Let’s be thankful City didn’t get bogged down in League One mire
OWLS’ STRUGGLES SHOW TIGERS’ PROMOTION WAS NO MEAN FEAT
Sheffield Wednesday’s demise in the second leg of their League One playoff semi-final against Sunderland was further proof, if Hull City fans needed it, of what an achievement the Tigers secured 12 months ago. This time last year, City were toasting their first league title in 55 years having secured promotion back to the Championship under Grant Mccann’s stewardship at the first time of asking.
While City were coming up, old foes Wednesday were passing them on the way back to the third tier of English football.
City have since gone on to flourish in the Championship, attracting new ownership and genuine hope that a promotion push for the Premier League may not be too far away, and while a 19th-place finish may on paper at least, look anything but successful, given the obstacles the Tigers have had to overcome this season, it’s hugely respectable.
Wednesday, who were beaten 1-0 at the Stadium of Light last Friday night looked to have sent their game to extra-time on Monday at Hillsborough when Lee Gregory powered in Marvin Johnson’s cross late on to cancel out the Black Cats’ lead from the first leg, only for Patrick Roberts to slot in the equaliser on the night and winner on aggregate.
Roberts, was, incidentally on loan at Derby County last season and scored on the final day for the Rams to send Wednesday down.
The best part of 33,000 inside Hillsborough - barring 2,000 in the upper tier of the Leppings Lane stand - were stunned into absolute silence, and facing up to a second successive campaign in League One which is often the hardest.
City were out within one season, but there are so many clubs that have struggled after failing to get out at the first time of asking, showing just how important that is.
Sunderland are in their fourth year, and though they now have a Wembley final to get themselves out, Wycombe Wanderers will be relishing their chance to once again upset the apple cart, and very quickly that could become five for the Wearsiders.
Charlton Athletic, Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth (two slightly different cases, granted) plus Ipswich Town have all become average League One sides, while it took
Nottingham Forest and Leeds United an age to escape its clutches in recent times.
Next season will have Derby County and their financial circus within the 12ft steel gates of the third tier, along with Barnsley and Peterborough, both of whom seem too good for League One but not capable of working out how to remain a Championship club, meaning it will only be tougher to escape from that division next term.
City finished last season on 89 points, enough to see them top the table.
This term, Wigan won the league with 92 and Rotherham came second with 90.
Eighty-nine would have seen the Tigers third and into the dreaded play-offs, and as MK
Dons and Wednesday have found, that’s a route riddled with danger.
While there was a suggestion that City benefited from their League One campaign played behind closed doors - the fact of the matter is Mccann’s men did the job they needed to do and got it done largely without fuss, giving the squad a solid foundation to go on and consolidate their position this term.
We should perhaps be thankful for small mercies City were able to get out before they found themselves bogged down in its mire.