Shall we get the ball out ladies and gentlemen?? Hull have only managed one win and four points from their last seven games. Their only away win in the last 10 attempts was 2-0 at Sunderland on 8 February. Steve Bruce's side have failed to score in 12 league matches this season, including five of the last seven; only Cardiff (14) have fared worse in 2013-14. Twelve of their 25 league goals this season have been scored inside the opening half an hour of games. The Tigers have the worst second-half record in the division, outscoring their opponents just four times and being outscored on 14 occasions. Its a must not lose game tomorrow, though i think we really need to win this one and get to 30 points. Would give us a bit of a psychological boost that would. 2-0 to us hopefully. Jellong to score one a piece.
i think it'll be an extreme either way 2-0 cardiff 2-0 us, can't see a draw.. but it's a massive game. if we lose, cardiff are within 2 points.. if we win, we are 8 points clear HUGEEEEEEEEE ENORMOUS, GIGANTIC GAME
Next 7 days is going to be critical. 3 wins and we're heading towards our best ever season. 3 losses and we're staring down the barrel of relegation with no cup run to focus the mind.
This may well be the turning point of the season. We have not been performing well since the Fulham match. Our midfield has been poor IMO. If we lose tomorrow we could be in real danger of relegation as several of the clubs below us seem to be improving. A win would be massive both in terms of our ability to pull away from the pack and in terms of team confidence. I'll be happy with a draw. 1-1 (Long). But a loss will leave me feeling very nervous about our survival prospects.
I hope Koren is nowhere near the pitch, did nothing at Brighton really and looks so one paced. For me 3-5-2 Bruce, curtis, fig Elmo and rosie at wing backs Meyler, Livermore, hudd in centre to contain midfield Jela and long up top Would be happy with a draw,
I hope Koren starts, he's been one of our, if not our best player for 4 years and one of the only chaps we have who can turn a game on its head and create something from nothing. Is Rosey fit? I don't think he is so Harper Elmo Bruce Davies Faye Figueroa Quinn Meyler Livermore Koren Long
With the game on Monday as well I expect us to use the full 3 subs. As they're cup-tied the strikers will do a full game if they can, and Chester might get 20 minutes if we want to tighten it up at the back. Other than that it'll be two changes in midfield and I'd expect Koren and Quinn/Meyler to be the two. (assuming we start with 4 in midfield and Boyd is one of them)
I think today comes down to who works the hardest. We are similar in squad quality but we saw what a difference pressure can make when we got a lesson from Southampton. When it goes wide we need to be up in their faces otherwise in Whittingham and Zaha they have players who are tricky and can supply a decent ball in. 2-1 to us.
Morning guys - these two new strikers of yours. Wouldn't bet they couldn't change their personal seasons around, but from what I've seen so far, they've not been great. Having siad that, they'll probably both score today! Watched Shane Long trying to get out of Caulker's pocket when we beat Brom earlier in the season. To be fair, the lad looked as if he was playing with 10 strangers that day. Jelavic looked like he had his boots on the wrong feet when we drew 0-0 with Everton - hope he laces them up the same way today. Our biggest problem has been similar to yours for a while now, and that's not scoring when we should have, particularly at the CCS. We failed to notch against Villa and West ham at home recently, and that could cost us big time. To be honest, if we score today, I'll think we'll win. On the subject of our Whittingham, tremendous skills but has played some bummers this season and has been dropped recently. His goals against you and Brom were class, but he hasn't produced that sort of form often enough, and his legendary dead ball stuff has vanished this season. If OGS starts him today, it won't come as a surprise though, but most of us down here would like to see 18 year old Mats Daehli given a go instead.
The front two were isolated against a decent Southampton team in the last match. We need to have people from midfield to link up the play better. If Rosey's back than Elmo can be utilised in an attacking role for the majority of the match. But, we don't have anyone to do the same on the other wing, which is a problem, because our attacks become predictable & the team is imbalanced. We can create chances, but it's not about chances, it's scoring them. In the Brighton match, we hit the bar twice, and had two off the line. Maybe today will be the day it all changes. Our record in big games, particularly away from home, is poor. I reckon 1-0 hcafc. But i'll take a 0-0, or any draw.
Sparkey, Jelavic always has his boots on the wrong feet, you need not worry there. Shane Long however, has been playing with a bit of bite since arriving, very impressive. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
