That Kamil Grosicki’s Hull City career lasted three years
is a minor miracle. The £7m signing from Rennes in January 2017 has been
continuously linked with a move away since the following summer and has come
close to leaving on several occasions. However, in spite of that, he racked up
over 120 appearances in all competitions.
Grosicki, or “Turbo”, arrived as part of the major squad
reshuffle under new manager Marco Silva – who was attempting to keep the
Tigers, then relegation certainties, in the Premier League. City sold Jake
Livermore (WBA) and Robert Snodgrass (West Ham) to raise the funds to back
Silva with new players. The majority were loan signings on big wages. The
exception was Polish international Winger Grosicki, who signed for three and a
half years, with the club holding the option to add another.
Grosicki made his debut, along with a host of others, in
a 2-0 win over Liverpool at the KCOM Stadium. He had a decent half a season in
black and amber though was not as impressive as Lazar Markovic. He did enough
to suggest that he could cut it in the Premier League with patience.
When City were relegated in May, the squad fell apart.
The loanees all returned to their parent clubs, Silva’s few months in charge
had been a “shop window” for the likes of Harry Maguire, Andy Robertson and Sam
Clucas while others like Tom Huddleston, Curtis Davies and Ahmed Elmohamady had
just had enough of a club with animosity ruling over it and ambition dwindling.
The exception was Grosicki who remained despite months of
speculation and a come and get me plea on Twitter!
You can repeat that line for every transfer window since.
The cynical City fans would greet every spell of good form with the suggestion
that he was playing for a move. But despite every link and reported bid, he
remained and he cracked on with the job. His first City goal came against
Burton Albion in the early days of the Leonid Slutsky reign – during those
baffling few months were City seemed to win 5-0 or lose 4-0 every week.
Grosicki shone as City mullered Burton, Bolton and Birmingham. He was the act
of defiance in miserable defeats at Middllesbrough and Sheffield United.
He always split fan opinion, regardless. He’s not a
workhorse. He doesn’t look fit. Even the warm-up leaves him looking like he’s
run a marathon. But, when you give him the ball, he comes alive. He can still
frustrate with his erratic decision making and 50/50 passing and crossing but
when he’s in full flow attacking a full-back, there’s not a greater sight in
the game. It’s a throwback to “proper wingers” of the past and City have
accommodated his lack of usefulness defensively because when he’s on it, he can
be a game changer.
Nigel Adkins and Grant McCann followed Slutsky as manager
and both insist on putting out teams that graft and graft, win or lose, with
and without the ball. Yet both accommodated Grosicki whenever possible because
they knew/know that he has the quality on the ball to damage teams. The
progression of Jarrod Bowen on the other flank has made the two of them by far
City’s most dangerous weapon and the period in which they really clicked with
Fraizer Campbell last season saw some of the best football we’ve played.
Grosicki is the biggest earner in the squad, along with
Markus Henriksen. Given both were signed for multi-millions in the Premier
League, that’s no surprise. He now has six months left on his contract and
there is no chance of the club exercising their one-year option as they’re now
operating on a vastly reduced budget. That they’ve kept Grosicki and kept
paying him what they are for the last couple of years as the PL money dried up
also shows his value to the squad. This is the last opportunity to see a return
on that investment. It’s a sensible business decision.
What looked like a fleeting Hull City career from another
mercenary has left us with a hoard of memories. The rocket that turned the tide
in Nigel Adkins’ first game against Brentford, that brilliant touch and volley
away at Burton Albion, battering Bolton again, stunning free kicks at Millwall
and at home to Wigan, Eaves and Magennis telling Sky Sports that a strong puff
of wind would blow away his remaining hair and his last goal from a deflected
free-kick giving a full house at the KCOM hope of turning the game around
against Chelsea last week.
Long live the King.
— Rick (@HullCityLive) October 15, 2019
