Chairman Adam Pearson has admitted admission prices at Boothferry Park will have to rise if the club are to stem the loss of monies and break even. Pearson said “The people at the club and the fans have been fantastic but the niceties are over now and we have to knuckle down and get on with turning this club around, raising prices is not something I want to do but we are running a business here and I’m sure the fans will understand that.” When he first took over the club, the former Leeds United director insisted the club must break even, or as he put it “be washing it’s own face” within eighteen months.

If raising gate prices helps achieve this then so be it, the fans dug deep into their pockets when the club was threatened with extinction, so an extra pound or so every week is a small price to pay if it helps ensure the clubs ongoing survival. Any increase would certainly be made more palatable should we be playing Second Division football next season, but sensibly Pearson is budgeting for another year in the Third Division. “That does not mean we do not want a play-off place this season” he said, “it just means we are being realistic and looking towards building a team that can really challenge for promotion next season. I have had several talks with Brian Little about what we need to do during the summer and the up-shot of it all is that Brian will decide who he wants bringing in and I will decide how much we can afford to pay.”

You can’t say fairer than that, it’s certainly better than his predecessors stupid assumption that we would be playing in front of gates of 8-10000 every week and budgeting accordingly, the fallout of such folly was ultimately a spell in administration. City can ill afford treading that path again but Pearson certainly appears to have the nous to back his ambitions. Our chairman has also indicated that negotiations to reduce several players salaries will take place in a bid to reduce the hefty wage bill. If successful, such negotiations would negate the need for Brian Little to offload players in a cost cutting exercise, giving him full control as he seeks to assemble a squad for next seasons campaign.

It might take some getting used to, having a chairman who actually means what he says. Already Adam Pearson has kept true to his word, allowing Brian Little to strengthen his squad and next week he will meet with Council to formally sign up for the new stadium. Yesterday City signed Oldham defender Andy Holt on loan until the end of the season and today added another player to the roster, Northwich Victoria striker Gary Fletcher. Nineteen year old Fletcher is a product of the Conference side’s youth system, and has already plundered 13 goals this season, including 2 against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup Second Round. Last week he trained with Bolton who were considering a £150,000 bid for the former England Universities player. He signs on a similar deal to Holt, initially on loan until the end of the season, with a permanant deal possible if the players impress. Further details of the Holt deal have emerged, if Oldham receive a cash bid for Holt before next weeks transfer deadline then the player will return to Boundary Park to discuss a possible move.

Regarding the new stadium, City’s chairman and chief executive announced “I am meeting the city council next week. I’ve already given them a verbal assurance that Hull City will be involved but I’m ready to sign the contracts. Everyone has been hanging around too long and we’ve got to make progress.” The Council had indicated previously that the project would not go ahead without the express commitment of Hull City, although previous chairman Nick Buchanan had stated verbally City would make the switch, no deal was struck with the council. Both sides accused the other of being uncooperative, but Pearson seems to have forged a better relationship with KUHCC than his predecessor. The stadium, to be built at the Circle in West Hull, is scheduled to be ready in time for the start of the 2002-03 season.