Hull City

Premier League Preview: Hull City Vs Manchester City, Kingston Communication Stadium, Kingston Upon Hull, England, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010, 15:00GMT.

Roberto Mancini's Manchester City side travels up the M62 to the KC Stadium to take on Phil Brown's Hull City side.

In the last meeting between the two sides the East Yorkshire club earned a well deserved 1-1 draw, which helped to end the reign of Mark Hughes at Eastlands.

The Blues appointed the Italian on Dec. 20, but it was speculated that it was the draw against Hull City on Nov. 28 that was the catalyst to Hughes' demise. The Manchester City chairman, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, then entered negotiations to bring in the Italian.

Under Hughes, the Citizens had won only two games in his last 11, but since Mancini took over the Eastlands outfit have won four games out of five in the league but still sit in sixth place, the same place Manchester City were under Hughes.

Mancini will have to work on his teams' confidence after a disheartening loss in the League Cup semi-final to local rivals Manchester United.

They lost over two legs after holding a first leg lead.

The Italian will also have to get his influential left back Wayne Bridge into the right frame of mind after all his off-field distractions over the John Terry affair.

For Brown's Tigers, the fixture can't come quick enough. On Tuesday, Feb. 2, the Yorkshiremen took their "A" game to the reigning league leaders Chelsea at the KC Stadium, and were extremely unfortunate to only come away with a draw.

In a scintillating game, Hull City's young French centre back Steven Mouyokolo scored his first goal for the club with a beautifully taken header from a Stephen Hunt corner to give the Tigers the lead. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Chelsea's Didier Drogba scored from a free kick after the Hull City wall did a poor job in blocking his strike.

For Manchester City, Adam Johnson and Patrick Vieira could make thier first team debuts after signing for the Mancini. Wayne Bridge could force his way back into the Manchester City first team after returning from a knee injury, and Joleon Lescott could make the bench if he passes a late fitness test.

However, Micah Richards, who is suffering from a calf injury, and Vincent Kompany, who has a groin injury, are set to miss the game.

The Tigers still don't have the services of long-term injured skipper Ian Ashbee and record signing Jimmy Bullard. Ex-Manchester play-maker, the mercurial Brazilian Geovanni, will also miss out with minor medial ligament problem.

Dean Marney and Kamil Ghilas are still not fit, while Paul McShane is a doubt because of an eye injury sustained at the end of the game against Chelsea, when Drogba swung an arm at the Irishman.

Seyi Olofinjana, who recently returned from the Africa Cup of Nations, could make the Hull City bench, but in his absence young wonder-kid Tom Cairney took his chance, and Brown would find if very difficult to replace the teenager, who more than matched the likes of Frank Lampard and Deco against Chelsea.

With the Tigers still in the drop zone another solid result is a must, but playing against one of the Premier League's most potent attacks will be a very tall order. If Brown's players can show the commitment they have recently demonstrated they will give the millionaires of Manchester a run for their money.

For Mancini, a return to his club's usual fluid style of play (after the stuttering display against struggling Portsmouth) will be the order of the day, but with the Tiger's KC Stadium increasingly becoming a fortress, the Citizens will have to work very hard to keep on track for an elusive Champions League place.

A great cheer from the Chelsea fans made me feel like it was a home game, kudos to the travelling fans!

The first 11

I was elated to see Didier back. Riccy over Alex was spot on after the latter’s sloppiness in the last match. But as much as I admire Zhirkov, I was very uncomfortable to see him for Ashley (may be Ashley’s sore ankle was nagging him), otherwise the first 11 was the best we could ever field this time!

My own little account of the observations of the match:

These, in my opinion were mediocre performers:

Cech is still not decisive on leaving his goal line and his command over aerial balls needs to be improved!

Ivanovic , his defending was bit too risky and I was afraid that he would see his second yellow and wished he was substituted, but it didn’t happen and I was kept worrying. Nor did his marauding forward reap as many good crosses as we expect off him. However, he had one good shot on target!

Deco ’s decision with passes was bit risky. His pass across our own D area to Riccy and a poor through ball to Drogba to name a few. Also he seemed quite lost on the ball and eventually lost possession at crucial times. His shot, at 36th minute was good, though. He was the best tackler of the night!

Ballack seemed clueless and couldn’t pick a team mate well with his passes. And his header on Ivanovic’s cross lacked angle;

Nico was surprisingly not at his best, he was worse than what he was against Burnley.

The opponent’s goal:

When most of our players were trying to find their own clever self, we conceded a goal, a cheap one from the defenders’ point of view. I don’t know who is supposed to be marking Mouyokolo, but he had lots of space at his disposal. Was it Ballack or Riccy or Terry? I was really annoyed by the irksome Fagan who kept bothering Cech and ultimately forcing him into a very poor position. Neither Malouda could check Fagan properly, nor could Cech command his space well. After conceding the goal, I was expecting Chelsea to bounce back with brilliance and clever football and command the game, but we couldn’t really find the edge.

Our goal:
Drogba didn’t have a good game and I should blame ACN for destroying his form. At some points he was non-existent, virtually. May be he was trying to get back to the CFC’s Drogba from being an Ivory Cost’s Drogba. ACN is a step down for anyone in the EPL! He wasted lots of chances but his goal was “a thing of beauty”, a sheer class!

The average performers:

Zhirkov played quite well but not as much as when he came from the bench, maybe he wasn’t comfortable with Ashley on the bench. Of course he had some telling crosses, but no one could finish it well;

Terry , despite being booed, had a good game and his command and communication with the team mates were at its usual best. His header on 56th minute was awesome and displayed a great neck muscle power to find the target. Terry’s chest balls are so perfect, he does it best;

Riccy had a decent game and his telepathic connection with our captain is simply priceless;

Malouda worked hard but sometimes he worked unnecessarily hard and turned the situation against himself! He turned well and took a great shot, but he could have done a lot more with the chances he got and lay assists for his team mates;

Lampsy was not his usual clever self, but he took few good shots. May be he took too little too many touches.

Drogba was the best player of the night. Despite playing far below his own par, was undoubtedly our best man on the field. His desire and determination was a good sign and it did spread positive energy around. He is also one of the best defenders during set pieces but he also denied what could have been a great Malouda goal. But I am happy that The Terminator is back with a BANG!

Substitutions:
Boss must bring in the substitutes according to the prevailing situation(s), he must inject pace from fresh legs. He seemed pretty dissatisfied with the way things were faring at the first half and even in the second half, but I think that he took bit too long to bring in Sturridge!

I had to wait till the 71st minute when he finally brings Joey on for Ballack. But what seemed like a great decision by our boss was almost futile when Joey proved equally ineffective like Ballack. Joey didn’t use his speed to good effect and he could actually have done a lot better.

Double substitution
Both were absolutely good, because Zhirkov and Nico weren’t contributing as much as they usually could. But I am definite that Sturridge should have been on earlier on. This lad works hard and bothers the opponents often; his work rate is very high. His hard work nearly paid off in the dying minutes of the game when he took a shot on a difficult ball but wastes the second chance which came immediately!
Ashley was better than Zhirkov and on 84th minute, he wasted a great opportunity, I was shouting SHOOOOOOT!

Referee:
At 41st minute, Nico is fouled but he manages to pass the ball and referee allowed advantage. Eventually Lampsy is tripped in the D area but surprisingly Mark Clattenburg, instead of awarding a penalty gives a free kick outside the D! How is this? I need a technical back up on my limited knowledge of the rules of the game. As far as I know, I think it should have been a penalty because the game was on after Nico suffered a foul. But what is the difference? For us, another great penalty by Lampsy or an awesome free kick by Drogba means the same, after all both will find the back of the net! May be Drogba’s race for the golden boot is a step nearer than Lampsy’s 20+ a season goals!

The reaction to the game and few hard lessons learnt:

Nothing much magical happened in this game.

I am sad that we missed a good chance to go 4 points clear off manure, but recollecting on the type of game we played (and Hull played) I am happy that we got to share the spoil of the match.

We sit at the top with 2 points and if we can repeat our feat at Fly Emirates this Sunday, things should be much easier thence! I don’t care much about opponents or our so called title challengers so long as we keep winning. If we focus on our strengths and develop on it then we are going to get dividends. But defending set pieces is one nagging weakness of ours and needs to be addressed immediately! One clear example, apart from the goal, was on minute 45+1: worryingly, our marking was very bad again. Main culprit was Ballack, he was sloppy but luckily escaped from being punished. I think we need to assure that the man one marks is marked well; Terry marked his man well during this free kick.

We must have a plan B, like Hull demanded with determined offence. Hull closed in very fast and it was to this tactic that we succumbed our own football;

We must improve on capitalising on the chances, we must finish well!

My MoTM is Drogba , it would have been Sturridge if he had more time to prove his worth!

I hope we train a lot and make sure that only the best performers will get into the first 11. I won’t be surprised to see Sturridge on for Nico against Arsenal! I am hopeful, or rather sure that we will keep these hard lessons at the back of our mind and display one lovely and fruitful game of football this Sunday.

Few points:

I wished Terry silenced the home fans like he did at Turf Moor because they were awfully wrong in booing him for nothing done to them.

Drogba’s goal celebration was so sweet, so touching. This man knows how to involve crowd and get them behind the team, he knows how to blend love with the game; he is fantastic!

Dear kindred spirits, please forgive me if i, like our Chelsea, came far below your expectations. I promise to improve and would like to make an excuse that this is my first post!

My blood is blue!

Premier League Preview: Hull City vs. Chelsea

Kingston Communication Stadium, Kingston Upon Hull, England

Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010, 19:45 GMT

League leading Chelsea will travel north to the home of Hull City for the rearranged fixture from early January, when heavy snow caused the Hull local authorities to cancel the match, despite the Hull City ground staff's best efforts.

In the opening game of the season, the Tigers traveled to Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium to kick off the 2009-2010 Premiership season, and nearly scored a massive upset.

In a game in which the home team had the lion's share of the ball in the final third, it was the Tigers that struck first.

Stephen Hunt, who was booed every time he touched the ball because of his incident with Chelsea keeper Petr Cech—he fractured his skull in a freak collision whilst playing for Reading, managed to take the East Yorkshire club into a one-goal lead.

Hull City's Andy Dawson took a free kick from the halfway line that dropped at the edge of the box. George Boateng's daisy cutter shot was blocked by Cech, but the ball fell into the path of the onrushing Hunt, who poked the ball inside the near post.

The lead didn't last for long. The Blues came right back with a dubious free kick just outside the box, but Didier Drogba was just too good for Boaz Myhill in the Hull City goal, and the scores were level at the half.

For much of the second half, the Tigers soaked up the Chelsea pressure and looked to be on their way to getting a well deserved point from a very good afternoon's work.

In stoppage time, however, Drogba, ever the opportunist, chipped the ball back from the touchline as the ball was about to go out, in a speculative hope that someone would meet his cross.

Fortunately for the Blues and Drogba, the ball floated over the high-reaching Myhill to give Chelsea all three points.

This time the two clubs' fortunes are very different, with Chelsea sitting atop the Premiership and the Tigers second bottom.

Carlo Ancelotti's team has weathered the storm of the Africa Cup of Nations. It was supposed to be the Londoner's Achilles heel, but they have not lost in the absence of their top African players.

During the same time frame, the Tigers have been unlucky as they were beaten by Manchester United twice and Arsenal, but claimed valuable points against Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Hull City boss Phil Brown will be without the services of the long-term injured Ian Ashbee and Jimmy Bullard, as well as Seyi Olofinjana, who was on duty at the ACN. The game may be too early for his return.

The Yorkshiremen will be without Algerian internationals Kamil Ghilas and Dean Marney, who have not recovered from recent knocks, and centre back Kamel Zayette may need a late test to prove his fitness.

Ancelotti will still have the services of all of his African players with the exception of Michael Essien, who sustained a knee injury during the tournament. The Blues will also be without Brazilian Juliano Belletti, who has a calf injury, and Jose Boswinga, who is suffering from a knee injury.

For Brown and Hull City, it would not be expected for them to get anything from this fixture. But after such spirited performances against Arsenal, Manchester United, and Spurs recently, Ancelotti will be expecting another battling performance from Yorkshire's finest.

Premier League Preview: Hull City Vs Wolverhampton Wanderers, Kingston Communication stadium, Kingston Upon Hull, England, January 30, 2010, 15:00GMT.

The clash at the KC Stadium will be a welcome fixture for the beleaguered Tigers fans, as due to the recent snow storms the club has not had a home fixture since 2009.

With that in mind, the Wolverhampton Wanderers travel north to take on Hull City in a relegation crunch match. The Tigers are only one point behind Mick McCarthy's Wolves, with both clubs having an awful goal difference. Phil Brown's Tigers have the leagues worst GD with -26, but McCarthy's Wolves are not much better with -21.

In the run up to this crucial tie, Wolves have stepped up their bid to sign Hull City's left winger, Stephen Hunt. Irish international Hunt has been the focus of three ever increasing bids from Wolves, but the Tigers' chairman, Adam Pearson has said repeatedly that the club would not be parting with the influential player, unless silly money was offered. Rumor has it that the Wolves have tabled a bid in the region of £4m for the Tigers top scorer.

It is thought by many that the Wolves recent increased bid for Hunt is an attempt to destabilize the Tigers' and Hunt's preparations for the match, but Paul McShane, Hunt's Republic of Ireland teammate, disagreed when he was quoted by saying:

"Stephen has been involved in transfer sagas before and he knows how to deal with it."

"He's just happy to let it all happen, but nothing will bog him down or get in the way of his football."

"He is the type who gives 100 percent on the training ground and 100 percent on the pitch and from that he gets his rewards."

The East Yorkshire side will be without the services of Seyi Olofinjana, who will still be tied up with the Nigerian national team as they take part in the Africa Cup of Nations third and fourth place final.

Long-term injured, Ian Ashbee and Jimmy Bullard will still be consigned to the KC stands for the game, but the mercurial Brazilian, Geovanni is expected to take a late fitness test on a recent knee injury. Geovanni may be joined by Kamel Ghilas (thigh), Dean Marney (calf), Amr Zaki (hamstring) and Kamil Zayatte (ankle).

McCarthy's Wolves are missing David Edwards, Andy Keogh & Michael Kightly to ankle injuries and Goalkeeper Matt Murray has a knee problem. The Midlanders also have doubts over George Elokobi, who has been suffering from an illness and Geoffrey Mujangi Bia from a hamstring strain.

For both clubs it is an important six-pointer, but their managers would deny that this game is more important than any other. However, for the Tigers who haven't won in nine games and are sitting in 19th place, a win would see them possibly climb free of the relegation zone for the first time since the loss to Arsenal before Christmas.

For the Wolves, the draw against Liverpool last week was a triumph for the organisation over a lackluster Liverpool side, but the match against fellow-struggling Hull City will be a very different test. The Wolves will have to show more ambition than they did against Liverpool if they want to get three invaluable points from the game.

However, after the game ends, both clubs will see this fixture as a possible three point success and will be a true indicator of whether they will be able to survive for another season in the Premiership for the 2010/11 season.

Hull City's ex-Chairman Paul Duffen has been one of the biggest influences on Hull City Football Club recent history, for better and worse.

After taking over the club with the Tigers perilously close to relegation from the Championship, he has seen the club go from strength to strength.

During his tenure, the East Yorkshire club have had their first ever appearance at Wembley Stadium, where they beat Bristol City one goal to nil. The club won promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history. It was also the first time the historic old club had ever played in the top flight of English football in it's 106-year of existence.

However, after winning promotion, Duffen's grand plans for the Tigers started to unravel.

When the club were in the Championship, Duffen set out a three year plan to invest gradually and steadily so the club would be equipped to fight for promotion after three years. Considering the club had been in the Coca Cola League Two only four years before, it wasn't a bad idea. It would allow the team time to consolidate its position in the Championship after two seasons of survival.

His first appointment was to oversee Phil Brown as the club's manager at a time when the Tigers were perilously close to sinking out of the Championship with a whimper.

Brown didn't disappoint Duffen. His new boss promptly dragged the Tigers kicking and screaming from the brink of relegation, and seeing long time rivals, Leeds United relegated in the process.

After a slow start to his first full season in charge at the KC Stadium, Duffen broke the club's transfer record with the signing of Wigan's Caleb Folan as the club's first £1 million signing. He also brought in Jay Jay Okocha, the ex-Bolton and African Footballer of the Year, to the club. Okocha was a real coup for the club and it instilled belief that the club was going somewhere in the division, that was not another struggle at the wrong end of the table.

After less than a full year in charge, Duffen would see Hull City take the field at Wembley Stadium and win in the Championship final. In doing so, the club would win promotion two seasons ahead of schedule.

In the closed season, the club signed Marlon King on loan from Wigan Athletic, Peter Halmosi the Hungarian international from Plymouth Argyle, Anthony Gardner from Tottenham Hotspur, Kamil Zayette from Young Boys of Berne and the real coup of the Brazilian Geovanni on a free transfer from Manchester City.

The team hit the ground running and got some major scalps, beating Newcastle United at St James' Park, Arsenal at the Emirates (only the second time in Arsenal's history), Spurs at White Hart Lane and West Ham at Upton Park. The club also gave the likes of Manchester United a real scare at Old Trafford, scoring three past Sir Alex Ferguson's team, and were lucky not to have beaten Liverpool at Anfield after some very dubious decisions from the referee.

However, after the flying start, the Tigers saw the wheels started to come off just before Christmas. The other clubs in the Premiership worked out the Tiger's audacious plans and the club's lack of depth meant that formations couldn't be changed greatly to paper over the cracks.

Duffen and Brown sent back Marlon King who had been inspirational in the early part of the season,to his parent club Wigan because of the negative effect he was having on the club and the Daniel Cousin who had signed on the last day of the summer transfer window seemed to lose interest in anything but the biggest of Premier League fixtures.

From being one of the teams with the best attacks in the Premiership the teams goal scoring options dried up to the point that the team only scored 12 goals after January.

Duffen signed Jimmy Bullard for a club record fee of £5 million for the injury prone midfield play maker but within 38-minutes of his debut, he was injured yet again and wouldn't return until November of the next season.

With survival guarenteed with both Newcastle United and Middlesbrough losing on the last day of the season, the Tigers loss to Manchester United was meaningless but by a whisker the Tigers had achieved a miracle. Despite been every pundit's first choice for relegation in their first full season in the top flight, the Tigers had survived to fight another day.

With the new season came more wheeling and dealing from the Hull City Chairman. In came Paul McShane, who had had a good spell with the club the season previously, Kamel Ghilas the Algerian international was signed from Celta Vigo along with the American striker Jozy Altidore on loan.

More importantly, the club brought in some much needed Premierhsip experience in Stephen Hunt from Reading for £3.5million, and Seyi Olofinjana for £3million from Stoke City

Hull City's Championship goal scoring hero Fraizer Campbell was a major target from Manchester United and a fee of around £6 million was accepted but Campbell was away on England Under-21 at the European Nation's Cup, and he stalled to the point that he joined Sunderland.

Michael Owen was also a target after getting relegated with Newcastle, but when Manchester United came calling, the Tigers lost out again. Marc-Antoine Fortune was targeted but he chose to team up with his former manager at Celtic rather than signing with the Tigers.

However, the rumored signing Alvaro Negredo, for a massive £13m for the highly rated Real Madrid was plain crazy but from a P/R stand point it looked like the club were going places.

However, more worryingly out went Sam Ricketts to Bolton Wanderers and Michael Turner to Sunderland. The loss of Ricketts was not seen as a huge loss as he had had a good but not magnificent season, but the loss of highly rated Turner was seen as selling the club's crown jewels.

It had been speculated that Liverpool, Tottenham and other top Premier League clubs had put in substantial bids for the highly rated centre back, with the club saying that he was only for sale for no less than £12 million.

Turner left the club for an undisclosed sum at the tale end of the transfer window, not to one of the division's big clubs but to Sunderland, a club that had been playing the Tigers only three years before in the Championship.

Along with the sale of Turner, Duffen said on the radio in the early part of the season in defence of his under pressurre manager and close friend, that he was better than Rafa Benitez. But what gaulled the Hull City fans most was the insulting remarks he made about the club's fans.

With the season only two months in, and the Tigers sitting in the last of the relegation places, Pual Duffen resigned as the club's executive chairman.

The club's owner Russell Bartlett had contacted Hull City's previous owner Adam Pearson to try to get him to take over the day to day running of the club that he had saved from extinction at the start for the millenia.

It was with the reappearance of Pearson that some of Duffen's financial dealings started to immerge. The undisclosed fee for Turner was not in the region of £12m but closer to £4m, and with the sell on clauses that were in his previous contracts that meant the club actually only made £2.8m for a player that had been valued so much higher.

One of the reasons that Duffen had been asked to stand down was because the club's taxes had been delayed for over a year and when filed the club's auditors claimed that if the club were to be relegated, they would need to find approximately £23m to survive. The club had also spent almost £5m on agent fees since arriving in the Premier League. 

The sums were shocking for all the club's fans, not least because when Pearson had sold the club he had left the Tigers in a sound and healthy state. The new chairman has been trying to off load players to reduce the clubs operating costs and cut the players wage bill by £9/10m.

The most staggering thing for the club is the legal action it is taking against its former chairman. The club said in a statement,

"The company believes that Mr Duffen has acted in breach of his employment contracts and fiduciary duties as a director, through the use of company monies for his own personal expenditure and other wrongdoings.

"The company also believes that he has acted in breach of his employment contracts and fiduciary duties as a director, through the payment of certain monies by third party football agents to Mr Duffen's services company, in return for which Mr Duffen procured that Hull City contract with the agents for business.

"Consequently, on 15 January last, the company successfully sought and obtained a High Court order freezing Mr Duffen's assets.

Duffen had claimed that he had initiated legal action against Hull City Football Club, to recover almost £1m, and that he was fully expecting the club to to hit back.

The club also stated that, contrary to a tabloid newspaper article, Duffen has not issued any legal proceedings against the company and that the club did not have any basis whatsoever for doing so.

It has been speculated by fans that if the club is involved in any "bung" allegations for wrong doing on the count of agent fees, then by taking action themselves, to right the situation and place the blame squarely on the ex-chairman's shoulders, the club will not be sanctioned by the Premier League and the F.A. for breach of their rules.

Pearson has also said the the club's wage bill would not be substantially reduced if the club were to be relegated. It has become standard that if a club is relegated, player's wages are reduced to alleviate the impact of relegation on the club.

However, in a recent interview with the local Hull media, Pearson said,

"Our wage bill will reduce if we go down but it wouldn't solve the problem, there are about six or seven who have clauses put in place by the club, but they are not particularly big clauses.

However, the situation ends for the Tigers, or when. The sorry affair has put an awful taste in the mouth for thousands of loyal fans who should be celebrating a halcyon time in their club's history, not worrying where the club's next pound is coming from.

The Tigers are sitting in 18th place in the Premiership with the worst defence in the league. Having conceded a massive 46 goals in only 22 games doesn't sound like grounds for optimism, but with just over half of the season finished, things are on the up for the Tigers.

Recent fixtures against a resurgent Arsenal and Tottenham have showed promise and a battling commitment by the players—the same could be said for the loss to Manchester United. Phil Brown's men have showed they can keep pace with the best in the league.

Given a slice of luck and a better standard of refereeing, the Tigers could well have gotten more out of the games, but for the class of the champion's England striker, the Tiger's could have gained a valuable point against Manchester United.

It is often mentioned that the Tiger's manager is the weakest link in the Hull City chain and the players don't play for him, but that is a long way from the truth. If anything, the commitment the players have shown their manager over the past few weeks has demonstrated what a ridiculous idea this is.

Indeed, Brown has started to get his team to be more attacking of late, even against so-called better opposition with his charges following his tactical plans very well. He has reverted to a conventional 4-4-2 formation rather than the 4-5-1 formation with the exception of the recent games against Spurs and Manchester United in which the absence of Jozy Altidore forced changes on the side.

The 4-5-1 formation works very well for some teams, but in Hull City's case it doesn't fit the balance of the side. It has become more noticeable over recent weeks that for all Geovanni's obvious footballing talents, he doesn't quite fit. He is a square peg in a round hole, and the team's balance is better with a conventional midfield of two wide players, a holding midfielder, and a midfield general.

Geovanni 's ability to produce something from nothing is not in question, but his ability to fit in a team that is in a relegation dog fight is. He is prone to run with the ball and move all over the field as he sees necessary, but he needs to be more focused in his play.

He has become a better all-around player since joining the Tigers, as he now tracks back, tackles and works for his team, but the maverick Brazilian temperament still comes through as he is on the left one moment then the right the next.

Since Jimmy Bullard's injury against Aston Villa, Brown has tried a few options not least Geovanni in that role as the midfield general. However, with the reintroduction of George Boateng into the defensive midfield role, there is more balance to the side.

This also will allow the team to be better equipped to reintegrate Bullard on his return to full fitness at the tail end of January, against Wolverhampton Wanderers, if reports on his fitness are to be believed.

For the Tigers to have a better chance of survival, it might be prudent for Brown to play Bullard in games he feels the club have a clear chance of victory. He should maybe take a leaf out of Mick McCarthy's book and wrap Bullard in cotton wool for matches against the likes of Chelsea, and Villa, to protect him for the games in which we have a more realistic chance of success.

Brown has formed his team around players with spirit more than aptitude in a lot of ways. Fagan and Garcia are both good players, but would never be classed as greats of the game. What they lack in ability they make up for it in their pugnacious attitude. They are the sort of players who would crawl naked over broken glass for the team if it meant winning three points. When some players heads drop, they will battle harder.

Another player who will be key is Stephen Hunt, the tenacious Irish international. He is resolute and bellicose but not without a dash of skill. He has a habit of getting on the end of balls that he has no right to. Against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium, he latched onto a header to bring the team back into the game from between two of Bolton's huge centre backs.

Jozy Altidore, the raw, young American striker, is improving every week as he gains more Premier League experience. His partnership with Fagan was gaining momentum as they learn to read each other's routes and runs. Altidore, has gone from neophyte to battling bruiser tirelessly running for his teammates.

He works over the opposition defenders for Brown, so his manager can then bring on the old war horse, Jan Vanegoor of Hesselink, when the opposition is at its weakest. However, his absence due to compassionate grounds after his family was involved in the Haitian earthquake disaster have curtailed his involvement in recent weeks.

Altidore or Fagan's place in the Tigers attack could change radically with the loan signing of Amr Zaki. The ex-Wigan striker will be out to show his last spell in the Premiership wasn't just a flash in the pan. I would expect Zaki to partner Altidore with Fagan reverting to the right wing position he played so well in the Championship.

The biggest worry for the Tigers is the defence, but more because of familiarity. Brown has had to change the defence around a fair amount. He started with Michael Turner in the centre back position alongside Kamil Zayette, he then lost Turner to Sunderland.

The influential and superb Anthony Gardner returned to full fitness, but the defence then lost Paul McShane—who had replaced Sam Ricketts, who was sold. As the players were finally starting to communicate well with each other, McShane sustained an injury and Benard Mendy was recalled.

The resurgence of Mendy as an offensive right back has been great to see, but his communication with his centre back partner Zayette is still a work in progress, but this is improving as they get more matches under their belt.

However, Seyi Olofinjana absence while taking part in the African Cup of Nations, has been a big hole to fill. It is a role that he has made his own in the absence of club captain Ian Ashbee.

All in all, the Tigers second half of the season has the potential to be very fruitful. Brown will have the return of Bullard, who was so influential in November. He has a team that is fully committed to him on the field. The manager has a striker that has the potential to score 10 goals by the end of the season and, if he can form a partnership the Tigers' attack, could be formidable.

With more games under their belts, they will start to bear the fruit of their endeavours.

Brown has hit on his team's best formation with players that can come in most positions to fill others' shoes if needed, and he has got a team that doesn't hang its head even if it is losing.

With games coming up against Chelsea, and Manchester City in the next few weeks, some of the club's hardest challenges will be over. The meat and drink of teams that the Tigers will be battling with for survival will be theirs for the taking.

2010 the Year of the Tiger.

Hull City's want away striker Daniel Cousin, has told the German Press Association that his relationship with Tiger's manager Phil Brown make it impossible for him to stay at the KC Stadium.

Cousin said, "I opt to leave Hull, I do not want to stay with the club".

"I want to move, possibly to another club in England, or move to France.

"Me and Phil Brown, the gaffer, we have no good relationship and it is therefore difficult for me to stay in Hull because I do not play and the relationship with the gaffer is not good."

However, were Cousin will end up is still in doubt. His proposed move to Queen's Park Rangers fell through due to the sacking of Paul Hart after only 5 matches in charge at Loftus Road.

It was also rumored that Roy Hodgson the Fulham boss was interested in the Gabon captain because of the injuries to Bobby Zamora and Clint Dempsey. The Cottagers are definitely in need of a striker with Premiership experience but would Hodgson gamble on the inconsistant striker.

During the summer Cousin was linked to moves to Cardiff City and newly promoted Burnley but both deals fell through due to his wage demands.

However, the transfer window pans out for the striker the chances of Cousin playing for the Tigers are very low indeed. With the Tigers signing Amr Zaki on loan from Egyptian club Zamalek until the end of the season he drifts further down the Hull City pecking order.

It is rumored that Irish international utility player Kevin Kilbane may be on his way out of the KC Stadium, with Kyle Walker moving in the opposite direction.

Sheffield United's manager Kevin Blackwell is known to be an admirer of the experienced Kilbane and feels his team needs experience to make a concerted push for promotion.

With the Blades sitting just inside the playoff places, in sixth place in the Championship, the vastly experienced Irishman would certainly give the South Yorkshire team some much needed steel to their defence.

The Blades are currently 11 points behind second placed Nottingham Forest with a goal difference of three, in comparison to third placed West Brom's GD of 24, Forest's GD of 19, and Championship leaders Newcastle United who have 14 points lead on the Blades and a GD of 25.

Kilbane is also on the radar of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves manager, Mick McCarthy, has targeted the Irishman as a player that could provide his floundering Wolves team with the experience needed to help his fledgling Premiership team survive their first season in the top flight.

However, for Hull City, the chance to get one of the Premiership's up and coming players, in Walker, it may be just what Phil Brown is looking for, to make the trade with Sheffield United.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, Walker is only on loan to Sheffield United from Tottenham Hotspur, and any deal for him would have to be sanctioned by the London club. The fact that Walker has only played for the Blades this season would certainly help the Tigers, as a player is only allowed to play for two Premiership teams in a season, so he would still be eligible to move across Yorkshire.

The Tigers currently have only one English based loan player, in Ibrahima Sonko from Stoke City, so there is still the option to fill the remaining home based loan spot.

Hull City's influential play maker Jimmy Bullard is back in training. The club is currently on a warm weather break in Tenerife, to get some much needed training due to the recent bad spell of wintery weather that has blanketed much of Britain.

31-year old Bullard has been working hard to regain full fitness after his medial ligament injury that he sustained in the 3-0 loss to Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Bullard has targeted the Tigers' home clash against relegation rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers for his return, but the re-arranged match against Manchester United for this Saturday will be too soon for the Londoner.

Hull City boss Phil Brown is hoping that Bullard will be able to return to full contact training, after a week of two to three training sessions a day, in his target to play against Wolves.

Brown told Hull's local media, "Jimmy has come away with us and we'll be condensing his work to two or three sessions a day for a full week, and hopefully then he'll get back in the group.

"With the Manchester United game being brought forward three days, that probably puts Jimmy at too much of a risk. But I'm still confident that Jimmy will play some part in the Wolves game."

Brown and his staff are taking a circumspect approach to Bullard's injury, considering his recent history of knee injuries problems. However, if there are no complications with his recovery he may well be joining new loan signing Amr Zaki in the Tigers' team for the next clash at the KC Stadium against Wolves.

When the severe winter weather hit the Premier League fixture list this weekend, there were only two games to survive with seven others postponed.

The games to survive were Arsenal versus Everton and Manchester United versus Birmingham City. Neither helped the title contenders' hopes as they both drew under difficult conditions.

For Hull City versus Chelsea, on paper it looked like the ideal time for the Tigers to take on the Blues. Ancelotti's Chelsea aristocrates were depleted due to five players playing in the Africa Cup of Nations (ACN) including Didier Drogba and Michael Essien.

The loss of such important players for the Premier League leader meant that they would have had to bring in players that were lower down the Chelsea pecking order. Admittedly, they would all probably get in the Hull City starting lineup. But when you are starting half a team of second-string players and a striker in Nicholas Anelka who has been injured for some time, it would on paper be the ideal time to take on the leaders.

So when the game was called off there was a giant groan from the Tiger Nation. There was no shortage of vitriol for the local police force that declared the area around the KC Stadium unsafe for fans.

However, it is now becoming clear that it may have been a slice of good fortune for the beleaguered Tigers. With the bad weather has come indoor training for everyone in English football, and the Tigers have sustained a few niggling injures to key players.

Defensive stalwarts Kamil Zayette and club captain Anthony Gardner both picked up knocks whilst doing indoor training in the lead up to the tie. Tigers' boss Phil Brown said, "We had three training sessions indoors, and we picked up one or two little niggles as a result."

"One of those was to Kamil and it would have been a risk to play him. The other was to Anthony, so the game being off may have been a blessing in disguise."

If Gardner can shake off his worrying injury, it would be his longest string of games for the Tigers since signing for the East Yorkshire club in 2008, and his longest since the 2004-05 season with Tottenham Hotspur.