"Would have to be Mark Robins" - Hull City, Acun Ilicali urged to seek Tim Walter replacement | OneFootball

Hull City are likely to part ways with Tim Walter, and Mark Robins has been touted as an ideal replacement

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Hull City have been urged to snap up Mark Robins as a replacement for current manager Tim Walter, who is poised to be relieved of his duties after less than 150 days in charge of the club.

Controversial Tigers owner Acun Ilicali, who had formerly been adored by the vast majority of supporters at the MKM Stadium, made the contentious decision to sack Liam Rosenior at the end of the previous campaign after the ex-defender guided Hull to a seventh-placed finish.

Despite being nominated for the EFL Championship Manager of the Year, there was a school of thought that Rosenior underarchieved ever so slightly by failing to take a Hull side which included the likes of Jaden Philogene, Tyler Morton, Fabio Carvalho and Liam Delap into the play-offs.

That didn't prevent widespread shock from emanating up and down the country when Ilicali axed him, though, in a judgement call which has since significantly backfired.

Rosenior was promptly replaced by ex-Hamburg boss Tim Walter, who has sorely disappointed in English football for the Tigers. Indeed, since sacking Rosenior for Walter, Hull have gone from promotion hopefuls to relegation candidates, and they find themselves in 22nd position following their fourth defeat in as many matches on Tuesday evening, where they lost out 2-0 at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

Walter was booed by the MKM Stadium faithful throughout and his future now appears to be a foregone conclusion, with recent reports revealing that Ilicali set to launch a meeting sometime on Wednesday which will likely conclude the German's ill-fated rein at the club.

Acun Ilicali urged to replace Tim Walter with Mark Robins at Coventry City

The writing is very much on the wall regarding Walter's future at Hull. With that in mind, we asked our Tigers fan pundit, Ryan Frankish, to name a manager he wants to succeed Walter at the MKM Stadium.

Ryan opted to go with Mark Robins, who is available to return to management after his own controversial sacking from Championship rivals Coventry City earlier this month.

"My choice to replace Tim Walter would be Mark Robins, 100 per cent," Ryan told Football League World.

"Just for the stability, but what he's done, how he's been able to adapt to situations, how much his players seemed to play for him - maybe it got a bit sticky this season but previously he's had a bad start, redeemed himself and finished in or around the play-offs.

"I think we need someone who knows the league, that's been proven every time we've brought in a manager under Acun and even stretching back to the Allams.

"It would just have to be Mark Robins. We just need to be shored up, we need to grind out 1-0's, we don't need to be trying to create loads of chances and get caught on the break every time - again, it was the same old story last night."

Mark Robins would be an inspired Tim Walter replacement for Hull City

Robins is sure to be a popular candidate for clubs in need of a managerial change, having built up his reputation as one of the EFL's very finest managers during a glorious seven-and-a-half-year spell in charge of the Sky Blues.

The 54-year-old guided Coventry from the depths of League Two to within a penalty kick of promotion to the Premier League back in May 2023, where they lost out in the play-off final to Luton Town. They were also undone on spot-kicks by Manchester United in last season's FA Cup semi-final thriller, having clawed back to overturn a three-goal defecit against the Red Devils.

Robins' successes at the CBS Arena are extremely storied and it doesn't seem like he's going to be out of management for too long, as he recently outlined his ambitions to make a swift return.

When asked about what lies ahead, Robins said, via the BBC: "I’m really open-minded [about a quick return to management] but it’s definitely lit a fire under me, I’ll be back."

Along with being a shrewd tactican, Robins is mightily experienced in the Championship, possesses great man-management skills and represents the safe, stable pair of hands which Hull need to oversee a long-term project at the club. He rebuilt Coventry when they were much worse off, after all, and it's likely that most Tigers supporters will share the opinion that he should be lined up to replace Walter.