Hull City relied on a variety of options for goals last season; however the club entered the summer with its forward line as a low priority area to upgrade. The additions of strikers Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic in January were certainly much needed in this area of the field, allowing manager Steve Bruce to focus on other areas of his squad this summer. A total of 16 different players scored for Hull last season, but Steve Bruce’s two January signings finished the season as the club’s joint top scorers with four goals each. A full season of Long and Jelavic combined with the additional creativity added in the form of Robert Snodgrass and Tom Ince should see an improvement in this area – but it’s the comparison with Hull’s other strikers last term that highlight the upgrade. Hull City's Scorers 2013/14 (Player) (Minutes Played) (Goals Non-PK Goals per 90) (Non-PK Conv %) (% Goals from Big Chances) (Shots per 90) Nikica Jelavic 1,318 4 0.27 7.5% 75.0% 3.69 Shane Long 1,206 4 0.30 14.8% 100.0% 2.01 Jake Livermore 3,054 3 0.09 7.7% 0.0% 1.15 Robert Brady 890 3 0.10 11.1% 66.7% 1.11 Tom Huddlestone 3,144 3 0.09 5.0% 0.0% 1.72 Ahmed Elmohamady 3,329 2 0.05 10.5% 0.0% 0.51 Curtis Davies 3,326 2 0.05 7.7% 50.0% 0.70 David Meyler 2,135 2 0.08 12.5% 0.0% 0.67 George Boyd 1,197 2 0.15 8.3% 50.0% 1.80 Matty Fryatt 219 2 0.82 33.3% 50.0% 2.47 Robert Koren 1,135 2 0.16 7.7% 100.0% 2.06 Yannick Sagbo 1,498 2 0.12 8.7% 0.0% 1.38 Danny Graham 1,003 1 0.09 6.3% 100.0% 1.44 James Chester 1,868 1 0.05 10.0% 100.0% 0.48 Liam Rosenior 1,986 1 0.05 11.1% 100.0% 0.41 Sone Aluko 935 1 0.10 4.8% 0.0% 2.02 Hull City largely wasted 1,003 minutes on Danny Graham but received just one goal before he was sent back to Sunderland, while Sone Aluke (one goal) and Yannick Sagbo (two goals) were really unable to fare any better. While averages of 0.27 and 0.30 non-PK goals per 90 minutes are not particularly strong for Jelavic and Long respectively, Hull tied with Crystal Palace to create the lowest number of big chances throughout the season (with 29) – highlighting the need for added creativity behind the duo following Steve Bruce’s busy January. https://www.bsports.com/extratime/hull-city-set-striking-department#.U-LWIPldVYA
I think we've done that by bringing in Snodgrass. We're probably looking at a loan striker from somewhere, but having spent £14m odd on strikers half a season ago, I don't think it'll be anybody major coming in, just somebody to provide competition.
