Hull City are currently languishing in the dungeons of the Premier League and are currently competing with Swansea City for the rights to the 20th spot in the table. It may sound harsh but the two teams haven’t done anything of note to sustain themselves or challenge the teams in the League. Swansea spent heavily on their attack and blatantly ignored other areas while Hull City were mired in boardroom politics which hindered their planning and preparation for the season badly.
But that can’t really be taken into consideration when we try to pinpoint the reasons they haven’t been able to perform at the desired level. They started off with only 13 fit senior players in the squad when they faced the reigning Champions Leicester City. And Mike Phelan and the club will realise the importance of the 6 points they earned right at the start as the wins and points dry up. They are currently on 12 points with half of the tally coming in the opening couple of weeks itself.
Although they are rooted to the bottom of the table, the points separating the teams in the bottom half isn’t insurmountable by any means. But one of the worrying things for the Tigers will be the upward trajectory shown by the teams around them other than Swansea City, in the last couple of weeks. They need something special to lift things up and spark a turnaround to give them the belief for the rest of the season.
But things are not looking the rosiest for them. Hull have almost completely been dependent on Robert Snodgrass to provide the creative spark and deflect the incessant pressure the Tigers have had to deal with in defence. He is way above others when it comes to goals and assists even though he has scored 5 and assisted 2. The next top scorer is Michael Dawson with 2 goals. This simple statistic shows the plight of Hull’s players and the club need to have a serious upgrade in the January window if they are to have any hopes of surviving the drop.
But they have been hit with yet another blow and this might be the biggest of them all. With Snodgrass’s contract expiring this summer, there has been a nervous situation regarding his future at the club. And to add to the increasing creases in Phelan’s forehead, the player has reportedly rejected contract talks and is being scouted by a number of clubs, Celtic being one of them. a relegation battle is never the most appeasing for an individual and especially if you are a player playing to get out of one. But Snodgrass needs to stay for Hull’s sake and the club have to make sure he sits tight till the summer at the very least.
A relegation battle is never the most appeasing for an individual and especially if you are a player playing to get out of one. But Snodgrass needs to stay for Hull’s sake and the club has to make sure he sits tight till the summer at the very least.
