Match Day Thread Hull City v Coventry

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City win?

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  • Draw

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I watched Coventry v Portsmouth last night. Portsmouth did a really good job of getting high up and pressing them, Coventry didnt know how to deal with it and for spells couldnt get out of the half and ended up going long and losing possession. For me, I'd drop Pedro for Joseph who will run all day, Geldhart left, Kamara right, Crooks sitting just off Joseph. (essentially the front Line of against Sheff Utd?) As good as Pedro is, he's been crap since coming back from the suspension. We also need extra help for Coyle. I said last night how they overloaded their left side and targeted Pompeys RB. He got rinsed at their place and they will target him again. Hopefully Puerta might be available.
I don't know if it is wise to play Kamara on the right in front of Coyle his tracking back leaves a lot to be desired.
 
I don't know if it is wise to play Kamara on the right in front of Coyle his tracking back leaves a lot to be desired.
Get that Mazzer.. I did say need help... Kamara may or may not be it... I know that Geldhart on that side is a no go.
 
If you want to stop an oppo left winhet with pace Drameh if fit is the best option he’s as quick as anyone attacking him this season.
Also if we play Crookes then he’s got to collect the ball hold it up and others need to back him up. Too many of our players receive the ball and do the half turn at all .
 
Get that Mazzer.. I did say need help... Kamara may or may not be it... I know that Geldhart on that side is a no go.
Sorry about that missed last bit of your post. Perhaps play Joseph on the right and Geldhart down the middle Kamara left, if Puerto is fit he needs to be playing midfield if Crooks starts blowing a tug, Pedro who started as a attacking midfielder could work he has the workrate and vision to play decent passes, just an idea. Who would be a manager heh<laugh>
 
Still think 50 is the magic number especially as can't rely on goal difference as only slightly better than Stoke and Derby
I was also thinking about 50 couple of weeks ago, but i started to feel like bottom teams won't win live or die games, but let's see, not much left.
 
I was also thinking about 50 couple of weeks ago, but i started to feel like bottom teams won't win live or die games, but let's see, not much left.

I just did one of those predictors for all the remaining championship games and 21st place did end up with 50 points. Unfortunately we finished 23rd but I still believe we'll survive but you do get lots of strange results at the end of a season
 
I made the mistake of buying the kids eggs a couple of weeks ago, i need to rebuy them some more this week now.....
the game is retro game apparently isnt it, everybody encouraged to wear retro gear, id be happy with a retro performance from around this time 2008 will do.
I hope its not as repro as the first time I saw City play the Sky Blues. Our first home game back in the Second Division after the glorious title winning and record breaking season of 1965/66, massive expectations, big crowd, and we........lost.
 
I hope its not as repro as the first time I saw City play the Sky Blues. Our first home game back in the Second Division after the glorious title winning and record breaking season of 1965/66, massive expectations, big crowd, and we........lost.
Recall it 0-1, at Highfield Road....We drew at home 2-2 that season...They got promoted that season and spent ions in league one ie the prem today...To the extent someone wrote...'if they had painted the Titanic sky-blue it would have never have gone down....' Jimmy Hill was their boss.
 
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Baz's article, not sure if this is what people have been referring to.

It's only fair to preface this by referencing that Hull City have been, as Ruben Selles quite rightly says, competitive in pretty much every game he's been in charge of.

A quick look at the league table since he took charge shows they have been steady, after he inherited a rudderless ship meandering towards the relegation iceberg, though it still all feels a bit 'meh', in truth.

Arguably, the first 20 minutes at Burnley were fairly poor, and they were torn to pieces down both flanks - not for the first time this season and an obvious area of improvement in the summer, irrespective of what league they're in. Aside from that, City have been in every game. They've not been well-beaten by anybody and have pulled out some fine results along the way to drag themselves off the bottom of the table and give themselves a fighting chance of staying in the league.

Those two wins in Sheffield will live long in the memory, while the away success at Sunderland was much-needed and there have been other bright moments, in a season littered with disappointment.

Unfortunately, there have been too many performances like we saw at Watford on Tuesday night, and it's those that raise so many questions and leave supporters in a fit of absolute despair.

Make no mistake about it, after that defeat at Cardiff City, Selles needed a response and he got it by beating Plymouth Argyle and Oxford United in front of their own supporters. They also claimed respectable points on the road at Bristol City and West Brom, especially given they were playing with 10 men at Ashton Gate from the 15th minute once Joao Pedro was needlessly sent off.

The problem is, since the international break, City have come back in something of a comatose state. Their performances, as Selles has pointed out, have been competitive, but at this stage of the season, they need more than simply turning up and being competitive. That's the bare minimum I'd expect from any team at this level, or at any level of professional football for that matter, where you're being paid thousands of pounds to do your job, every single whim and wish catered for.

I'd argue every team in this league is competitive, that attribute is not exclusive to City and that's not enough. Against Luton, they were decent enough in the first period without really looking like scoring and fell apart once that freak own goal went in seconds into the second half.

At Sheffield Wednesday, the game was played like a pre-season contest. Yes, ultimately, they won the game, and that's fantastic, but then to go to Watford and produce such a meek performance is simply not acceptable. It's felt like the games have been played in flip-flops, not the urgency required when survival is on the line. We're talking about people's livelihoods here; this isn't a cakewalk. If City go down, people at the club will lose their jobs, and for a club losing £500,000 a week, relegation is a major problem.

Either the players don't truly appreciate the severity of the situation and are going through the motions until the summer when one or two of them can get away elsewhere, or they're so struck down by the fear of their position that it's crippling their ability to offer any kind of intensity, and therefore the games look passive. Either way, the worry about this club sleepwalking into relegation has never gone away.

They're passive all over the pitch, there's a lack of willingness to make something happen. Everything is slow, laboured and the lack of intensity is infuriating. Probably summed up by Sean McLoughlin's (and no criticism is aimed at Sean, a central defender, doing what he can) wave of his right foot at a volley late in the game, completely missing the ball. It was then worked back out to Steven Alzate, who looked so scared to shoot that he could have rushed it any quicker and hit one of the City fans in the block closest to the corner flag.

Of course, the reason City have been in the bottom reaches of the Championship all season is because they're not good enough to be any higher. After 41 games, the league table simply doesn't lie. Consistency has and continues to be, their problem. So does starting quickly at the start of the second half. That concession 10 minutes in at Vicarage Road was another occasion where they've conceded in that period. Concentration is clearly an issue, as is stopping crosses and following runners. Fairly basic stuff.

After all the positivity of Charlie Hughes' winner at Hillsborough on Saturday, the optimism balloon has well and truly been popped. And by the time City roll out at the MKM Stadium on Monday night against a Coventry City side inside the top six, they could be outside the bottom three only on goal difference. A scary thought with only five games left, especially given their chronic lack of goals.

Under Selles, they have been able to win games of football, albeit not more than one in a row, and that is reason enough to believe they can still get another six points which will probably be enough.

City still have the opportunity to get themselves out of this mess, and it's down to them to produce the goods. Results are everything at this stage of the season, we know that, but you have got to show an awful lot more courage and bravery than we've seen at times recently if they're to ensure this club is in the Championship next season. Based on what we've seen against Luton and Watford, and for 93 minutes at Hillsborough (and add games at Cardiff, against Stoke and QPR into that), there's no guarantee.

What we can say for certain is that come the end of the season, Acun Ilicali needs to explain where he sees things going and, after a shambles of a season, where this club is heading and what it wants to achieve because this, at times, has been a rudderless ship treading water, scrambling to get through each day without sinking.