Sacking boss will not save Hull City
CITY’S HOME WOES CONTINUE
The spotlight is once again on Hull City boss Grant Mccann after his side were booed off at the end of Wednesday night’s 2-1 home defeat by Peterborough United, a team which arrived in east Yorkshire on the back of six successive away defeats.
Jack Taylor’s sumptuous opener was cancelled out by Josh Magennis’ goal just before the break, and the returning Northern Irishman had the chance to put his side 2-1 ahead in the second half, but blazed his penalty kick well over the bar.
Having already lost the returning Tom Huddlestone to what appeared to be a hamstring injury, City’s night was made even worse when Siriki Dembele turned in the winner.
In the closing stages, Mccann had to listen to his own supporters calling for him to be sacked.
Here, City writer Barry Cooper reflects on yet another dispiriting home showing.
The frustration is understandable
The frustration around the stadium was obvious from quite early on, even with City playing well and creating chances.
A section of supporters were already chanting for the return of Steve Bruce long before Jack Taylor’s wonderfully guided effort into the top corner of Matt Ingram’s net put the visitors ahead 43 minutes into an absorbing contest, albeit one lacking in real quality.
Josh Magennis’ equaliser within three minutes and subsequent penalty miss did little to quieten down those frustrated home supporters, and the cacophony of noise grew as the game wore on with three sides of the stadium suggesting the manager would be losing his job in the morning.
That’s unlikely to happen of course, and
I’m not even sure the thought has even entered the head of Ehab Allam, or his father, both of whom were present on the night.
Unfortunately for Grant Mccann, this is a situation that once again is becoming untenable – once the relationship between manager and supporters erodes to such a level, its inevitable that a change will be made - it certainly would at the other 23 Championship clubs you feel.
Arguably the saving grace when things were tough in the last campaign was the absence of supporters, but with them back and making their feelings known, the situation is only going to develop further and it’s hard to see any way back now for Mccann, the stable door has been blown off.
It’s plainly obvious the club is treading water and in desperate need of new ownership, even despite a league title and promotion, you can’t help but feel Mccann’s time is coming to an end, and much like Steve Bruce at Newcastle United, it’s a move which would probably be in the best interests of the club, its fans and the manager.
That said, there remains a line that should not be crossed and there remains no need for personal, vitriolic abuse.
Like him or not, Mccann is the manager of Hull City and he’s trying his best to get results for this football club, you can want a change and that’s fine, but there needs to be fairness, perspective and respect afforded to him.
Lack of luck
Once again we find ourselves in a situation so many teams at the bottom of the table find themselves in, without the rub of the green.
No doubt having lost every away game this season before their visit to the MKM Stadium, Posh would probably argue similar, but again, Mccann lost Tom Huddlestone before the half-hour mark in what proved to be a pivotal moment in the game - he just cannot get and keep his best XI on the pitch for 90 minutes, and it is hampering the team massively.
Magennis then missed a gilt-edged chance in the second half and that was before he sent his penalty so far over the bar it ended up near the back of the stand.
This was the first time since the season began in early August that Mccann was able to name his best midfield three of Huddlestone, Greg Docherty and George Honeyman.
For 25 minutes or so, it was clicking and the chances were coming, but once Huddlestone slumped to the deck clutching his hamstring, you sensed the writing could be on the wall.
The life in the ground seeped away, the momentum within the team was lost and Smallwood, suddenly stripped and thrust into the action within a moment, felt the weight of the world at his door, and he was never going to deliver what Huddlestone could.
Luck is not everything and to a degree you make your own, of course you do, but even the most callous of Mccann’s objectors would struggle to suggest his pack of cards are
anything other than difficult.
And that’s without delving into the can of worms surrounding ownership, embargoes and budgets.
Playing for the manager
There are some displays that scream a manager has lost his dressing room, and in fairness to Mccann, we’re nowhere near that stage.
This is a team giving their all, working hard and trying their very best – ultimately, they’re falling short on quality and that is why they’ve won two games in 13.
The concern has to be that in two home games against sides City finished above last season, they’ve scrambled to take just a point.
But for a late goal, they’ve suffered two defeats to Blackpool and Peterborough at home, and that should have alarm bells ringing.
It’s becoming glaringly obvious that City’s budget – one of the lowest in the Championship – is getting about what you’d expect, and unfortunately, as it stands, that sees them in the bottom three.
Luton Town
Let’s be brutally honest, there won’t be too many City fans relishing the trip to
Kenilworth Road on Saturday.
Luton may only have two wins there this season, but given the problems City have coupled with their brittle confidence, it on paper at least looks like another away day disappointment.
That is, however, the beauty of the Championship and if City are going to have any hope of picking up points, these are the games they must dig something out from.
There will be little expectation going to Bedfordshire and maybe they can use that to their advantage, to inspire them to at least taking something back up the M1 on Saturday evening.
Gaps are already starting to appear and while they may only be four or five points at this stage that can very quickly increase, particularly, if, like City, you’re losing games with such regularity.