please log in to view this image TOM Cairney pauses for a moment when asked to reflect on his six years with Hull City, as if to weigh up all the good and bad days during his time in East Yorkshire. In the end he chooses his words carefully. "From getting released by Leeds at 16 to making my Premier League debut at 19 was something very special. I've got some great memories. "But I still don't think Hull City really saw the best of me back in the Championship. That's the regret." Two years after severing all ties with City, turning a loan deal with Blackburn Rovers into a £500,000 transfer, Cairney comes up against his former club in the white of Fulham tomorrow. The gifted midfielder stands as the biggest financial success of City's academy after he was signed by the Cottagers for £3.5m in June. A smart sell-on fee netted the Tigers an additional £750,000 last summer, but nothing to cover the nagging regret of allowing Cairney to fly the nest on the eve of City's Premier League adventure. Fresh from celebrating his 25th birthday on Wednesday – or "halfway to 50" as he puts it – Cairney welcomes City to Craven Cottage with a pragmatic outlook. "I wouldn't say that I didn't get a fair crack under Steve Bruce because it was a team that got promoted (in 2012-13). The team were doing the business," said Cairney. "I'd have loved to have stayed and got the chance to play in the Premier League again but I'd not played many games in the season before because of injury. "I'd missed a lot of the season, but when I got injured the penny dropped with me for what I needed to do. I did that over the summer and came back as fit as I'd ever been. I came back in the pre-season after we'd gone up and felt really fit and try and push on. "I went out on loan and then obviously that was it. That's the regret, that Hull didn't see the best of me." Things might have been different had Cairney not been stretchered off with knee ligament damage in a League Cup defeat away to Doncaster Rovers, only the fifth game of Bruce's City reign. Stephen Quinn was signed within days and life in City's midfield, soon bolstered further by David Meyler's arrival, quickly moved on with Cairney on the sidelines. The signings of Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore were in the pipeline by the time Bruce opted to send Cairney out on loan to Blackburn but a fresh start has been the making of the one-time Scotland under-21s international. A total of 85 appearances for Blackburn won him Player of the Season accolades and a big-money switch to the capital, casting doubt on City's wisdom to sell. Does Cairney think the Tigers regret their decision? "I don't know, you'd have to ask them," he said. "Possibly. But Hull City still have some very good players as we've seen this season. "I feel like a different player to the one that left. I've always had the same brain and style of play, that will never change, but physically I feel like a different player now. "I'm happy. I've played a lot of games over the last two and a half seasons and I'm in a good place. I'm happy with playing football every week and I'm enjoying it." Cairney was just as happy with City once upon a time. Despite being released by Leeds as a 16-year-old, he grabbed his lifeline with the Tigers to make a goalscoring debut against Southend in the 2009-10 League Cup. A Premier League bow followed in early 2010, starring against Chelsea and Manchester City, performances that came to stand as the highlights of a bleak season that ended with relegation. "I'll never forget my debut in the Prem, scoring away at Everton," Cairney added. "Those were great times under Phil Brown. "It was horrible the way it ended that season, with him going and us going down. "If we had stayed up that season I think things could have been totally different for me and Hull. That's just the way it worked out. "I still feel like a owe a lot to the club. My time coming up through the youth team under Billy Russell and Neil Mann. They were great with me. "I really enjoyed my youth team days there, playing alongside lads like Liam Cooper and Ryan Kendall. I'll always remember my time with Hull fondly because it was where I came through." Cairney will now be part of a Fulham side bidding to halt City's promotion charge. While three consecutive league wins has carried Bruce's men into the top two, one win in 13 games leaves the Cottagers still searching for a first win under new boss Slavisa Jokanovic. "Saturday is going to be a tough one for us," added Cairney. "Winning 6-0 last week shows what Hull can do but I'm looking forward to it and confident we can get a result. "We've got to try and keep a clean-sheet. That would be big for us. If we can do that then I always fancy us to score. Hopefully that's the case." Cairney will be hoping for another goal, too. His wonderful strike almost earned Fulham a point at the KC in August, before Sone Aluko's late volley snatched a 2-1 win for City. Cairney laughs at his celebrations, running wild towards the travelling fans. "I wasn't going to stand there like (Mario) Balotelli! I enjoyed it." So will he celebrate in the same style again? "One million per cent." http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Tom-...tory-28579991-detail/story.html#ixzz3xyGCRdCp
Nice lad, felt a bit sorry for him, but no regrets in how it turned out for him from me. I hope if he does score he doesn't go mental in his celebration, if he even catches the eye of a portion of our princesses they'll explode with fury. Ok Im kidding, he can moon the ****ers for all I care.
There is little doubt that Cairney is a talented lad, shame it didn't work out with us, although City did make him into a Premiership player.
Good luck to him regardless of whatever happens tomorrow. I remember how the 'Boat' mentored him in the Premier League and helped him find his feet. Another one we might have kept a bit like Cooper, they would have fitted in nicely to the current squad.
To be fair his goal at the KC was a tad special. If I'd have scored that there's no way I'd have been able to keep a lid on any celebrations. I live in Leeds and my neighbour who has a Leeds season ticket thinks that Cooper is "Stealing a living as a footballer". He's the clubs vice captain though so he must either be a no nowt meff or Leeds are just really ****e. Probably both.
It's a nice thought, but are either good enough to get in our team right now? Every time Cairney he didn't really stand out if memory serves. He scored a couple of good goals, but his performances were probably on a par with how Hudds plays at the moment. Cooper probably would have been another behind AB & Maguire, never really getting a shot at first team. It's always difficult for a team needing to get & stay in the PL to be able to introduce kids into the first team, sometimes it's best to let them go to lower league teams or teams in the Championship who aren't trying to get promotion permanently & be happy they get to a higher level than we could offer them! Get some money, if they are good enough maybe organise a first refusal buy back in the contract in the future.
No, I suspect we both feel the same way about not celebrating if you score against your previous team(s).
Cairney would be in the mix, Cooper I'm not sure but we will never know, at least he would be a Hull lad through and through. You never know with footballers, Little Bruce for example has played his best football with us and he didn't join us till a late age. The consensus was he'd be **** and it was nepotism but he actually was solid enough in the top flight.
Leeds fans don't think any of their players are up to it. They're in a bit of a strop...It's all very funny
