Okay, who saw this coming? Anyone? Anyone?
When Paul McShane gave up an own goal against Arsenal at the Emirates, you figured that was it. Hull City was unlucky, but nobody expected them to go to Emirates Stadium and get a result against Arsenal, right? Then Geovanni unleashed a nasty long-distance strike that found the top corner with a half-hour left. Four minutes later, a Daniel Cousin header gave Hull the lead. Arsenal couldn’t respond. The giant-killing was on.
Hull has that Reading 2007 smell about them, don’t they? Everyone expected these guys to be relegation fodder, yet here they are in the top half of the table, getting results against the big boys, and possibly contending for a spot in Europe’s N.I.T. (UEFA can change the competition’s name all it wants. It’s Europe’s N.I.T.)
Of course, this is the same Hull club that gave the reserves a run out against Swansea and got summarily booted out of the Carling Cup. Then again, how much does the Carling Cup really matter compared to staying up and notching road wins against the Big Four?
This could be the start of something big in Kingston Upon Hull. Or it could be another great purple patch that leads to a mid-table finish, a mass exodus of key players (and possibly manager Phil Brown), and a relegation battle in 2010. I’d like to believe that won’t happen this time, but this is English football, and these things are all too common.
Still, if you’re on the ride, you might as well enjoy it. Keep singing, Hull.
2 responses so far ↓
1 a different Dave // Oct 1, 2008 at 4:38 pm
“Hull has that Reading 2007 smell about them, don’t they?”
Yes, and where are Reading now?
2 Dave // Oct 1, 2008 at 4:46 pm
That’s harsh, dude. But yeah, that was my point. Any club can last one season in the Prem. Can Hull survive beyond that?