Can anyone remember the last time Hull City won a Premier League game? December 6th at home to Middlesbrough was the last time. Since then, they have been very much in freefall. When Hull first arrived in the Premiership, they were tipped to go straight back down but decided to tear up the script and go to well established top flight sides like Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle United and win. How dare they!
Since then however, Hull have had a bit of a reality check. Despite two very credible draws at Anfield and Stamford Bridge, a couple of resounding batterings from Manchester City and Sunderland, accompanied with some less humiliating defeats and the odd draw have seen Hull fall into thirteenth. By all means this is a respectable position but the worrying thing for Phil Brown’s side is that they are looking over their shoulder now, rather than towards the dizzy heights of Europe that their early season form suggested.
The run of form that they are in at the moment suggests only one thing; a relegation scrap. This is the last thing that they would have wanted or expected at the time of their last league win but have struggled to maintain the kind of form that shocked the world before Christmas. Credit to Brown, he acknowledged their slump and tried to shake things up by bringing in some new faces, most notably Manucho on loan from Manchester United (to replace the outgoing Marlon King) and record signing Jimmy Bullard from Fulham. The latter however seems to have backfired for the time being as Bullard required further surgery to his troublesome knee and is out for the remainder of the season having only made one substitute appearance for the Tigers.
A problem that is still rectifiable this season though is their home form. The KC Stadium has hardly been a fortress having picked up just three wins in the league there all season. Perhaps this is because it is a welcoming venue for travelling teams with nice facilities and doesn’t boast the most hostile of atmospheres. If a team is to avoid the drop, it is often their home form that will decide it. Stoke City are a good example of a side who are making the most of their home territory and in turn made themselves very difficult to beat there. Hull’s next three home games all come against sides who are in the relegation mix and the phrase ‘six pointer’ starts to take on some real meaning. Sunday’s match against a rejuvenated Blackburn Rovers is a crucial match and a win for Hull could spark a run that results in a comfortable finish to the season and doesn’t require the need for a positive result against Manchester United on the final day. Newcastle United and Portsmouth are the following home games for Hull while upcoming trips to Fulham, Wigan, Middlesbrough and Sunderland suggest that Hull should pick up enough points to survive.
Most neutrals would like to see Hull stay up, purely because of the way they shook things up in the opening weeks of the season and think it would be a waste to then throw it all away. Hull have achieved a lot in a short space of time and sending them back to the drawing board now would be harsh. However, you only stay up if you’re good enough and time will tell.
Hull City have endeared themselves to a lot of people this season. Heck, they even had an article in ESPN the magazine about them. I’d like to see them up, but maybe that’s just wishful thinking now. Their form has been terrible of late… nobody told them that the season’s a marathon not a sprint.
I’ve actually said for weeks it is a forgone conclusion that they are going down. I hope they don’t because it is a great great story especially for one of the largest towns in Europe that had not experienced top flight football before this year but the ride has ended.
they will get 9 points next month
I do hope Hull stay up, its nice to see Championship teams who don’t go straight back down. I think they will survive by the skin of thier teeth and if they do I for one will be happy and cheering.
Hi
In my opinion Hull City are a young at heart Premier side, a bit naive yes, but they are a quality outfit, and I think, will not go down. Phil Brown is a canny chap, far better than most jumped up managers.
It’s going to be a bumpy ride to the end of the season, but they will be safe, they have some good players, and I rate them above teams like Newcasle, West Brom and the like.
So come on Hull we are all behind you.
Hull City are Topps For Me
fulham are 2nd only to man united in points at home, so im not sure thats the best example of somewhere hull can pick up points. that being said, you can count me among those that hope they stay up.
As a life long hull fan i remember the cold boothferry park nights loosing 4-1 to Rochdale leaving the stadium wondering why you bothered. But i always did bother and this is the reason i bothered. I never thought i’d live to see the day hull city premier league. Every right minded city fan started the season saying who cares. Who cares. We would be happy with ’0′ points. We would be happy to travel miles to watch city loose as long as the games we were loosing were premier league goals. If we stay up fantastic. We could easily stay up with the right team.
Duke
Ricketts Turner Gardner Dawson
Fagan Ash Marney Geo
Barmby Cousin
That team would have beaten Blackburn. Say no more.
If we go down it will be put down to 2 things.
Not signing a striker in january.
Poor team seletion.
But the main point is so what. So what if we go down all the optimism’s built up from a fantasy start but we’ve been here. We have in my life time, been here.