EPL Talk » Jimmy Bullard

Where Did It All Go Wrong For Hull City?

Paul Bestall — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:00:43 +0000

When a team only wins 2 games out of 18, you’d fully expect them to be propping up the Premiership table, already planning for life in the Championship the following season. Thankfully for Hull City, their fantastic start to the season has kept them out of the bottom 3, hanging on by their fingernails to 17th and desperately looking over their shoulder, at the three teams below them and hoping they can struggle to the finish line and not fall away at the last.

It would be simplifying matters to point out that they just need to get some points on the table as the Hull City side that are currently in deep, deep trouble seem to bear no relation to the one that began the season. With 20 points from the first ten games of a debut season from heaven in the top flight, no-one surely at the K.C. Stadium could have imagined it would come to this would it? A side that were like a breath of fresh air, knocking so called bigger sides’ noses out of joint as they racked up away wins at White Hart Lane, The Emirates and St James’ Park.

Playing a brand of swashbuckling football that saw them come up against more illustrious opponents and bloody their noses, they are now reduced to reverting to type. Thumping it forward and playing for set pieces, desperately clinging to the long ball game and getting nothing for it. The side who were gaining all the plaudits as Summer turned to Autumn, now find that for a season that promised so much, time is beginning to run out.

Of course, it may not matter, as up the coast, Newcastle and Middlesbrough are doing a fine job of preserving Hull’s Premiership status for them, but 3 points for the Tigers would be the best medicine that Browns sickly side could be prescribed, rather than facing the placebo effect of Newcastle’s visibly draining confidence and Middlesbrough shot shy side. Phil Brown is also beginning to suffer from the pain of the dogfight, so in demand for his refreshingly honest appraisals at the beginning of the season, now the media twists his words to spitting barbs from his tongue. Brown hasn’t changed, but the way in which he’s being reflected in the media certainly has.

People point to the Manchester City game as the defining point of the season for Hull City, as Browns fettered ego saw him ride roughshod over the norm, holding his half time team talk on the pitch as Eastlands as his side recuperated from a first half battering against Mark Hughes’s millionaires. Yet that was on Boxing Day, coming into that game, they were already falling away with only 1 win in the 8 previous matches, a confidence sapping 2-0 lead had been dropped at Anfield two weeks previously, an embarrassing 4-1 defeat against Sunderland the week before had laid the foundations for the capitulation in Manchester.

The transfer window couldn’t come soon enough for Hull City and as it opened Hull threw some money at the side to freshen it up, making Jimmy Bullard the key signing. What a mistake that was, well known to be carrying an injury, to the extent that Fulham wouldn’t offer him a contract based on their concerns, Bullard’s knee went after just 37 minutes in a Hull City shirt. Now that for me was the moment the wheels fell off Hull’s season, he was the big signing and there is no doubt that a fit and buzzing Jimmy Bullard is a smashing player. Yet this is not the Bullard that we saw at Wigan Athletic and sporadically at Fulham and that injury deflated the sails of the Tigers survival schooner. Couple with the strikers drying up and reverting from football to hoofball, the points are slipping through their fingers.

Sure they picked up 3 surprising points at Fulham, but they are falling away at the wrong moment and Phil Brown has it all to do to rescue a Hull City season that promised so much but is beginning to rely on the failings of others. Unfortunately, that’s when you have no control over your destiny and they have to try and snatch something, anything from the next 3 matches, the last game I fear may be too much to ask unless Manchester United have the Premiership in the bag and have beat Arsenal in the Champions League, with the final 3 days after the end of the Premiership season. I hope that there is a happy ending to Hull’s Premiership season, I really do, but I’m beginning to fear the worst for them and that would be a terrible shame.

The Relegation Rumble: Hull City

tyduffy — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:26:57 +0000

This is the second in a series of relegation assessments. For a similar look at Bolton Wanderers. Check here.

Hull City surprised everyone at the start of the season, winning six of their first nine, knocking off an over-confident Arsenal. The club lost composure. Phil Brown lost his sweet goatee, and perhaps his sanity. Hull won just two of their next 21 games, drifting from a solid European challenge to treading above the relegation zone. They currently set in thirteenth place, a mere four points over the drop.

Form: Hull have done nothing recently to suggest a resurgence. They have won just one of their last eight, and lost four. Shoring up their defense slightly may inject a bit of optimism, though, as the most generous side in the league (52 goals allowed), a 5-0 defeat seems perpetually possible. Hull may stay, but probably not because of a massive fortune turn.

Schedule: Hull’s schedule has difficult tests, though there are points available. The Tigers host both Liverpool and Manchester United, but have softer ties against Portsmouth and Stoke City. Hull also travel to fellow strugglers Middlesbrough and Sunderland. They also play Bolton and Aston Villa. A couple good results, particularly at the expense of clubs such as Middlesbrough and Sunderland could do a great deal to keep them up.

Injuries: Injuries have hurt Sunderland in midfield. George Boateng and Jimmy Bullard are the exact type of experienced, steady midfielders Hull needs to keep the ship upright. Unfortunately both are crocked. Boateng may be back by the end of April, but January-signing Bullard is out for the season. It’s difficult to replicate that type of presence.

Prognosis: Hull City should stay up. They have had an atrocious run of form. If they replicate that in the last eight matches, that would put them on 39 points, giving them a good chance at staying in the Premier League. Their first start and subsequent fall affect perceptions, but being in the position to stay up is an incredible feat, given their squad and pre-season expectations.

Fulham Continue To Progress Under Hodgson

Paul Bestall — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:45:46 +0000

Why doesn’t Roy Hodgson get the credit he deserves in the United Kingdom? As I’ve mentioned before, In Scandinavia and Italy, he’s held in high regard, in Britain people point to his sacking at Blackburn Rovers back in1997. With 33 points gained so far this season, Fulham are one win away from emulating their points total for last season already.Hodgson is a class act, he knows his football, his list of contacts stretches world wide.

Fulham, under Hodgson, have begun to repair the damage that Lawrie Sanchez’s reign presided over, as Hodgson has looked to ship out some of the deadwood that arrived during the former Northern Ireland managers spell. Sanchez’s problem seemed to be his obsession with signing players he’d worked with at Northern Ireland, tallied with a depressing addiction to long ball football and a high defensive line, whilst using defenders not blessed with pace.

This season, after keeping them up by the skin or their teeth last year, has seen Hodgson add to the canny signings he made in the transfer window of 2008. Capturing the new strike force of Andrew Johnson and Bobby Zamora in the summer has been key to allowing Hodgson to implement his footballing philosophy on the Cottagers. Johnson with his pace and eye for key combined with Zamora’s strength and ability to hold the ball up has given them a new dimension, it allows Fulham to break and bring more players in to attacking positions. With Danny Murphy and Simon Davies resurgent this year, their seems to be no worrying about a relegation scrap, simply looking to finish as high as possible in the Premiership. They could even possible match or surpass their best Premiership finish of 9th, which was earned under Chris Coleman in 2004.

With the tightness of the Premierships bottom 14 sides, 7th is not beyond Hodgson and his Fulham side, they showed just how much better they are than the bottom side West Bromich on Sunday with an impressive footballing display. 2-0 frankly flattered West Brom, they were never in the game, Danny Murphy imperious in a midfield display that harked back to his days for Liverpool and England. An F.A. Cup Quarter Final against Manchester United awaits in March. The transfer of Jimmy Bullard now looks a masterstroke.

Yet there is still room for improvement. Whilst their home record is currently the 2nd best in the Premiership, they share an unenviable record with Stoke City in not achieving an away win this season with only 6 draws and 3 goals scored in 13 matches away from Craven Cottage. A decent away record could have seen them challenging Everton and Arsenal for a UEFA cup spot. That said though, they’ve earned impressive draws at Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa, if Hodgson can nick a couple of away wins towards the back end of the season at say Bolton Wanderers, Manchester City and Newcastle who knows where they could end up.

Hodgson knows his team need strengthening in the summer, a striker to compliment Zamora and Johnson is paramount, when fit and available, they’ve started every single game and more midfield depth to cover his first choice combination of Murphy, Davies, Dempsey and Gera. The return to form of Ethuhu and the loan signing of Olivier Dacourt shows where Hodgson needs to add options. The back four could also do with more depth, as the back four seems to pick itself currently.

Allied with another expansion of the stadium, it seems 4000 seats are to be added, a top ten finish can give them something to build on. The board of Fulham keep increasing the capacity where they can as they try to push it up to 30,000. The Hammersmith End is ripe for increased capacity and will add vital revenue to the clubs coffers.

Fulham can be pleased with their progression this season, but Hodgson and the fans know they need to start winning games away from Craven Cottage for real progress to be made.

Hull City To Go Down?

Michael Timbury — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:59:33 +0000

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.

Drogba Wants to Stay at Chelsea

Johnathan Starling — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 06:34:17 +0000

Sorry Drogba, but I have to call BS on this one.

After spending this season doing more sulking than any professional football player should be allowed to do by law, and in a week where Marseille’s president has said he wants Drogba back, Didier Drogba has attempted to shut people up by saying he wants to stay at Chelsea. He even wants to get a contract extension.

Look Drogba, get out. After showing your lack of professionalism by not bothering to fight for your spot up front when Scolari was around, you think that it’s okay to all of a sudden have a change of heart because of the new manager? You think it’s okay to do more flopping around than Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard combined? Even worse to me, you think it’s okay to take your jolly sweet time to come back from injury? Yes I will admit that by that time, Scolari had had enough of your dog and pony act and your attitude deserved nothing but the bench. However when you are benched, you fight for a spot on the team, not fight to get the manager removed.

It’s going to an awfully long time for me as a Chelsea fan to warm back up to your performances. If you only had the balls to play like you did against Liverpool in last season’s Champions League semi-final second leg, you might actually be respected as a footballer. Instead, your words ring hollow, no one cares about your prepared statement.

Other Stories
So Jimmy Bullard is going to be out another lengthy spell of time. This time, Hull City could be without their record signing for up to nine months. While Fulham is sitting back counting their money, Hull City have to be wondering if Bullard will be able to get anywhere near the form he had coming back for Fulham. At 30, that’s going to be a difficult task. Yes Paul Duffen, this was a gamble that didn’t pay off.

What’s 2 weeks to Eduardo? The time it will take to come back from the hammy he suffered in his return to Arsenal first team action.

You have to give David Moyes credit. He is going to do everything in his power to make sure Jack Rodwell and Dan Gosling gradually work their way into regular first team action. The last thing Everton need is for these two to have something happen where they have to be built back up from scratch. I think these two will be just fine.

Ian Herbert is asking if this Manchester United squad is the greatest Premier League team ever?

Joe Kinnear looks set to leave the hospital this weekend. I hope part of his orders is to not watch Newcastle/Everton on Sunday.

Here’s Christopher Samba coming out and saying that Blackburn are ‘too good to go down’. Umm..sure.

And finally, Giofranco Zola goes off on the bencher. You know, the big shot at the small club who takes the big contract to ride the bench at a bigger club.