Posted in Club News on October 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »
30th October 2014 Thursday – Tome Ince has gone to Nottingham Forest on a two month loan agreement, having not been able to nail down a regular starting place in Steve Bruce’s competitive squad.
It is expected he will make his debut for Stuart Pearce’s side at Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
Posted in Club News on October 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »
29th October 2014 –
Alex Bruce has revealed he rejected the opportunity to leave the club during the summer transfer window.
Bruce, 30, started and helped Hull keep a clean sheet at Liverpool last Saturday, and has proved to be a reliable defensive option for the Tigers over the past two seasons.
The 30-year-old centre-back had offers from clubs outside the English Premier League, but opted instead to give up regular first-team in order to stay in England’s top-flight.
“There were offers [to leave] but I wanted to stay. I have worked a long time to get into the Premier League and I didn’t want to give it up,” said Bruce.
“I realise a lot of people out there will say, ‘He’s only in the Premier League because of his dad’. But I have a thick skin when it comes to comments like that.
“I like to think those who have watched me play will say I am there on merit and can hold my own. If I can keep playing like I did at Liverpool then, hopefully, I can keep the shirt on merit.
“That is always my target. When the time is right and I think, ‘I am not pulling my weight here’ then, of course, I will be the first to walk away.
“But I am happy here. I feel I have played the best football of my career here. We have been successful and I don’t see any reason why I should leave.”
Bruce, a Northern Ireland international, has made five appearances for Hull City this season.
(Part of an article which first appeared in soccernews.com)
http://www.soccernews.com/assombalonga-ince-give-forest-boost/158327/?
Posted in Club News on October 28, 2014| Leave a Comment »
2th October 2014 – When a club is producing some of its best football in years, it’s only customary that there is interest in some of their top assets.
But there were no shortage of raised eyebrows when talkSPORT claimed this morning that Steve Bruce could be set to leave his post as manager of Hull City… for Championship strugglers Fulham.
Speaking to representatives from the betting company Coral, the radio station established that odds on Bruce leaving the Tigers had been slashed from 50/1 to 4/1 over the weekend.
Bruce has been praised from all quarters for his work at the KC Stadium, creating a side that is currently competing in the top half of the league.
Meanwhile, Fulham are hovering above the relegation zone in the second tier, sitting in 20th place.
What would drive the 53-year-old to leave an improving City side in the Premier League for a team languishing at the bottom of the division below is anyone’s guess.
The Hull Daily Mail certainly won’t be having a punt on it.
This article first appeared in the Hull Daily Mail
http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-City-paper-talk-Steve-Bruce-Fulham-Jelavic/story-23663956-detail/story.html?#ixzz3HTZh2dPY
Follow us: @hulldailymail on Twitter | HullDailyMail on Facebook
Posted in League Match Reports on October 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »
25th October 2014 Saturday Anfield – A great defensive performance from Bruce’s battlers wore down Liverpool this afternoon who threw everything at the visitors, but couldn’t break them down.
Brendan Rodgers probably chalked this fixture up as a three pointer for the red scousers.- another thing he got wrong.
The Tigers resilience was not the only thing that stood out in this performance, there was a lot of organisation and skill in the first half which often threatened a counter attack on Brendan Rogers side whenever they could. Every time a red shirt player entered Hull’s half with the ball he was challenged immediately and Liverpool found space to pass into limited.
Rodgers made changes though in the second half bringing on Lambert on 61′ for Lallana (to play two up with the out of sorts Balotelli pushed wider), Coutinho for Allen 61′ and Henderson 75′ for Can.
Coutinho made an impact and Liverpool had their best couple of spells when the Anfield crowd got behind them in that second half.
City would not be denied though and the whole team stuck at it and played well – particularly Jakupovic who made save after save, his injury time stop was heart stopping and it gave City the point they deserved. Excellent performance by City’s 3rd choice keeper, who delivered the clubs first clean sheet ever at Anfield – what a scalp.
Balotelli was poor today – despite what experts say – and that probably cost Liverpool all the points; the sitter he missed at the end was almost laughable.
Once again it was a long second half for black and amber fans, and players, but the lads held out.
Steve Bruce after the match about Jakupovic:
“He’s waited a long time,” said Bruce. “He’s come on against Arsenal and he’s played today and he’s done nothing wrong. He’s made a couple of really good saves.
“I’m delighted for him. He’s had to be patient. There’s been some dark times for him when he’s not even travelled. I’m pleased he’s managed a clean sheet here.”
“We rewarded him with a two-year contract in the summer,” he said. “We said to him, ‘be patient, keep working away at it’ and you’ve seen today a very, very good display and if he can keep playing like that then I’m very, very pleased.”
And on Robbie Brady:
“Robbie never gave (Sterling) a kick. Robbie spent a long time last year waiting and waiting. But the last two weeks he’s looked himself again.
“Robertson will probably be fit next week but how would I say to Robbie Brady after that performance that you’re not playing last week? He’ll be the first name on the teamsheet.”
And on the overall team performance Bruce said: “They were terrific, and in my time here at the club I can count on just one hand how many times they have let me down.
“They gave everything that they have got, and when you have the spirit and of course the ability that we have, then you get your rewards.”
“Thankfully today we saw it through, as keeping a clean sheet has been a frustration for us this season,” said Bruce.
“It could have been a magnificent start for us this season had we not conceded the goals that we did against Stoke, West Ham, Newcastle and Arsenal.
“Towards the end of today we defended like our lives depended on it, and it was terrific to see.”
Hull City: Eldin Jakupovic, James Chester, Alex Bruce, Curtis Davies, Ahmed Elmohamady, Robbie Brady, Tom Huddlestone, Mohamed Diame (David Meyler 86), Jake Livermore, Hatem Ben Arfa (Sone Aluko 71), Abel Hernandez (Gaston Ramirez 71) Subs not used: Rory Watson, Liam Rosenior, Paul McShane, Stephen Quinn.
Liverpool: Simon Mignolet, Javier Manquillo, Dejan Lovren, Martin Skrtel, Alberto Moreno, Steven Gerrard, Joe Allen (Phillipe Coutinho 61), Emre Can (Jordan Henderson 75), Adam Lallana (Rickie Lambert 61), Raheem Sterling, Mario Balotelli. Subs not used: Brad Jones, Glen Johnson, Kolo Toure, Lazar Markovic
Brady kept a tight rein on the mercurial Sterling
Posted in Club News on October 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »
23rd October 2014 Thurs – Maynor Fiqueroa has gone on loan to Wigan for the next four weeks to earn get some games which he cannot get at the KC at the present time.
He has never been the same player since returning from his home country when he went there for family reasons.
A former player at Wigan Maynor is familiar with the club so should should settle straight away.
Posted in Club News on October 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »
22nd October 2014 Wednesday – Reports are that City’s injury worries are confirmed and Dawson (ankle) and Jelavic (knee) will be out of action for 6 weeks.
Jelavic did not play at the Emirates having pulled up during the warm-up, while Dawson limped off late in the game as the Gunners pulled back to draw 2-2.
Dawson has a ruptured lateral ankle ligament.
Meanwhile Scans of Steve Harper’s shoulder injury confirms the Tigers medical staff’s diagnosis of a torn bicep tendon. Steve will undergo further investigation once the swelling has settled.
Posted in League Match Reports on October 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »
18th October 2014 Emirates Stadium – The Tigers nearly took a big scalp today but were denied by Danny Welbeck’s late goal.
Diame scored again to notch up 4 goals in 5 games, while Hernandez struck within the first minute of the second half with a towering header which the home team could not defend.
The Diame goal was hotly disputed by the Arsenal players after Diame stormed through the defence and did seem to manhandle Flamini, but the light-weight reaction was the gunners midfielder cost him.
Sanchez had scored in the 13′ – going around Davies to expose the defence and put the Gunners in the driving seat but those two goals from the Tigers new boys changed that around.
And it looked as though City would hold out until Danny Welbeck scored in the 91′ to save Wenger’s men from defeat. Sanchez dribbled his way into the box and his pass to Welbeck was not blocked.
City are 11th tonight with 10 points from games, but we now have a crop of injuries to cope with.
Curtis Davies apparently stood on Michael Dawson’s ankle that made him leave the field in the 84′ and be subbed by Alex Bruce. This was costly as the ex Spurs man had kept a tight rein on Welbeck up to that point.
Steve Harper came off the pitch in the 43′ with a bicep torn muscle injury, to be replaced with Jakupovic.
Hull City: Harper, Chester, Dawson, Davies, Elmo, Robertson, Huddlestone, Livermore, Diame, Ben Arfa, Jelavic
Subs: Rosenior, Bruce, Brady, Jakupovic, Ramirez, Quinn, Hernandez.
Arsenal: Szczesny, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs, Flamini, Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Alexis, Welbeck
Subs: Martinez, Ajayi, Coquelin, Arteta, Rosicky, Ramsey, Campbell.
Posted in Club News on October 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »
11th October 2014 Saturday – Nikita Jelavic has announced that he is to retire from International duty with Croatia.
The Croatian FA announced the decision on their official Twitter site earlier in the day.
Croatian Manager later explained that Jelavic announced his decision when the squad flew back from their game against Azerbaijan on Monday, and said…
“I have to admit that Jelavic surprised me and I am sorry to hear about his decision.
“Of course, I will accept it, and thank him for everything he has done for Croatia. I wish him all the best in life, including his club career.”
The HITC Sport website reckons “Jelavic is however stepping aside for a long list of talented young Croatians to come to the fore”.
Posted in Uncategorized on October 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »
It’s early days of course and it’s not unusual in the EPL, but looking at tonight table (after 7 games for everyone) below the top 4 big boys, there are very few points separating the teams.
Two on 11 points (Swansea & Spurs)
Four on 10 points (WHU, Arsenal, Liverpool & Villa)
Two on 9 points (Hull & Leicester)
Four on points (Sunderland, West Brom, Palace & Stoke)
Everton on 6 points
And your down to the drop zone each on 4 points (Newcastle, Burnley & QPR)
Results one way or the other can send a team shooting up or dropping like a stone. A time for steely nerves by managers, players and fans.
Posted in League Match Reports on October 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »
4th October 2014 Saturday KC Stadium – Goals from Diame (60′) and Jelavic (89′) were enough to see off an uninspiring Palace side and so City got the win which was desperately needed. There are tough games coming up and three points was vital today.
Steve Bruce reverted to 3 centre halves with James Chester back in the starting line-up, and played the 3-5-2 which has brought us so much success in the past. Today it brought us our first clean sheet since the opener against QPR on 16th August 2014. There are more games to come tomorrow in the EPL but we should be sitting mid table at end of this week-end with our 9 points from games.
Diame’s goal was a powerful header on the hour mark which connected from a good Robertson cross, while Livermore released the ever eager Jelavic in the dying moments of normal time to out-fox the last defender Delaney and clipped a great shot with the outside of his right foot past the stranded Speroni. A goal he had threatened for some time.
The first half saw a few home chances – helped by Palace sitting back – but City struggled to get the scoreboard working. Runs and crosses by Elmo, decent Huddlestone passes, a near miss by Robertson, and a shot by Diame brought some hope though. But by half time there had been no shots on target by either side, just near misses and City (clearly the better outfit) had managed to win 4 corners. Palace had lost their best defender early on when Scott Dann had been replaced by Marriappa in the 12′ after blocking a shot from Tom Huddlestone!
It took until the 60′ for the 2nd half to come to life with Diame’s goal.
The expected response rally did come from the visitors, and although they looked ok moving the ball and keeping possession, City helped out a lot by needlessly giving away possession. However City steadily applied pressure and got the reward via the tireless Jelavic. He had been sitting on the shoulders of the two visiting centre halves all game and even without his twin striker Hernandez was a headache for the defence and they always needed both back in defence to cope with him.
A relieved Steve Bruce told the press afterwards…
“We’ve gone to Newcastle and scored two, we’re 2-0 up with 15 minutes to play, we were 2-1 up at West Brom in a cup tie with three minutes to play, we were 2-1 up against West Ham with three minutes to play and we were 1-0 up against Stoke with six or seven minutes I think to play.
“So it’s been a frustration that we haven’t held on to what could have been a wonderful start to the season.
“Thankfully we held on and showed that resiliency which you need against a difficult team to play against.
“Defensively they’re difficult to break down, they drop everybody deep and play one striker up front and even he plays in a midfield area, so you have to be a bit patient.”
“We made a bit of hard work of it,” he added.
“We went a bit nervous and edgy but I suppose considering what we’ve done in the last month it’s understandable.
“But we showed resiliency and determination, we didn’t make any big mistakes that has cost us in recent weeks.”
Hull City: Steve Harper, James Chester, Curtis Davies, Tom Huddlestone, Abel Hernandez (Gaston Ramirez 75′), Jake Livermore (Y), Mohamed Diame, Nikica Jelavic, Michael Dawson, Andrew Robertson (Liam Rosenior 81′), Ahmed Elmohamady (Alex Bruce 90). Bench unused: Eldin Jakupovic, Alex Bruce, Robbie Brady, Stephen Quinn, Hatem Ben Arfa.
Crystal Palace: Julian Speroni, Joel Ward, Scott Dann (Adrian Mariappa 12′ Y), Yannick Bolasie, Fraizer Campbell (Y) (Marouane Chamakh 64′), Mile Jedinak, James McArthur (Dwight Gayle 70′), Damien Delaney, Joe Ledley, Martin Kelly, Jason Puncheon. Bench unused: Wayne Hennessey, Adlene Guedioura, Kevin Doyle, Wilfried Zaha.
Diame celebrates
Tiger Fans Agenda 