Search icon

Sport

02nd Aug 2014

Premier League previews – Hull City

Can Hull City repeat last season's heroics?

Eric Lalor

Manager: Steve Bruce.

Last season: 16th in the Premier League and beaten in the FA Cup Final.

Major signings: Jake Livermore (Spurs, £8m), Robert Snodgrass (Norwich, £7m), Tom Ince (Blackpool, tribunal), Harry Maguire (Sheffield United, £2.5m), Andrew Robertson (Dundee United, £2.85m).

Players out: Matthew Fryatt (free, Nottingham Forest), Conor Henderson (free, Crawley), Paul McElroy (free, Sheffield Wednesday), Cameron Stewart (free, Ipswich), James Armstrong, Jack Barlow, Daniel Chambers, Joseph Dudgeon, Abdoulaye Faye, Matthew Fletcher, Eldin Jakupovic, Elliot Kebbie, Robert Koren, Douglas Wilson (released)

Expectations? Survival in the Premier League has to be their sole ambition.

Hull City had, by their standards, a fantastic season last time out. Finishing in 16th place they won a place in the Europa League thanks to their march to the FA Cup Final where they were beaten after extra-time by Arsenal.

The squad will be stretched to the limit this year with Europe on the horizon. You would wonder if this competition will be treated seriously by manager Steve Bruce when he knows that Premier League survival is their biggest priority.

They’ve made some astute looking signings in the form of Jake Livermore, Robert Snodgrass and Tom Ince. Ince, who had been linked with Inter Milan, is viewed as a very exciting prospect and it’ll be interesting to see how he performs under the tutelage of Steve Bruce.

Irish angle: There is a substantial Irish contingent at Hull City. Robbie Brady missed a big part of last season due to injury so it’s key that he’s back to his best. They’ve also got Shane Long, David Meyler, Stephen Quinn and Paul McShane.

If they were a fictional character… they’d be Tony the Tiger. Their owner Assem Allam seems determined to re-brand them as Hull Tigers so we are thinking that Tony the Tiger from the Frosties brand with a tagline of “They’re grrrrrrrrrr…average”.

Where will they end up? Bottom half, but should avoid relegation and maybe another decent run in the cup.