Whatever happened to...? Premier League Tigers

It may only have been three years since Hull City’s original Premier League journey came to an end at Wigan but at times it has felt like a lifetime. The club neared bankruptcy, were saved by an Egyptian on a white horse, have turned over nearly 50 players, seen four managers (and one “Football management consultant”) leave before returning to the top flight against all odds.

It’s been quite a journey for the players who wore the black and amber in the Premier League too.  A few went on to bigger and better things. Several have retired. Some travelled the world. One has been to prison. Let’s have a look.

Amr Zaki (6 appearances - 0 goals)

The first Egyptian player to represent Hull City (before it became old hat) had an unremarkable spell on loan from Zamalek. He returned to the Egyptian club and found a bit of form but a serious injury and a contractual dispute meant he missed a lot of football. He went on to join Turkish side Elazigspor in 2011 but left following a contractual dispute. He then returned to Egypt with ENPPI whom he’d previously represented between 2003-2005. He left earlier this summer following a contractual dispute and has signed for Al-Salmiya of Kuwait. I hope they’ve got a good lawyer.

Andy Dawson (60 apps - 1 goal)

Left The Tigers this summer after 10 years at the KC Stadium to rejoin former club Scunthorpe United. Helped steady the ship after relegation from the Premier League and secured a fourth promotion with the club last season though it’s safe to say his contribution paled in significance to that made in the other three. When there is finally an official Hull City Hall of Fame, he’s a cast-iron certainty. Well deserved testimonial takes place on August 10^th 2013.

Anthony Gardner (30 apps - 0 goals)

Ex-England international sick note was allowed to join Crystal Palace on loan in 2010 as his early appearances for The Tigers in the Championship resembled a “You’ve Been Framed” audition tape. Joined Palace permanently after his contract expired and restored his reputation somewhat with solid displays as Palace reached the league Cup Semi-finals in 2012. Showed his gratitude for the rehabilitation at Selhurst Park by leaving for Sheffield Wednesday where he managed 37 games. In one season. Their Physio has just been trademarked by Marvel comics.

Bernard Mendy (49 apps - 2 goals)

French full-back with lightening quick feet and desperately slow brain was released from his City contract about 5 minutes after relegation was confirmed. He moved to Denmark with Odense, where he turned up in a Europa League tie with Fulham, before signing a two year contract with Brest. They were promptly relegated. He must have felt a right tit.

Boaz Myhill (55 apps - 0 goals)

Promotion to the Premier League was his third with The Tigers. Signed for £50,000 from Aston Villa by Peter Taylor, he became arguably our greatest ever goalkeeper before moving on to WBA after relegation. He didn’t want to go but the club needed to sell him. The fee was officially undisclosed but said to be £1.5m. That’s not a bad return. Unfortunately he’s played second fiddle to Ben Foster at WBA and has almost played more times for Wales than Albion in the last three years. Bring Back Bo.

Bryan Hughes (6 apps - 0 goals)

Experienced midfielder played a much unheralded part in the promotion team. He was never going to be a Premier League player again though and we saw little of him before he was released in January 2010. For a fella who’d made 40-odd Championship appearances in a promotion winning side 18 months earlier, he had a surprising struggle to find a new home. He had short spells with Burton, Grimsby and IBV in Iceland before a half season spell at Accrington Stanley. You know who they are. He’s now retired but it active on the ex-Tiger circuit and has turned out for Scarborough Athletic. Still lives locally and props up Deano at the bar!

Caleb Folan (23 apps - 3 goals)

The Tigers first £1m signing and scorer of the first ever winning goal in the Premier League exited the KC Stadium in 2011 to join Colorado Rapids. Chances were few and far between for him in the Premier League and that continued after relegation partly as result of injuries and partly because Nigel Pearson thought he was rubbish. His unremarkable stay in the MLS ended in February 2012 when he signed for Birmingham City, where he never played a game before he moved onto Malaysia with T-Team. He left them in March and now looks to be in limbo, despite being only 30 years old.

Craig Fagan (47 apps - 5 goals)

Ah, Craig Fagan, he’s a grafter. Not much of a footballer though. Another who came in like a Lion and went out like a Lamb, his third spell with City ended in 2011. He’d missed most of the previous season with an injury sustained when he stabbed himself with his own forked tongue at Burnley. He fell into League two with Bradford City, left them to better himself and ended up without a club until Bury came calling and he fell into League Two with them. He’s also only 30 years old and is currently without employment.

Daniel Cousin (30 apps - 4 goals)

Goal-shy Gabonese globetrotter left The Tigers for Larissa of Greece. He initially went on loan (which said much as he was let go when we couldn’t hit a cows arse with a banjo) and moved permanently the following August. He moved back to his homeland with Sapins to prepare for the 2012 African Nations cup which they were co-hosting. In fairness, he had a terrific tournament and captained his country through the group stage before they were beaten on penalties by Mali. A return to Rangers fell through when they were placed into administration and he’s done nothing since.

Dean Marney (47 apps - 1 goal)

Plays for Burnley. Tosser.

Dean Windass (5 apps - 1 goal)

One of the saddest parts of the glorious first half-season in the Premier League was the way Dean Windass’ City career ended. What should have been the ultimate fairy story ending with “Deano” firing his hometown club into the top flight for the first time had an unsatisfactory epilogue. Deano couldn’t see his career come to an end and chose to play on ending up on loan at Oldham before moving on to Darlington as Player-Assistant Manager, a move that didn’t work out with the club on the verge of implosion. He received a testimonial at the KC Stadium but it never quite felt right coming a year after the heroics. Has semi-retired, turning out for Scarborough occasionally with Bryan Hughes and has had well-documented mental issues.

George Boateng (52 apps - 1 goal)

The former Holland international may well have been worth another year at the KC Stadium following relegation but was released in the summer of 2010. He moved onto Greece for a year with Skoda Xanthi before his former Middlesbrough gaffer Steve McLaren signed him for Nottingham Forest. He made only a handful of appearances for Forest and despite being 37 now, has been playing for T-team in Malaysia where he was temporarily reunited with Caleb Folan.

Geovanni (60 apps - 11 goals)

The undisputed star of the “Premier League Years”, Geo scored the Tigers first top flight goal, scored more goals in the premier League than anyone else and remains the only Brazilian International to wear the black and amber. Cancelled his contract upon relegation and moved to San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS. Has since turned out for Vitoria and America in the Brazilian second division.

Ian Ashbee (31 apps - 1 goal)

Inspirationally captained City through four divisions. He was rightly awarded a new contract despite missing the entire second Premier League season through injury. Made a goal scoring return in a 2-0 opening day win over Swansea City in August 2010. That proved to be a false dawn and as Nigel Pearson re-shaped the team, Ash became the biggest victim of the clear out when he was allowed to join Phil Brown’s Preston North End. He couldn’t keep Preston in the Championship and having struggled with a knee injury, he retired the following season. Now works for Blowers Jewellers in Hull and cycles a lot.

Ibrahima Sonko (9 apps - 0 goals)

Signed on loan from Stoke City in August 2009 with the unenviable task of replacing Michael Turner. He made a shaky start to his City career and following a humiliating drubbing at Anfield, Phil Brown dumped him in the reserves. He showed a lot of character when called upon to return to the team later in the season (we were desperate) and refused to criticize Brown for his treatment. He spent the following season on loan at Ipswich before Stoke released him. He’s now with Akhisar Belediyespor in Turkey and helped them retain their top flight status in their first ever season in Super Lig.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (31 apps - 3 goals)

Hessle Road’s finest export almost called an end to his career after his City contract expired. Presumably feeling that nothing could top the experience of wearing the black and amber. Ahem. Instead he had an injury hit spell at Rapid Vienna and a swansong at PSV before retiring in 2012.

Jimmy Bullard (15 apps - 4 goals)

You know this one. He’s at the bank. He laughed all the way there.

Jozy Altidore (28 apps - 1 goal)

Took a time to settle in England but was showing some promise when he ended his only season at the KC prematurely by nutting Alan Hutton. He was then loaned out again by Villareal, to Bursaspor in Turkey but it didn’t quite work out. Has since gone onto fulfill his promise with a goal-laden spell in Holland with AZ Alkmaar and recently ended an international goal drought by scoring in four successive games for the USA. Linked with a multi-million pound move back to England.

Kamel Ghilas (13 apps - 1 goal)

Signed by Chairman Paul Duffen for an over-inflated price after some impressive performances on YouTube. Scored his only Tigers goal, a winning goal at that, against Bolton and spent the next two years “not being given a chance” while coincidentally displaying a crap attitude and being rubbish in every reserve appearance. Was palmed off to Arles and Reims in the French Ligue 2, scoring a few goals at the latter and earning a permanent move. He had a decent season as they won promotion to the top flight but did little to help them stay up.

Kamil Zayatte (55 apps - 3 goals)

Despite being the king of the stupid own goal, Zayatte had enough about him to leave a reasonable impression in the midst of The Tigers relegation. It was felt that whatever we lacked for our assault on the Championship in 2010/11, at least we had a solid defensive pairing of Zayatte and Gardner. That thought was dismissed in stunning fashion as The Tigers were dismantled on consecutive Saturdays by the might of Millwall and Donny Rovers. A move to Leicester fell through before Zayatte was allowed to return to France in January 2011 on “compassionate grounds”. Presumably due to the death of a Turkish relative because a week later, he signed for Konyaspor in Turkey. They were relegated from Super Lig (a coincidence) and he moved on to Istanbul BB. Also turned out in the African Nations Cup of 2012 for Guinea.

Kevin Kilbane (37 apps - 1 goal)

A £500,000 panic buy by Phil Brown in January 2009, “Killer” earned a lot of respect from the City fans in the summer of 2010 when, with the club in grave financial difficultly, he split his £26,000 a week wage in half over two seasons to save the club money in the short term. The fact that players of Kilbane’s ability were being offered £26,000 a week wages had nothing to do with those financial troubles. Honest. Despite being a thoroughly nice chap and a great pro, he had a stinker of a time at the KC and after loan spells with Huddersfield and Derby, he left for Coventry City when his contract expired. He retired after a few months at the Ricoh Arena and is currently working for the BBC as a colourless commentator.

Liam Cooper (2 apps - 0 goals)

Homegrown central defender suffered a baptism of fire in the Premier League when Phil Brown threw him into the team at Anfield way before he was ready and City were hammered 6-1. No worries though, it was all Sonko’s fault. After relegation, Nigel Pearson never really showed any faith in Coops and he went on loan to Carlisle and Huddersfield. He made a few appearances under Nick Barmby and while Barmby’s sacking and Steve Bruce’s appointment has proven to be good for the football club, it wasn’t good for the younger players. Bruce moved him out to Chesterfield on loan and he made a permanent move for a small fee in January 2013. He will develop with regular football and I’m sure he’ll climb back up the football league ladder.

Manucho (13 apps - 2 goals)

After searching high and low for a striker in the 2009 January transfer window, Phil Brown limbo danced his way into the Man Utd reserve squad and found Manucho. He made 13 unspectacular appearances which brought one highlight. In the 93^rd minute of a pulsating game at Craven Cottage, most of which they’d spent pummeling us, Richard Garcia picked up the ball on halfway, beat most the defence, dug out a ridiculously good cross and Manucho tapped in from an inch out. Man Utd sold him on to Valladolid in Spain where he started brightly enough and starred for Angola in a couple of Nations Cup campaigns. He’s since spent time on loan in Turkey with those household names Bucaspor and Manisaspor with little success.

Mark Cullen (3 apps - 1 goal)

Another homegrown player who had a flirt with the City first team towards the end of the Premier League adventure and scored what remains the Tigers last top flight goal in a 2-2 draw at Wigan. Has since failed to live up to that early hype, has never looked like breaking through at City and has had spells on loan Bradford, Bury (twice) and Stockport without impressing. Was released by The Tigers this summer and signed a two year deal at Luton. Needs stability, regular football and the chance to gather momentum in front of goal so this should be a good move for him.

Marlon King (20 apps - 5 goals)

Promising loan spell at City ended when lazy performances on the pitch were capped by a sexual assault allegation off it (obviously). Moved on loan to Middlesbrough before being transferred from Wigan Athletic to Her Majesty’s pleasure.  On his released Coventry City gave him a fifth chance in football and he returned the favour with a near 1 in 2 goalscoring ratio. As a thank you for their help, he turned down a new contract and buggered off to Birmingham. He’s continued to score goals but his high wages mean Blues are desperate to get shot of him. He’s been linked (without credence) with a move back here. Over his dead body.

Matt Duke (21 apps - 0 goals)

Long serving, often reserve Goalkeeper enjoyed a much deserved moment in the spotlight after overcoming testicular cancer. Oddly he made more league appearances in each Premier League season than he had in the previous four seasons combined at the lower levels. Having finally established himself as the number one following Myhill’s departure, he failed to convince Nigel Pearson that he was the long-term option and was released at the end of the 2010/11 season. He moved onto Bradford City on a two year contract. He spent half of the first year on loan at Northampton but established himself during the second season and was the star of a remarkable run to the League Cup Final. A feat unmatched by any bottom division side in the modern era. Duke played in the final at Wembley but was sent off as Bradford were thumped 5-0 by Swansea City. They would go on to win promotion in the League Two Play-off final at Wembley but Duke had lost his place by that point. Moved on to Northampton Town this summer.

Michael Turner (42 apps - 4 goals)

Gangly centre half whose Hull City career turned around in spectacular fashion under Phil Brown. When Brown took over from Phil Parkinson, Turner was heading for the clearance bin. Under Brown, he blossomed into arguably the best centre half in the club’s history and was on the verge of an England call-up. Admired by Liverpool, he was eventually sold to Sunderland for 4p in 2009 to help pay the wage bill as the excesses of Duffen and Bartlett cast a dark cloud over the KC Stadium. He never really developed at Sunderland under their useless Geordie manager Steve Bruce and moved on to Norwich City last summer. A few of his early performances were woeful but he settled down and formed a fine partnership with Sebastien Bassong.

Nathan Doyle (3 apps - 0 goals)

Another hero of Bradford City’s run to the 2013 League Cup Final. Doyle was signed by Phil Brown as “one for the future” of the football club but the club hit unchartered heights unexpectedly and he was left behind. On his release he moved on to Barnsley where his only point of note was an arrest on suspicion of possessing cocaine. He had a loan spell at Preston (managed by Phil Brown) and then joined Bradford City on a free transfer. He played a big part not only in the League Cup run but in Bradford’s eventual promotion.

Nick Barmby (41 apps - 1 goal)

If anyone had told you in 2004 when Nick Barmby came “home” to see out his playing days at his home town club (freshly promoted form the bottom tier) that four years later he’d make 41 appearances for Hull City in the Premier League, you would have called in the men in white coats. Nick eventually became manager of the club in 2012 before being sacked in ridiculous circumstances a few months later. It appears the club has lost all contact with a wonderful servant who should have been part of the setup for years to come, which is a real crying shame. Hopefully the relationship will be repaired one day. In the meantime we should remember the man whose last act as a City player was to fire a winning goal against Cardiff City in the Championship which, in any other circumstances, would have been a fitting end to a glittering playing career.

Paul McShane (44 apps - 1 goal)

The only surviving member of the first Premier League season in the Tigers squad. McShane played the first half of that season on loan from Sunderland and impressed everyone but when he returned on a permanent deal for the 2009/10 season as part of the swindle that took Michael Turner to Sunderland, he was rather less effective. After The Tigers slipped out of the Premier League, his large wage became a burden and getting rid of him was high on the priority list. However, despite spending time on loan at Barnsley and Crystal Palace, he remained a City player and under Steve Bruce became a key figure in a promotion push and a real fan’s favourite. Remarkably, the contract that everyone had spent years counting down was extended with the terraces insisting “Don’t sell McShane”. The board listened. Egyptians take threats of rioting seriously for some reason.

Peter Halmosi (18 apps - 0 goals)

Halmosi became the expensive equivalent of Ryan Williams when he was signed for £2.5m in the summer of 2008 having impressed several times while playing for Plymouth against The Tigers. His tricky wing-play, dangerous crossing and expertly taken set pieces went completely missing as the Hungarian with the flowing locks struggled to make any impression on the Premier League. His time in black and amber memorable only for John Motson butchering “Halmoshi” on Match Of The Day. He was packed off back to Hungary to join Szombathelyi Haladas on loan and when his contract was terminated, he signed for them permanently and there he remains.

Richard Garcia (41 apps - 1 goal)

The Australian winger was signed from Colchester United in June 2007 for a bargain £400k, one of several shrewd acquisitions made by Phil Brown that summer. Not a winger blessed with great pace or quick feet, he made up for it with strength, work rate, determination and know-how. A key figure in the promotion of 2007/08, he struggled in the Premier League especially when he pushed up front. It wasn’t his best role but he always did whatever he was asked. In 2010, he made history when he became the first player representing Hull City to play in the World Cup Finals. He struggled with two knee injuries for the rest of his City career, limiting his chances, and was released in 2012 when he was probably worth another contract. He moved back to Australia with Melbourne Heart but is currently readying his next move.

Ryan France (2 apps - 0 goals)

A £15k signing from Alfreton Town in 2003, France would play for Hull City in all four divisions, though he was never really good enough for the top level. He gave great service to the club and may well have played a bigger part had he not suffered a serious knee injury in 2007. He was released after the first season in the Premier League and signed for Sheffield United where his career was cut short by persistent knee problems. He was a late comer to the pro game as he chose to complete his degree which should hold him in good stead given the premature retirement.

Sam Ricketts (29 apps - 0 goals)

Arguably the Tigers best ever right-back, Ricketts was signed from Swansea for £300k by Phil Parkinson in the summer of 2006. He displayed the family’s horse racing pedigree whilst galloping up and down the right wing become a key figure in the Tigers side that avoided relegation from the Championship, won promotion at Wembley and then stayed in the Premier League against all odds in three consecutive seasons. He was then sold to Bolton Wanderers for £2m. Having fallen out of the Premier League with Bolton last summer, he’s since moved on to Wolves who themselves have been relegated in each of the last two seasons. Premier League to League One in 22 months is a mighty fall for both Sam and Wolves.

Seyi Olofinjana (19 apps - 1 goal)

Only the legend of Jimmy Bullard stops Olofinjana receiving more press as a colossal waste of what precious little money Hull City had in the summer of 2009. A £3m transfer fee and around £5.5m in wages collected over 4 years for less than 50 appearances in return is outrageous. In that time, we’ve paid for him to play on loan for Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday. Seyi is a thoroughly nice and intelligent chap but his once marauding midfield performances are long gone. At the very least Hull City can comfort themselves in the fact that a lot of the money paid to Olofinjana will make its way to his charity projects in his native Nigeria as opposed to disappearing into the till  at the Weir Bar!

Stephen Hunt (27 apps - 6 goals)

One of the few shining lights in the second Premier League season, Hunt was signed for £3.5m from Reading and became a firm favourite with his energetic, all-action displays, fine set piece delivery and eye for goal. His injury ¾ of the way through the season ended any feint survival hopes. We recouped a large chunk of the fee when he moved on to Wolves in 2010. There he was relegated from the Premier League for the third time in four years, missed most of their second relegation season through injury and was released this summer. He’s about to turn 32 and looking for a new club. Perhaps he could join his brother at L**ds?

Steven Mouyokolo (21 apps - 1 goal)

Tall centre half whose City story is similar to that of Hunt. Joined for a surprisingly high £1.8m from Boulogne in the French second division (in the time before French second division clubs spent £50m on international superstars) and produced some impressive performances despite relegation. Wolves gave us our money back and as they went down the toilet, he was released after a spell on loan at Sochaux. Recently joined Celtic on a one year deal.

Stylianos Giannakopoulos (2 apps - 0 goals)

Probably the most pointless signing in the clubs history. A star of Greece’s 2004 European Championship squad, he was signed only on the strength of his relationship with Phil Brown at Bolton and not because he offered anything the team needed. He made 2 sub appearances in the league and played a cup game before being released. Currently chairs the Greek PFA.

Tom Cairney (11 apps - 1 goal)

The only other member of the current Hull City squad who has played for the club in the Premier League. Cairney broke through in 2009/10 with some superb performances alongside George Boateng in the midfield and was expected to carry the team in the Championship following relegation. He has never really progressed and much of his obvious talent remains untapped. He didn’t make a single league start in 2012/13 and with one year on his contract left, he has plenty to do to remain part of the club.

Tony Warner (0 apps - 0 goals)

A career back-up Goalkeeper, the Trinidad and Tobago international was signed by Phil Brown to provide cover for Duke and Myhill in the Premier League. His only appearances came in cup competitions. Since being released by The Tigers he’s been at Charlton, Leeds, Scunthorpe, Tranmere, Wellington Phoenix in the Australian A-League and is currently at Floriana in Malta. Have gloves, will travel.

Wayne Brown (1 apps - 0 goals)

His Hull City career lasted one season and one game. A fine signing by Phil Brown from Colchester United in 2007 for £450k, he provided a calming influence alongside Michael Turner and wrote his name into Hull City folklore with a heroic performance at Wembley in the 2008 Championship Play-Off Final. Fears that he may lack the pace to play in the Premier League had some foundation and on his one and only Premier League start for the club, Wigan Athletic ripped us to pieces, 5-0, at the KC Stadium. Brown moved on loan to Preston and then Leicester whom he eventually joined for a fee after helping them win promotion from League One. He was the centre of a scandal at Leicester after he admitted (“joked”) that he’d voted for the BNP in the General Election. He left for Preston North End but struggled with injuries and failed to find form before being released. His last listed club is non-league Bury Town. He’s now retired.

Will Atkinson (2 apps - 1 goal)

Wiry Winger who came through The Tigers youth setup and, like Mark Cullen, scored at Wigan in the penultimate Premier League fixture. Never threatened to make the grade thereafter and after loan spells with Rotherham, Rochdale, Plymouth and Bradford, he signed permanently for the Bantams in 2012. He played a part in League cup wins over Arsenal and Aston Villa and played twice at Wembley in League Cup and Play-Off Finals (with mixed results). He left Bradford this summer to join his old boss Phil Brown at Southend United.

Ex-Tiger Watch 2013

Where are former Hull City players heading this summer? Here's a list.

Amr Zaki - ENPPI (EGY) to Al-Salmya (KUW) - Free
Andy Dawson - Hull City to Scunthorpe United - Free
Bradley Ricketts - Hull City - Released
Carl Regan - Bury - Released
Chris Bolder - North Ferriby to Scarborough Athletic - Free
Corry Evans - Hull City to Blackburn Rovers - £750k
Craig Fagan - Bury - Released
Danny East - Hull City to Portsmouth - Free
Danny Emerton - Hull City to Northampton Town - Free
Danny Webb - Dover to Chelmsford - Free
David Amoo - Tranmere Rovers to Carlisle United - Free
Dele Adebola - Rochdale - Released
Francis McCaffrey - Hull City to Dundalk (IRE) - Free
Gary Bradshow - North Ferriby to Scarborough Athletic - Free
Harry Cardwell - Hull City to Reading - £75k
Jack Hobbs - Hull City to Nottingham Forest - Loan (with permanent agreement)
Jamie Devitt - Hull City - Released
Jay Simpson - Hull City - Released
Joel Sutton - Hull City - Released
John Bostock - Tottenham Hotspur - Released
Jozy Altidore - AZ Alkmaar (HOL) to Sunderland - £8m
Kamil Zayatte - Istanbul BB (TUR) to Sheffield Wednesday - Free
Kealon Dillon - Hull City to St. Mirren (SCO) - Free
Lewis Clarkson - Hull City - Released
Mark Cullen - Hull City to Luton Town - Free
Mark Yeates - Watford to Bradford City - Free
Matt Duke - Bradford City to Northampton Town - Free
Paul Anderson - Bristol City to Ipswich Town - Free
Paul McKenna - Hull City - Released
Phil Jevons - Hyde United to Stockport County - Free
Richard Hinds - Yeovil Town - Released
Rowan Vine - St Johnstone to Hibs (SCO) - Free
Sam Ricketts - Bolton Wanderers to Wolves - Free
Scott Kerr - York City to Grimsby Town - Free
Seyi Olofinjana - Hull City - Released
Sonny Bradley - Hull City to Portsmouth - Free
Stephen Hunt - Wolves - Released
Steven Mouyokolo - Free Agent to Celtic (SCO) - Free
Thomas Davie - Hull City - Released
Vito Mannone - Arsenal to Sunderland - 2.8m
Will Atkinson - Bradford City to Southend United - Free

 

Hull City 0 Burnley 1

To quote Will from The Inbetweeners Movie: “I like football but Burnley? Burnley can f*** off!”

What is it about Burnley? Why do they have this hoodoo over us? Why do they bring out our worst traits? In 2008 we beat them but still lost Folan and Okocha to suspension after they were sent off. In 2009 we were robbed at turf more by a dubious penalty and an even-more dubious disallowed goal. And Geovanni was sent off. In 2010 Iain Dowie’s Tigers were humbled at home and Nigel Pearson’s Tigers humbled away. In 2011 we lost at home to the only goal Nathan Delfouneso will ever score in his life. Almost a year ago they were gifted a win at Turf Moor by a Jack Hobbs error. And then today. Today we suffer the indignity of losing to a goal from Dean bloody Marney. A man who normally finishes like a potter with Parkinsons.

I hate Burnley.

City made one change from last week’s win at Birmingham. Loanee ‘keeper David Stockdale replaced Ben Amos (Amos dropping out of the eighteen altogether). Surprisingly Seyi Olofinjana, rubbish at St. Andrews, kept his place in midfield. Paul McShane was again ruled out through injury.

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

It was a very good game for the opening 15-20 minutes. The Tigers prodded and probed but gave Burnley the ball enough to make chances at both ends. Aulko had an early shot blocked and Olofinjana’s follow-up was well struck, hard and low, but just wide. Alex Bruce then gave the ball to Ross Wallace who hit a dipping shot, similar to Geovanni’s goal against Fulham in ’08, but Stockdale parried. Chester did well to make the rebound ahead of the lively Austin. Olofinjana then gave the ball away in midfield allowing Martin Paterson to curl a shot wide. Stephen Quinn’s superb cross was headed over by Ben Mee with Olofinjana, Simpson and Elmo all lurking. That capped a breathless opening 11 minutes. It may have been more action-packed if Lee Grant hadn’t started time wasting in the 4^th minute. We needn’t have worried though. It only continued for another 83 minutes before the referee spotted it and told him to cut it out.

Cynical tactics aside, Burnley were very good. They retreated very quickly when we won the ball and we spent a lot of time passing the ball in front of ten defenders as a result. They cut out any space in behind and in between defence and midfield meaning Aluko had to go wide to get any possession and Jay Simpson was a spectator. We weren’t good enough to break them down and worse, we kept coughing up possession allowing them to counter on us. Wallace carried the ball well, Austin’s movement, pace and desire to work caused problems and Marney buzzed around as he does. Olofinjana was most guilty of passing to light blue shirts but most of ours had a turn at some point. As a result, Burnley created far more chances than most teams have at the KC this season. We escaped a couple of times before they made the breakthrough. A corner fell to Jason Shackell at the back post but Bruce closed down quickly. Then Wallace picked up in midfield, strode forward and hit a fantastic shot that was arrowing into the top corner before Stockdale stuck out a big right hand and finger-tipped it onto the bar. Alex Bruce was hurt ensuring they didn’t profit from the rebound. Paterson had another effort that Stockdale fumbled and then gathered before the goal came. Another City giveaway in midfield allowed Wallace to run from deep. Marney made a run off to his right, Wallace found him and Marney finished coolly [0-1]. Marney, who’d received a warm applause before kick-off, then ran to the East Stand slapping his Burnley badge and stood looking angrily at the bemused City fans. He was obviously deeply affected by the groans of the East Stand every time he put a shot into row Z. It was pathetic celebration but he can get his kicks anyway he likes. Fair play to him for enjoying the goal; he doesn’t score often.

At half time David Meyler and Robbie Brady replaced the awful Olofinjana and the injured Bruce. City improved after the break but it was deeply frustrating. Burnley gave up attacking altogether and sat 11 behind the ball while wasting every second possible. As a home fan, it was hideous to watch but it was a perfect away performance. Meanwhile the Tigers managed to create several reasonable chances but spurned all of them. Meyler made no difference whatsoever to the midfield. He sat deep, picking up the ball and playing it sideways and backwards. He offered no creative spark or threat at all. He was much better in defending a lead at Birmingham than he was in trying to overhaul one here. We came closest to an equaliser early on in the half and we didn’t have a lot to do with it. Koren received a short corner, crossed poorly, it deflected off one Burnley defender, a second behind him sliced it and it came back off the post. Elmohamady then put in a rare good cross, a terrific cross in fact, and Quinn broke through their defence but headed well, well wide. The run was magnificent, the header quite the opposite. From a rare Burnley corner, Jay Simpson raced away with the ball, hurdled a challenge, evaded an attempt to hack him down and left himself, Koren and Quinn attacking one defender. Simpson slid the ball to Koren and then he and Quinn made runs to the right. When Koren returned the ball, Simpson was offside. Seriously, three on one and he wanders offside. I’m pretty sure Quinn was too. You knew right at that moment that it wouldn’t be our day.

Nick Proschwitz then replaced Rosenior. A fat lot of good that did. There was no system that this point. Burnley weren’t interested in attacking so we left Chester and Faye back, Meyler sat in front of them and everyone else was in attack. A City set piece was cleared to Quinn, Stock then chipped the ball into his own box trying to tackle Quinn, Elmo headed down to Proschwitz 8 yards out but he volleyed way over. The ball was at a difficult height when it bounced up but it was still a massive chance. Proschwitz just failed to connect with an Elmo ball from deep in what was almost a re-run of the winning goal against Ipswich at home. Aluko had two efforts late on, one from distance on the left that sailed wide, the other from inside the box where he turned Marney but shot wide with his left foot. Simpson collected a ball with his back to goal and tried to volley in from a ridiculous position with team mates all around. Awful decision. Simmo then worked himself into a good position on the right wing and crossed into the crowd. Not his best half this. The final chance fell to our German reinfall who had a shot blocked amidst a goalmouth scramble and then snatched at the perfectly presentable rebound and scuffed it way wide.

The ref then checked his watch; seemed satisfied with the 22 minutes the ball was actually in play over 96 minutes and blew his whistle. In his defence, we could’ve played until Christmas without scoring. This is Burnley after all. We might as well accept that we’ll never beat them again and concentrate on the other 44 games a season! This makes 7 consecutive defeats to Burnley. Goals for 3. Goals against 16. In truth, we can have no complaints. Sean Dyche deserves a lot of credit, he devised the perfect plan for playing away from home and his players carried it out to perfection. We passed poorly, moved the ball slowly, invited counter attacks and turned down half decent chances to score.

Not too many players come out of the game with a lot of credit. James Chester played well against the terrific Charlie Austin. Austin is mobile, willing, quick and strong. He worked his socks off for his team. Jay Simpson has had a fine season overall but it’s fair to say we’d be a better team if we had Austin leading the line. Stockdale had a decent debut. He looked very nervous in the first 20 minutes but he made good decisions and once his got over the nerves, his handling was good. He kicked well too from dead balls and under pressure and pulled off one superb save. Robbie Brady had an impact from the bench and got forward well. His weakness is his decision making though and he turned down several chances to put the ball into the box. He hasn’t changed in that regard.

It’s leaders Crystal Palace next and it should be a more open game which will suit us. Alex Bruce went off with a knock for the umpteenth time this season so he may be struggling. Brady must be close to a start too especially as Liam Rosenior has been “doubtful” for the last half a dozen games. Olofinjana has to go from the midfield. I think Bruce will turn to Meyler which would be ridiculously unfair on Corry Evans who should never have been left out in the first place. The front two were quiet today but it’s been proven that they are by far the best combo we have so I wouldn’t change them. Today was still a rarity in our season so there’s no need to panic yet. A win on Tuesday will lift morale and against a potential promotion rival, will be almost priceless.

Now, did I mention that I hate Burnley?

Ten Years At The KC Stadium - #4

In this series of blogs, I'll pick the Top 10 Players, Games and Goals from the 10 years at the KC Stadium and will throw in a variety of top 10 lists and boring facts! This is number seven in the series and number four in the countdown:

Top 10 Players - #4

Michael Turner

I re-published the piece below in August, If/when you read it, you'll know exactly why Turner features this high on a list of players who've made such a great contribution to the Tigers. Turner was, in my opinion, the best defender we'd ever had. He still is. It was a pleasure to watch his development. For six months, he was out of his depth. We couldn't have given him away. Two and a half years later we were all up in arms that he was sold for well below his true value which must have been £6m+ at that time. His progress was remarkable. It's a real shame he never picked up an England cap while he was at the KC. We've waited a long time for a proper England international and we continue to wait. Turner's contribution to the promotion season of 2007/08 and the survive-by-the-skin-of-our-teeth season of 2008/09 is probably greater than that of any other Tiger in history over two seasons. There are only two reasons why he isn't top of this list. Firstly, because there are a couple of players who've contributed massively to Hull City over 8+ years. Secondly because he's a defender and everyone knows they're not real footballers!

There's only one Michael Turner!

Top 10 Matches - #4

Hull City 2 Manchester City 1 - 06/02/2010

In many ways, the 2009/10 season was a bit of a disaster for Hull City. What should have been an exciting second ever season in the top flight of English football never really got started and then tailed off badly amidst fears of a looming financial crisis. We had two useless managers, one tending to the team, the other tending to his garden. For our green fingered gaffer, Phil Brown, this was the last great day he enjoyed with the Tigers.

City sat in the bottom three of the Premier League but were within one win of 5 or 6 other teams and were coming off a morale boosting draw against eventual champions, Chelsea. Man City weren’t quite at that level, they’d finish fifth, but featured enough talent to worry most teams.  The Tigers side that day cost £8.8m. Manchester City’s starting eleven cost an estimated £139m (no-one knows what Carlos Tevez cost). That’s more than three times what it cost to build the stadium we’re so proud of. If anyone was scouting the boys in blue that day, they wouldn’t have taken half of them for free. City were magnificent. They didn’t let them settle. Altidore led from the front putting in the only performance of his loan spell that came anywhere close to matching his effort for the USA against Italy that brought him so much attention the previous summer. He bullied Boyata who was lost from the first minute to the last. It was fitting that he opened the scoring on the half hour, collecting Hesselink’s lay-off and curling a low shot into the bottom corner. I hoped it would be the first of many memorable moments for Jozy in a City shirt. Unfortunately, it’s one of only two. The other, headbutting Alan Hutton, isn’t necessarily anything to be proud of!

The expected onslaught from Manchester City never really materialised. Even in the closing stages as they chased the game they failed to really test Bo Myhill. The impenetrable wall of Steven Mouyokolo and Anthony Gardner stood firm in front of Bo, repelling everything and ensuring the £50m+ partnership of Adebayor and Tevez came in somewhere close to the KC Stadium beer in the value for money stakes. It’s not even funny to think that six months later, Gardner would be made to look distinctly second class himself by Millwall and Donny Rovers. Adebayor grabbed Man City’s consolation goal, stabbing in after a corner wasn’t cleared but City held on doggedly for a fully deserved victory.

What turned out to be the winning goal came after a 54 minutes and was another that was thoroughly deserved on the day. George Boateng didn’t exactly set the world alight with the Tigers, never producing the rampaging performances of his time at Aston Villa and falling out of favour with Phil Brown several times. The previous game against Chelsea had been by far his best performance in black and amber and then this game surpassed even that. Not only did he cover every blade of grass, battle for every ball, harass and destroy, encourage and cajole but he produced a magnificent volley with his left foot to, fittingly, win the game for City. This goes down as our finest ever home win in the Premier League and it was earned, and deserved, against a team with money to burn who’d be champions of England two years later. We only one more Premier League game against a second string Fulham side7 weeks later. If the Hull City that took on Manchester City that afternoon had turned up for 38 games, we’d still be a Premier League club now!

Top 10 Goals - #4

Geovanni (Hull City 2 Fulham 1 - 16/08/2008)

This is a super goal but you know that. No Hull City fan will ever forget this goal. Technically it's brilliant, a delightful dipping, fizzing shot into the bottom corner. It's the historical significance which makes it even better. A club has waited 104 years to taste top flight football. The day finally arrives. The excitement  the expectation, the desperation to impress with the eyes of the world watching. Along comes this goal. Scored for little old Hull City by a Brazilian international magician. You can wake up now.

Top 10 Hull City appearances at the KC Stadium


1. Andy Dawson (160)
2. Boaz Myhill (136)
3. Ian Ashbee (117)
4. Damien Delaney (114)
5. Stuart Elliott (102)
6. Nicky Barmby (99)
7. Ryan France 77
8. Craig Fagan (75)
9. Michael Turner (70)
10. Stuart Green (67)

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 Wolves 1

Looking to build on a run of 4 wins from 5 games, The Tigers took on “recently relegated” Wolves at the KC Stadium tonight. In summary: City scored two superb goals, gifted Wolves a way back into the game and held on pretty comfortably to claim three points. I’ll try and put some meat on the bones but essentially that was it.

Looking down on the KC from the top of the West Stand is still a fine sight. The ground is very nearly 10 years old but still looks as beautiful as it did the first time I saw it. Apart from a few sun faded seats, it’s in great nick. The pitch still looks fine too. Hopefully it will hold up over the winter and give us the best chance possible going into the spring. It’s starting to look like we may well have something to look forward to when the “business end” of the season comes around. Steve Bruce picked an unchanged team for the third game in a row. And why would he change it? There was one change on the bench were Andy Dawson dropped out and new old boy Robbie Brady took his place.

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

Two things to note as the players strode out. Firstly the Wolves away strip, supposedly teal but looking more like dried out seaweed, was pretty horrific. Secondly, with some of our visitors sporting gloves, it was nice to see 9 out of 10 Tigers outfield players wearing short sleeved shirts and no gloves. Only Sone Aluko let us down. But he’s bloody brilliant, so he can wear a onesie under his kit if he really wants to. The opening 20 minutes were pretty dull. Both teams passed the ball around well and both shaped up well when they lost the ball meaning a lot of the passing took place in their own defensive third. It was short on action with hardly anything of note in the attacking areas. The Tigers started to come to life when Elmohamady was freed on the right and swung over a super cross that Stearman headed behind. Koren’s corner was equally good and dropped beyond Ikeme but another fine defensive header cleared any danger. Stephen Quinn then played a nice ball into the channel were Simpson laid off to Elmo, he lifted the ball to the far post and Rosenior charged in, leapt above Stearman and headed over.

On the half hour, the Tigers took the lead out of nowhere. Rosenior was fouled 25 yards out, just to the left of the “D”. We all pointed out that the last time City scored from a free-kick, dinosaurs roamed the earth. Up stepped Sone Aluko to curl the ball around the outside of the wall and inside the post with Ikeme sprawling. It was a terrific strike [1-0]. If we expected a Wolves response, it didn’t really come. They started to dominate possession, mostly because City kept giving them the ball back but didn’t ever look like creating anything of their own accord. A slip on our right allowed Doyle to cross low and Amos had to save smartly from Rosenior (!) Doyle then headed over from a set piece he won by throwing himself over James Chester’s leg. It’s cheating but everyone does it so we just have to accept it. Half time came with City threatening to add a second which would have been harsh on Wolves. It was a frustrating last 15 minutes overall. We’re a good passing team but it didn’t show. To many poor decisions, too many misunderstandings and a few downright howlers meant we’d put all the pressure on ourselves. Corry Evans had another fine half, making some great interceptions, and Alex Bruce defended well. Aluko was the man of the half though. It needed something special to breach these two packed defences and he provided it.

I checked the BBC website at half time and its possession stat said 56%-44% in favour of the Tigers. I found that pretty hard to believe. The first half hour was even, the last 15 was all Wolves. I can’t see where they got that from? We started the second half in similar fashion to the way we ended the first, inviting Wolves on to us. Luckily, they are completely rubbish. They’re worse than Barnsley. At least Barnsley can excuse themselves with the fact that they work on a tiny budget. Wolves have got players all over the pitch (and the bench) who were supposedly Premier League players and they create absolutely nothing. They’ve got a central defender who cost £7m who can’t defend, can’t pass and can’t win a header in the other box. He makes Jimmy Bullard look a bit of a bargain. City tired of watching Wolves pass the ball side to side and decided to kill the game. Koren advanced from midfield and tried to slide in Simpson down the left side of the penalty area, about level with the edge of the 6 yard box. He over-hit the pass and Simpson caught it just as it was about to cross the goal-line. He caught it and whipped a shot in off the far post from the most unbelievable angle. It was an incredible finish. It’s no exaggeration to suggest it was as good as any you will ever see [2-0].

Wolves set about reducing the deficit by passing the ball around in front of our midfield. An attempt to hypnotise us perhaps? Trying to see if Corry Evans would die of boredom? Who knows? It wasn’t especially effective. Anthony Forde and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake came on for the visitors. Forde was lively but produced nothing but a bit of heading practise for Alex Bruce. I’m not sure Ebanks-Blake touched the ball. It was all going swimmingly when City hit that self-destruct button we know so well. The ball was played back to Ben Amos in goal. He shaped to hoof it clear, tried to be clever and passed it towards Alex Bruce. Or rather towards were Alex Bruce would have been if he’d moved 10 yards! Instead it fell to Forde whose cross was a bit of a bobbler, McShane slashed at it and missed, Doyle missed it too and it hit James Chester and went in. A calamitous goal [2-1].

That should have been the catalyst for a Wolves revival but in truth, it wasn’t. There was an edginess around the KC Stadium and obvious frustration at the team having let such a comfortable lead slip while the players continued to give the ball back time and again but Wolves didn’t capitalise. There was never a period of sustained pressure. Their crosses were hopeful or hopeless. Bruce headed most of them away easily. The mistake must have been playing on Amos’s mind but they didn’t put in a cross or shot that would cause him any bother. At the other end Ikeme had to be quick off his line a couple of times as Simpson and Quinn sprung their offside trap while Elmohamady put in a couple of decent crosses but we didn’t have the numbers in the box to make the most of them. Robbie Brady replaced Rosenior who’d been carrying a knock since Saturday. Wolves responded by throwing on Jermaine Pennant. He used to be a footballer you know. Pennant ran at Brady a couple of times, got nowhere and buggered off to try on the other wing. Good Luck with that, Jermaine.

The only moment of panic in the last few minutes came when Alex Bruce went down with another injury. Big Faye took an age to get ready to come on which meant Bruce had to limp around for a few minutes while we prayed that they wouldn’t get at him. Luckily Corry Evans stepped in front to cover and Wolves are rubbish. So everything was OK. McKenna and Faye replaced Bruce and Aluko. Wolves saw Faye come on and thought “I know, we’ll take advantage of that little bloke by pumping the ball down the middle”. Faye won everything as you’d expect. Even when Doyle shoved him he managed to simultaneously fall, protest AND win the header. It looked more likely that we’d get a third than they’d get an equaliser but we’ve been around the block too many times to take that for granted. Koren fed Simpson on the counter and he shot a foot or two wide much to the chagrin of the bloke near me who had Aluko/3-1 at 66-1. The 4 minutes of stoppage time flew by. It was over, another vital three points in the bag.

When I saw the Wolves team sheet before the game, I had a little gulp. I tweeted that a win over a side with this much quality (on paper) would be a great one. In truth, the Tigers passed the ball as poorly as we have at home for ages and didn’t create a whole lot besides the chances we scored from. It was more than enough though because despite a few big names, a few big reputations and a load of potential, Wolves are crap. We were in 3^rd gear tonight and we beat them comfortably. If we hadn’t have scored for them, they could have played until Sunday and they’d still have nil.

I was delighted on Saturday that we ground out three points without playing well and I’m equally pleased tonight. I wouldn’t want to see it every week though; my nerves couldn’t stand it for a start. I will happily settle for an ugly win at Cardiff on Saturday but I demand the return of free-flowing attacking football at St. Andrews on the 17^th! Grinding out a few wins is sign of a strong mentality and a desire to win games of football. You can’t rely on it every week though, not if you think you’re a team that can get out of this division. Your quality has to shine through for that to happen. I’m sure we’ve got that in us.

Corry Evans had another fine defensive game tonight but let himself down with some wayward passing when the whole team went to pot. I think Robert Koren deserves a lot of credit for the shift he put in. He worked hard to close them down in our half and found himself nicking a lot of balls from them. He led by example and defended with an urgency he’s not really known for. Alex Bruce had a solid game but was helped by their lack of imagination and Chester and McShane both had their moments. Simpson chased them tirelessly in the second half doing a really thankless task but hopefully enjoying the fruits of his labour. Elmohamady delivered some terrific crosses and both he and Rosenior worked up and down well. In all it was a comfortable, workmanlike performance that was almost spoilt by 20 seconds of sheer madness.

The real downer on the night was the attendance of less than 15,000. It’s such a shame that the team are performing so well in front of such small crowds. There’s no question now that the issue is money, not dissatisfaction. It needs sorting soon. Forget about gimmicks and promotions. We need to review the prices across the board, the tickets, the food and the beer and do something permanent that will get people in the ground. It’d be a shame if we wait until next summer and 4,000 people miss out on seeing this excellent Tigers side. It’s still early days but this is up there with the best teams we’ve ever had. Don’t let them down.

-----------------------------------

Thanks so much for reading my ramblings. It's much appreciated.

Hull City 1 Barnsley 0

For a game falling in between Halloween and Bonfire Night the visit of Barnsley to the KC Stadium provided few fireworks but, thankfully, few scares. Sone Aluko provided the real treat for the Tigers who ground out the three points against Keith Hill’s stubborn side. It wasn’t pretty and the second half in particular featured little of the free-flowing attacking football that City have displayed this season but the win is the only thing that matters. Top sides find a way to win when they aren’t playing well. On this evidence, we must be bloody brilliant!

Steve Bruce picked the same team that picked up an excellent win on the telly at Bristol City last week. The only change was to the named substitutes with Big Faye replacing the departed Liam Cooper. It meant sticking with the 3-5-2 system but against a team playing only one striker, who was on the wing, the system was pretty much irrelevant.

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

I like Barnsley. Keith Hill has just about the smallest budget in the division. They only had three players for whom they’d paid a fee and two of those were small fees paid over four years ago. Hill has to work with free transfers and academy graduates. He’s working like most League Two managers but somehow makes Barnsley competitive in the Championship. He gives opportunities to players in the lower divisions to make the step up and he’s put together a tidy football team. Lads like Golbourne (Exeter), Done (Hereford), Dawson (Orient), Perkins (Colchester) and ex-Tiger Scott Wiseman (Rochdale) are all justifying the managers faith in them.

Barnsley’s system was negative, with midfielder Kelvin Etuhu the lone striker, but not cynical or desperate in the way Ipswich were in the last home game. They couldn’t live with the Tigers in the first half. Sone Aluko in particular started brightly and it looked like an early goal might lead to a handsome home win. After a couple of bright moments including Aluko latching on to Elmohamady’s deflected pass and opting to cut inside into traffic instead of shooting right footed, the early goal came on 15 minutes. Rosenior won a corner on the left that was cleared to Evans who won a second corner on our right. He took it quickly to Aluko whose cross was headed poorly by Cranie back to Aluko on the touchline. He stepped inside and hit a shot from a tight angle that Steele got a hand to but couldn’t keep out and it flew into the far corner [1-0].

The Tigers were always in control after that and Barnsley offered no threat at all. There was something missing though and we didn’t turn the superiority into chances. Barnsley’s defending at times was panic stricken but they somehow got away with it. A poor early backpass had just enough pace on it to reach Steele before Simpson nicked it and a later backpass, played blind from the edge of the area, actually went through Simpson’s legs. Corry Evans has had a poor season by his standards but he was back to his best today and broke up most of Barnsley’s attacking moves. When Chester intercepted a pass, found Quinn who passed to Elmo, Evans turned up on the right, Elmo played him in and his cross eventually found Koren whose shot deflected wide. Another break saw Chester find Koren on the right with a beautiful pass. Koren cut across the pitch and from just outside the ‘D’ curled a left foot shot towards the bottom corner that Steele saved brilliantly.

The game was incident free so not a lot for the officials to get involved in but they still managed to make a mess of it. Jay Simpson chased a through ball with a defender in close proximity and the goalkeeper approaching. As the three came together, the defender gave Simpson a nudge, Simpson touched the ball past the ‘keeper and then they collided. The ‘keeper stayed down and the referee somehow came to the conclusion that it was a foul against Simpson. It was a pretty 50/50 collision so I wouldn’t claim a City penalty but as Simpson was the one who got the ball there was absolutely no way he was the offender. With the Tigers fans already up in arms the ref then produced a yellow card for the City striker. Quite possibly the stupidest decision I’ve seen all season. Mr. Heywood, you sir are a muppet. Just before the break, Koren leapt well at the near post to meet Aluko’s corner but Steele pushed the ball out and it was scrambled away. The ref then signalled the end of a pretty comfortable half. The only disappointment was that City hadn’t stretched the lead.

The second half started as the first had ended with the excellent Tigers midfield pressing the ball high up the pitch and making opportunities. Jay Simpson was the first beneficiary, receiving in their half and running towards the area. He stumbled through a challenge and with a good shooting opportunity presenting itself, sliced the ball into the crowd. At the other end Stephen Dawson shot high and wide too, that was Barnsley’s first shot. Quinn then freed Koren on the left, he laid off to Rosenior whose low cross arrowed towards Simpson with his back to goal. He should have controlled with his left foot and then either laid off to Aluko or tried to turn and shoot. Instead he tried an overhead kick and made a prat of himself. He’s having a great season but he just needs to do things simply at times and we’ll get more reward from his efforts. Robert Koren then won the ball in midfield, didn’t quite know which option to pick as he approached the area and eventually laid off to Rosenior who curled a shot into Row W.

The momentum started to shift after that and Barnsley enjoyed the bigger share of possession. They were rarely dangerous as the Tigers defended well but they controlled the ball and took our creative players out of the game. Alex Bruce took a hefty knock and limped around for five minutes while Barnsley were on top which was worrying. In the meantime Tomasz Cywka shot just wide which was as close as the visitors came all afternoon. Eventually Bruce was subbed for Dawson with Rosenior switching to right back and the system moving to an orthodox 4-4-2. Daws took a while to settle and I had flashbacks to Burnley at home last season. Barnsley were gifted the ball in midfield, Dawson dived in on Dagnall but didn’t win the ball, Dagnall flicked the ball past McShane and headed into the area were Corry Evans came across to make a superb and crucial tackle. Another Barnsley sub Toni Silva then jinked his way through our defence before Evans made another challenge. A lightening Tigers break saw Elmohamady race away on the right, get held up, before digging out a cross for Simpson who’d got himself in front of the defender. Simpson met the ball on the volley but Steele saved well at close range.  

Steve Bruce reacted to their dominance by swapping Aluko for McKenna to shore up the midfield. I’d have left Aluko on to counter and taken Simpson off. By this point though, everyone had accepted that we weren’t playing well and were happy just to escape with three points. Although the last few minutes were nervy because 1-0 is a slender lead, the defence never allowed any real heart in mouth situation. McLean replaced Simpson to little effect and the added time ran out quickly. The Tigers are up to joint 4^th in the Championship, 3 points off the top spot and the jittery run of a few weeks ago has been banished with 4 wins from 5 games. I thought the crowd at the KC were excellent today. They didn’t get on the players backs when things weren’t going well. It was great support and it probably really helped.

Corry Evans was the man of the match today. He was excellent. He gave us bags of energy in midfield, read their attacks well, won the ball back and distributed well. He worked box to box too. He was ably assisted by Stephen Quinn who continues to impress and Robert Koren who had his most influential game at home for a while. The defensive unit was solid but Paul McShane in particular deserves credit for his performances. He’s hardly put a foot wrong since he came back into the team.

I didn’t think I’d like Steve Bruce. I always found him a bit of a sore loser when he was managing in the Premier League, always whining on Match of the Day. He’s been a breath of fresh air though. He gives open, honest interviews after the game, he gives credit where it’s due and he doesn’t hide from mistakes of the players and himself. He sees the game in the way we see it. There’s no bull. I like what he’s doing here. Trying to decide which of his summer signings has had the most impact so far is near impossible. Aluko and Quinn have been brilliant. Elmohamady and Alex Bruce have also been terrific. He’s done a fine job of melding his new players with the ones we had here already. I think I’m most impressed by the way he’s given players who hadn’t done well under previous regimes a new lease of life. Simpson and McShane now look un-droppable. That’s some achievement. He also doesn’t play favourites. He’s made it clear that he’s a big fan of Olofinjana but Evans has got into the team, played well and Bruce hasn’t gone back to “his guy” just because he can. He rewards players who play well. That’s the way it should be.

This wasn’t a vintage performance but it was a crucial three points. We’ve chucked away enough points against lesser opposition in the last few years to know that nothing is a given. Sometimes you have to grind it out and move on. So onwards and hopefully upwards. And good luck to Keith Hill and Barnsley. I hope he keeps them up again.

Ten Years At The KC Stadium - #7

In this series of blogs, I'll pick the Top 10 Players, Games and Goals from the 10 years at the KC Stadium and will throw in a variety of top 10 lists and boring facts! This is number four in the series and number seven in the countdown:

Top 10 Players - #7

Geovanni

Geovanni is a one-time Brazlian international who joined Barcelona for €20m in 2001, played over 100 games for Benfica, has played 30-odd games in European competition and turned out at the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney and scored a winning goal against Manchester United in his one and only season at Manchester City. It’s fair to say that his signing was something of a coup for Hull City in the summer of 2008. Aside from an aging Jay-Jay Okocha the year before and an aging Raich Carter in the late 40’s, it was the biggest signing the club had ever made.

He wasn’t the most stylish Brazlian footballer, he wasn’t a tricky dribbler or a brilliant passer, though he did do both on occasion. Around the box, he came to life and possessed a phenomenal shot. He didn’t wait long to prove it. Twenty-two minutes into his Tigers debut, with City trailing one-nil in our first ever top flight game, he collected Sam Ricketts pass, strode forward and unleashed a strike beyond Mark Schwarzer. His name will go down in the club’s history for that one. City suffered a 0-5 hammering at home to Wigan in our second Premier League game at the KC and Geo was left on the bench as Phil Brown looked for a more rigid 4-4-2 system that yielded a win at Newcastle and a draw at home to Everton. For the trip to Arsenal the following week, he recalled Geo and played him behind Marlon King and Daniel Cousin in a suicidal looking 4-3-1-2 system. City trailed Arsenal in the second half when Geo struck a contender for the best goal we’ve ever scored. He cut in from the right and from 30 yards on the diagonal, he hammered the ball into the far top corner. Live on TV, it sent shockwaves up and down the country. When Daniel Cousin headed a winner 4 minutes later, the aftershock was bigger than Arsene Wenger’s nose.

Geo scored a brilliant winner the following week at Tottenham direct from a free-kick and followed it up with a goal in 3-0 win at West Brom, a penalty strike in a brave 3-4 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford and a deflected strike in a 2-2 draw with his old team, Man City. The Tigers where riding high in the Premier League when Marlon King went off the rails, Phil Brown’s ego grew out of control, Paul Duffen attempted to conquer Europe and Geo went into hibernation for the winter. He eventually woke up around March and scored a couple of goals as City clung onto their Premier League life’s by the skin of their teeth.  Geo hit 6 goals in the opening 11 games that season and followed it up with 4 in the opening 9 of 2009/10. As with the previous season, he disappeared once it got cold but his season had been disrupted by a ludicrous sending off at Burnley. Geo picked up a booking for complaining that his perfectly good free-kick “goal” was disallowed. He would later be sent off for a slightly late challenge. This time there was no recovery in the spring and the Tigers fell out of the Premier League. Following relegation, Geo agreed to rip up his City contract, saving the club a fortune at a time when our finances where already stretched almost to tearing point.

As Hull City took on the biggest teams in the country for the first time, Geovanni ‘s contribution was exceptional. He scored goals out of nothing. He won games on his own. He lived up to every stereotype of the South American footballer, both the good and the bad. He provided moments of individual genius that most of us will ever forget and will likely never see again. He was City’s number ten during the only time in our history that we’ve been one of the best teams in the country. Na, na-na, na-na, na, na, Geo, Geo….

Top 10 Matches - #7

Hull City 2 Leicester City 1 - 03/12/2011

In the summer of 2010, Nigel Pearson left Leicester City for Hull City. The tigers were a club in turmoil but as the new year approached, the Allam family took over the club, underwrote the massive debts and gave Pearson their backing in the transfer market. Pearson used the money over the next six months to produce an exciting young side that improved by the week. In November 2011, following a 2-0 home defeat against West Ham that, regardless of the scoreline, was probably the best performance by Pearson's Tigers, he walked away. Back to Leicester. Leicester had hired Sven Goran Eriksson, wasted a bundle of money and, despite starting the season as promotion favourites, languished at the wrong end of the table. Pearson decided it was a job worth having. The Hull City fans still haven't forgiven or forgotten.

A month after the West Ham game, Leicester visited the KC Stadium. The atmosphere was unlike anything the KC had seen since the promotion run-in 30 months earlier. The desire for victory emanating from the stands was over-whelming. The players he'd let down also wanted to stick it to Pearson. Leicester went down to ten early in the game and Matt Fryatt, who'd followed Pearson from Leicester to Hull, scored a penalty. However, Leicester bravely battled back from this blow and Paul Konchesky equalised on half time in front of the large traveling support. The Leicester goal led a charmed life in the second half and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel had "one of those days". As stoppage time approached, the score remained 1-1 despite the visitors numerical disadvantage. Nigel's flat-top was glowing and the Leicester support were as smug as buggery. Enter Robert Koren. Liam Rosenior spotted a lovely pass on the edge of the box, Koren strode onto the ball and smashed home with his left foot from 18 yards. Deflation at one end, elation around the rest of the ground. The roar was incredible. The goal was epic. The win was vital. Nigel Who?

(The Leicester game was top of the bill on the Football League show and their highlights have been uploaded on YouTube by some fine tiger)

Top 10 Goals - #7

Jon Parkin (Hull City 1 Leeds United 0 - 01/04/2006)

Technically, this goal isn't as good as Richard Garcia's brilliant strike at #8. However, it's one of my favourite goals from the Tigers' KC era. An entire generation of City fans hadn't seen a competitive game against Leeds United, let alone a win. Plenty of them had taken stick working with Leeds fans around Yorkshire or, even worse, working with those despicable "Hull Whites". City battered Leeds that day without reward. The crowd, nearly 23,500, were frustrated and starting to believe that jammy old Leeds would escape comeuppance again. Then Stuart Green lofted a ball to the far post and Jon Parkin climbed higher than it's physically possible for anyone to lift a frame as big as his and planted a textbook downward header inside the near post. It's a brilliant header. I love it.

10 most appearances at the KC Stadium without scoring (outfield players)

1. Mark Joseph (48)
2. Liam Rosenior (40)
3. Corry Evans (34)
=. Paul McShane (34)
5. John Welsh (25)
6. Paul McKenna (23)
7. Kevin Ellison (19)
8. Justin Whittle (19)
9. Joe Dudgeon 18
10. Danny Coles (16)
=. Tony Gardner (16)