turn their current fortunes around, allowing for the belief and positivity that was fostered around the club and the city at the time of Ilicali's takeover to be restored, with the 2022 encounter against the Lancashire side a huge reminder of that.