A couple of hours before kick-off a small boy stood outside the players’ entrance draped in Turkey’s national flag.
It was presumably a way of welcoming Hull’s new owner, Acun Ilicali, to East Yorkshire but there was no sign of the Turkish reality TV mogul, then still up in the clouds en route back from a flying visit to Istanbul aboard his renamed private jet “Tiger Force One”.
High winds occasioned by Storm Malik delayed Ilicali’s arrival until half-time but at least his new manager, Shota Arveladze, arrived on schedule.
The Georgian, installed as Grant McCann’s successor last week, took time to endear himself to his new public, happily posing for selfies with fans before tackling the challenge of initiating an unlikely promotion challenge.
Considering Hull sit 18th in the Championship it seemed a little ambitious but Ilicali has tasked the one-time Rangers and Ajax striker and former manager of Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor Tashkent with securing a play-off place and Arveladze certainly made a decent start. The wind was capricious but, on the pitch at least, there were no signs of turbulence.
With five minutes gone Hull, playing with a high-pressing back-three, were ahead when Tom Eaves connected with the impressive Brandon Fleming’s fine cross and volleyed beyond Ben Hamer.
The only shame was that Ilicali was not present to witness it. Instead, the 52-year-old who paid £30m this month to end the Allam family’s controversial 11-year stewardship of the club was in transit after a bumpy landing at Humberside airport.
Turkey’s answer to Simon Cowell missed the second goal too. Registered in the 16th minute it involved another cross, from George Honeyman this time, and a close-range scoring shot from the on-rushing, and excellent, Keane Lewis-Potter.
Blessed with a lovely touch, the 20-year-old forward is the jewel in Hull’s crown and owner and manager are adamant he will reject any more bids from Premier League clubs, with Brentford and West Ham at the front of the queue.
Arveladze, who at 48 has also managed in Turkey and Israel, wants to pair Lewis-Potter with the much admired Iran striker Allahyar Sayyadmanesh. The “new Mo Salah” is expected to complete a £5m move from Fenerbahce by Monday night.
Like Cowell, Ilicali is convinced he possesses a knack for talent spotting and has promised Sayyadmanesh will be joined by three more similarly exciting signings.
Arveladze’s existing side looked far too strong for Swansea and the ground soon echoed to choruses of “Shota, Shota, give us a wave,” from the crowd of 13,101, a season’s best. Perhaps wary of tempting fate, he did not oblige, yet although the visitors improved in the second half, twice hitting a post and having a goal disallowed for a tight offside, Hull never looked in peril of being blown off course.
It seemed that what Ilicali terms a “beautiful journey” had truly begun. With the memories receding of Assem and Ehab Allam’s often unpopular tenure – when failed attempts to change the club’s name to Hull Tigers rather clouded two promotions to the Premier League and an FA Cup final appearance - Ilicali is promising £2 match tickets for under-16s and seniors.
But why Hull? Ilicali, who started out as a football reporter before moving on to greater things, says it is all about love and he was smitten by his new habitat the moment he first crossed the Humber.
“Hull has the Humber Bridge like Istanbul has the Bosphorus bridge,” he said. “This is a sign of destiny. Even the shirt colours attracted me so much. This is now my city and my team.”
He regards Leicester as a role model and believes his new club can, one day, emulate their success. “This club has the potential to win trophies. There is nothing Leicester has that Hull does not.”
The bar seems set ominously high for Arveladze but this was a sure-footed start. “If someone had written this scenario for me I would definitely have wanted it to turn out this way,” he said. “Now we need to continue this way.”
