A depleted squad, no manager and talks about a potential Chinese takeover of the club. Hull City head into the 2016-17 campaign under the worst possible circumstances. The chain of events that has led Hull City into such an situation started with their owner Assem Allam falling ill.
Steve Bruce who was with the club for a period of 4 seasons and helped them gain promotion to the Premier League twice and a FA Cup Final appearance. The English born manager left the club over a month ago after disputes with Assem Allam’s son Ehab Allam over their inactivity in the transfer window.
The club has also suffered it’s fair of injury troubles in pre-season which has left interim manager Mike Phelan with just 13 senior players to start the season. The hopes for Hull City this season will be nothing more than survival. So are they capable of it?
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Hull City 2016-17 Season Preview
Mike Phelan (Pic Cou: telegraph.co.uk)
Our season preview comes one game into the new Premier League season. Despite all the odds against them Hull City provided a passionate display against Leicester to pull of a 2-1 win. To be honest if we had written this preview a week ago we would have given them no chance to survive the cut this season.
The performance against Leicester showed that Hull are still capable of providing an upset even if the chances are low without any additional reinforcements. The Tigers’ only transfer activity this summer has been the addition of Goalkeeper Will Mannion from AFC Wimbledon.
Despite leading Hull City to a opening day win against Leicester, Mike Phelan has not been officially appointed as their permanent manager. Phelan has the support of his players with defender Curtis Davis urging the club to hand Phelan the job on a permanent basis.
Phelan who was Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Manchester United for a period of 5 years has a difficult task at hand. The takeover talks are on full swing but if it doesn’t get resolved before the end of transfer window then club will have to fight on till January with only 14 Senior players.
Squad Breakdown
As already mentioned Hull’s squad is depleted to the core. 23 yr old Moses Odubajo who was key to Hull’s promotion last season suffered a pre-season injury that will keep him sidelined for 6 months. Club captain Micheal Dawson also suffered a pre-season injury that will keep him out for 3 months.
What Phelan is left with is just 13 senior players. Against Leicester midfielders Jake Livermore and Elmohamady were deployed as right-back and centre-back but surprisingly both of them executed their roles to perfection. However it should be noted as to how Phelan refrained himself from making any substitutions.
Hull do have a pretty decent first 11 with Tom Huddleston, Robert Snodgrass, Adama Diomande and Uruguayan striker Abel Hernandez to name a few. How long can they push on with these players is a question that will be answered sooner rather than later.
Hull City 2016-17 Season Prediction
You always want the underdogs to excel. The task in front to Hull City and Mike Phelan is daunting. Even if all the troubles within the clubs hierarchy are resolved it still remains to be seen how new arrivals can adapt to the league. The team that upset Leicester on Saturday were a spirited group of players who fought for the pride of the club. They are one of the teams we’ll be following closely this season cause they’ll fetch us some good winning bets.
Verdict: – 19th Place
Player to Watch – Hull City 2016-17
Abel Hernandez (Pic Cou: Skysports.com)
Abel Hernandez
The 26 yr old Uruguayan international was pivtol to the Tigers promotional campaign last season. Hernandez scored a total of 21 goals last season and was named as the club’s player of the year. The striker however has never proven himself at the top level. His last season in the Premier League saw him scoring just 4 goals from 27 appearances.
His stats were similar in Serie A as well, failing to impress with Palermo despite scoring freely in Serie B. The player reportedly wanted a move away from the club but looks set to stay. This will perhaps be his final chance to prove that he can perform at the top level.
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Betting Tips – Hull City 2016-17
1. Premier League Champions – 1501.00 (Paddypower)
Look away! Save your money!
2. Relegation – 1.73 (Skybet)
As expected with everything that has been happening with the club, Hull are the bookies’ favorite to get relegated this season. With the depleted squad and no further improvements on the horizon relegation looks to be a safe bet at this point. The odds are slightly better than we expected so not a bad bet at all.
3. Stay Up – 2.20 (Bet 365)
Why will they stay up? A small but spirited bunch of players who are set to prove all of whom wrote them off wrong. This is our bet for Hull City this season. The Odds on offer are decent and who doesn’t like an underdog.
4. Fewest Goals Scored – 6.00 (Betvictor)
Apart from Abel Hernandez we can’t see any other players in their ranks capable of scoring 10-15 goals a season. No doubt that all of them need to step up but still we can’t see them scoring many this season. The odds for Abel Hernandez to win the Golden Boot stands at 201.00 (Betvictor).
5. Bottom at Christmas – 3.25 (StanJames.com)
Hull City’s contenders for this spot is another club who are having trouble signing players this summwe. We are picking Burnley to finish bottom of the table at Christmas but Hull City are a good bet as well.
6. Next Permanent Manager
Mike Phelan – 1.50 (Betfair)
Chris Coleman – 4.50 (WilliamHill)
Steve Bruce – 9.00 (Coral)
Mike Phelan should be given the job on a permanent basis. The players respect him and he knows the club inside out after serving as the assistant to Steve Bruce for a number of years. The bookies have made him favorite as well but their are rumors linking the likes of Welsh boss Chris Coleman and even Steve Bruce to make a comeback. Even if Phelan stays till the Allam Era ends at Hull no one knows what the ambitions of the new owners are going to be. Better stay of this bet for now.
Transfers In – Hull City 2016-17
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Transfer In |
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| Sl No | Position | Player | Fee – € | From |
| 1 | GK | Will Mannion | _ | AFC Wimbledon |
Hull City – 2015/16 Championship Stats
| Pos | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Draw | GD | Points |
| 4 | Hull City | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | +34 | 83 |
