Nigel Pearson was an excellent defender in his day and is fast becoming a well respected manager. His first job is a famous one, he was in charge at Carlisle and kept them in the league thanks to a last minute goal from goalkeeper Jimmy Glass. For several years he was a first team coach working at Stoke, West Brom, Newcastle and in the England under 21 set up before he got his chance as a caretaker manager at Southampton. He almost kept the Saints up but they were relegated on the final day despite Pearson impressing in his short spell. He then got a move to Leicester as manager and took the chance with both hands. He won the league one title in his first season playing some wonderful attacking football with a very solid and organised base. He took that good work on last season and finished fifth in the Championship before losing on penalties in the playoffs. It was a surprise to see him move to Hull City
this summer but he has shown himself to be a very strong manager
and one that has the ability to work at a higher level.
Hull suffered from the second season syndrome in the Premiership and were relegated back to the Championship. They faced a difficult start and continued the poor form they had shown for the second half of the previous season. Phil Brown had mad several new signings and was even linked with Real Madrid striker Higuin but ended up with Jozy Altidore and goals were again a big problem. The return of Jimmy Bullard brought smiles and some better results including a draw at Manchester City where Bullard produced their highlight of the season, a very funny goal celebration mimicking Phil Browns on field team talk from a year earlier. They struggled to pull clear of danger though
and Brown was replaced by Dowie as manager late in the season after
a last minute defeat to Arsenal. Dowie could do little to turn things
around, a late defeat at Portsmouth looked like a killer blow before
a 4-1 home defeat to Burnley made it clear that life in the Premiership
was over.
James Harper
He started his career as a trainee with Arsenal, but as his first team opportunities were limited he went to Reading in February 2001. He helped Reading to promotion in 2006 and impressed during his two season in the Premiership. He was linked with several big money
moves after the club was relegated in 2008 but injuries took their
toll and when Steve Coppell left the club he found himself out of
favour and with the club looking to cut costs. He spent most of
last season on loan at Sheffield United but failed to earn a permanent
deal and signed instead for Hull City this summer.
Hull have a tough season ahead both on and off the pitch. Relegation has had a big effect on the clubs finances and they are millions in debt currently look to keep heads above water. Player sales are inevitable wit the club unable to even play Jimmy Bullard for fear of him getting injured again. The appointment of Nigel Pearson is a sensible one and he will be charged with building a squad on small funds who are competitive. The additions of James Harper and Noberto Solano are excellent ones and with Pearson's ability to organize a team they should be able to avoid a second relegation and finish comfortably in mid table but a push for promotion would appear beyond them this season.
Hull City did not wear a crest on their team shirts until 1947. This crest depicted a tiger's head in an orange-shaded badge, which was worn up until 1955, when it was changed to just the tiger's head. This was worn for four years, when the shirt again featured no emblem. Then, in 1971, the club returned to showing the tiger's head on the shirt. This was used for four years, until the club's initials of HCAFC were shown for five years. After this, a logo with the tiger's head with the club's name underneath was used from 1980 until 1998. The next logo, which as of 2009 is the club's current logo, features the tiger's head in an amber shield with the club's name, along with the club's nickname, The Tigers.
Damien Delaney swapped Humberside for
Shepherds Bush in January 2008. It was a move that many, including
the player, expected to reap Premiership football but whilst Hull
have spent the last two years in the top flight Delaney has remained
at this level probably wondering why he left Hull. Delaney was a very solid left back,
probably better in the middle of defence but was never played in
that position during his time at QPR. He left to join Ipswich in
2009. Iain Dowie has managed both sides for a short spell. His time at QPR was more successful results wise. He was in charge at Hull for the final
eight games of the season and could do nothing to stop them being
relegated although a final day of the season draw with Liverpool
was a good result.
Before the 2005/06 season the last time
these two sides met Ian Holloway was in his first season as a player.
Rangers ran out 8-1 winners over two legs of the League cup. In 2005/06 though the clubs were in
the same division and produced two draws. The first was on the opening
day of the season and is remembered more for what happened off the
pitch rather than on it. On the pitch Rangers had the better of
the chances in a tight game as Furlong and Gallen both missed sitters
whilst Hull hit the bar in a good first half but the game faded
into a dull draw on a very hot day in August. Off the pitch the sick chants by a large
number of Hull fans about the London bombings left a sour taste
on the mouth. The return game also saw crowd problems with the Hull
City coach attacked before the game in more disturbing scenes with
several pubs shut before the game. Hull went into a 2-0 lead and looked
like winning by more. Rangers fought back though with a double from
Ainsworth earning us a point and the last half an hour was probably
one of our best performances of the season. The following season Rangers faced Hull
at Loftus Road in John Gregory's first match in charge. Goals from
Ray Jones and Dexter Blackstock earned Rangers a vital win to move
us off the bottom of the table. The return game was not so great. Blackstock
gave Rangers an early lead and we looked set for a vital away win
but conceded two late goals to lose the match and had Lee Cook sent
off during injury time. Our last meetings came in Hull's promotion
season. The first game under Luigi De Canio was against Hull and
goals from Ephraim and Leigterwood meant De Canio got off to a winning
start as QPR manager. The match at the KC Stadium was a tight
affair, Dexter Blackstock gave Rangers the lead but in a frantic
finish Hull equalised deep into injury time to nick a point. |
