Answers required over reasons behind seismic split at the KC

With apologies to Oscar Wilde and his seminal comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, the confirmed departure of Adam Pearson from Hull City less than a day after Nick Barmby’s suspension has left the East Riding feeling a mixture of shock and bewilderment.

Just how we got to this is a topic that is being debated long and hard among Hull fans who, only a couple of days ago, were reflecting on what had been an encouraging season despite missing out on the play-offs.

An eighth-place finish coupled with Barmby’s squad having an extra year’s experience under their belts led many to believe next term could prove a time for Hull to sustain a promotion challenge.

Even allowing for the admission by head of football operations Pearson in a recent programme that any new arrivals in the summers would be Bosman free transfers, there was a tangible air of optimism among the KC Stadium faithful.

Now, however, all that has evaporated following Pearson’s exit “without notice and without compensation”, as an official club statement bluntly put it yesterday, and the likelihood that Barmby’s eight-year stay with his home-town club is already over.

The loss of someone the Hull fans hailed for being “one of our own” is regrettable, especially considering the clear admiration the players have for Barmby not only as their boss but also as a man.

But I cannot help feeling that it is the loss of Pearson, who is seeking legal advice over what he yesterday described as his “unjustified” departure, that will be most keenly felt in the coming months.

Football is a business like no other so the presence of someone steeped in a potentially cut-throat world can be priceless.

Any sign of weakness at a club is quickly exposed, as we saw yesterday with Leicester City letting it be known, via Sky Sports, that they are interested in Robert Koren.

One thing that can be guaranteed is the Slovenian will not be the last Hull player linked with a possible move away.

Until some clarity is brought to the KC Stadium then the squad Barmby has left behind will be seen as ripe for picking.

In effect, Pearson’s role, since returning to the club in 2009 after an earlier six-year stint as chairman, has been to run the entire football operation and act as the link between the board and manager.

It was his contacts that first brought in the Allams, who amid the furore sweeping Hull right now should also be remembered as the family that saved the Tigers from meltdown when no one else was willing to step in.

It was also through Pearson, below, when working in tandem with namesake manager Nigel, that all but a couple of the current squad were persuaded to turn down offers from elsewhere and sign on the dotted line.

Casting that knowhow and experience aside along with a devotion to Hull that can only come from almost a decade working to improve a club could prove a major mistake.

While lamenting Pearson’s departure and the likely exit of Barmby, Tigers fans are also rightly concerned about the future.

The statement released by the Allams yesterday did stress that, contrary to the rumour mill, the club is not for sale. They also remain fully committed to the Tigers, which again is a relief as without the £50m and counting that has been pumped in by the Allams then Hull might not have a professional team to discuss.

What was also made clear in the statement is that Hull must be run “in accordance with sound and proper business principles and procedures”.

The Allams also made it plain that funds were available in the January transfer window, something that had again been questioned when news of Barmby’s suspension emerged.

All that is fine but what Hull fans want to hear is just what caused the seismic split at the top of the club that led to the exit of two hugely popular figures.

Forget Wilde’s famous work, for Tigers fans right now the mantra is: ‘The Importance of Being Honest’. Over to the Hull board.