Hull City’s unlikely dream start continues

Two weeks is a long time in football. In my last Shoot blog; just two days before Hull City’s season kicked-off against champions Leicester City, I said that with no permanent manager, no new signings, only 13 fit first-team players, and an ongoing civil war between the fans and the owners, it would be an “absolute miracle” if we avoided relegation.

A fortnight has passed and none of these things have changed, however, Hull are sitting third in the Premier League, behind only Manchester United and Manchester City. Shows what I know about football, eh?

While it’s certainty fair to say that Hull City fans are not going to get carried away with the Tigers’ fantastic recent form, this is a harder task than it may appear considering the wretched summer the Hull City faithful have had to put up with.

Prior to the start of the season, Hull fans were looking at their side’s opening six or seven fixtures in despair.

Leicester, Swansea City, Manchester United, Burnley, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. Even before the disastrous series of events during the summer which saw Steve Bruce resign, Mo Diame leave the club, and no new signings made, this looked a daunting task.

A week before kick-off, I, along with most of the Tiger nation, had for the first time in my life written-off Hull before the season had even begun.

However, on the pitch, City have proved me wrong. Before the campaign began, one newspaper led with the headline, “Hull City: The worst prepared side in Premier League history”, or words to that effect, and with Jake Livermore playing in a very unfamiliar centre-back position, Sam Clucas moving into a more central role in midfield, and Ahmed Elmohamady having to drop back into a full-back position, seemingly to simply make up the numbers, who could disagree with them?

Quite incredibly that now seems a distant memory. Mike Phelan, who I must say I wanted nowhere near the permanent manager’s position just two weeks ago, has worked miracles, and has the club’s depleted squad playing good football.

A brand of football that is not only capable of shutting-out Premier League strike-forces, but also one that encourages fluid and expansive counter-attacking football when in possession.

Alongside the likes of Livermore and Clucas, who have been outstanding so far this season, Phelan’s style of football also appears to be bringing out the best in Tom Huddlestone, who, after two low profile seasons with the Tigers, will be looking to rejuvenate his career.

Even in the newly re-branded EFL Cup last night, Phelan give five under-21 players their Hull City debuts, and again showed his tactical nouse, as the Tigers recorded an impressive 3-1 win against League Two outfit Exeter City.

Up next for City is a visit from Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United on Saturday evening. While on paper City fans everywhere should be dreading the thought of Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney rocking up at the KCOM to face the threadbare 13-man squad of Hull City, I for one am just going to sit back and enjoy it.

Livermore has impressed Shoot’s Hull City blogger, Greg, so far this season – Photo: Mark Leech / Offside.

If someone had told me before the season had begun that we would have six points before the October international break I would have been ecstatic, never mind six points from our two opening games!

While ‘We’re going to win the league!’ has temporarily become the Hull City fan’s new favourite chant, I don’t think anyone involved with the club is kidding themselves.

The fact of the matter remains the club’s current situation is not one that can be maintained if the club are to avoid the Premier League trapdoor. The squad must be strengthened before the end of the summer transfer window and the situation with the club’s ownership must be resolved, so the relationship between the fans and their football club can start to heal.

People are not stupid. Everyone involved with Hull City will obviously accept and understand that the bubble will eventually burst, and the Tigers’ perfect form will come to an end.

If that perfect form does come to an end on Saturday, as I imagine many will be predicting it will, at least now I am confident City will put up a good fight. And who knows? If the last few weeks of supporting the club have taught me anything, it is to never write-off Hull City.