Hull City AFC v Ipswich Town
Saturday 15th September 2018 – 15:00
KCOM Stadium
Pre Match Thoughts - Mike
Honours Even
It seems an eternity since the latest East Anglian Derby ended all square yet again, on the day not many would argue that a draw was probably a fair result although I am in the camp that thinks if anyone deserved to nick the win it was most definitely ourselves, an even and at times scrappy first half saw both teams hit the woodwork although I think it is fair to say the effort from Jon Walters looked far more threatening than that of Teemu Pukki's which Dean Gerken had well covered. The second half was a different story with Town bossing it for long spells, a Twenty minute spell directly after half time saw Norwich pinned back and hanging on as Town took the game to them and but for some better finishing could well have seen us at least Two goals ahead, alas it wasn't to be and our inability to kill teams off came back to haunt us yet again.
Two things in particular stood out for me, first off the debut performances of Jon Walters & Matt Pennington, both arrived only a day or two before the biggest game of the season, One with glowing references and cult figure status among Town fans already, the other with nothing but negative comments from Everton & Leeds fans alike and with Town fans wondering "what is the point of this signing" Thankfully that question was answered and some as both put in superb debuts and for me certainly they were the best Two players on the pitch, it augers well for us that we have another CB to put pressure on Chambo & Toto as the season progresses. The second thing that stood out for me was the unbelievable support and backing the team got from the terraces and while it frustrates me to a degree that a large percentage of these fans won't be seen again for some time nobody can fault the support and atmosphere that they helped to create, a couple of "casuals" that I work with came up to me Monday and said they could not believe the noise levels, it really was deafening at times and made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, if only they could be enticed back more often.
It Just had To Happen
I've been saying for some time how disappointed and frustrated I, and many others have been, at Bart's lacklustre performances in recent times, there hasn't been a single game this season where he has not been at fault for a goal and the unthinkable which had been coming actually happened in our biggest game of the season with the big man dropped to the bench and Dean Gerken trusted with the gloves. If anybody had any doubts about Paul Hurst being brave enough to make big decisions they certainly know now, it was a massive call and one which I applaud him for, it could have gone belly up and both Hurst & Gerks would no doubt have been ripped apart should that have happened, as it was Deano did little wrong and had no chance with the one that did beat him, his kicking and punching is way superior to Bart's while he also pulled off a couple of decent saves when called upon, it is his place to lose now surely but how good is it to have two competent keepers battling for the slot in the team.
Whether the rumours of a fall out between manager & Bart are true remains to be seen but I think it would be very poor from Bart if he has spat his dummy out of the pram because of some criticism about performance levels, players should be made aware and clearly it wasn't done in public unlike Chalobah's error at Sheff Wed and I haven't seen that young man crying about it, quite the opposite in fact, he came out and said the gaffer was correct to criticise but as I say we do not even know yet if anything actually did happen, time will tell I guess.
Is This The One?
As happy as I am with the way things are taking shape there is little doubt we need that elusive win to get our season really up and running, the cynics among us will always point to the fact we are second bottom and winless and of course that is fact, what is also fact is that it is a mere Six games in and nothing is won or lost in August, I also believe it to be fact that our performances should have yielded far more than Three points, my feelings are that we should be at least on Nine points minimum but of course we aren't, end of. We have to tighten up at set pieces and we also need to be more ruthless in the oppositions box, I was amazed to read one stat in the week and that is we have conceded the least efforts on target on our goal than any other team in the Championship which confirms Chambo's comments that teams are not opening us up in open play.
So it's Hull City next, another team who have had a tough start to the new campaign, they currently sit Fourth bottom with One point more than ourselves so already it is a pretty big game, the Tigers are finding life tough at home right now and have lost all Three of their opening home fixtures to Villa, Blackburn & Derby respectively although they did manage a win at Rotherham, something we failed to do ! On paper they don't look particularly strong and I think it is a season of struggle ahead although they have just strengthened the squad with the season long loan signings of Tommy Elphick & Chris Martin. Clearly we would love a win and while I can see Town coming home with something the draw does look the more likely outcome. This is the One and only game I plan to miss this season as I have the small matter of my sons (AylesburyBlue) wedding on this day, what a fantastic day it would be, seeing my son getting married and Town bringing him home the points, now that would be something. COYB'S.
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. 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 gamesand 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 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, 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.
Via the playoffs Hull returned to the Premier League at the end of the 2015/16 season.
On 22 July 2016, Bruce resigned from his position. Mike Phelan became Hull's permanent head coach. On 3 January 2017, Phelan was sacked by Hull City, less than three months after being made permanent.
On 5 January 2017, the club announced the appointment of Marco Silva as the new head coach until the end of the 2016–17 season. On 25 May 2017, following relegation from the Premier League, Silva resigned and the club announced the appointment of Leonid Slutsky as head coach.
On 3 December 2017, Slutsky left the club by mutual consent after a run of bad results. On 7 December 2017, Nigel Adkins was appointed as head coach on an 18-month contract.
Last season Hull finished in 18th place with 49 points.
The Manager – Nigel Adkins
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
[youtube] [/youtube]
Media Watch - K L Blue
Form Guide
Hull City Last 5 Matches place points
11 Aug Sheffield Wednesday 1 – 1 Hull City
18 Aug Hull City 0 – 1 Blackburn Rovers
21 Aug Rotherham United 2 – 3 Hull City
25 Aug Stoke City 2 – 0 Hull City
01 Sep Hull City 1 – 2 Derby County
Ipswich Last 5 Matches place points
11 Aug Rotherham 1 - 0 Ipswich Town
18 Aug Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Aston Villa
21 Aug Derby County 2 – 0 Ipswich Town
25 Aug Sheffield Wednesday 2 – 1 Ipswich Town
02 Sep Ipswich Town 1 – 1 Norwich City
Marko’s Caption Contest – THE DON CUP
Extremely busy September so far but will definitely have Norwich & Hull Don Cup results next week. Apologies.
Here’s Jimmy:
Match Referee – Tony Harrington
HULL CITY AFC 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1
