Hull City v Ipswich Town preview and matchday thread
Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 7:21 pm
Hull City AFC v Ipswich Town
Tuesday 20th October 2015 – 19:45
KC Stadium
Opening Thought – Jamma
There wasn’t much to smile about at Portman Road on Saturday, unless you count James Vaughan’s stupid dismissal within 20 minutes of coming on. It was amusing to see Luke Chambers’ fist-pumping duties seemingly having been handed over to a 10-year-old boy, who did an admirable job pre-match of reminding us all of this ancient tradition last seen at Portman Road two months ago. But perhaps my own personal highlight was overhearing a young lad, presumably attending his first live match, talking to his father in the row behind me. As half time approached, he said – apparently straight-faced – ‘Is this the best match you’ve ever been to?’. With an outlook like that, it’s fair to say that his expectations of following Ipswich Town are only going to be exceeded! Either that, or this particular Tractor Boy has quickly developed the kind of dark humour that us Town fans have become all to accustomed to over the years… Joking apart, with the attendance having dwindled to 19,973 on Saturday, it is hard to imagine too many of the first-time visitors to Portman Road being tempted back on the basis of that performance. Goalscoring chances were at a premium – with our first meaningful shot on goal not coming until around the hour mark – and we seemed to lack ideas, inspiration and, most worryingly of all, confidence from back to front.
Mick McCarthy, unsurprisingly, decided to focus on the positives to come out of the match. It was another point, when it so easily could have been none if Dean Gerken hadn’t come to our rescue with a phenomenal save towards the end. He agreed that it was probably a game we would have lost when he first came in to the club three years ago, but went on to add that we would equally have found a way to win it this time last season. That rather begs the question: just what has changed over that time? Yes, you can focus on the different areas of the team and how we aren’t reaching the same heights as 2014/15 defensively or in the attacking third. But I think Mick is right in that you also have to take into account the part the opposition have to play. Where we were able to take teams by surprise last year, having slipped under the radar, that is no longer the case, as expectation levels have risen both inside and outside the club. This campaign, our opponents seem to be more wary of our threat, which is reflected in the way they set up against us. It was particularly noticeable against Blackburn, who ‘beat us at our own game’, by closing us down quickly and reacting to the loose ball first. On our last four home outings, we have been frustrated, as Brighton, Birmingham, Bristol City and now Huddersfield have taken the game to us and pressurised us into making mistakes. The clean sheet was another positive from Saturday, having conceded two in each of our previous two matches. A lot has been said about how we need to ‘go back to what we do best’. If we can rediscover our defensive solidity over these next two away games, we might just be able to slip back under that radar as we look to get back amongst the top 6…
The Opposition – Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club was founded in June 1904. Previous attempts to found a football club had proved difficult because of the dominance in the city of rugby league, with teams such as Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers. These early matches were played at the Boulevard, the home of Hull F.C.. After disputes with landlords at the Boulevard, Hull City moved to Anlaby Road Cricket Ground. Hull City were admitted into the Football League Second Division for the 1905–06 season and finished the season in fifth place.
Hull City and Grimsby Town were the only two professional teams which had official permission to play league football on Christmas Day because of the demands of the fish trade. That tradition has now disappeared following the dramatic reduction of their trawler fleets in recent years. The following season, a new ground was built for Hull City across the road from the cricket ground. Hull continued to finish consistently in the top half of the table. They came close to promotion in the 1909–10 season, recording what would be their highest finish until they matched it in 2008. Hull regularly finished in the top half of the table before the First World War, but after the war the team finished in the bottom half in seven seasons out of eleven, culminating in relegation to the Third Division North in 1930.
Hull's greatest achievement in cup competitions until 2014 was in 1930, when they reached the FA Cup semi-finals.
After the Second World War, the club moved to another new ground, Boothferry Park. In the 1948–49 season, Hull won the Third Division North championship. "Yo-yoing" between the second and third tiers of English football, Hull City had promotion seasons from the Third to the Second Division again in 1959 and 1966, winning the Third Division in the latter.
By the early 1980s, Hull City were in the Fourth Division, and financial collapse led to receivership.
Don Robinson took over as chairman and appointed Colin Appleton as the new manager. Promotion to Division Three followed in 1983.
Hull reached the Second Division in 1985. They remained there for the next six years, before finally going down in 1991. Hull finished 14th in the Third Division in the 1991–92 season, meaning that they would be competing in the new Second Division the following season.
In their first season in the rebranded division, Hull narrowly avoided another relegation, but over the next two seasons they achieved mid-table finishes. Financial difficulties hampered City's progress, as key players had to be sold to fend off winding-up orders. In the 1995–96 season, Hull were relegated to the Third Division.
In 1997, the club was purchased by former tennis player David Lloyd. Hull's league form was steadily deteriorating, to the point that relegation to the Football Conference was looking a real possibility. Lloyd sold the club in November 1998 to a South Yorkshire-based consortium, but retained ownership of Boothferry Park.
Despite briefly being locked out of Boothferry Park by bailiffs and facing the possibility of liquidation, Hull qualified for the Third Division play-offs in the 2000–01 season. A boardroom takeover by former Leeds United commercial director Adam Pearson had eased the club's precarious financial situation and all fears of closure were banished as he ploughed funds into the club.
Hull relocated to the new 25,400-seater KC Stadium after 56 years at Boothferry Park.
Hull were Third Division runners-up in 2003–04 and League One runners-up in 2004–05; these back-to-back promotions took them into the Championship. The 2005–06 season, the club's first back in the second tier, saw Hull finish in 18th place and their highest league finish for 16 years.
Adam Pearson sold the club to a consortium led by Paul Duffen in June 2007, stating that he "had taken the club as far as I could", in order to attract "really significant finance into the club". Under Paul Duffen and manager Phil Brown, Hull City improved greatly on their relegation battle of 2006–07 and qualified for the play-offs after finishing the season in third place. They beat Watford 6–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals and played Bristol City in the Final on 24 May 2008, which Hull won 1–0 at Wembley Stadium. Their ascent from the bottom division of the Football League to the top division of English football in just five seasons is the third fastest ever.
Despite being one of the favourites for relegation in the 2008–09 season, Hull had only one defeat in their opening nine games and found themselves (temporarily) joint top of the Premier League table on points (third on goal difference). Ten years previously, they had been bottom of the fourth tier of English football.
Hull's form never replicated the highs of the early autumn, with the team winning only two more games over the remainder of the season, but they secured their top-flight status on the last day of the season due to other results.
On 29 October 2009, chairman Paul Duffen resigned his position with the club, and was replaced by former chairman Adam Pearson. On 15 March 2010, manager Phil Brown was put on gardening leave after a run of four defeats left Hull in the relegation zone. Brown's replacement was former Crystal Palace and Charlton boss Iain Dowie, and the appointment was met with some disbelief by supporters, who were hoping for a "bigger name" replacement. Hull City's relegation from the Premier League was confirmed on 3 May 2010
A reported block on player transfers into the club, set in place by the Hull City board on 28 July 2010 until transfers out, would substantially reduce the £39 million-per-year wage bill. This at first cast doubt on the new manager's (Nigel Pearson) efforts to build a squad capable of a quick return to the Premier League. The team set a new club record on 12 March 2011 with 14 away matches unbeaten, breaking a previous record held for over 50 years.
On 15 November 2011, Nigel Pearson left the club to return to Leicester. Nick Barmby was appointed as his successor, but was sacked in May 2012 after publicly criticising the club's owners in an interview given to a local newspaper. In the same month, the club's consultancy agreement with Adam Pearson was terminated.
On 8 June 2012, Steve Bruce was appointed manager of the club on a three-year deal, and he guided Hull back to the Premier League on the final day of the season.
On 13 April 2014, the club reached its first FA Cup final . Their place in the 2014-15 Europa League, regardless of whether they won the 2013-14 FA Cup, was confirmed on 3 May as Everton's failure to win meant that Hull's FA Cup final opponents Arsenal would compete in the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League.
On 31 July 2014, Hull made their debut in European competition, in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, with a 2-1 aggregate win over Slovakian side FK AS Trenčín. An away goals aggregate loss against Belgian outfit Lokeren marked the end of Hull's first foray into European football.
In March 2015, Steve Bruce signed a further three-year deal with the club. Hull were relegated from the Premier League after the 2014-15 season, finishing eighteenth with 35 points.
One To Watch – Abel Hernández
The Hull City Tigers, as they proudly (or maybe not) now call themselves, boast a squad full of Premier League quality – oh, and Robert Snodgrass. I could pick any of Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone or Ahmed Elmohamady, to name just a few, as my ‘one to watch’. On current form, though, there’s really only one choice.
Uruguayan striker Abel Hernández is on a hot streak of scoring form, having netted 6 goals in 9 league appearances, and also got his name on the scoresheet in the recent international break. Goals have been a regular feature of his game, having scored 33 in little over 100 appearances for former side Palermo and averaged a goal every other game for Uruguay. It came as no surprise, then, when Hull’s record signing claimed the opener in his debut at the KC Stadium, against West Ham last September. Having also scored in the club’s next home match, against champions Manchester City, the goals unfortunately dried up in the Premier League, as he finished the campaign with just 4 from 25 appearances. Hernández featured for both Central Español and Pañarol in the Uruguayan league, with his form earning him a call-up to the U20 national side. He has since gone on to represent his country at both the Copa America – winning the 2011 tournament – and the Olympic Games, at London 2012. He also played in last summer’s World Cup, prompting the Tigers to pounce for his signature.
The Manager – Steve Bruce
Bruce was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham. Bruce was offered an apprenticeship and went on to play more than 200 games for the club before joining Norwich City in 1984.
In 1987, he moved to Manchester United, with whom he achieved great success, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, Football League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup. He also became the first English player of the twentieth century to captain a team to the Double.
Despite his success on the field, he was never selected to play for the England national team. Commentators and contemporaries have described him as one of the best English players of the 1980s and 1990s never to play for his country at full international level.
In 1996, he joined Birmingham, where he made 72 appearances before finishing his career at Sheffield United.
In his first season as a manager, Bruce guided Sheffield United to eighth place in the First Division. In May 1999, Bruce resigned from his post after just one season in charge, citing turmoil in the club's boardroom and a shortage of funds for transfers. He contemplated leaving football for a job in television but was persuaded by Huddersfield Town owner Barry Rubery to become the club's manager.
Huddersfield were early promotion contenders in the 1999–2000 season but lost form and failed to reach the play-offs. The team continued to struggle at the start of the 2000–01 season, gaining just six points from eleven matches, and Bruce was sacked in October 2000. He then became involved in a dispute with Rubery, who accused him of "wasting" £3m on players and having "an ego to feed".
Bruce remained out of the game until he was appointed manager of Wigan Athletic in April 2001. The team reached the Second Division play-offs but lost in the semi-finals, and Bruce left the club almost immediately, having been in charge for less than two months, to take over as manager of Crystal Palace.
Although his new club began the 2001–02 season strongly, topping the First Division table and looking well placed to return to the Premier League, Bruce tendered his resignation less than three months into the season in order to return to Birmingham City as manager. By now, he had acquired a reputation as a manager who rarely held down a job for a significant length of time.
Upon his arrival, the "Blues" were in a mid-table position in the First Division, but a lengthy unbeaten run saw the team qualify for the play-offs. The team went on to beat Bruce's former club Norwich City in the final after a penalty shoot-out to gain promotion to the Premier League, ending a 16-year absence from the top level of English football. Birmingham spent the early part of the 2002–03 season struggling near the foot of the Premier League table, but ended the season in 13th place.
The following season began well for Birmingham, who climbed as high as fourth in the table, but the team's fortunes declined and they could only finish in tenth place at the end of the season. Despite this disappointment, Bruce signed a new contract in June 2004 designed to keep him at St Andrew's for a further five years. Initial expectations were high for the 2004–05 season, but the club once again finished in a mid-table position, ending the season in 12th place.
By February 2006 of the 2005–06 season, Birmingham were struggling in the league, but Bruce insisted that he would fight on as manager. The team managed to climb out of the relegation zone for the first time in nearly six months but were ultimately relegated at the end of the season.
Although Bruce had the largest transfer budget in the division made available to him, Birmingham made a slow start to the 2006–07 season in the Football League Championship. However, they secured promotion to the Premier League, with one match of the season to play.
In May 2007, Birmingham's board agreed a new contract for Bruce, but the unwillingness of the club's prospective purchaser Carson Yeung to ratify it left his future uncertain. In October 2007, Wigan Athletic requested permission to speak to Bruce about their managerial vacancy and he was receptive to their approach. As required under the terms of his contract, Wigan agreed to pay Birmingham a then world record compensation fee for the loss of his services, of around £3m. On 19 November, Wigan announced the signing of Bruce for a second time.
Wigan spent the remainder of the season struggling against relegation, but the club secured Premier League survival in the penultimate game of the season.
Bruce led Wigan to an 11th place finish in the 2008–09 season.
Bruce was confirmed as the new manager of Sunderland on 3 June 2009, after signing a three-year contract. In his first season at Sunderland, despite a run of fourteen games without a win, Bruce led the Black Cats to a thirteenth place finish in the Premier League. In February 2011, Bruce signed an extension to his contract, keeping him at Sunderland until 2014. Bruce was dismissed as manager on 30 November 2011, with Sunderland in 16th position following a poor run of form.
On 8 June 2012, Bruce was appointed as manager at Championship side Hull City on a three-year contract. In his first season with the club, he led Hull to promotion to the Premier League, clinching second place in the Championship on the final day of the season. The following season, the "Tigers" reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time.
In March 2015, Bruce signed a three-year contract extension with Hull. A run of poor form left the team near the bottom of the table and they were relegated to the Championship.
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Action from our last visit to the KC Stadium, when Hull were on the way to the Premier League:
Trev's Trivia
Players to play for both teams:
Cameron Stewart ITFC 2014 (think he might be here still somewhere ) Hull 2011-2014
Jimmy Bullard ITFC 2011-2012 Hull 2009-2011
Jonathan Walters ITFC 2007-2010 Hull 2003 (loan) 2004-2005
Stephen Hunt ITFC 2013-2015 Hull 2009-2010
Media Watch - K L Blue
6 Talking Points from the Sudbury Mercury
We run through a few of the talking points following the Blues’ disappointing draw with Huddersfield.
You need to take your chances in scrappy games.
Yesterday’s game was far from a classic, but had David McGoldrick converted his late chance it would have been remembered completely differently.
While the Blues did look more solid as they secured just their third clean sheet of the season, they also struggled to create chances and certainly played their part in ensuring the contest was a largely unattractive, scrappy one.
However, even in the most scrappy of games, when you’re far from your best, a chance usually presents itself.
With opportunities few and far between you simply have to take them.
McCarthy’s selection stubbornness.
This was arguably the biggest talking point going into the game and, following the Ipswich boss’s post game comments, it was the biggest after the game, too.
Team selection is never going to be something everyone agrees with, especially given the increased options within the squad this season, but both McCarthy and the Portman Road crowd have been pretty vocal in their views on the subject.
It’ll be interesting to see which 11 players start at Hull on Tuesday night.
Ishmael Miller is a real handful.
Not for the first time, big striker Ishmael Miller made things very difficult for an Ipswich Town defence. More experienced Town defenders than Tommy Smith (namely Jason De Vos) have tried and failed to shackle the former Manchester City youth, but the New Zealander’s battle with the Huddersfield striker was one of the more intriguing parts of an otherwise drab game.
Miller had the better of the early exchanges, taking advantage of a few positional errors, but the Ipswich defender came back well and ensured the striker was a lot less effective in the second period.
The Portman Road pitch almost played its part.
It’s getting to that time in the season where the weather and conditions under foot can start to play a part in football matches; thankfully they didn’t quite on this occasion.
With a fair amount of rain in the lead-up to the game, a number of players found it difficult to stay upright on what appeared to be a greasy Portman Road surface, with it nearly proving costly on two occasions.
Both Jonas Knudsen and Cole Skuse slipped and allowed Sean Scannell to scamper through, but thankfully on both occasions the Blues were able to get back and stop chances which could easily have led to a goal.
A premature end to a promising home debut.
As he has on his previous outings for Town, Tommy Oar showed glimpses of why the club were so excited to have sealed his signature in August.
After finally earning a league start, the Aussie was busy from the first whistle and, with what seems to be a wand of a left foot, provided a string of teasing crosses both from open play and from dead ball situations.
However, a clash with Huddersfield keeper Jed Steer left him with concussion and saw his afternoon come to a premature end as he was substituted at the break, after struggling after taking the knock.
You need to show some common sense.
Having come on as a substitute following your return from injury, and with your team about to pick up what could prove to be a useful away point, why would you throw the ball into your opponent’s face from just a few inches away?
Regardless of how much malice there was, it was a pretty silly thing for James Vaughan to do and he’ll now pay the consequence.
Stat Time
Head to Head
Hull City Wins....................13.....(41.94%)
Ipswich Wins......................8......(25.81%)
Draws..............................10.....(32.26%)
Hull City Goals...................45 (ave. 1.45 per match)
Ipswich Goals....................42 (ave. 1.35 per match)
Head to Head at Hull
Hull City Wins....................10.....(62.50%)
Ipswich Wins......................1.....(6.25%)
Draws...............................5.....(31.25%)
Hull City Goals....................34 (ave. 2.13 per match)
Ipswich Goals.....................22 (ave. 1.38 per match)
The Predicted Teams
Hull City
Having seen his side go 6 matches unbeaten in all competitions, Steve Bruce will keep changes to a minimum, as the Tigers look to preserve a proud home record (not least against Ipswich!).
1 Allan McGregor
2 Moses Odubajo
6 Curtis Davies
21 Michael Dawson
11 Sam Clucas
27 Ahmed Elmohamady
8 Tom Huddlestone
14 Jake Livermore
15 Shaun Maloney
9 Abel Hernández
17 Mohamed Diame
Ipswich Town
Our only new injury concern ahead of the trip to Humberside is Tommy Oar, after he suffered concussion on Saturday. Larsen Touré and Jay Tabb will be pushing for inclusion on the wing. McCarthy may be tempted to freshen things up elsewhere, although don’t be surprised to see David McGoldrick and Kevin Bru on the bench again…
1 Dean Gerken
4 Luke Chambers
5 Tommy Smith
6 Christophe Berra
3 Jonas Knudsen
39 Larsen Touré
8 Cole Skuse
22 Jonathan Douglas
7 Ainsley Maitland-Niles
9 Daryl Murphy
20 Freddie Sears
Match Referee – Chris Kavanagh
Final Thought - Frosty
A really tricky fixture beckons against Hull to gain some momentum back at this point of the season. Is MM stubborn? Did we over achieve last season? What changes can you make? Are our current tactics working? These are all questions that have been asked within some threads on here over the past few days and I doubt that there is one single answer.
Perhaps Mick’s stubbornness stems from the fact that basically this is the same team that performed pretty admirably last season and he believes that a turning point is just around the corner. It’s probably a fair line of thinking, but unless we do start gaining more points from the next few fixtures we are going to have a major job catching the leader board again. It will be an insidious position for us to be in if changes are made, whether it’s to the starting XI or tactically, and these don’t pay off.
Hull will not be an easy opponent. They are unbeaten in 5 matches , which include away wins at Forest and Cardiff and three draws against Blackburn, QPR and, most recently, last weekend against Wednesday. Currently they sit 7th on the Championship table with 19 points.
Depending on other results on Tuesday and Wednesday night, we could even find ourselves down to 13th place on the table if we fail to score goals and points against the Tigers.
We did show last season post-Christmas that we could have a poor patch and then come right as we reached the business end of the competition so I am not anywhere near the point of despair yet. However, it’s the quality of our recent matches against so called weaker opposition that does start to have one questioning where we are going to finish up this season.
Nonetheless, I would give me eye teeth to be at any game Town is involved in, so if you are making the journey up North on Tuesday, have safe travels and I hope you have an enjoyable evening.
HULL CITY 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1
@ Tony the Tiger......., "They're GRRRR, sh*t. Nice!
