To Hull and back

Posted by Jon Champion on 15/10/2009

Football is a broad church - as my upcoming weekend demonstrates.

Saturday morning sees an appointment booked to take a look at Hull City in training as they prepare for the live ESPN game at Fulham on Monday night. Saturday afternoon will be spent at Bootham Crescent watching the game of the day in the Conference, York versus Oxford, then on Sunday lunchtime it's off to Ewood Park - Blackburn Rovers feature twice on ESPN as October unfolds, so for this commentator a trip to the East Lancashire derby against Burnley is a must.

So much of my job is about preparation. Fail to prepare…prepare to fail. Not having seen Hull or Blackburn in the flesh so far this season, I welcome opportunities to study the players at close quarters. The mainstays of Premier League squads are known to all of us, but the fringe players call for a fair bit of work on the recognition front. And it is identification that matters above all else for a television commentator. It's fine to have several pages of notes on the background and breeding of those on the pitch, but if you can't recognise them instantly then you're in trouble.

For the Barclays Premier League's managerial brethren, there'll be a sense of relief this weekend as they re-gather their flocks. International call-ups en masse are still relatively new to Hull City. They are rightly proud that for the first time next summer, they will have players taking part in a World Cup. Jozy Altidore is already assured of his place at the Finals with the USA. Kamel Ghilas is almost there with Algeria. Daniel Cousin, a scorer for Gabon last week, and Seyi Olofinjana of Nigeria are still hopeful of qualification - and so are the Irish trio of Paul McShane, Kevin Kilbane and Stephen Hunt. The club has come a long way since the day of homegrown talents like Ken Wagstaff and Chris Chilton!

However, as Phil Brown is finding, rapid progress brings with it raised expectations. This time last year, his Tigers were third in the League and had just won at the Emirates. Fast forward 12 months and he finds himself having to defend his record and his methods. It takes a brave manager to do things differently in the harsh glare of the Premier League spotlight. No-one could accuse the Hull boss of lacking courage. The other thing he has is perspective. I remember him as a journeyman full-back with Hartlepool and Halifax, playing in decaying old grounds in front of barely a quorum. To emerge from that background and go toe-to-toe with Ferguson, Wenger, Benitez and company is an achievement in itself. He deserves - and retains - the support of his chairman, Paul Duffen.

As a child growing up in Yorkshire I recall big White Rose derbies involving Hull. With Steve McClaren in their midfield and big bustling Billy Whitehurst up front, they would more often than not get the better of my local team, York. But the very fact they were competing at the same level serves as a reminder that nothing is forever in football. Hull's upward mobility has been matched by the Minstermen's fall from grace.

This week, the sides met again behind closed doors in a friendly arranged to help Jimmy Bullard's recovery from major knee surgery. He played 70 minutes of a well-contested 2-2 draw, so if Bullard makes it onto the pitch against his old club in front of ESPN's cameras on Monday night, then a group of Conference pros will have played their part...a point not lost on Hull's record signing, a non-leaguer himself with Gravesend and Northfleet during his days as a painter and decorator. Hope has sustained him during months of uncertainty and pain. Now comes his reward.

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Posted by christian lewis on 15/10/2009

Posted by Jon In Norway on 16/10/2009

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