City’s totemic, all action midfielder and occasional captain Ian Ashbee talks with Amber Nectar about that goal at Torquay, his partnership with Dean Keates and the allure of Icelandic women!

Amber Nectar: What made you want to join Hull City in the first place?

Ian Ashbee: I had a few options at the end of last season, I was looking for advice from my agent and stuff, as soon as came down and spoke to Jan Molby, and I’d seen the potential the club had with the new stadium opening and the fan base, there was only one winner then and I’d made my mind up.

AN: Do you still think you made the right decision coming here?

IA: Definitely. Without a shadow of a doubt.

AN: Did Cambridge make a big effort to keep you and how did they react when you turned down a new deal?

IA: Cambridge made…an effort…Cambridge were struggling at the time, there were lads taking paycuts.

Though the move wasn’t money orientated I saw some people who wasn’t even playing getting a lot more money than some of us who were busting our guts every week.

So I dug my heels in a little bit but they had a lot of financial troubles, and when once I got a few offers I decided maybe it was best to move on. I’d been there six years, we’d been promoted and got to the LDV final and had some good times and some bad times, so I’ve served my time there. I had a good relationship with the manager, John Taylor, ‘cos I’d played with him for years and during the promotion year he was one of our top scorers, so he was on my side, he said he’d do the best for me and I trusted him. It was the hierarchy really, they were upset when I left because I was one of the more experienced players and a lot of youngsters were coming through at that time.

AN: The Cambridge fans gave you a bit of stick in the 2-1 win there…

IA: Yeah, me and Keatesy got a bit of stick that day, I didn’t know how it was gonna go, I’d seen other players go back and get given a hard time, and I got a clap at the beginning and then they give me a bit of stick during the game but I don’t mind that, I’ve got broad shoulders.

AN: Speaking of Dean Keates, you struck up a partnership with him pretty quickly, do you have a good rapport?

IA: I enjoy playing with Dean Keates a great deal, and vice versa I think, we work well together, we know what one of us is doing and what the other needs to do and when we’re in there if he’s gonna crunch somebody I’m crunching straight behind him. I usually sit in the middle but I know that he’s got the experience to sit there for me if I venture forwards.

AN: What was your reaction when Jan Molby departed?

IA: Well, he brought me in, he gave me a chance with Hull City and I’m grateful for that. It was a shock, to everybody. Jan Molby spoke his mind and some players didn’t like it. He maybe did some things wrong in hindsight when you think what he said and did, but some players can’t handle some facts in my opinion. I was shocked but there was no doubt in my mind then and there is no doubt now, I’m 100% committed to the club.

AN: What did you think when Peter Taylor was appointed? Were you impressed?

IA: Yeah, I mean he’s managed some of the best players in the world, Beckham, Owen…you can only learn from a manager of his experience. When I’ve played against his teams when I was at Cambridge, and Gillingham and Brighton and they were hard working and organised and maybe that was what we needed at that time and I think he did that for us. The club is only going one way, I know we are struggling of late but the club is definitely moving, the chairman we’ve got, the manager and players.

AN: How does he compare with other managers you’ve worked with?

IA: He’s got to be the top manager I’ve dealt with really, his training is unbelievable, he pulls you to one side and gets out a lot out of you in training. We need to take that over in to a game because he can only work on the training pitch, at 3 o’clock on a Saturday it’s down to us.

AN: Peter Taylor has said that the players are scared playing in front of big crowds, do you agree with that?

IA: To a certain extent, because we’ve not performed in front of a big crowd, there’s only the 2-0 against Scunthorpe at Boothferry Park, and that’s how I want us to play every week, we were magnificent that day and that’s the only time I can remember us doing it in front of a big crowd. It obviously does get to some of the lads but I keep stressing that it’s what you want to do, play in front of thousands and thousands of fans, I’ve been there when you’re playing in front of 2000 fans and you’re up to your knees in mud and I know where I’d rather be. We’ve got to learn how to deal with it, the pressure of the fans when we’re not doing so well.

AN: How far is fair for supporters to criticise during matches?

IA: The fans pay the wages, so they can criticise as much as they like. Some fans go over the top but you get that in all aspects of life, not just football, what you wear or anything, I’m getting stick for my beard in the dressing room at the minute, they say one gust of wind and it’ll blow off! The fans, for me, are entitled to their opinions and we’ve got to learn how to deal with it and become bigger and stronger.

AN: Why do you think we have underachieved this season?

IA: I don’t know, if I could put my finger on it I’d be the manager…No, I can’t really answer that question, I wish I could. There are three manager’s players here, Little’s, Molby’s and now the gaffer’s, we’ve not really had a settled side either because of injuries, suspensions and I’m suspended again now, which is stupid. But I don’t know, the club, everyone, the fans, the chairman and manager deserve better and we’ve got to work towards getting better.

AN: How is the atmosphere amongst the players?

IA: The atmosphere is fine, we are all frustrated, because we know we are better than what we’re is showing and we get upset with each other that we’re not going in the right direction. We need to be up the league and not drawing and losing at home to Lincoln, and for me it shows that we all care, I mean Damien [Delaney] was very upset in the changing room and if he’d come in not bothered, just gone home and forgotten about it, then maybe you ask questions, but he was in there upset, head in his hands and to me that shows he cares and we do have a lot of lads that do care and are trying.

AN: You played in a promotion winning side at Cambridge, what do you think they had that we lack?

IA: Well, they had three strikers, Martin Butler, Trevor Benjamin and John Taylor, and they got over fifteen goals each that season, and you need that. So maybe we’re not creating enough for the strikers, I thought Gary Alexander was gonna do that for us, he had a lull and then picked up and scored a couple, but we need a definite goal scorer. Fozzie (Jamie Forrester) has come in now, and I’ve played against Fozzie a few times and he scores.

AN: When you played for Derby, you went on loan to a club in Iceland and in one interview when you got back you said you were impressed because you’d thought they all lived in igloos, you didn’t really think that did you?

IA: Hahaha, no! That was just a bit of banter with someone. As a young lad that was brilliant for me that was, the women over there are unbelievable, every on is a 9 out of 10 I have to say, haha, it’s a brilliant culture over there and we got looked after really well. Two of us went over there and helped the team avoid relegation, I scored something like six in five, I never figured out how to pronounce the teams name though, haha.

AN: The goal at Torquay, you meant that didn’t you?

IA: Well, I can’t say I meant to hit the top corner but the ball came out of the sky and I heard everyone shouting ‘nooo!’, so I thought I’m going for it and I hit it. I did one the week after at Shrewsbury, nearly a carbon copy, but yeah, I meant it.

AN: People were are little surprised to learn that your dismissal against Southend was your first sending off…

IA: I couldn’t believe it, I’d never been sent off before and I was gutted and hold myself responsible for only getting a draw. We didn’t play well but we should have got three points so I should have used my head a bit better, I know better than that.

AN: What do you think of your terrace chant?

IA: Have I got one? I’ve not really heard it. Gary Alexander mentioned it but I’ve not heard, so maybe I need to listen a bit better and you lot can sing louder, haha. That’s brilliant, it’s get people going and the atmosphere going.

AN: Are you happy to be given the captain’s armband?

IA: That’s a tricky one for me, I have to say I prefer when Judda [Justin Whittle] plays so he’s the captain. I am responsible enough and I do try to lead through example, but I do get into a little bit of trouble now and then and when I’m captain I can’t, Judda’s the model pro. But his muscles are too big to get the captain’s armband around, haha, he does all the organising and gets all the fines in and to me that’s being the captain and inside the squad and Justin is good at that.  If I’m captain I’m proud of that, it’s a privilege, but I can be a bit naughtier when I’m not the captain.

Thanks to Louise Wells and John Holmes

As he enters the third year of his reign as  the Tigers’supremo, Adam Pearson talks to Amber Nectar about the mounting speculation surrounding Peter Taylor’s future, the spat with the Hull Daily Mail and problem solving at The Circle.

Amber Nectar: Are you still confident that Peter Taylor can do the job?

Adam Pearson: Yes! You’d expect me to have that as a standard answer, but yes, definitely.

It’s not the managers fault that everything has to be done at breakneck speed at Hull to satisfy what has been a long time, 20 years, of pent up frustration from hype and expectancy.

You’ve been through it so many times I don’t know how you’ve kept going, because I’ve had two years of it now and I find it… wearing. That’s not to say the ambition has gone, we’re still massively ambitious, but the guy deserves some time.

His track record merits being given more time. I know exactly what is being said, I’ve plenty of supporters telling me after games what they think, but we can’t keep doing it, we have to give somebody some time and a man of his pedigree deserves that. Therefore I will give him that time. Obviously, if supporters change his mind over the next few months then he has his own mind to make up, but as far as I’m concerned I’m 100% committed to him.

AN: Do you accept Taylor’s statement that the players are fearful of playing in front of large home crowds?

AP: Sometimes after a game, the press are immediately in there, straight after the final whistle. Managers up and down the country make statements to protect the footballers, it’s part of managing people, it’s the way to build team spirit and the way they see that you’re trying to look after them. I’d be surprised if we’ve got players in our side that don’t want to play in front of big crowds. There may be one or two, but I wouldn’t say it’s a general weakness amongst the squad. I think the vast majority came here because of the size of the club and the gates we attract. The sole reason Ritchie Appleby came to this club was to play in front of a large audience because he had turned down more money at Kidderminster and one or two other clubs to come here for that reason.

If there is specific criticism, singularly targeting one player, then I think that can unsettle a player. Now, they are low on confidence and Peter is addressing that, he realises as Jan did before him, that there isn’t the mental resolve in certain players required to be a promotion winning team. He is slowly eking them out of the side and replacing them with players he believes are of a stronger mental resolve. The next one to come back is Appleby and he has got an absolute winners mentality, then you’ve got three of them in midfield backed up by four in defence and one in goal. Whatever criticisms you may have at the minute, Peter knows how to run a squad of footballers who respect him.

AN: The collapse of the Andy Thompson transfer, with the experience of Scott Kerr, did you want to make sure the medical process was followed to the letter?

AP:  Peter was desperate to bring the lad in which is why it rumbled on so long, the first scans on his back weren’t right, so we did more scans in London to compare the results with the first scans and the scans he had taken when he joined QPR. What they showed, without going in to detail, just wasn’t right, in the end I don’t think the manager was prepared to take the risk on him and the player was extremely disappointed.

AN: The Branch deal, what were Wolves playing at?

AP: Michael came in and he did well, he was the best of the forwards we had available then. The agent’s fee was ridiculous in size because he was handling a player on a huge wage coming out of Wolves on a free. Jez Moxey at Wolves, after agreeing to a free transfer, saw the boy had done reasonably well and because we are perceived as having a fair bit of money asked for a fee. It’s alright people saying ‘pay that fee’ but the minute that breaks internally within football circles, you’ll be expected to pay over the odds for players thereon in. Michael had done well, but so well that we’d break every principle in the book? Probably not.

Moxey did come back and say we could have him for free and the agent went down to a reasonable level, but by then Peter had decided he was going to go with a big man and a proven goal scorer, and that goal scorer is Jamie Forrester. In Stuart Elliott and Lawrie Dudfield I think we have similar players to Michael and we felt we needed something bigger.

AN: The transfer window, beneficial or not?

AP: I think that it’s causing problems in the League, it’s creating another excuse for Mr. Sheepshanks. My only fear is that the whole paranoia in the First Division at the present time leads to a knee jerk reaction. Certainly the transfer window has exacerbated the problems of the First Division clubs who are in dire, dire straights and I’d hate for them to break away and take out promotion and relegation because that would be a disaster for the whole game, not just Hull City.

AN:  There has been lots of talk of players out drinking the night before games, what do you make of this?

AP: Well, I never got any complaints over the Christmas period when we were doing alright, they’ve come out of the woodwork again now we are doing poorly. There was a story, I got six letters about it, although three were from the same address when we checked it out, about Green, Delaney and Alexander being out on the town on a Friday night. They all sat in front of me and completely denied it and demanded to meet the people saying they were there. I rang the people and they weren’t prepared to sit down and talk to the players, when I spoke to the manager of the bar they were supposedly in, he wouldn’t give me any CCTV footage, so what do you do at the end of the day? It’s been said Stuart Elliott has been seen out, the lad’s tee total, all the lads had a pre-Christmas night out, Stuart didn’t go on it, it’s not in his way of life, they’ve picked the wrong boy there.

AN: Did you think the Hull Daily Mail were cowardly in the way they changed the Stuart Elliot story that led to the spat?

AP: My point on the matter was to support the manager, he felt totally let down as he has an arrangement where the press have access to players on the Thursday and they leave them alone on the Friday. The story that was being printed for the Saturday afternoon contained considerable exposure to Stuart’s connections in Northern Ireland, particularly his family. His wife is six months pregnant, he’s got a little baby boy, what possible good will it do for Stuart and the club to have those connections broadcast at this stage? They went down to see Stuart, asked him about connections to whatever it is Northern Ireland and he refused to comment on it.

When the piece was written there was widespread exposure with regards to his brother doing a prison sentence and his brother’s connections to Ulster factions, I couldn’t for the life of me see what purpose that served. John Meehan very cleverly dropped all that out of the story and printed a non-story about Stuart’s religion. What was annoying was for them to say that John Fieldhouse was banned from the stadium and that was never, ever spoken about. All I’d said was he couldn’t have exposure to the players on a Thursday like he’d had before, the players and the manager don’t want to talk to you anymore. He was pissed around on the day of that match and moved from seat to seat, that shouldn’t have happened and maybe someone was having a bit of a crack at him, but he was never banned. It was a clever ploy from the Hull Daily Mail to start talking about freedom of the press, la de da, they have since apologised to the manager and the player.

AN: How smooth was the transition to the new stadium?

AP:  From a supporter point of view it was an absolute bloody nightmare, but from our point of view we were fairly pleased. There was loads of things wrong with the stadium that we are putting right now, but from the point of view of fans trying to get a ticket for the Sunderland and Hartlepool games it was a disaster. No other club has moved halfway through a season and we knew it was going to be difficult, but we didn’t expect to only get three days notice and to then take on a stadium that wasn’t finished, but once we’d made the decision that we were moving we had to do that and from my point of view I don’t think we did that badly.

AN: How long before we can operate at full capacity?

AP: Quite a while yet, we’ve still got 130 construction workers on site, so as soon as they leave you’ve then got a month before you can even apply and the odds of us getting it first time are very slim. If we were in the play offs we’d have battled really hard to get it, but as things stand we’ll just take it gently and have it in place for the start of next season.

AN: Why did the Council ignore the clubs wishes regarding some elements of the stadium, for example the size of the ticket office?

AP: To be fair to the Council, it was the project managers Driver Jonas who ignored us a few things, the main ones being the turnstiles and the ticket office. The turnstiles have been made with a Premier League club in mind, they are alright if everyone has got a ticket but as soon as money is involved they are inadequate.

The ticket office is built for a stadium with in my estimation, 7000-8000 seats. We supplied details of what we would like which was eight windows and another for wheelchair users, an in and an out door and a canopy outside. So we were disappointed when it became apparent that they had no intention of changing it and when we finally got it in December it was worse than we thought, the equipment didn’t work, the glass was too thick, the microphones didn’t work, the seats were too high, there was no cash trays built in and the computer ledges were too small. So operationally the place was a disaster area, so we have to rebuild it. We will sort it out, but I don’t think it has been that bad since those two games.

AN: From a supporters standpoint, customer service has been poor with little communication between the clubs departments, is that a fair assessment?

AP: It was through December and January, but if you come back after six months and said the same I’d be extremely disappointed, we’ve recruited a lot of staff who have just started, in the ticket office, we’ve taken on an officer for disabled supporters, obviously Dan [Pratt] covers the fans liaison side, we’ve full time staff on the security side, there are an awful lot of people coming in who have got liaison skills and responsibilities within their job description, so if things don’t improve on December and January when everyone was fire fighting, not enough phone lines, couldn’t communicate…if people are still aiming criticism in July and August I’ll be extremely disappointed given the overheads we’ve put into the personnel side.

AN: The club are reported to be in a strong financial position, how long can we maintain that strength while in the Third Division?

AP:  It’s difficult for me to get the balance right, I battle every day with agents and with other clubs, trying to plead poverty. On one hand you want people to think you’ve got no  money, but you try to assure supporters that you’re in the most enviable position of any club outside the Premier League. The other clubs pick it up, they come here and see 16,000 or 14,000 at games and thing we are ladling around in money. That’s not the case, £2.5m has been invested into the club over the last fourteen months, which will show on the accounts when they come through in July.

So the investment is there for all to see, it is a big expensive stadium to run and it’s a relatively expensive squad and management team to run, but we are in good shape, I’ve no loans and no debts, I owe a friend a bit of money, which he doesn’t want back, I’ve spent everything I had to put in and I’m still signing personal guarantees and although we’re not ladling around in cash we are alright.

Things like the Premier Club help enormously, being in the Third Division’s not the problem, the gates are the problem, they need to stay around 10,500. The way the club is structured, there are revenue streams coming into the club from all sorts of different areas so we’re not solely  dependent on gate.

AN: We’ve been quite profligate in the transfer market over the last two years, has the time come to tighten the belt so as to maintain the financial stability and also to work with what we’ve got?

AP: Yes, without a shadow of a doubt. If a new manager comes in you have to support him, it’s not fair to him if he’s bringing a big reputation and credibility to not support him, he has been supported, the support on major signings until the summer stops, we will bring in some major signings in the summer, whether that’s through wages and packages or through transfer fees is up to the manager. The turnover will stop though, the club will be run on twenty players plus four young pros, Peat, Donaldson, Fry and Burton. If you’ve any injuries to the twenty then those four young pros will be involved which is what we want.

Thanks to Louise Wells