Hull City, Premier League
Season Preview - Hull: Can the Tigers - and Windass - survive?
The new season is fast approaching and the excitement intensifies on what could be one the best premier league championships in years. I know every year this is always said, and to be honest usually by the same television stations which show all the live football who want your money to fund what is essentially [...]
The new season is fast approaching and the excitement intensifies on what could be one the best premier league championships in years. I know every year this is always said, and to be honest usually by the same television stations which show all the live football who want your money to fund what is essentially the richest league in the world.
On a serious note however, this year is building up to be a good one. With clubs like Liverpool, Man City, Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur substantially strengthening their squads, the usual 1-2-3 of Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal might be a thing of the past.
There is however a sense of romance in the air in this year. Hull City football club will compete for the first time ever in the Premier League. Dean Windass was the hero at Wembley back in May, a spectacular volley from outside the penalty box sent the Bristol City contingent packing wondering what might have been. Don’t get me wrong; although Bristol City lost the play-off final, they were arguably the better side on the day, but this the type of a fairytale story that ‘Roy of the Rovers’ would be proud of.
Having narrowly missed relegation in the Coca-Cola Championship 2006/07, their fightback last year has to be noted. Not forgetting the fact that they were in the bottom tier of league football only 5 years ago.
The balance of youth and experience went a long way in helping Hull finish third in the Championship last season. Nick Barmby, Andy Dawson, along with Windass were a regular feature in the side; add the likes of Frazier Campbell and Caleb Folan and Hull was able to hold a good position throughout the season.
Their first year in the Premier League will be tough, given the fact that at least one promoted side is habitually relegated after one season; but although the odds are stacked against them, they will relish the opportunity of facing the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool at the KC Stadium and causing an upset.
Preparation for the new season has been hard. Transfers have been difficult to come by and manager Phil Brown has been desperate to recruit new blood into the side. His prized asset, Campbell, was on loan to the Tigers from Manchester United last season. He managed an impressive 15 league goals in 34 appearances and has Sir Alex Ferguson taking notice of the 20-year-old in pre-season. His performance in a friendly against Espanyol recently has Ferguson thinking twice whether or not to sell him on.
Brown however has concentrated on obtaining a mixture of experience and flair into his side. In comes former Middlesbrough captain George Boateng, Brazilian midfielder Geovanni, and former PSG right back Bernard Mendy, who was sort after by Arsenal only last summer. Even so Brown’s main objective is to bring in a striker and has been recently linked with the likes of Kevin Davies, Claudio Pizzarro, David Nugent, and Marlon King. They have agreed a fee for the Jamaican international but have yet to agree personal terms. These players will no doubt be a big help for Hull in the new campaign but it will still no doubt be a challenge for not only Phil Brown but the Hull City fans too.
Not a lot is expected from them and many pundits predict the Tigers to return to the Championship; but as Dean Windass prepares to become one of the oldest players to appear in the Premier League his status as a Hull City hero could turn into legendary status should his side survive their first taste of the top flight. Having supported Hull as a boy, keeping them up will round off an impressive career.
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