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All Leagues, EPL, England, Europe, Features, Ian John, Leagues, Regions POSTS

The Season Ahead Part Ten : Hull City

Published by Ian John on September 7, 2009

Prospects for 2009 :
Well, if the second half of the past season is anything to go by, then Hull have about as much chance of remaining in the Premiership this season as Mike Ashley receiving a standing ovation at the Newcastle United supporters association. Quite simply, other than their astonishing start to the season, Hull’s form over the latter half of last season would have seen them relegated by a country mile. Phil Brown has been linked with a host of big name players, such as Michael Owen, all of which seem to have fallen through due to Hull’s lack of pulling power. Either that or big named stars don’t fancy being humiliated by sitting on the pitch at half time while Brown chews their ears over something.

2009 is a big season for :
Jimmy Bullard. The jovial prankster also happens to be a talented footballer, unfortunately for Hull fans, he is also a seemingly injury prone one. On his day the Londoner can be a top quality midfielder, perhaps even capable of pushing himself into genuine contention for the England squad, however he has suffered with a catalogue of injuries throughout his career and Hull fans can only hope that he remains injury free for the majority of the current season. If he does and finds his best form then he may well be Hull’s best hope of achieving survival.

Guaranteed to irritate in 2009 :
Stephen Hunt seems to put the back up of most fans. Chelsea fans still have not forgiven him for the challenge on Peter Cech that left the keeper out of action for a lengthy spell and worse than that, deciding to wear the most ridiculous piece of soccer apparel, his dodgy head protector, ever since. Craig Fagan is another whose petulance and combativeness can boil over from being productive and beneficial, into being petty and pathetic. There’s that and the fact that Nicky Barmby is bearing a increasing resemblance to Wee Jimmy Krankie these days.

Things they’ll moan about in 2009 :
All the players who showed an interest in signing for Hull, only to take the money on offer elsewhere as soon as it became available. I mean, I can perhaps understand Michael Owen chatting to Phil Brown and showing some interest, but then when he got the call from Sir Alex, I can’t think of any reason why he’d select the Tigers over the Red Devils and still be classified as sane. Is it any surprise Alvaro Negredo opted for champions league qualified and perennial title chasers Sevilla, rather than the Tigers? While I applaud Phil Brown’s optimism and dogged determination to take the team forward, it has to be viewed in context and sadly for Hull, they don’t have the pulling power to attract the biggest names in domestic, let alone European and world football.

Song that sums up their chances in 2009 : “Down Down” by Status Quo
I can’t see anything other than a season of struggle for Hull this year. While Stephen Hunt will prove to be a good signing, other new players, such as Jozy Altidore, Kamel Ghilas and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (I pity the poor Hull fan who tries to get that plastered across the back of a replica shirt, it’ll cost him a year’s worth of salary for the letters alone) are not really proven at Premiership level and the loss of defender Michael Turner to Sunderland could be the straw that broke the camels back.

Image courtesy of ***George Rispin*** at Flickr.com