How have City’s nine new signings fared this season?
TIGERS’ WRITER BARRY COOPER ASSESSES THE SUMMER RECRUITS
Hull City’s start to the season has proved a difficult one, winning just twice in their opening 11 games on their return to the Championship. Head coach Grant Mccann signed nine new players during the summer in a bid to prepare his squad for the rigours of life in one of Europe’s most competitive leagues, and while we’re only a few weeks into the season, it’s time to look at how those new arrivals have settled in.
Here, the Mail assesses the impact of City’s new arrivals as we navigate through the latest international break.
Nathan Baxter: He has played just once so far in a Carabao Cup game, but Baxter’s influence has been felt in the form of number one Matt Ingram.
Ingram kept 16 clean sheets last term on the way to winning League One having dislodged George Long who has since joined Millwall, and his form so far this has been very good, no doubt in part due to having Baxter pushing him hard in training.
So while his number of appearances has been restricted to just the one, his presence has been felt and that’s been a big positive.
VERDICT: HIT
Di’shon Bernard: Arguably the stand-out performer of the new arrivals. Having made his debut on a difficult afternoon at Fulham, Bernard has developed a good relationship with fellow rookie Jacob Greaves. His Man of the Match display against Middlesbrough is a particular highlight, and he certainly seemed to enjoy playing in a back three.
The Manchester United youngster looks a real talent and one you’d think has a really bright future, and hopefully, he continues to impress at the MKM.
His form and promise certainly poses a problem for Mccann when it comes to his defensive shape in the coming weeks.
VERDICT: HIT Tom Huddlestone:
A marquee signing and one which roused excitement from supporters, but in truth, his return has been largely underwhelming because of injury.
Just three appearances have come so far, two of those have been starts and came in 0-0 draws with Bournemouth and Swansea City before he picked up a problem the following week and hasn’t been seen since.
Mccann hopes to have the 34-year-old available for selection in time to face Huddersfield next weekend, so again, it’s too early to cast too much of an opinion on the move. His experience and quality will no doubt be needed, but getting him on the pitch is imperative if he’s to influence games away from just influencing on the training ground.
VERDICT: MISS
Matt Smith: Aside of Huddlestone, possibly one of the arrivals which generated a fair bit of excitement given his reputation at Manchester City, and his call-up for the Wales squad during the delayed 2020 European Championships this summer.
Smith has made 11 appearances thus far, the most of any new signing, though having occupied different positions, the 21-yearold Welshman has yet to really settle into life at Championship level.
VERDICT: MISS
Andy Cannon: The midfielder had to be patient for his chance, particularly after coming off the bench to score on the opening day. Back-to-back starts against Blackpool and Middlesbrough saw him deliver promising, energetic displays and while it would be hard to see him pinning down a regular place once George Honeyman returns alongside Greg Docherty, his last two outings have certainly given cause for optimism.
VERDICT: HIT
Randell Williams: It’s been a very stopstart season for the winger, his last appearance coming in the draw with Bournemouth.
Having been handed a start at Fulham, Williams struggled in the first half before being replaced by Josh Emmanuel.
The Championship is a big step up from League Two and Williams will take time to get accustomed to life in the second tier, but again, it’s a signing that has yet to really announce himself as a City player.
VERDICT: MISS
Tyler Smith: City have been woefully short of goals and the arrival of Smith from Sheffield United was greeted with great enthusiasm.
Handed a start on his debut against the Cherries, Smith has since started just once having been forced to settle for cameo outings which have shown promise, particularly the goal he scored against his former club which was wrongly ruled out for offside.
Smith is young, he’s eager, pacey and offers something nobody else in Mccann’s squad can do and once he gets off the mark, you sense there’s potential in there for him to go on and hit double figures.
The nature of City’s difficulties this season has seen Smith in and out of the starting XI, something which is never great for continuity and momentum, particularly among strikers and Smith needs a run of games.
VERDICT: HIT
Ryan Longman: The on-loan Brighton man is another who has shown glimpses of promise, but is another youngster without experience of this level, so will take time to settle.
His battles with illness and injury have also dented what looked to have been an encouraging start to life in East Yorkshire.
Longman remains a player with talent and potential, though in-keeping with City’s problems in these early weeks of the season, he’s struggled to find any kind of form.
VERDICT: MISS
George Moncur: Getting sent-off in the second game of the season on your home league debut is never going to help with a smooth transition into new surroundings.
Being forced to sit out for three games for a challenge which was harshly deemed serious foul play has curtailed his progress.
We’ve seen glimpses of the ability he has at his disposal, none more so than in the final stages against Boro when he was keen to get on the ball and make things happen.
Have we seen enough of him yet within games? Probably not, but as time goes on he’ll start to settle in and have a bigger impact.
VERDICT: MISS
Grant Mccann has hailed new signing Andy Cannon after the midfielder delivered an impressive display in last Saturday’s 2-0 win over Middlesbrough. Cannon has had to be patient for his chance at City following his summer arrival from Portsmouth, but was handed a first start in the draw with Blackpool last Tuesday night before backing that up with an impressive showing in victory at home to Boro, the
Tigers’ first at home this season.
Two solid displays coupled with his fizzing finish on the opening day at Preston has impressed Mccann, who is set to be faced with a selection dilemma when the Tigers face Huddersfield next Saturday when he’s expected to welcome back George Honeyman and Tom Huddlestone from injury lay-offs.
The 25-year-old has clocked up 244 minutes of action in his seven outings thus far and his use of the ball has been efficient, notching up an 87.8 percent success rate from his 131 passes, earning praise from his manager.
“Andy has been brilliant, outstanding. He has been really patient and there were big performances all over the park,” said
Mccann, who praised his players for getting to grips with the Championship after a difficult run of games without victory.
“I have said it before that we have a lot of young players learning on the job and when I say learning on the job, I mean it is the first time they have played at this level.
“If you look at that team on Saturday, it’s probably seven or eight of them playing for the first time in the Championship and they are only going to grow and get better with the more games they play.”