Post-Match Notes: Hull City’s Performance Against Burnley and Norwich City
Crunch Time for Hull City: Leadership Needed to Escape Relegation Scrap
The point that Hull City picked up from their last two games was in many ways about as much as might have been expected. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether that is worrying or not. After a poor showing at Turf Moor in midweek against statistically one of the best defences in English football history; the home form concerns continued to rumble into last weekend’s draw against Norwich City.
The game against Burnley at Turf Moor was not one that we really learned anything new from. It was some yet again forgettable poor Hull City defending for the goals in the first half against one of the best teams in the league this season.
When coupled with the fact Burnley are on course to have a record breaking defence in terms of clean sheets achieved in an EFL season and last conceded a goal before Christmas, a two goal deficit would have been truly impressive to overcome.
This meant it was pretty much a foregone conclusion after 20 minutes and albeit a long shot, an opportunity to pick up points missed.
Last Saturday’s match at the MKM against Norwich City, threw up a good team goal scored by the Tigers, a poor goal conceded and a feeling of two points gone begging to some extent.
Hull City yet again suffered from a lapse in concentration leading to conceding a goal. The Norwich goal came soon into the second half and it was an avoidable goal like so many Hull City have conceded this season which is what is so frustrating. This sort of mental frailty gives the opposition a sniff in any team sport, be it for the whole game, a half or after a goal/point scoring event you cannot lose your concentration and intensity.
As March nears, we are reaching the stage where words like character, mentality and responsibility need to start being seen even more in the Hull City players and their performances. The fewer games left to play, the simpler the survival task at hand and ambitions become. However, the down side is there is a heap of pressure that comes with this.
The Tigers find themselves sitting 21st, a point outside the relegation zone and continuing to find themselves in a precarious relegation scrap. There are quite a few games left and teams that at this stage may not seem like relegation candidates now could soon slip down into the mire. The aim for Tigers is escaping in the other direction.
With that being said in my opinion what gets teams out of these situations in a simplistic sense is a combination of three things mainly.
One, footballing ability. Most teams in the Championship bottom half are relatively evenly matched in this regard so moments of individual brilliance are the only real differentials for this one come the end of the season.
Two and more importantly, how a team is setup to play with the aim of winning points each week. Mostly driven by the manager this is a vital part of any successful survival bid.
Third, is leadership and responsibility from a team’s players to not only recognise the relegation scrap but thrive in it by taking opportunities to win games. Mainly by combining composed quality under pressure and leaving everything they can on the pitch to achieve that.
In Hull City’s case, leaders and long serving players who have not been at their best this season like Coyle, Jones and Slater need to start finding another level in their own performances during Hull City’s games. This is not something I throw lightly at these first team regulars because nobody can fault their attitudes and as fans we simply do not see the everyday elite performance environment they are a part of at the training ground and in the changing room. All we can see for sure is what is shown on the pitch.
Results are the staff and team’s collective responsibility, not any minority of individuals, it is important to underline this. My criticism comes from a good place and I’m not writing them off as Hull City players. I hope these players view the current situation as a massive opportunity to test their mettle and prove everyone wrong by being pivotal figures in a survival season. It is the cruel irony of football that no matter how good they have been previously, more is always required.
I accept this sort of criticism isn’t always the most productive or necessary. Particularly when the reality is they are pivotal figures in that Hull City dressing room. I’m not expecting a miraculous turn around from them but they have to stop making costly errors in matches and become consistent minimum 6 or 7/10 performers every week. I’m sure they don’t need to be told or heed a metaphorical call to arms but for their sakes I hope they can put some strong individual performances in from now until the end of the season to cement their places in the squad.
These local and long serving players like Lewie Coyle understand Hull City best and have a longer relationship and connection to the club and fans. If they can get the fans cheering more positive results by leading by example, the momentum and feel good factor will help start to generate enough points to stay up.
Looking ahead, a lunch time kick off away at high flying Sunderland is similar to the Burnley game. The Tigers will have to be at their best to stand a chance at getting any sort of draw or win. They will not be expected to win but at the same time most people will think there is a chance such is their recent away record. The Cardiff away game in the week after is the possibly more important and certainly higher pressure six pointer looming large for Hull City.
UTT