Tigers Squad Review 2013 - Goalkeepers

2012/13 report

The Tigers used four goalkeepers throughout the league season while 18 year old Joe Cracknell, who has just signed his first pro contract, had to sit on the bench for the three FA cup ties. On-loan Manchester United ‘keeper Ben Amos started the season as Steve Bruce’s preferred number one. Having another loanee between the sticks was far from ideal but the England U21 international came with a good reputation. He settled well but mistakes crept into his game, small ones at first but they lead to howlers against Bristol City (away) and Blackpool (home) that shattered his confidence and Bruce lost faith in him. Amos returned to Manchester United before Christmas and was replaced by another loanee, Fulham’s David Stockdale. The big former-Darlo stopper made solid impression on most City fans and his confidence helped the defence recover their composure and he played a part in wins at Forest and Watford. Stockdale was recalled from his loan in December forcing Bruce to turn to free signing Eldin Jakupovic. The Bosnian also started well enough, despite looking shaky under crosses, but met a similar fate to Amos as his season imploded in spectacular fashion against Sheffield Wednesday at the KC Stadium. Robert Koren had just equalised for The Tigers when Jakupovic threw a harmless looking corner into his own goal. He was then injured in trying to recover the ball and left the field on a stretcher. That led to a City debut for Mark Oxley. He was signed from Rotherham in the glorious summer of 2008, one of the few promising players picked up while City enjoyed a rare position of strength, but had only managed unused sub appearances prior to this cameo. Bruce had to act following Jakupovic’s career suicide and was able to bring Stockdale back from Fulham for the rest of the season. That proved crucial in the run-in. Stockdale wasn’t flawless, he’s capable of dropping a cross or punching poorly, but he’s decisive and he’s brave enough to come for the next cross after dropping one. He was a steady influence on the defence when it mattered.

The Future

Loanee Stockdale has returned to Fulham and despite Steve Bruce’s interest in signing him permanently, it appears that Fulham’s asking price (speculated to be £3-4m) will prove prohibitive. Jakupovic will never be anything more than a back-up, probably relegated to third choice over the summer. Oxley is one of a number of players out of contract. At 22, he’s perhaps worth holding onto for another year. However, if Steve Bruce and GK coach Gary Walsh don’t think he’s likely to trouble the first team, he’ll be on his way. A first choice, permanent goalkeeper is number one on the priority list this summer.

Five to consider

Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester) – The son of Manchester United and Denmark great, Peter, Schmeichel is well known to and admired by City fans having impressed in the nets for Leeds and Leicester in opposition in the past few years. He’s confident and agile, lightening quick off his line and has excellent reactions. Not being the biggest, he can be troubled by crosses and his distribution isn’t the best. Leicester paid around £2m to take him from Leeds and will at least want their money back. At 26, he’s a good age and is desperate to play in the Premier League.

Simon Moore (Brentford) – The 22-year old has earned rave reviews starring for play-off finalists Brentford. He’s been a regular in the League One side for the past couple of seasons having been plucked from non-league Farnborough. He’s tall and agile and exudes confidence for one so young. He’s nowhere near the finished article and unlikely to be a Tigers number one but he is someone the club have had watched.

Shay Given (Aston Villa) – Experienced, international ‘keeper who at 37 has spent a season on the bench at Villa, watching ex-Tiger loanee Brad Guzan establish himself as number one. Manchester City paid £6m for Given four years ago but a similar fate befell him there as Joe Hart took over. He’d be an  ideal signing for a lower half Premier league team. He has bags and bags of experience having clocked up 400 appearances for Newcastle and 125 international caps. He’s a terrific shot stopper and while his height means he won’t wade into a crowded box and take crosses, it’s not held him back. Will surely be allowed to leave Villa Park for free despite having 3 years left on his contract.

Vito Mannone (Arsenal) – Another well known figure amongst City fans having spent two spells on loan at the KC. Had Nick Barmby stayed on as manager last summer, Vito would have been his number one summer target. He may not be on Steve Bruce’s radar however. He should be though, he’s a solid keeper, he’s vocal and he has terrific distribution. He’s coming to an age now where he needs to play first team football. His career is passing him by at Arsenal. Should be valued at around £1.5m.

Boaz Myhill (West Brom) – Why? He’s Boaz Myhill.

Birmingham City 2 Hull City 3

Having ended a 47 year wait for a win at Bristol City and a 25 year wait for victory at Elland Road already this season, The Tigers headed to St. Andrews, Birmingham looking for a first win since 1970 on a ground that has yielded just one win in 100 years. Birmingham youth product Sone Aluko and ex-Brum player and manager Steve Bruce were on familiar turf while ex-Tiger Marlon King was in the Birmingham side and looking to score for the 6^th consecutive game.

Steve Bruce made two changes from the Cardiff game. Corry Evans was surprisingly left outand even more surprisingly, replaced by Seyi Olofinjana rather than David Meyler. Injury kept Paul McShane out as Alex Bruce stepped back in. Steve Bruce stuck with Ben Amos in goal after his gaffe last week and it proved a decent decision. Amos proved that if nothing else, he’s got the mentality to bounce back from a mistake and go again.

Tigers 3-5-2: [G] Amos [D] Chester, Faye, Bruce [M] Elmohamady, Rosenior, Olofinjana, Quinn, Koren [F] Aluko, Simpson

From the start it was obvious where Birmingham hoped to prosper. Long balls were pumped into Zigic from the first minute. Don’t get me wrong, Birmingham are not one dimensional. They occasionally pumped in diagonal balls to compliment the straight ones. Olofinjana went up against Zigic early on but the giant Serb dwarfed him. There was little chance of City winning the ball in the air so you felt the success of our afternoon would depend on how well we defended his knock downs. At the other end, Birmingham are weak. They may be rugged and experienced but both Paul Robinson and Steven Caldwell are carthorses. In Sone Aluko, they faced a thoroughbred in his prime. It was like watching Frankel vs. some kid on a hobby horse. In the 8^th minute Robert Koren advanced, Simpson peeled right, Koren split the defence with a pass to the left that put Aluko through on Jack Butland but the keeper got down well. Aluko should’ve scored though.

Within minutes, he had done. Amos distributed quickly to Elmo who strode forward and found Koren. He slid the ball in on the right this time, Aluko left the defence for dead, calmly rounded Butland and tapped into an empty net [0-1]. Aluko chose not to rub it into the faces of those who used to support him. They never supported us though, so we went mental. Abdoulaye Faye was cut in a clash with Zigic and had to return to the dressing room for treatment. City played on with 10 men, Olofinjana stepping in at centre-half, and survived comfortably until Faye returned. We then doubled our lead in now familiar fashion. Koren cut out a ball in midfield, fed Simpson, he ran at the defence, Aluko cut across the back of them from left to right, Simpson slid him in and Aluko finished coolly [0-2]. We deserved the lead too. We were defending well, moving the ball quickly and Simpson was holding the ball up beautifully. Only Olofinjana was worrying us, losing the ball outside our area trying to hold off their forwards in a dangerous position and then gifting them the ball with a poor attempt to switch play.

Zigic was still their danger man but surprisingly when they finally got him in, it was on the floor, not in the air. Morrison split our defence this time to find Zigic who’d crept in behind Chester but Amos flew off his line to gather at the big man’s feet. Zigic was cruelly yet hilariously taunted with a chant of “Does the circus know you’re here?” With the half hour approaching, City delivered the third knockdown blow of the half. Koren’s deep corner was headed back inside the near post by James Chester, enjoying the freedom of St. Andrews [0-3]. Once we’d stopped celebrating, I commented that if it was any other team, I’d be confident it was game over at 0-3. This is Hull City though, we don’t do anything easily. With the Tigers fans Ole’ing and Birmingham looking a bit lost, some in black and amber obviously felt the game was won. We stopped passing the ball, we conceded the initiative and we sank deeper into our half. Inevitably a long diagonal found Zigic, he headed across the penalty area and Ravel Morrison scissor-volleyed into the net [1-3]. It was a super finish. The nerves then began jangling in the Tigers players and supporters. Another ball to the back post fell between Zigic and Faye. Zigic screamed for handball but fortunately for us, the referee was unmoved. The ball definitely struck Faye on the forearm but he wasn’t really looking at it and I think Zigic touched it first with his hand. That said, if it had been in front of the Birmingham supporters, I think a penalty would have been given. Faye then dived in rashly on Morrison and conceded a free-kick right on the edge of the box. Again, it looked like it may just have been inside. We got the rub of the green again.

We made it to half time with the 1-3 lead and I felt confident that Bruce would calm everyone down and we’d come out and dictate the game again. HA! Within 30 seconds of the restart they punted a hopeful ball forward, Zigic flicked it on and Marlon King found himself in acres of space to shoot past Amos [2-3]. Woeful defending from City, another kamikaze goal. Although the goal meant a nervy 45 minutes for the City fans, it was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to the players. It was a real wake-up call. We defended doggedly after that and for all Birmingham’s possession, they rarely troubled us. They looked at their best when they got Chris Burke in behind Rosenior but Steve Bruce quelled that threat by introducing Robbie Brady from the bench. Meanwhile the longer the game went on, the more Faye won in the air against Zigic. Olofinajana played one poor pass too many and was hooked for David Meyler. Meyler is a tall but elegant midfielder, tidy on the ball and with a decent burst of pace. He looks a very good acquisition. He made one crucial block as Birmingham resorted to pot-shots from 18 yards and helped with the collective time wasting effort by clinging onto the ball on the floor despite having his head pushed into the floor twice and the boot stuck into him by talentless scumbag Paul Robinson. Meyler was booked for it, Robinson not even warned. Nice one, ref.

Speaking of the ref, he had a decent game aside from the possible handball. The Birmingham crowd reacted to him giving them a free-kick by cheering like they’d won at Wembley again which was ridiculously over the top. They didn’t get a couple of decisions. We didn’t get a couple of decisions. There’s nothing funnier than a crowd of stupid fans bleating wrongfully about being wronged. The ref didn’t let them sway him which is to his credit. What isn’t is the way he allowed Marlon King to charge at him after every decision he didn’t get waving his arms around. That sort of behaviour might be acceptable in Wormwood Scrubs but it shouldn’t be on a football pitch. The ref needed to flash some cards to show them who was in charge. He was probably afraid of King’s reaction when he asked for his name. “Don’t you know who I am?”

Including stoppage time, we survived 50 minutes that felt like 50 years. We had chances to put the game to bed with Quinn, Brady and Aluko counter attacking in the last 15 minutes. We didn’t commit the players forward to make the most of the situation though. McLean, sporting a new short hairstyle, relieved Simpson and harassed some defenders for those last 15 mins. Birmingham had ran out of ideas so decided to change tactic and lump the ball forward. Zigic was knackered by this point, Faye had his number. Steven Caldwell running at us from deep was the main worry. Luckily he distributes about as well as he defends. James Chester made a super tackle to stop Morrison advancing into our penalty area and that was job done.

It was a fantastic three points. Despite Birmingham’s lowly league position, they have a good squad of players and can hurt teams if allowed to play. We took the game to them from the off and our pace and quality in the final third killed them. We could have done without the fight back but the stubbornness of our defending in the last half hour was very good to see. Alex Bruce had another fine game, particularly in the ten minutes before half time when he met everything they threw into our box while some around him had lost their heads. Sone Aluko will grab the headlines for his two brilliantly taken goals but in general play, he gave the ball up a bit too often trying to over-elaborate. Simpson on the other hand kept things simple, held the ball up well and caused them problems with his running in behind and his quality when he dropped off. Between the two of them, they were excellent. Koren and Quinn were indefatigable again and Koren produced two of his best passes in a City shirt.

In all, it was another very encouraging result suggesting, again, that we are genuine promotion contenders. It’s tight at the top of the Championship. Before today’s game, you could’ve thrown a blanket over 7 or 8 sides chasing Crystal Palace. This result gives us a little bit of breathing space over the teams 7^th and below. We’ve now got two massive home games to round out November. Burnley, who’ve won at the KC Stadium in each of the previous three seasons and then leaders Crystal Palace who show no sign of letting go of top spot. Hoping for six points may be being a tad greedy but it would stand us in good stead going into December. It’s been a fine old season so far. We’re still playing attractive passing football but playing quicker passes and playing forward most of the time to get the ball into areas where we have the pace and the guile to genuinely hurt teams. It feels like the sky is the limit for this team. I’m not going to get carried away though. This is Hull City after all. The only sensible thing to do as a Tigers fan is expect the unexpected. Today, that was being 0-3 up in half an hour. I’d take that most weeks!

Hull City 2 Ipswich Town 1

Is there a feeling greater than the mixture of joy and relief that sweeps over you as your team seals a deserved win against stubborn opposition with a winner in stoppage time from your expensive, and thus far massively disappointing, German striker? I can’t think of many.

The Tigers returned to Championship action after a two week looking to capitalise on the three points gained at Hillsborough with a win over lowly Ipswich. The Tractor Boys have a decent squad of players that they’ve added to recently with the temporary arrivals of goalkeeper Stephen Henderson (West Ham) and midfielders Richie Wellens (Leicester) and Nigel Reo-Coker (the ego-driven unemployment line). Despite their quality on paper, their useless manager Paul Jewell hasn’t got anything much out of the squad in two years. He’s on borrowed time in Suffolk and the negative approach they took showed his utter desperation to leave the KC Stadium with a point, any point, gained in any way whatsoever. Steve Bruce had a fit-again James Chester available after Hillsborough but chose not to include him. Bruce’s loyalty to the players who did so well a fortnight ago is admirable but not something I agree with.

Tigers: 4-4-2 [G] Amos [D] Rosenior, Dawson, Faye, McShane [M] McKenna, Olofinjana, Elmohamady, Quinn [F] Aluko, Simpson

City made a bright start to the game and completely dominated the opening half hour. They played some sumptuous football particularly around the box where Rosenior and Dawson joined in with attacks and Quinn and Elmohamady displayed excellent vision to get the roaming full-backs into the penalty area. Two early corners exposed Ipswich’s frailties. The first flew across the face of goal begging for a touch before McShane and Faye slashed at it and the visitors smuggled the ball behind. The second was driven low to Aluko, 12 yards out and all alone but he failed to connect properly. Our visitors then downgraded from frail to decrepit as the handed City two chances to open the scoring in the space of a few minutes.

Elmohamady flicked on Amos’ goal kick to Simpson who raced down the right before returning the ball to Elmo to cross. The delivery was poor but the defender sliced it across goal and Olofinjana arrived at the far post but with his out-stretched right foot could only fire over the bar. Chance. Then Simpson turned provider again, sliding the ball through their centre halves for Aluko who’d run in behind. His first touch took him away from Henderson but the goalie flung himself in front of Aluko’s shot, it caught his midriff and bounced up slowly where a recovering defender was able to boot it clear. Chance. Another loanee Tractor Boy Danny Higginbotham then slipped while attempting to clear Rosenior’s harmless looking cross, presenting the ball to Aluko 10 yards out. Aluko side stepped another defender and hit a rising right foot shot that flew over the bar. Chance.

With the Tigers having stared three gift horses right in the mush, the next act was inevitable. The ref awarded Ipswich a soft free-kick for Rosenior holding Emmanuel-Thomas. While the City defenders trudged slowly into position, still whining at the ref, Emmanuel-Thomas picked up the quickly taken free-kick, ran at Rosenior and Elmohamady who weren’t set at all, beat them both with a quick switch of the ball off his right foot and then left, strode towards the six yard box with McShane struggling to get close and finished neatly from a tight angle [0-1]. It was against the run of play, undeserved and downright frustrating but that’s the way things have gone in recent home games. If you don’t take chances, you invite a kick in the teeth in top level football. We’re turning it into an art-form.

The Tigers didn’t respond in the way the crowd wanted. If the goal was a sucker punch, the players spent twenty minutes either side of half-time shaking off the groggy feeling it left in their heads. We lost the pace in our attacks. Olofinjana’s languid style became frustrating. McKenna misplaced passes. Aluko still provided real energy and movement but attempted impossible passes that cost possession. Dawson and Rosenior weren’t getting into the right areas anymore. Only Elmohamady provided a threat but Ipswich gobbled up his crosses against a lonely looking Simpson. Added to Ipswich’s clear lack of ambition, evidenced by Henderson’s time wasting having started ten minutes in and it taking 42 minutes for anyone to notice that DJ Campbell was actually playing, it was another frustrating spell. Simpson gathered in Quinn’s centre from the right edge of the penalty area, turned and bent a shot beyond the far post before the break. After it Faye met a dinked cross from McKenna and Henderson touched his looping header onto the bar. That was the sum total of our efforts for 20 minutes. Something needed to change.

Steve Bruce, who normally prowls the touchline, sat down for 5 minutes in the second half. He looked like he was out of ideas but he was merely contemplating his next move. Ipswich were having their best spell of the game. A deep cross from Murphy was cleared by Dawson only as far as Martin whose shot from a tight angle forced Ben Amos’ only save of the afternoon. Then a rare corner for them saw Cresswell make a late run into acres of space in the penalty area only to find Stephen Quinn had seen him and arrived first. It showed excellent awareness from Quinn who had another terrific, tireless game. Bruce chucked on McLean for Rosenior with Aluko moving wide and Elmohamady to right-back. It put Elmo directly up against Emmanuel-Thomas. Ipswich never reacted to the change and it eventually proved crucial. Before the Tigers would kick into gear though, they were let off big-time by Campbell. The ball was given away in our half and Ipswich put Campbell, who’d just about stayed onside, through on goal. Faye chases back and gave him a crucial little nudge in the back causing him to poke the ball a foot or less wide of the post. Campbell appealed in vain for a penalty.

McLean made a nuisance of himself from the moment he stepped onto the pitch. He doesn’t have the nous of an instinctive striker nor is he a composed finisher but he’s a complete pest whose constant movement when we have the ball or are trying to win it back just drives defenders mad. McShane played the ball forward to Simpson who held it up, turned and played in McLean on the right, in a similar position to the one he got in to notch the winner at Hillsborough. He shot hard and low but straight at the ‘keeper. That’s his weakness. It was almost hit and hope. McLean got into a similar position moments later, this time fed by Aluko, and hit a shot-cum-cross that evaded a despairing slide from Simpson in the middle. Steve Bruce then threw on his two remaining subs. Nick Proschwitz replaced Olofinjana and went up front. Simpson moved onto the left and Quinn made up the midfield pairing. We had four forwards on and a winger at right-back, you couldn’t accuse Bruce of being defensive. James Chester also came on for Abdoulaye Faye. This change didn’t produce the effects as noticeable as the attacking switches but it was just as important. Any threat Ipswich had on the break was quashed by Chester’s arrival and his ability to carry the ball over the half-way line was important. Ipswich were defending in great numbers by this point so we had to move the ball quickly across the back.

It wasn’t long after the changes before City were level. Elmohamady squared up to Emmanuel-Thomas on the right, left him for dead, slammed the ball across the near post and Nick Proschwitz arrived to volley home from close range [1-1]. The delight was obvious in his celebration and it was shared equally by the vast majority of the 15,983 inside the stadium and his team-mates who mobbed him. If there was a time for him to make his first big contribution to the season, that was it. Ipswich realised that with 15 minutes or so left, they were still going to face an onslaught and they pulled everyone back and wasted as much time as they could. Aluko took Elmo’s lead and got himself into the box on the right. Ryan Cresswell got between him and the ball but Aluko didn’t give it up and nicked the ball off Cresswell before he was tripped. The ref immediately gave the “no way Jose” signal (that’s official FIFA lingo, honest) but I think if it was anywhere else on the pitch, he’d have given a foul.

Ipswich sub Bilel Mohsni hit a wicked, dipping, curling shot from 35 yards that dropped just over Amos’ crossbar. That was their last thought of winning the game. It was all City in truth and it represented a siege at times. James Chester strode forward, didn’t realise he had a man on, and let an Ipswich midfielder get a foot in but he inadvertently put Andy Dawson in behind his full-back. With Proschwitz waiting in the middle, Daw fired it high across the box when it really needed sliding low. It was a poor cross. The ref gave us a free-kick for Wellens reckless dive at McKenna which Aluko then smashed into Wellens’ one-man wall. Elmohamady then sauntered passed Emmanuel-Thomas again, skinned Ryan Cresswell and clipped in a cross just before the ball ran out of play that Quinn headed poorly over the bar. Quinn then picked up the ball in midfield, strode forward, ignored the runners and hit a low, left-footed drive that bounced off the far post.

The ball was fed back into the box where Aaron McLean curled a cross or a shot towards the far post and Henderson had to dive full length to tip it around the post. From the corner McLean met the ball at the far post but saw his header headed off the line by the defender on the post. Another corner fell kindly for McLean whose shot looked like it might have gone in had Mohsni not blocked it bravely. The crowd noise by this point was immense. Everyone willing the Tigers forward, desperate for them to find the winner they so deserved. The board went up to indicate four minutes stoppage time and City’s last chance came and went. Jay Simpson decided to shoot from a free-kick on the left wing. His shot was heading into the ‘keeper’s arms when a defender decided to try and control it but succeeded only in presenting it to McLean 6 yards out. McLean was well off-balance, in his defence, and struck it over the bar. 2 minutes into stoppage time the ref finally realised that Henderson was deliberately wasting time and produce a futile yellow card. That’ll really show him, ref. I don’t blame Ipswich for time-wasting. If we were as crap as they are, I’d want us to waste time too but the ref should really have got hold of it earlier. Instead, punishment was to be issued by a gangly German striker. Elmohamady crossed half way with the ball, looked up, floated the ball in towards the penalty area where Proschwitz got across the front of his marker and flicked a header into the far corner, leaving Henderson grasping at thin air. I haven’t heard a reaction like this one at the KC since Robert Koren’s winner against Leicester last December. It was magic.

City haven’t always gotten what performances have deserved over the past 18 months, especially at home, so it was nice to pull this one out of the bag. As much as we only had ourselves to blame for not capitalising on the early dominance, a team as negative and desperate as Ipswich didn’t deserve anything out of the game and it would’ve been sickening to watch them take anything. The sponsor’s Man of the Match was Sone Aluko which was a bit of a joke decision, as unimportant as it is. Elmohamady was clearly the biggest threat throughout, even before he made the winner. Aluko had a disappointing afternoon by his standards and didn’t produce the end product to match his great approach work. Defensively we were OK but still gifted a couple of chances to a side with no ambition. Chester needs to come back in for Tuesday. We’ve also got a selection header up front where Steve Bruce has to choose between Simpson, who didn’t do a whole lot wrong, and McLean and Proschwitz who both affected the game positively. Both have scored winners off the bench in the last two games and will be desperate for a starting opportunity.

With Robert Koren due back soon and Corry Evans only on the bench at the moment, we’ve also got plenty of options in midfield. It’s all evidence of a squad that is very strong when everyone’s fit. We’ve got 18/19 really good quality players for this level. The only bit of bad news at the moment is Matt Fryatt requiring surgery on his Achilles. That’s a big blow. It’s a credit to the other strikers that we haven’t missed him as much as we would’ve last season. They’ve really stepped up.

After that frustrating winless run a few weeks ago, things are frighteningly optimistic again. We’ve got two away trips this week that while both tough, are also highly winnable if we play well. I’d be delighted with three points from the two though, that would keep us well in the promotion race. We are good enough to go up this season. I think 8 or 9 other teams probably feel the same, so it’s going to be a fantastic fight for the top six spots but we are definitely in with a shot.

In December, the Tigers celebrate 10 years at the KC Stadium. I've been blogging the best 10 games, goals and players for City in those 10 seasons. You can read them here:

Ten Years At The KC Stadium #10

Ten Years At The KC Stadium #9

Ten Years At The KC Stadium #8

Ten Years At The KC Stadium #7

Hull City 2 Blackpool 3

Two home games in four days. Two defeats. Six utterly appalling goals conceded. Welcome back Hull City. Oh how I missed you. Anyone of a nervous disposition should log off the computer now, go for a long walk and attempt to erase this mess from their memory. I take no responsibility for any heart attacks or suicides suffered while reading this.

With James Chester absent through injury, Steve Bruce chose Paul McShane to play as the third centre half. It was a brave choice and as the other ten sunk to his level, it's one SB will get away with. Olofinjana was fit to start in midfield meaning Paul McKenna returned to the bench. Pity.

Tigers: Amos; McShane, Faye, Bruce; Elmohamady, Dudgeon, Olofinjana, Quinn, Koren; Aluko, Simpson.

Following a quiet opening 12 minutes in which Blackpool kicked the ball long and City moved the ball without purpose, the visitors were gifted the lead. Taylor-Fletcher played a terrible through ball straight to Faye who miscontrolled and allowed Delfouneso to take possession. The ball went wide in two passes, Osbourne in acres of space behind our left wing back crossed unchallenged to Matt Phillips who stroked home from 12 yards. He's only their biggest danger; why would any of the three centre halves bother to mark him? [0-1]

It took a while for the Tigers to respond and by the time we started playing, we were lucky not to be two down. Gomes harmless looking pass towards Delfouneso became a golden opportunity as Faye slipped. Delfouneso headed for goal but as he shaped to shoot, Alex Bruce arrived with a terrific challenge. City settled after that and started to move the ball quicker and work positions on the left  Dudgeon and Quinn both got in behind but made a mess of things once there. Quinn's next attempt was better; his deflected cross, just too high for Koren, was headed behind by Baptiste with Simpson planning a scissor kick. The referee had already come in for some stick from the stands for his inconsistency and shoddy use of the advantage rule. He then raised the bar spectacularly.

Elmohamady crossed from the right, Aluko lost his marker and steadied himself for a free header from 12 yards when he was blatantly pushed in the back. Everyone thought it was a penalty except the two morons with the power to give it. There was no question of the ball being out of playable distance. There was no question of "simulation". There was just no chance of it not being a foul. The ref could possibly hide behind being poorly positioned but the linesman was perfectly placed. In line. 20 yards away. Nothing obstructing his view. Bottler. Unquestionably.

The anger felt by the home side did at least lift the atmosphere a little. Minutes later, Sone Aluko lifted the roof off the place. Aluko picked up the ball in midfield, drove at the defence, found himself 25 yards out towards the left edge of the box, ignored the runners and lashed a shot that swerved inside the near post beyond the desperate clutches of Gilks [1-1]. The Tigers just about deserved that for the way they responded to going behind. City stepped on the gas with half time approaching and forced a flurry of corners. We should’ve gone in ahead as Aluko broke from midfield again, dinked a beautiful ball over the top for Simpson who stayed onside but made a woeful attempt to control the ball. Massive opportunity missed there. Alex Bruce limped off, adding to our defensive woes, and was replaced by Rosenior. Half time came and went in a flash and City took the lead within two minutes of the restart. Blackpool were pinned back from the off but set about breaking down their right. Joe Dudgeon flew in with a super tackle that sent the ball into space on the wing. Aluko was alert to it, picked up the ball, headed for the box and slid across a lovely near post cross that Quinn flicked into the far corner. Great tackle by Dudgeon, great run by Aluko and great timing from Quinn [2-1].

Blackpool were on the ropes. City dictated possession and were making all the running. Interestingly, when we attacked on the right, Liam Rosenior would overlap Elmohamady, with Dudgeon slotting in as the third centre back. It worked well and we created several openings down the right but crossed everything onto the head of Baptiste. He headed Quinn’s volley over after he’d cleared Elmohamady’s cross to Quinn in the first place. Then the last of another batch of corners was cleared to Olofinjana and his cross headed over by Faye from a difficult angle. You felt the Tigers needed a third goal while they had the momentum. Blackpool were rubbish but they’ll always finish strongly and have game-changers on the bench. We didn’t score while we were on top and as Blackpool started to hold on to the ball, we passed increasingly poorly, the ball didn’t stick up front and the crowd started to sense the impending danger. Blackpool sent on Kevin Phillips; what a great option to have off the bench. A harmless looking free-kick was awarded to the Seasiders close to half way. What am I saying? This is Hull City. Goal kicks are dangerous at the moment. The ball was lobbed into the box, no-one bothered to mark their giant centre halves; Ian Evatt headed the ball across and some combination of Kevin Phillips and Joe Dudgeon bundled it over the line. Pathetic marking. Nick Barmby’s team of dwarves didn’t concede goals this sloppily [2-2].

A draw was probably a fair reflection of the game and a point wouldn’t have been the end of the world, even though 1 point from 6 at home isn’t a great return on two winnable fixtures. Rosenior was worked in again on the right and his cut back lashed way over by Jay Simpson. It was similar to Blackpool’s first goal albeit a slightly harder chance due to their defenders actually reacting to the striker’s movement. It was a poor finish though. As the pitiful crowd of 14919 watched on, City hit the button marked “TOTAL SELF DESTRUCTION”. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last but while it’s one thing to watch a rag-bag collection of nomads being rubbish in black and amber, it’s a million times more frustrating to see good footballers being likewise. Another Blackpool hoof forward skimmed off the head of Faye. Amos charged out to save a corner but Kevin Phillips beat him to the ball. Instead of quickly retreating into his goal, Amos decided to stand up to Phillips who chipped the ball over him and Dicko overhead kicked it into the empty goal [2-3]. What a complete and utter shambles. McLean replaced Dudgeon as Blackpool expertly saw out the remaining seven or eight minutes. If Nick Proschwitz isn’t worth chucking on in a situation like this, he isn’t worth having.

There were hardly any boos at the final whistle. The crowd were too deflated to bother. The goals knocked the stuffing out of us. Just as they did on Saturday. And as on Saturday, it was all self-inflicted. The man of the match was Paul McShane. That cheered me up no end. In a game where the opposition scored three of the easiest goals they’ll ever score, someone gave the man of the match award to a centre half. Whoever it was has a cracking sense of humour. What takes it from hilarious to terrifying is that there were only one or two City players who actually performed better than him. Aluko was terrific again. He didn’t deserve to be on the losing side, he was by far the best player on the pitch. Stephen Quinn’s industry is there for all to see but he makes excellent runs time and again, arrives where he’s needed and passes the ball well too. Aside from the spell either side of half time, the two wing backs were well below their best. Simpson again struggled to get hold of the ball and everything bounced off him in the second half. Abdoulaye Faye was a lion three weeks ago. He’s not even a lemur now. Olofinjana shows some quality in possession from time to time but is an absolute waste of space when we don’t have the ball. Steve Bruce talks about his presence in the air defending set pieces but he hasn’t headed anything ever. I can’t recall a game in which Robert Koren was so ineffective. He played in Simpson in the first half after Aluko had dummied McShane’s pass. Otherwise he barely touched the ball in the attacking third.

So what to do next? Many will want a change of system, I’m sure. The problem is that without reinforcements, a change of system means playing two centre halves, one or both of whom are McShane, Faye or Bruce, depending on Chester’s fitness. That scares the life out of me. It also doesn’t matter if you play two, three, four or five defenders if you make the sort of mistakes we have. If no-one takes responsibility for situations; if people aren’t organised; if something as simple as controlling the ball or kicking it into touch is too difficult; you’ve got no chance. We need McKenna’s influence in the midfield for starters, regardless of the system. He’ll help keep the ball and get it back when it’s lost. Regardless of whether Bruce is fit for Saturday, we need a centre half. These three are an accident waiting to happen. The lack of pace is frightening. Otherwise, I wouldn’t panic too much. We look an attacking threat. We’re generally moving the ball well and we have good movement across the front. We need to tweak things defensively to cut out the mistakes. I’d still look for evolution rather than revolution for the weekend.

Where has the Hull City of two weeks ago gone? Is it still there in some form? Someone find it for Hillsborough. Please.

Leeds United 2 Hull City 3

I thought the “25 years of hurt” stuff was a bit over-played locally today. It may well be 25 years since we’ve won at Elland Road but we’ve only actually been 5 or 6 times. Still, Hull City victories at Elland Road are as rare as rocking horse droppings. We’ve only won there twice in our history and one of those was in 1921 (against Leeds United anyway, we’ve won twice in FA Cup replays played at Elland road as a neutral venue and games against Leeds City). You can make that three times now. The modern-day tigers strolled into Elland Road tonight, bared our teeth and took Leeds apart. And they did it with the odds stacked in favour of our hosts, the uncrowned Champions of Europe. It’s just a pity there were less than 20,000 fans there to see it.

The Tigers were forced into one change from the victories over Bolton and Millwall as Seyi Olofinjana picked up the millionth injury of his Hull City career. It’s to his credit that most fans felt we’d miss him. Corry Evans stepped up in his place and Jamie Devitt filled the bench.

Tigers: Amos; Chester, Faye, Bruuuuuuuce; Elmohamady, Dudgeon, Evans, Quinn, Koren; Aluko, Simpson.

I paid an eye-watering 34 quid to get in the ground, “enjoyed” a grey-brown “cheese” pie and downed a beer with less alcohol content than Mother Teresa’s breathalyser reading before taking my seat approximately 4,000 yards from the pitch. Only in football, eh? Fortunately the couple of thousand Hull City fans were in fantastic voice and the away end was jumping. The home areas, consisting mainly of seats, were not so. Within 8 minutes, the Tigers fans were temporarily muted by a mind-numbingly poor refereeing decision. El Hadji-Diouf beat Joe Dudgeon on the bye-line and Dudge clipped his heels outside the box. Diouf chucked himself into the box and the linesman flagged for a foul. The referee, Roger East, pointed to the spot. The City players and fans were aghast and the players badgered the referee into consulting the linesman. I presume the conversation went something like:

“Was it in the box, lino?”

“No Ref, it was a couple of yards outside”

“Well I’m going to look like a tit if I change my mind and Warnock will never let me hear the end of it so I’m going to give it anyway”

Luchiano Becchio stuck the penalty in the bottom corner [1-0], as if there was ever any doubt, despite Ben Amos going the right way and the home fans made a bit of noise for the only time of the evening. City were shaken by the start and had to hang on for 5 minutes. Corry Evans gifted them the ball in midfield for the second time and Becchio headed Diouf’s deep cross into the back of James Chester before a fabulous block from Faye denied Rudolph Austin. The ball was quickly returned down the right wing and Austin cut inside and hit a low shot that Amos saved well. Stephen Quinn and Sone Aluko started to see a little bit of the ball and it helped City settle. The tide turned as Leeds and the awful referee fired the Tigers up big time. Sam Byram flew at Abdoulaye Faye with a high reckless challenge that could have caused serious damage. To the fury of the City players, there wasn’t even a free-kick awarded (echoes of Cairney at Donny). There probably wasn’t enough contact to warrant a red card but it was a certain yellow. Instead, Mr. East booked Alex Bruce for his protests.

The Tigers realised that they weren’t going to be handed anything at Elland Road. Despite the empty seats and the whiff of faded glory in the air, it’s apparently still an intimidating place for officials. Having a tracksuited troll screaming from the home dugout doesn’t help them. From a rare free-kick in our favour, City worked the ball right. Elmohamady collected on the edge of the box, steadied himself and lashed a shot into the far corner beyond the despairing dive of Paddy Kenny [1-1]. We went mental. It may just have been an equaliser in a Championship fixture but after 20 mins of injustice, it felt great. And it got better. City were in the ascendancy and forced a corner. Koren’s delivery was cleared at the near post. Jay Simpson retrieved the ball, held it up and then found Quinn who fed Elmo. He crossed early with whip and pace and Abdoulaye Faye nodded beyond Kenny. Dream-land [1-2]. Never mind winning at Elland Road, we’ve got a defender who scores goals! Three in three for the big man. And three consecutive games in which we’ve scored a header. I love headers. Headers are great. Someone set off a red flare in the City end. Goals from Egyptians and Senegalese, flares, singing, scoring goals. It’s a bit continental but I like it!

The Tigers were well in control now. Leeds were rocking. They defended like park players, booting the ball up in the air, looking to their coach for a bit advice, hoping their Mam might haul them off home to save them having to chase Sone Aluko again. The ref is still rubbish; he’s giving us nothing but he doesn’t have too, we’re taking it. The Tigers break brilliantly from our area. Dudgeon finds Quinn who plays a lovely ball into Aluko. He sets off like a rocket and races past two defenders. He’s heading into the penalty area when Jason Pearce chops him down in the “D”. It’s a clear denial of a goal scoring opportunity. It’s a red card. Yeah right, dream on. It’s yellow of course. Koren curls the free kick low towards the bottom left corner but Kenny saves well. Aluko picks up the ball again, 40 yards out, goes past Austin as if he isn’t there but drags his shot wide. Michael Tonge, a typical Warnock soldier, is booked for a cynical foul and City lead at half-time. The City fans booed off the ref. Remarkable given that we were winning.

It was an excellent half from the Tigers. I thought it was better than Millwall. It wasn’t as free-flowing or as dominant but we showed such character to haul back a game that was being taken from us and to dominate it. The back three, as usual, stood up to everything that was thrown at them and Leeds front line dropped deeper and deeper to try and affect the game. Only Corry Evans disappointed. He had his poorest half for a long while, possibly a result of him being determined to do well coming into a winning team.

The first fifteen resembled a home game for The Tigers as they dictated the game, had most of the ball and Leeds sat back and looked to counter. Their only scraps came from careless City passes. Stepehen Quinn gifted the ball to Diouf who slid a great ball in behind for Becchio. At least it would have been a great ball if Joe Dudgeon hadn’t read it, raced across and cut it out. That came in between two chances for the Tigers to kill the game. A move up and across the pitch saw Aluko feed the over-lapping Elmohamady, Elmo dummied as if to cross, pushed the ball past White to the bye-line and dinked a cross to the far post that Simpson headed just wide. Then Robert Koren won a challenge in midfield and the ball flew over the top of the defenders into the path of Aluko. He ran in on goal on the right but Aidy White did well to get himself between Aluko and the goal and our man shot wide. Aluko was having one of those games and almost forced a repeat of the Dudgeon/Diouf penalty incident when he beat two defenders with a sublime piece of skill but Austin put the ball out for a corner.

The game started to turn Leeds’ way with the introduction of substitute Dominic Poleon. He was a stout little player with electric pace. He gave them something they didn’t have and lifted everyone in the ground. His excellent run and cross on the right was halted by an equally excellent block by Dudge. Then he raced from half way on the left wing, left Chester (no slouch) for dead and fired a shot that Amos held well. From a short corner, Rudolph Austin found a little bit of space and hit a ridiculously powerful shot that flew just over. You had that feeling that an equaliser was coming. Elmohamady controlled the ball with his nose and fell to the floor. Leeds ignored him and continued to attack. The referee blew up with Leeds on the right wing so that Elmo could receive attention. Warnock was absolutely livid. It was brilliant. To be fair to Mr. East, he was only being consistent. He’d blown up earlier in the half with City on a break when one of theirs was hit in the knackers with the ball. Not that Warnock will remember that one. With Leeds in the ascendancy for the first time since the 15 minute mark and City fans getting a twitchy, a third City goal would have been most welcome. The Tigers broke out of defence. Simpson plays a great ball across field to Evans who carries it quickly down the right, lets Elmo overlap and then slides him in. Elmo’s cross takes a slight deflection and falls perfectly for Koren, arriving at the back post, who controls and knocks it nonchalantly beyond Kenny [1-3]. Pande-bloody-monium.

The chant went out “Warnock, what’s the score? Warnock, Warnock, what’s the score?”. He didn’t seem to know. The Tigers should have strolled home after that and Steve Bruce sent on Rosenior (for Koren) and McLean (for Simpson) to shore things up. This being Hull City though, things are never that simple. The referee indicated a minimum of five minutes stoppage time. Then played about fifty. Leeds sent on Andy Gray. I laughed at them signing a player who Barnsley let go. He scored. Typical. A left wing free kick was conceded by Faye and when they swung it in, Gray was left free at the near post and finished with a simple header [2-3]. City regained their composure quickly and saw out the remaining forty-eight minutes of stoppage time. Ben Amos was booked for time wasting. Of course he was time wasting, stoppage time is infinite at Elland Road!

So there it was. Our first victory at Leeds for donkey’s years. And a thoroughly deserved one it was too. Selecting a man of the match is near impossible again. The back three were magnificent, including Alex Bruce who I had pegged down for the usual nightmare City players experience against their former clubs. The two wing-backs were unerring again. Dudgeon with superb contributions at the back, Elmo the difference maker at the front. Aluko was unplayable. Koren strolled around like he owned the joint. Evans recovered from a shoddy first half to provide a steely resilience after the break. Quinn is irrepressible. He’s everywhere. My MOTM is Jay Simpson though. He didn’t let up for a second in the game. He chased everything, he battled for every ball in the air, he put pressure on them time and time again. And when he had the ball at hi feet, he was excellent. We’ve seen before that he has good vision but his speed of though and speed of feet are new to us. If Sone Aluko wasn’t in the team, we’d be drooling over Jay’s dribbling ability tonight. He’s in excellent shape, he’s fit and sharp and yet he retains a really strong frame. I continue to be seriously impressed with him.

I said after the Millwall game that we look in good shape as a squad and going and winning at a hardened Championship rival only reinforces that. I’ve seen a few quotes in the press from other managers about us having spent a few quid. Warnock mentioned is in his presser and Malky MacKay said it on the radio on Monday morning. However 90% of our summer spending went on a guy who hasn’t played a minute in the last three games. That’s not to write off Nick Proschwitz, he could still be a key player once he’s settled in. What it means is that Steve Bruce has thus far transformed us from a lovely non-threatening football team into a lovely dangerous football team and has done so with players who only cost £400,000 between them. There’s a long way to go yet but it’s suffice to say that Bruce has made an excellent start.

Fortunately for them, Leeds don’t care about little old Hull City. Which should help them this morning as they face up to a humiliating home defeat to those poor relations down the road. And this bunch of clowns still think they are rivals of Chelsea and Manchester United? Ho Ho Ho.

The Starting Stats!

13 points from 6 games is The Tigers best start to a season since 1993/94 (5 wins, 1 draw).

13 points from 6 games only bettered 8 times in our history (points adjusted) and only 3 times post-war. 

Best ever start was 1948/49 in Div 3 North. 6 games, 6 wins. (Tranmere 2-1, Oldham 6-0, Mansfield 4-0, Barrow 2-1, Accrington 3-1, Wrexham 3-0)

Worst ever start was 2006/07 in Championship. 6 games, 1 point. (WBA 0-2, Barnsley 2-3, Derby 1-2, Ipswich 0-0, Coventry 0-1, Birmingham 1-2) 

2012/13 is The Tigers best ever start in the second tier post-war.

The Tigers have hit 11 goals in 6 games. It took 12 games in 2011/12, 16 games in 2010/11 and 13 games in 2009/10 to hit our 11th goal.